Microsoft reveals new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop with big graphics upgrades from Snapdragon X2 CPUs — but they're seriously pricey | Tech Radar
Overview
News, deals, reviews, guides and more on the newest computing gadgets
Start exploring exclusive deals, expert advice and more
Details
Unlock and manage exclusive Techradar member rewards.
Unlock instant access to exclusive member features.
Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards.
Microsoft reveals new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop with big graphics upgrades from Snapdragon X2 CPUs — but they're seriously pricey
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.
Microsoft has launched new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop devices
The OLED screen is back for the Surface Pro, but prices are steep, even at the entry-level
Microsoft has revealed new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop devices powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon X2 processor.
There's a new Surface Pro 13-inch, alongside fresh Surface Laptop 13.8-inch and 15-inch models, all of which pack the Arm-based Snapdragon X2, with a choice of the X2 Plus (10-core) and X2 Elite (12-core) CPUs.
These consumer devices follow the launch of versions of the Surface Pro and Surface Laptop targeted at businesses which were unveiled a month ago.
The new Surface Laptop offers what Microsoft claims is up to 58% faster graphics performance than the previous generation of its notebook.
The company also tells us to expect up to 20 hours of battery life with the more compact 13.8-inch model, and up to 19 hours with the 15-inch laptop (with local video playback).
Microsoft unveils new Surface for Business laptops and Surface Pro for Business 2 in 1 device
Microsoft's next-gen Surface devices don't sound exciting going by rumors
Rumor: Microsoft's next Surface devices could be very pricey — and delayed
The Surface Laptop is available from today in platinum, black, and dune colorways, with the 13.8-inch offering a new color: jade. The device starts at
Pricing elsewhere is yet to be announced — although outside of the US, it's worth noting that the entry-level storage will start at 256GB for the 13.8-inch device.
As for the Surface Pro 13-inch, it's a very similar bump in graphics performance courtesy of the Snapdragon X2 processor, with a claimed 53% leap over its predecessor. You get up to 15.5 hours of battery life here based on Microsoft's internal testing (again for local video playback).
The new Surface Pro 13-inch is available from now in platinum, black, and dune colors, with this hybrid starting at
Other than the major move in upgrading the Snapdragon chips, there's one other notable change to the core specs here, namely that Microsoft has brought back an OLED option for the Surface Pro (so you can choose that as an option, or the basic LCD screen).
I've been working on Microsoft's 13-inch Surface Pro 12th Gen for Business running Intel Core Ultra Series 3, and am surprised by its speed and battery life, but oh that fan
RAM crisis strikes again — Microsoft Surface laptops just leapt in price
Watch out, Apple — Nvidia just unveiled its RTX Spark Arm 'superchip' to take on the M5 at Computex 2026
The OLED gives you vivid colors and deep blacks, as you'd expect, and a better level of HDR peak luminance, boasting 900 nits of brightness versus 600 nits for the LCD.
While the upgrades to the Snapdragon X2 chips are very welcome in terms of the additional performance for these Surface machines, the price tags are eye-watering — certainly if you compare them to the previous generation of these respective devices. If you recall, the previous Surface Laptop 13-inch started at not far off half the price tag we see here (
However, we knew this was coming because not so long ago, Microsoft announced some big price increases across the whole Surface range (and rumors insisted these would be applied to these new consumer offerings, which only made sense).
So, there's no surprise in seeing such major increases, but they remain disappointingly hefty compared to the hikes seen elsewhere from other laptop makers.
The Surface Laptop starting at $1,599 isn't easy to stomach, frankly, although at least you're getting 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage for that money (as opposed to 256GB, although there will be an international version of the laptop that does drop to this level of SSD capacity).
The Surface Pro 13-inch kicking off at $1,499 with 256GB of storage is a real wallet worrier, too. There is, however, a sweetener of sorts for the remainder of June in the US, whereby buyers get a free Surface Pro 13-inch Keyboard bundled by Microsoft (or there's a free Surface Arc Mouse with the new Surface Laptops).
While these Microsoft devices have generally been very well-received over the past few years, that wasn't quite so much the case for Tech Radar when we reviewed both new models last year — and with these prices hikes, the Surface is starting to look a dubious value proposition I'm afraid. Especially in light of Apple launching the Mac Book Neo with a surprisingly affordable price tag in this RAM-starved climate.
Follow Tech Radar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.
➡️ Read our full guide to the best laptops
- Best overall: Apple Mac Book Air 13-inch M5
- Best budget: Apple Mac Book Neo
- Best Windows 11 laptop Microsoft Surface Laptop 13-inch
- Best thin and light: Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i
- Best Ultrabook Asus Zenbook S 16
Darren is a freelancer writing news and features for Tech Radar (and occasionally T3) across a broad range of computing topics including CPUs, GPUs, various other hardware, VPNs, antivirus and more. He has written about tech for the best part of three decades, and writes books in his spare time (his debut novel - 'I Know What You Did Last Supper' - was published by Hachette UK in 2013).
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
1HPE will let VMware users get a free year's license via its own tools
2'The whole Gemini migration has been a dumpster fire': Gemini calls are broken on Android Auto and users are switching back to Google Assistant
3I watched a 90-minute AI movie made in just two weeks — and Hollywood can stop worrying, for now
4 How will the UK's social media ban actually work? Here's the full list of affected apps — and 5 things you need to know
5'Survivor is absolutely Lara's past, but she is not beholden to that now' — Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis director says Lara Croft is in 'her prime' in the reimagined entry and the Survivor trilogy 'helped shape who she is'
Tech Radar is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.
© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.
Key Takeaways
- News, deals, reviews, guides and more on the newest computing gadgets
- Start exploring exclusive deals, expert advice and more
- Unlock and manage exclusive Techradar member rewards
- Unlock instant access to exclusive member features
- Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards
