Because you can! The upcoming Surface Pro 8 is one of the more anticipated hardware products from Microsoft, supposedly on track for a launch sometimes next year.
And while the technology titan is quietly working on this new machine, an early prototype of the upcoming model has slipped the Redmond walls and made its way out. It has been listed on eBay, and can be yours for just $1,300.
Anyway, this engineering model comes with the latest Intel chips, the ones that go by as Tiger Lake. This is definitely good news for customers that want the best performance from their Surface devices.
As the seller explains:
“Yes, you read the title right. Up for sale is a Surface Pro 8 engineering model, it has ES version of 11th gen i7-1165G7 processor, 32GB ram at 4267Mhz (Pro 7 maxed out at 16GB) and 1TB Samsung SSD. Perfectly working, but as it is unreleased do backup driver yourself before restoring otherwise you cannot find it online. Come with a blue type cover.”
Hard to confirm whether this actually a legit device or not, but the specifications reveal it to be genuine hardware. The seller is even based in Seattle — right where you might expect.
In terms of design, the Surface Pro 8 does not depart too much from the tried and tested formula, though the trademark huge bezels are still there. This is a tad disappointing given the majority of device makers are now making the switch to more modern designs.
Microsoft may plan on updating the design, and this could just be an engineering sample. But we’ll not know for sure until the Surface Pro 8 goes official.
Probably this spring.
