Microsoft's latest Surface PCs are compact, lightweight, and missing Surface Connect

Summary

Microsoft has announced two new Windows 11 PCs: the Surface Pro, 12-inch and the Surface Laptop, 13-inch.
Both devices are powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus chip, and both focus on delivering a thin-and-light hardware package.
With these new computers, Microsoft has made some curious hardware design decisions.

After several weeks

of rumors and speculation
, Microsoft has officially unveiled two new additions to its Surface PC hardware portfolio. The company refers to these

Windows 11
devices as the Surface Pro, 12-inch and the Surface Laptop, 13-inch, and, as anticipated, they serve as compact variants of the existing Surface Pro 11th Edition and Surface Laptop 7th Edition.

“Today, we are proud to introduce two new Surface Copilot+ PCs, powered by Snapdragon X Plus processors, that deliver great experiences for great value. You now have more options to choose the right Surface Copilot+ PC to fit your needs,” writes Microsoft in a press release.

Both devices are powered by the ARM-based

Qualcomm Snapdragon X
Plus chipset, and both are supplemented by 16GB of RAM and either 256GB or 512GB of internal storage. Microsoft’s choice of processor is an important factor here — its power-efficient ARM architecture is an ideal choice for use in a space-constrained chassis, and its 45 trillion operations per second (TOPS) neural processing unit (NPU) unlocks a range of artificial intelligence features.

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Notably, these new Surface PCs both lack Microsoft’s proprietary magnetic charging port known as Surface Connect.

This was rumored to be the case
ahead of time, but now it’s official: Microsoft’s new Suface devices rely on USB-C for topping up on battery life. While both units ship with a USB-C cable, the Surface Pro, the 12-inch comes without an AC adapter in the box.

Both the Surface Pro 12-inch and the Surface Laptop 13-inch are available now for pre-order in the US and in other “select markets,” with a full release slated for May 20. The Pro is listed at a starting price of $800 (the dedicated keyboard and pen accessories are still, unfortunately, sold separately), while the Laptop starts at $900. Both devices are available in platinum, ocean, and violet colorways.

Additionally, bespoke ‘Surface for Business Copilot+ PC’ variants of Microsoft’s new computers will be made available starting July 22. Unlike the standard consumer-facing versions, the for Business versions ship with the Pro edition of Windows 11, anti-reflective display panels, and, in the case of the 12-inch Surface Pro, a dedicated NFC Reader.

Microsoft Surface Pro, 12-inch

The Microsoft Surface Pro, 12-inch is a compact 2-in-1 Windows 11 PC that ships with a Snapdragon X Plus chipset, 16GB of RAM, a 90Hz refresh rate, and support for Copilot+ AI features.
Microsoft Surface Laptop, 13-inch

The Microsoft Surface Laptop, 13-inch is a compact Windows 11 PC that ships with a Snapdragon X Plus chipset, 16GB of RAM, a removable storage drive, and support for Copilot+ AI features.

Microsoft is all-in on Surface thinness

The company’s new Surface computers are skinny and light by Windows 11 PC standards

Microsoft Surface Pro, 12-inch and Surface Laptop, 13-inch hero image

Pocket-lint / Microsoft

Strange naming conventions aside,

Microsoft’s
new Surface devices offer solid hardware in a thinner and lighter format than what we’re used to seeing from the company. Owing to its 12-inch display panel, the new Surface Pro measures in at 10.8 x 7.47 x 0.30-inches (274 x 190 x 7.8mm), and weighs in at 1.6 lbs (686g) without attached accessories. The new 13-inch Surface Laptop, meanwhile, measures 11.25 x 8.43 x 0.61-inches (285.65 x 214.14 x 15.6mm) and tips the scales at 2.7 lbs (1.22kg).

Across both new PCs, the core Surface hardware DNA is present and accounted for — the Pro offers a familiar 2-in-1 tablet form factor with a built-in kickstand, while the Laptop is a classic clamshell notebook with a multi-touch-enabled display. The former can be magnetically attached to an optional 12-inch Keyboard accessory, and is compatible with the company’s existing Surface Slim Pen 2 stylus.

…Microsoft hasn’t quite delivered 1-to-1 feature parity between these new Surface PCs and their physically larger older siblings.

Unfortunately, and despite my hopes, Microsoft hasn’t quite delivered 1-to-1 feature parity between these new Surface PCs and their physically larger older siblings. The 12-inch Surface Pro isn’t available in an OLED screen configuration, and its LCD panel maxes out at 90Hz. The 13-inch Surface Laptop only refreshes at up to 60Hz, and it lacks a Precision Haptic touchpad.

By contrast, the Surface Pro 11th Edition and Surface Laptop 7th Edition refresh at up to 120Hz, and both feature brighter and higher-resolution screens, as well as faster SSD-based storage. The various hardware concessions made on these newest Surface PCs are likely necessary to achieve a sub-$1,000 price point, which is understandable, but I’m still slightly disappointed.

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Microsoft’s new PCs offer a glimpse into the future of Surface

The company has made some interesting hardware decisions when it comes to its new Surfaces

Pocket-lint / Microsoft

For the most part, the new Surface Laptop, 13-inch is a reasonably standard notebook PC. Aside from having softer chassis corners than its larger Surface Laptop counterpart, the one thing that stands out to me is Microsoft’s decision to outfit the product with a capacitive fingerprint sensor in lieu of a dedicated

face-unlock setup
.

Over on the Surface Pro, 12-inch side of things, the hardware situation is quite a bit more interesting. The slate’s corners have been rounded off, and the rear-facing camera is offset instead of centered. The front display panel features uniform and slightly rounded bezels, which is a first for a Surface tablet.

These aesthetic cues and setup tweaks, along with the lack of a Surface Connect charging port, buck the traditional design language of Surface Pro.

The Pro, 12-inch’s dedicated keyboard accessory doesn’t prop up or magnetize onto the tab’s bottom bezel, instead lying entirely flat when in use. It also doesn’t house the Surface Slim Pen 2’s inductive charging station — the stylus now charges by magnetically adhering to the Surface’s rear casing.

These aesthetic cues and setup tweaks, along with the conspicuous lack of a Surface Connect charging port, buck the traditional design language of Surface Pro in a major way. The result is something that, in my eyes, resembles

Apple’s iPad line
to a greater degree than previous Surface tablets. Whether this is a positive or a negative development is subjective, but it certainly gives us an idea of what to expect when the next-generation Surface Pro 12 eventually materializes.

Personally, I’m just excited that we’re finally getting a more compact 12-inch Surface Pro tablet.

In any case, I’m just excited that we’re finally getting a more compact 12-inch Surface Pro tablet, with uniform bezels to boot. I’ve been on the hunt for a Windows-based

11-inch iPad Pro
competitor for years now, and Microsoft appears to finally be delivering the goods. On the other hand, I’m less bullish on the new Surface Laptop — at 13-inches, I’m unsure whether enough miniaturization has taken place to drive interest in the new notebook when compared to the existing 13.8-inch model.