Microsof got the attention of Apple when it rolled out a powerful large screen portable tablet in the form of the Surface Pro 3. Now, Apple is rumored to be working on a 12.9-inch iPad Pro, which means that, to stay ahead, Microsoft will be looking to improve its slate lineup with the release of its next hybrid, the Surface Pro 4.

For starters, the Surface Pro 4 is expected to be shipped out in two variants: a 14-inch variant and an 8-inch one. Both slates are expected to possess the same resolution, which is 2160 by 1440 pixels. All variants of the Surface Pro 3 possessed the same resolution so Microsoft will be looking to maintain the crisp detail of the display without putting additional stress on performance and the overall battery life of the tablet.

However, the primary differences which will be separating the Surface Pro 3 and the Surface Pro 4 will be the processors. The Surface Pro 3 lineup came equipped with Intel's 4th generation processors (Core i3, Core i5 and Core i7), which is one of the primary reasons why the tablets were priced so high. The Surface Pro 4 is rumored to be assimilated with Intel's Core M processors, which will perform lower than the chips present inside the Surface Pro 3 but users will be able to get sufficient amounts of battery life out of the Surface Pro 4, making it the clear winner when it comes to mobility. 

In addition, the Surface Pro 4 lineup will most likely run the company's Windows 10 platform out-of-the-box. The Windows 10 operating system will feature a unified interface coupled with the company's latest API, DirectX 12, which will result in additional performance and decreased power consumption. 

Due to the alleged reduction in performance, Microsoft is expected to keep the price of the Surface Pro 4 lineup relatively low compared to the Surface Pro 3 in order to attract a larger percentage of the market.