Microsoft has announced the eighth-generation Surface Laptop, bringing Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon X2 processors, improved graphics performance, and a new haptic trackpad to its mainstream laptop lineup.
The launch comes shortly after Microsoft introduced the Surface Laptop Ultra, its most powerful Surface laptop to date. The new Surface Laptop 8 is aimed at users looking for a more affordable alternative while still offering the latest AI-focused hardware.
The Surface Laptop 8 is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X2 Plus and Snapdragon X2 Elite processors. According to Microsoft, the new chips deliver faster CPU performance, up to 58% faster graphics performance, and a neural processing unit capable of delivering 80 TOPS of AI performance for on-device AI tasks.
Microsoft also claims the laptop can deliver up to 20 hours of battery life on a single charge.
The new Surface Laptop is available in 13.8-inch and 15-inch sizes. While the overall design remains largely unchanged, Microsoft has introduced a new Jade color option alongside Platinum, Black, and Dune.
The 15-inch model receives a display upgrade with a resolution of 3,270 x 2,180 pixels and a pixel density of 262ppi. The display supports up to 600 nits of brightness in both SDR and HDR modes. Like previous Surface Laptop models, Microsoft continues to use IPS panels instead of OLED displays.
Both screen sizes feature a 120Hz refresh rate, a 3:2 aspect ratio, and a contrast ratio of 1,300:1.
The laptop features a new haptic trackpad. The trackpad provides tactile feedback for various actions within Windows 11 and supported applications. The feature is similar to what Microsoft offers on some of its premium devices and accessories.
The Surface Laptop 8 can be configured with up to 64GB of RAM and up to 2TB of PCIe Gen4 SSD storage. The SSD remains user-replaceable.
Microsoft has also increased the starting price of the Surface Laptop lineup. The 13.8-inch model starts at $1,599 with 16GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. In the United States, however, the base model includes 512GB of storage at the same price.
The Surface Laptop 8 is available now through Microsoft’s online store.
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