Supposedly cheaper Surface tablet from Microsoft appears at FCC

Microsoft has submitted a new device to the US telecoms watchdog FCC, according to released documents. It is a portable device with Windows 10 Pro, presumably it is the cheaper Surface tablet, which has already been rumored.

The FCC doesn’t show photos of the device, that registered as ‘portable computing device 1824’. Previous Surface tablets and laptops have been submitted to the FCC for approval under the same name.

The German website WinFuture notes that there is nothing in the FCC documentation about differences from current models. That is something that is common when it comes to a successor to an existing product. That seems to be an indication that Microsoft has submitted a new Surface product with a different screen size, for example.

Another clue that it is a Surface tablet is the battery. Inside the device is the G16QA043H, which is made by the Chinese manufacturer SMP. That manufacturer also supplies all the batteries in the latest generation of Surface Pro models.

It seems likely that there is an Intel processor in the device, because the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections are provided by chips from Qualcomm. If it were a product with an ARM soc, WiFi and Bluetooth would be integrated and not added as separate chips.

In May, indications appeared that Microsoft is coming with a cheaper Surface tablet. It would be a variant with a 10-inch screen, smaller than the current Surface Pro models with a 12.3-inch screen. It is not yet clear what the price of the cheaper model will be. The Surface Pro is now for sale from 749 euros.