We had hoped that a new device would be announced at Microsoft's October 12 event, but rumors were few and far between. Fortunately, rain or shine, three Surface devices have been detailed, including the new Surface Studio 3.

WinFuture (opens in new tab) analyst Roland Quandt reports that the Microsoft Surface Pro 9, Microsoft Surface Laptop 5, and Studio 3 (not to be confused with Laptop Studio) Quandt suggests that consumer-grade versions of these devices will be available at the end of October, with commercial models launching in November. The only exception is the Surface Studio 3, which has yet to have a rumored release date.

Indeed, we had already suspected that the Surface Pro 9 might be on the way after seeing a possible FCC filing (opens in new tab) for the rumored device. The biggest development is obviously the possibility of a new Surface Studio 3. The Surface Studio is Microsoft's powerful all-in-one desktop computer with a retail price of over $3,000. Along with most of the device, it seems unlikely to change; according to recent FCC filings reported by Windows Central (opens in new tab), the all-in-one Surface's design has changed little from its second-generation predecessor.

Unfortunately, this is not the only disappointing rumor about this high-end desktop.

First and foremost, the Surface Studio 3 appears to remain an incredibly powerful device. At least in Germany (and possibly other E.U. countries), there is rumored to be only one configuration: it should have an Intel i7 System on Chip (SoC) processor, 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD.

However, the latest rumors suggest that the i7 processor in question is not a 12th generation CPU. Instead, the Surface Studio 3 will likely feature an 11th generation Intel chip. While Microsoft may have its reasons for this decision, it seems odd that a brand new high-end PC would not be equipped with the latest chips. Especially since the 13th generation "Raptor Lake" CPUs are scheduled to arrive on October 20; having a CPU that is two generations old would not look good if true. [The biggest news about the Surface Pro lineup is that the Surface Pro 9 will replace the Surface Pro 8 and then the Surface Pro X. There were already rumors of this, but Quandt's report seems to confirm that the Surface Pro 9 will include an Intel CPU version to replace the Surface Pro 8 and a Qualcomm-designed ARM SoC CPU version to replace the Surface Pro X.

As for specs, it has been suggested that the ARM-based tablet will come in a 5G-enabled model (without WiFi only) with a customized Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen-3 chip and rebranded as the Microsoft SQ3. 8GB RAM and 128GB SSD to start, but could be expanded to 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD.

Unfortunately, specs for the Intel-based CPU variants seem to confirm that we will not see 13th generation chips from these new Surface devices. The Intel-based Surface Pro 9 and Surface Laptop 5 will both feature 12th generation chipsets, while the consumer models are expected to feature Intel Core i5-1235U or Intel Core i7-1255U chipsets. Commercial versions of the two new devices are rumored to be versions with higher base clock speeds and Intel vPro support; RAM is rumored to be expandable up to 32GB and SSD storage capacity is rumored to be up to 1TB, although Quandt has been suggested as a possibility.

While it is great to potentially have some clarity about the new devices we might see at the Microsoft event in October, it is a bit disappointing to see these rumored specs. Especially in the case of the Microsoft Surface Studio 2, which was released four years ago and will provide consumers with the latest hardware. However, these are largely iterative changes; not redesigning the Surface Studio with the Surface Studio 3 and not announcing these devices feels like a failure for Microsoft. Hopefully, this announcement will give us something more exciting to look forward to.