Sep 10, 2016 08:06 AM EDT By Vinay Patel, UniversityHerald Reporter

Microsoft's Surface Pro 5 is one of the most anticipated products of the year and speculations are rife that the impending 2-in-1 tablet-laptop will give Apple's MacBook Pro and iPad Pro 2 a tough competition.

It was previously reported that Microsoft will release the device sometime early in 2017, but recently surfaced reports suggest that the company will take the wraps off the device as early as October this year, according to reports on Mobile&Apps.

The reports indicate that Microsoft will probably show off the different specs and features of its much lauded Surface Pro next month in a big presentation.

The speculation stems from earlier reports that claimed that Microsoft is gearing up to host an event in October. Although, there's hardly any possibility that the device will be made available until 2017, it would be quite interesting to see what the device would be offering users as far as productivity and performance features are concerned.

The Surface Pro 5 was expected to hit the store shelves earlier, however reports claim that the device's release date was pushed back citing the delay in the launch of Intel's latest Kaby Lake-based processors. The said chip is a cutting-edge processor capable of getting the same amount of processing data done with less the required hardware, which makes it more efficient as well as faster, ChristianToday reported.

The Kaby Lake-based processor is also expected to boost the device's overall battery life, a problem that plagued its precursors.

Aside from the new chip, rumors claim another reason for the delay is that the Redmond based tech giant may also be waiting for its latest Windows 10 operating system update dubbed the Windows 10 Redstone 2 update to complete. The latest update is rumored to bring in an array of innovative features and also revamp the operating system itself.

Nevertheless, Microsoft continues to remain tight-lipped and the company has neither confirmed nor denied these rumors, so it remains to be seen if the Surface Pro 5 will actually launch next month.

Meanwhile, another report coming from ZDNet claim Microsoft is gearing up to unveil a new Surface product code named "Cardinal" during an October event.

The report dubs the Surface product in question as the company's all-in-one computer.

Apparently, the tech giant has several sizes planned for the purported desktop computer, which is likely to run Windows 10 Anniversary, including 21-inch, 24-inch and 27-inch options. If Windows 10 Anniversary's focus on touch input is anything to go by, these devices are likely to come with touchscreen displays.

Nevertheless, the report advices gadget freaks to not anticipate entirely new Surface Pro products until the spring.

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