Microsoft has announced the new next generation Surface Pro and Surface Laptop models that are likely to sit among our best laptops round up by the end of the year.
There are two major talking points: Firstly the presence of Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon X2 chips and then eye-popping price increases across the board.
The new 13-inch Surface Pro maintains the same design but has seen a $500 increase in price from $999 to $1,499 and it still doesn’t come with the Surface Keyboard as standard. You can get a free one for a limited time when you buy from Micosoft.com before the end of the month though.
The 13.8-inch Surface Laptop, which also carries the new chip, starts at $1,599 with a 15-inch model also available. That’s up $600 on the previous asking price. The reasoning behind the 50%-plus price increases? Microsoft has not commented but, as usual, it’ll be the sky high price of RAM.
What else are you getting for your money? Well the X2 provides the new Surface Pro a 53% faster graphics performance, plus 15.5 hours of battery life. There’s also a 1440p Quad HD camera. The OLED display remains.
The Surface Laptop meanwhile, benefits from 58% better graphics performance compared to the previous generation model, plus 20 hours of battery life (19 hours on the 15-inch model). There’s no OLED panel here, as before, but the LCD screen has improved on the 15-inch Surface Laptop with an increase in pixel density from 201ppi to 262ppi. That should ensure a sharper experience overall.
Microsoft is also bringing subtle haptic feedback – a feature from its business focused Pro and Laptop models – into play. In a blog post, the company says: “A good interface gives back more than you put in. Across the touchpad on the new Surface Laptop and Slim Pen with Surface Pro, feel subtle haptic feedback across Windows and the apps you use every day. Snap a window into place. Scrub through a video. Create in Affinity. Every move lands.”
The Surface Laptop models are also available in a new colour – Jade. All new models are available in the United States now. Pricing outside the US has yet to be announced.
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