New Microsoft Surface Laptop Lineup Focuses On AI, Offers Both Intel & Snapdragon Versions
New Microsoft Surface Laptop Lineup Focuses On AI, Offers Both Intel & Snapdragon Versions
2024 is going to be a big year for laptops, and given that it was Microsoft (along with OpenAI’s ChatGPT) who kickstarted it into the mainstream – naturally, the company’s own Surface lineup of laptops is going to receive its share of AI makeover.
According to Windows Central’s sources, the next-gen Surface laptops, in the form of Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6, will come with a next-gen NPU (neural processing unit) and will be available in either Intel or Arm-based (Qualcomm Snapdragon) options. The latter will be powered by Qualcomm’s all-new Snapdragon X Elite chips (custom for Microsoft), touted to match the performance of Apple’s M-series SoCs.
Microsoft is referring to these new Snapdragon Surface laptops as “CADMUS” internally, although it’s unclear what it exactly stands for. In any case, the laptop will be designed around the next version of Windows – believed to be launched in June 2024 – with many of the AI features available to make use of the chip’s newfound AI capabilities. Of course, matching the Apple Silicon means it’ll compete on both performance and battery fronts, something that the Windows world currently has no like-for-like answer for, and Microsoft desperately needs one.
As for the Intel version of the chip, the outlet noted that it’ll stick to the yet-to-be-officially-announced 14th Gen mobile chips. Surprisingly, Chipzilla’s recently unveiled Core Ultra processors seemingly didn’t make the cut here, so it’s very unlikely for anyone to be picking the Intel variant over the Snapdragon variant, short for ISA compatibility reasons.
In terms of the laptops themselves, the Surface Pro 10 will reportedly come with a brighter display, with rounded corners (which seems to be an industry-wide trend at this point), and two resolution options to choose from. It’ll support a new Type Cover that features a dedicated button to access Windows Copilot – something that we might see in other laptop makers’ designs.
As for the Surface Laptop 6, it’ll also come with a rounded display and offers two sizing options as usual – with the smaller one now enlarged to 13.8-inch, while the 15-inch remains the same. Ports include two USB-C, a single USB-A, and the proprietary Surface Connect charging port. It’ll get a haptic touchpad, and like the Surface Pro 10, it’ll also come with a dedicated Copilot button on the keyboard.
Beyond that, Windows Central says Microsoft will be working on a major redesign that targets its release window in late 2025. Still very far from now – but word goes that the company is contemplating the idea of an even smaller, 11-inch Surface Pro to ride alongside the 13-inch variant. A new Surface Laptop Studio model is also targeted for late 2025 release, and it’s likely to also come with both Intel and Arm variants.
Pokdepinion: Here’s a wild idea – would Microsoft eventually replace the Windows button with Copilot button instead?
