Firmware Patch For The Surface Pro 3, Rumors Surrounding Pro 4 Gain Traction

While the Microsoft Surface Pro 3 remains a leader in the hybrid market between tablets and laptops, Infoworld reports that the device remains somewhat buggy, specifically citing difficulties with maintaining wi-fi connectivity in some situations. This week, Microsoft rolled out a firmware update to its Surface line to continue to resolve some of those issues.

According to Winbeta, this update made something of a stir in the community of Surface users. Microsoft, you see, normally rolls out updates to the Pro family on Patch Tuesday. This past Tuesday, however, no updates were available, leading some users to question whether or not they would see updates in a timely fashion. Updates were eventually released on January 15, upgrading both firmware and drivers for several different components of the Surface Pro. The full list of updates from Microsoft can be seen on the Surface’s changelog, along with instructions on how to manually update your device, if the upgrade does not download and install automatically. The update focused on improving graphics drivers and wi-fi drivers, to hopefully resolve some of the connectivity issues experienced with the Surface Pro.

Microsoft Surface Pro 4 Release Date, Price and Specifications http://t.co/mHGUq1gFyJ

— Costea Lestoc (@elcostea) January 19, 2015

Meanwhile, the Motley Fool, a respected investing site, speculates that the next iteration of the Microsoft Surface Pro will be based on the newest family of Broadwell chips from Intel, as well as incorporating LTE connectivity, something that the Motley Fool predicts Intel will push for.

“PC-chip goliath Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) has been very bullish on cellular data connectivity as a key element of the PC platform in the long run, predicting that 15% of PCs will feature cellular data connections by 2018.”

Including LTE connectivity is expensive, however; it requires upgraded components, and licensing fees to Qualcomm. The Motley Fool notes that the Microsoft Surface Pro 3 is already priced at a premium as a wi-fi only model.

All of this talk about the Surface Pro 3 and, potentially, 4, continues to echo against the rumors of the iPad Pro, which some hope to see announced in spring of 2015. Most recently, MacRumors suggested that the next iteration of the iPad could be designed to use optional stylus input. Since Steve Jobs famously declared in 2010 that “if you see a stylus, they blew it,” many long time Apple fans have expressed concern about this direction for the iPad.

Some fans seem to feel that the stylus would be necessary if the iPad really wants to compete against the Surface Pro 3 or 4, while others still agree with Jobs, that if a stylus is necessary, the company has done something wrong. What are your thoughts?

[Image from PC Advisor UK]