Microsoft has recently started offering discounted prices for its current generation of Surface Book. This has sparked speculations that a second iteration is well in the works and that a release may be coming soon.

First came rumors that Microsoft will be unveiling the Surface Book 2 at an event scheduled to take place this month. Then came talk of a Surface Book alternative being launched at the said event instead. But with the recent revelation of a price slash, there may be hope yet for an early launch.

According to reports, a decrease in price for the Surface Book could indicate one of two things. First of all, offering discounts may be the result of mediocre sales. However, it has been pointed out that Microsoft has not been experiencing a drop in sales for the Surface Book, especially after it won the highest honor, "Laptop of the Year," at the UK T3 Awards up against other notable brands like Apple, Dell, and Lenovo. 

If the company is not experiencing a decline in sales, then a drop in price could signal the nearing of a second-generation release. This is usually the case in the tech industry. Companies that are about to launch a new model in a particular lineup typically reduce the prices of the predecessor. Of course, since Microsoft has not confirmed anything yet and the decrease in price could be purely coincidental, tech enthusiasts should take this news with a grain of salt for now.

As for what consumers can expect from the rumored laptop, it is believed that it will sport Intel's new Kaby Lake processor under the hood. The Kaby Lake chipset is much faster and more efficient compared to the Skylake. It is also widely speculated that the latest Windows 10 Redstone 2 operating system will be on board the device out of the box. This includes the Office Hub and OneClip. Apart from that, the laptop's display is also getting a lot of buzz, with reports claiming that both 4K resolution and 3D technology will be adopted.