While the Surface Pro 6 looks just like its predecessors, the company looks to be planning a makeover for its flagship Windows 10 machine. According to a published patent, the company is trying to shrink the overall size of the device by way of its detachable Type Cover.
This speculation comes from a Microsoft patent entitled 'Circuit Board for an Input Device,' requested on June 28, and published on Oct. 25 at WIPO (the World Intellectual Property Organization. The patent includes drawings of a device that looks just like the Surface Pro.
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The patent describes an 'etching' process that would create a recess in the Type Cover's circuit board. The Dutch site Windows United posits that this change could "'could result in a reduced height of the keyboard," (though that's filtered through Google Translate). The patents also hint at the Surface Pro's bezels slimming down in a future update.
This fits in with existing reports about future Surface Pros, as we've seen reports of USB Type-C ports finally coming to the detachable, and the venerable Mary Jo Foley has reported that a Surface Pro with a heavy redesign is targeted for the middle of 2019.
Another recently published patent revealed Microsoft is tinkering with a Surface Pen with a retractable tip that collapses in when pressed against a screen.
A word about patents, though: they're not exactly proof of a guaranteed future. Some are based around plans for far, far down the line (and things could change before then), and others are created by companies looking to block competitors from developing a technology that the applicant themselves isn't planning on creating.
Image Credits: Microsoft; World Intellectual Property Organization
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