We're just a few days away from Microsoft introducing new Surface devices at this week's event, taking place on Sept. 21. While we already have some idea of what will be shown off, it's as good a time as any to share some of the things I'd be most excited to see at the event. Here are a few highlights based on previous rumors and reports.

1 Surface Laptop Studio 2

Surface Laptop Studio

Out of all Surface devices on the market, the Surface Laptop Studio is by far my favorite form factor. It's as versatile as a tablet, but it packs a lot of power, so you can use it for gaming, streaming, or just about anything else. I've loved the concept since I first saw it on the Acer ConceptD 7 Ezel, and the Surface Laptop Studio is also fantastic. But it could be better, which is why I'm looking forward to a potential Surface Laptop Studio 2.

The original Surface Laptop Studio came with underpowered 35W quad-core processors, and it was also limited to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti in terms of graphics. According to leaked specs, the Surface Laptop Studio 2 will come with a 45W processor with 14 cores, plus graphics options up to an RTX 4060, which is all super exciting for performance.

I'd also love to see a more flexible Surface Laptop Studio. We've already seen in leaks that this new model has extra ports, which is more than welcome, but I also want a more versatile hinge similar to Acer's. The Surface Laptop Studio only locks the screen in three preset positions, and it would be great to be able to use it in any position I want, like being able to flip it back to share something with someone across a table, for example. Since Acer has seemingly abandoned its Ezel laptops, I hope the Surface Laptop Studio catches up. It could easily be one of the best laptops on the market if it makes those kinds of changes.

2 An 11-inch Surface Pro

I've already talked at length about why I think an 11-inch Surface Pro makes sense, but it's worth reiterating. Currently, the Windows tablet market is lacking a premium device that's also portable. We either have large devices like the 13-inch Surface Pro 9 or low-end smaller devices like the Surface Go 3. So, a smaller 11-inch Surface Pro would be super intriguing.

The Surface Pro 9 is simply too large and unwieldy to be the portable machine it's advertised as. You still need a backpack or a dedicated bag if you want to carry it around comfortably. If we had a smaller model, it would be something you can carry with other items inside a handbag, for example, and it would just be easier to grab at a moment's notice and use while you're out. Not everybody wants to carry a large 13-inch tablet everywhere they go.

At the same time, Windows 11 has gradually become better for touchscreen devices, so a smaller screen makes more sense now than it did before. A smaller Surface Pro would be a great showcase device for the touch gestures Windows 11 now supports since version 22H2.

3 An Arm-based Surface Go 4

Microsoft has been investing in the Arm ecosystem for years at this point, but it still feels like the efforts are nowhere near as big as they should be. We've seen the Surface Pro line adopt high-end Arm processors, but I think we're overdue for a great lower-end tablet with Arm, like a Surface Go 4.

Intel-based processors aren't great for portable devices like the Surface Go because power management is iffy, so battery life isn't as great as it could be. If you have a device that wakes up instantly, it's probably draining battery in the background, so it will lose power much more quickly, even on standby. Plus, Intel (and x86 processors in general) don't have the best performance with power constraints, which is something Arm is also better at. A Surface Go 4 with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c, for example, would probably perform better and have better battery life than a version with Intel's low-end processors.

A more affordable but high-profile Arm device could also help greatly with the mass adoption of Arm and, in turn, help the Windows Arm ecosystem with more apps being optimized for the architecture. It would also make cellular connectivity easier to implement and potentially more affordable.

4 More colors

In 2022, Microsoft finally did the unthinkable and added some color to the Surface Pro lineup with the new Surface Pro 9 Sapphire and Forest models. I hope these options will expand with future iterations. Not only would it be nice to see new colors for the Surface Pro yet again, but they could be extended to other products, like the Arm version of a Surface Pro.

It would be even better if devices like the Surface Go also got color options, and for the Surface Laptop Studio 2, at least a Graphite option would be nice. I won't ask for a lot of colors for that one because I know super expensive laptops usually don't have those options, but just choosing between Platinum and Graphite would be an improvement.

Also, it would be nice for the Surface laptop family to have brighter colors again. Sandstone and Sage look fine, but they're a bit too subdued, especially compared to Sapphire and Forest on the Surface Pro 9.

What do you want to see?

While many of these wishes may not come true in the next Surface event, I'm keeping my hopes up that they're at least planned for sometime soon. The Surface lineup is excellent, but it doesn't have the same industry-leading spirit it used to. It would be nice to see it come back. Stay tuned for all the announcements coming this Thursday, Sept. 21, to find out exactly what Microsoft has in store.