Microsoft has refreshed its compact Surface lineup with the new Surface Pro 12-inch and Surface Laptop 13-inch. Both models keep the existing design but get Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon X2 Plus processor, more RAM, brighter displays and longer battery life.
The Snapdragon X2 Plus is a six-core chip with an 80 TOPS Hexagon NPU. Microsoft claims up to 17% better Office performance, 60% faster graphics and 95% faster local AI processing compared with the previous generation. The company also claims up to 18% better energy efficiency.
Both devices now start with 16GB of LPDDR5x RAM, with 24GB also available. Storage starts at 256GB.
Surface Pro 12-inch
The second-generation Surface Pro gets a 12-inch PixelSense LCD touchscreen with a 2196 x 1464 resolution and up to a 90Hz dynamic refresh rate. Peak brightness has increased to 500 nits, which Microsoft says is 25% higher than the previous model.
Microsoft claims up to 15.5 hours of local video playback and up to 13 hours of active web usage. Commercial models can also be configured with 5G, while Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 are standard.
The tablet comes with the new Microsoft Ink Canvas app for sketching and annotation. It supports the second-generation Surface Slim Pen with magnetic storage and wireless charging.
Other features include a 1080p front camera, 10-megapixel rear camera, two USB-C ports and Windows Hello facial recognition. It weighs 686 grams.
The Surface Pro 12-inch starts at $1,149.99 and comes in Platinum, Black and Violet.
Surface Laptop 13-inch
The second-generation Surface Laptop has a 13-inch PixelSense touchscreen with a 1920 x 1280 resolution, 3:2 aspect ratio and up to 500 nits brightness.
Battery life is rated at up to 22.5 hours for local video playback and up to 18 hours of active web usage.
The laptop has two USB-C ports, one USB-A port and a 3.5mm headphone jack. It also includes a fingerprint reader in the power button, a dedicated Copilot key and a 1080p camera with Windows Studio Effects.
It weighs 1.225kg and comes with a 50Wh battery. Storage starts at 256GB, with 512GB also available.
The Surface Laptop 13-inch starts at $1,199.99 and is available in Platinum, Black and Violet.
Both models will go on sale in the US from October 13.
