There is speculation that the upcoming next-generation Surface Book will have specs capable of handling virtual reality’s demanding performance.
According to reports from multiple sources quoted by outlets like MobileApps, and Auto World News, the new convertible laptop will feature a 4K display, and will be powered by a 7th generation Intel Kaby Lake CPU, and a new NVIDIA discrete GPU, which, for the moment, is still unknown.
A VR-ready Surface Book, is not entirely far-fetch, as the current version top specs are technically almost in line with the requirements set for VR headsets like Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.
Oculus Rift’s recommended configuration, for instance, requires an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 or equivalent AMD Radeon, a Intel Core i5 4590 CPU, 8GB of RAM, and an array of ports that include HDMI 1.3, and two USB 2.0, for the headset and at least one motion tracking sensor.
While the current top configuration for the Surface Book has a sufficiently powerful CPU, enough RAM and the right ports, it falls short in regard to the GPU, which is believed to be one of the many areas in which Microsoft will radically improve the new laptop.
Microsoft has invested hefty resources into VR and AR, and has recently announced an array of VR products from third party manufacturers, designed to bring VR to regular users, at a reasonable price, with a reasonable expectation in terms of performance.
By this token, we can expect the company to move forward with further integration of VR and holographic technology, across more Surface devices.
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