The Microsoft Surface line has grown a lot in the five years since its debut. It now encompasses the Surface Pro tablet, Surface Book convertible, Surface Studio all-in-one, Surface Hub digital "whiteboard," and the brand-new Surface Laptop.

SEE ALSO:Microsoft's hardware boss explains the strangest thing about the Surface Pro

The man in charge of it all: Panos Panay, Microsoft's corporate vice president for Surface Computing.

Panay paid a visit to the MashTalk studio this week, and we took the opportunity to ask him about a few Surface facts that piqued our curiosity — and one or two that were irking us —about the Surface line.

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Microsoft Surface boss Panos Panay.Credit: Lili Sams/Mashable

Panay opened up about about the history of the Surface, going all the way back to before it was a consumer product (the name was first attached to Microsoft's giant touchscreen tabletop, meant for retailers and restaurants). Starting with the 2012 unveiling of the first tablet, Panay gave us the inside story on how Microsoft built its own high-end hardware empire, revealed some insight into why it took so long for the company to build an actual laptop, and finally explained why they don't just bundle the Surface Pro with a frickin' keyboard already.

Also, will we ever see a Surface phone? Panay's answer is ... unsurprising.

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