Microsoft could be mulling an all-in-one Surface PC

The LG Chromebase
The LG Chromebase, not the Surface AIO.

Microsoft is preparing to launch its very own all-in-one PC, similar to Apple's iMac, according to two separate sources in tech land. The sources say it would use the same Surface name as Microsoft's Surface Book and 2-in-1 devices.

DigiTimes was first off the mark this weekend with a hint that Surface AIO was on the way and then Windows Central followed up on that with a leak from a source of its own. The computer could be out by the end of the year, though that's not definite.

The reports suggest the all-in-one will plug the gap between the first and second-generation Surface Books, the latter of which has apparently been pushed back to the first half of 2017. A desktop PC should keep sales ticking over nicely in the meantime.

All in one and one for all

That's not the PC in question at the top of this article, of course (it's the LG Chromebase). Included in the leaked info is a mention of Intel's upcoming Kaby Lake processors, though we don't know much about them right now - the availability of those CPUs is going to determine when the Surface AIO sees the light of day, it would seem.

A new all-in-one Surface would tie in neatly with a patent application we spotted last February, which hints at a modular desktop computer where components can be easily swapped in and out. One of the patent designers is listed as Tim Escolin, a man we know to be working on Surface hardware already.

It's said that Microsoft is positioning the Surface AIO to be a living room computer, presumably taking care of your video and music streaming needs as well as all the usual web browsing and gaming and spreadsheet editing you want to do on your PC.

On a recent visit to Microsoft's Redmond campus, developer Shubham Chembukar recently tweeted evidence that the company is planning to launch new Surface devices in 2016 and 2017. Located alongside several pictures of Surface-related hardware on a wall in building 88 are silhouettes of Surface-like devices, accompanied by the two years and the caption "coming soon". It's not clear whether they will be all-in-one computers, laptops or convertible tablets.

Via Ars Technica

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David Nield
Freelance Contributor

Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you'll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.