A new trailer for Alien: Covenant has sparked rumours that the Surface Pro 5 might ship with AMD's new Rzyen family of processors, in addition to Intel's Kaby Lake chips.
Details about the as-yet unconfirmed successor to Microsoft's critically-acclaimed Surface Pro 4 are currently thin on the ground, but a new theory has suggested that the company may release an AMD-based variant as well as the expected Intel versions.
The rumour stems from a promotional video released for upcoming sci-fi thriller Alien: Covenant. The video, sponsored by AMD, shows the creation of 'Walter', an android played by Michael Fassbender.
It features a prominently-branded AMD chip being used as his brain, with one of the doctors using a device that looks suspiciously like a thinner, sleeker Surface Pro model. The video and campaign carry the tagline "intelligence powered by AMD".
While it is possible that Microsoft and AMD are simply providing separate sponsorship, fans have speculated that this could mean that the forthcoming Surface Pro devices could feature both Intel and AMD chips.
Microsoft's first-party devices have previously carried exclusively Intel chips, but this could be about to change. The company's new Ryzen line has thus far undercut Intel's equivalent chips in terms of price, and although they lag slightly behind in single-core performance, their multi-core efficiency actually outstrips Intel's competing models. Given that the Surface Pro line is specifically geared towards multi-tasking and productivity, this could prove a very attractive proposition for Microsoft.
Microsoft is widely expected to unveil the Surface Pro 5, potentially alongside other Surface-branded devices, in April this year. This would coincide with the release of the Windows 10 Creators Update. Tying the two launches together would allow Microsoft to use the Surface Pro 5 to showcase the latest version of its operating system - a tactic the company has used in the past.
