Will Microsoft Unveil an All-in-One Surface PC?

I’m looking forward to the Microsoft media event in New York on Wednesday. It will be interesting to see what new gadgets or technologies Microsoft unveils. There is some speculation that Microsoft might offer a desktop, all-in-one PC version of its Surface brand.

Microsoft is hosting a media event in New York this week. Official details for what Microsoft plans to unveil are sparse, but the general expectation is that it will be a Surface launch. Speculation, however, suggests that Microsoft will actually reveal a new desktop version of its Surface brand—the Surface PC.

A Surface Pro 5 or a Surface Book 2 might be nice, but the refresh for the Surface tablets / laptops is not expected until early 2017. There are two things, however, that seem to suggest that Microsoft is going after the desktop market with a new Surface PC.

First, Microsoft was awarded a patent in late August for a device that looks like an Apple iMac. The patent drawings appear to show a flat panel all-in-one desktop with a modular base. The bottom component is the accessory module, then the computing component module is sandwiched in the middle, with the display component module on top.

The drawings of the different perspectives of in the patent show a very thing display attached to an articulated neck. It also appears to have a neat trick up its sleeve—it can collapse and fold down so the display is flat on the desk.

One thing that isn’t clear to me from reviewing the patent is whether or not the stackable modules would be required or optional. It seems like perhaps the module that the display is connected to is actually the base level computing device in and of itself, but that you can expand the features, capabilities, and processing power with the addition of optional, stackable modules. That’s just a guess.

Read the full story on Forbes: Microsoft Expected To Move Surface Brand To Desktop With Surface PC.