What you need to know
- A new FCC filing hints that we might see wireless charging included in the next Surface Pen.
- The filing makes mention of a "charging coil," which is a component that would facilitate wireless charging.
- Current Surface Pens use replaceable AAAA batteries.
We're just a couple of weeks away from Microsoft's October 2 Surface event, and a new FCC filing may give us a small hint at one upgrade to expect. Picked up by The Verge, the filing, which is attributed to Microsoft, makes reference to a stylus pen, indicating it's an updated version of the Surface Pen. However, the filing also mentions a charging coil, indicating that the next Surface Pen could feature wireless charging.
Both the updated Apple Pencil and Samsung's new S-Pen use charging coils as a mechanism for recharging the internal power sources that power them. Notably, the Apple Pencil magnetically docks to the top of the newest iteration of the iPad Pro to initiate charging. We could see a similar implementation on this year's Surface Pro.
The current Surface Pen uses replaceable batteries, and has for some time, so this would be a major shift in convenience. It will also be interesting to see whether — if the Surface Pen does pick up wireless charging — the move to an internal power source could come with a slimmer design.
We'll know for sure what Microsoft has planned when the event kicks off on October 2. For more on what we're expecting, check out our look at all the Surface hardware we expect to see at the event.
