Provocation Microsoft honed its Surface line this week, including a third-generation tablet with arm-based CPUs.
In a virtual presentation on Wednesday, which coincided with the Ignite conference, Microsoft showcased five new Surface devices, including two Surface Pro tablets, two Surface Laptops, and a revamped Surface Studio.
The launch also marks the end of Microsoft’s powered Surface Pro X as a separate product. Alternatively, Redmond’s 9th Gen Surface Pro runs on either an x86 Intel 12th Gen Core or Evo processor, or an Arm-compatible SQ3 system with a 5G chip (a custom Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 developed at Qualcomm). It can be installed.
Intel-based systems have a Core i5 1235U or Core i7 1255U CPU. Both have 10 CPU cores and 12 threads with a base TDP of 15W. However, according to Intel’s documentation, the chip can run at loads up to 55 watts. Surface Pro models with 256GB of storage or more feature Intel Xe graphics.
Microsoft has provided few details about the arm-based SQ3 chip, but aside from talking about the neural processing unit (NPU), the Windows giant has promised real-time noise reduction in Microsoft Teams calls, AI upgrades, and faster background blur effect. What we do know is that the chip will have an Adreno 8cx Gen 3 GPU. This shows that the SQ3 is essentially the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 family of precisely tuned processors.
The SQ3 also appears to be more power efficient than Intel chips. Microsoft claims that Arm-based systems can achieve up to 19 hours of battery life, while Intel systems are said to have 15.5 hours.
The Surface Pro 9 with SQ3 may have efficiency advantages, but it’s held back by more limited configurations and a higher launch price. Intel-based systems can be equipped with up to 32GB of LPDDR5 memory, 1TB of NVMe storage, and a Thunderbolt 4 port. By comparison, Microsoft’s Arm-based system is limited to just 16GB of LPDDR4x memory, up to 512GB of NVMe storage, and a port USB-C is standard.
Moreover, this year’s Surface Pro is a standard aluminum and glass affair with a 13-inch screen of 2880 x 1920 at 120 Hz. It doesn’t seem to have changed much from last year’s Surface Pro 8.
The Surface Pro 9 will be available on October 24, starting at $999 for the Intel-based model and $1,299 for the Arm model with 5G. And as always, don’t forget to factor in the additional cost of the Surface Type Cover.
Surface Laptop 5 is now green
The Surface Laptop line also received a modest update this fall. This includes a new green color and an upgrade to the Intel 12th Gen Evo processor.
The Surface Laptop 5 uses the same 12th-gen i5 and i7 processors as the new Surface Pro 9, and Microsoft claims the chip is 50% faster than its predecessor, the Surface 4. From last year the 19-hour Surface Laptop complaint with AMD.
Speaking of AMD, Microsoft has eliminated chip designers from this generation’s Surface lineup. For generations, customers have chosen AMD Ryzen or Intel Surface laptops. However, that does not appear to be the case with the software giant’s fifth-generation laptops.
Customers will also be disappointed to learn that the Surface Laptop still lacks a 1080p webcam, thanks to the pandemic, despite Microsoft Teams emerging as a leading collaboration suite. You need to purchase one of these Microsoft 2-in-1 devices.
Microsoft digs deep into the parts container for Surface Studio updates
Finally, after years of waiting, Microsoft breathed new life into the Surface Studio All-in-One. And by new, I mean they stuffed a lot of old parts into the $4,499 system and added some Thunderbolt ports.
The system is called the Surface Studio 2+, and it features a 28-inch touchscreen display with a 4500 x 3000 pixel display and hinge for use as a graphics tablet. On the other hand, computing devices are built into the base of the system.
This week Microsoft kicked off more than just showing off its Surface lineup. Ignite Developer Conference It claims to have launched more than 100 online services and updates on Wednesday, along with a series of cloud security initiatives.
“Artificial intelligence is the ultimate loudspeaker,” CEO Satya Nadella said in his opening speech at the event. “It will change what apps look like, how they are designed, how they are built and how they are delivered. We are working hard to do that.”
In practice, the declaration included the following:
- Limited preview of DALLE-2 Image Creator on Azure and plans to integrate with designer apps
- Expands Microsoft’s Smart Data platform for developers with support from MongoDB and Yugabyte DB
- Extended application development support for Teams
- Application venues for hybrid remote office management
- Shared tabs within collaborative teams via Edge Workspaces
- Teams Premium will be released with live translation and other features in February of this year.
On the topic of computing hardware, according to the Surface Studio 2+ spec sheet, Microsoft was already planning to release the device last year, but it may have been held back by supply chain issues. The machine has an old quad-core Core i7 11370H processor and a 6GB Nvidia RTX 3060 mobile GPU. The device comes standard with 1TB of NVMe storage and 32GB of DDR4 memory. In fact, at the time of publication, this was the only configuration offered by Microsoft.
For Surface Studio fans, this is a nice upgrade over the 7th generation i7 and GTX 1060 powering the Surface Studio 2. Plus, the inclusion of a Thunderbolt port means it’s a feature Microsoft mysteriously avoided until recently. The 4.5 Grand in the device has upgrade paths for faster networking, storage, or an external GPU enclosure.
Speaking of Microsoft’s premium Surface products, one of the devices that didn’t get upgraded was the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio, which was shown at last fall’s Surface event. ®