It’s a great day to be a fan of Microsoft’s Surface PCs.
Microsoft just introduced two new devices — Surface Pro 12-inch and Surface Laptop 13-inch — to its Surface portfolio, and they’re aimed at being more affordable and portable than their full-size flagship counterparts.
These new PCs are equipped with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Plus 8-core chips, capable of up to 45 TOPS of AI power for immediate entry into the Copilot+ PC lineup.
Both of Microsoft’s new Surface PCs are available now for preorder, and I have one big question to ask our readers.
Have you ordered (or do you plan to order) a new Surface Pro 12-inch or Surface Laptop 13-inch?
Our comments section below is open and ready to hear your take on the new Surface PCs.
Beyond your buying decision, I’m curious to know what attracted you to the new Surface PCs. On the other hand, if you’re avoiding these PCs, be sure to let me know why.
I’ve laid out below some of the major differences between the new, smaller Surface devices and their flagship counterparts to help get the creative juices flowing.
The Surface Pro 12-inch starts at $799
The new Surface Pro 12-inch is now available for preorder, and I found a bunch of listings available at Best Buy.
All of the colors — Platinum, Violet, and Ocean — are available, and you can also pick up the new Surface Pro 12 keyboard for typing and a Slim Pen for inking.
- Surface Pro 12-inch, Platinum, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD: $799.99 at Best Buy
- Surface Pro 12-inch, Platinum, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD: $899.99 at Best Buy
- Surface Pro 12-inch, Violet, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD: $899.99 at Best Buy
- Surface Pro 12-inch, Ocean, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD: $899.99 at Best Buy
- Surface Pro 12 Keyboard: $149.99 at Best Buy
- Surface Pro 12 Keyboard with Slim Pen: $249.99 at Best Buy
So what’s different compared to the Surface Pro 11?
I wrote an in-depth comparison between the Surface Pro 12-inch and Surface Pro 11 with a deep dive on the differences, but I’ll summarize the major points here.
The Surface Pro 12-inch is, of course, smaller and lighter than the 13-inch Pro 11. It’s a fanless PC without venting, making for a clean, slab-like appearance more akin to a modern tablet.
Its smaller size translates to a smaller display with a lower resolution, lower pixel density, and lower refresh rate.
There’s now a magnetic pen cradle on the back of the tablet rather than in the keyboard, and the front-facing camera was downgraded to 1080p.
The Surface Pro 12-inch and its 8-core Snapdragon X SoC won’t outperform the Surface Pro 11, but it retains a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) powerful enough to run Copilot+ tools in Windows 11.
The storage in the Surface Pro 12-inch is UFS, which, in general, means it’s slower but more efficient than an SSD. It is upgradeable after purchase.
The Surface Pro 12-inch has dropped the Surface Connect port, instead relying on two USB-C 3.2 ports for charging, data, and video.
The Surface Laptop 13-inch starts at $899
The new Surface Laptop 13-inch is also now available for preorder, and links are live at Best Buy.
The Platinum model with 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage costs $899. For Violet or Ocean colors, you’ll have to go with the 16GB RAM and 512GB storage configs that cost $999.
What’s different compared to the Surface Laptop 7?
I put together an in-depth comparison of the Surface Laptop 13-inch and Surface Laptop 7, but I’ll summarize the differences here.
As with the Surface Pro 12-inch, the new Surface Laptop is smaller and lighter than its flagship counterparts.
It’s the right choice if you want to travel unburdened, but you won’t get as much power from the 8-core Snapdragon X Plus SoC inside as compared to the Surface Laptop 7’s hardware.
Nevertheless, it has an NPU with 45 TOPS of power for Copilot+ AI tools in Windows 11.
The screen is smaller and has a lower pixel density, plus it only hits a 60Hz refresh rate (compared to up to 120Hz in the Surface Laptop 7).
The smaller Surface lacks a haptic touchpad; there are no Surface Connect or USB4 ports, and its UFS storage is slower.
What do you have to say?
The new Surface Pro 12-inch and Surface Laptop 13-inch have some notable downgrades compared to their full-size siblings, but a lower price opens them up to many more users.
Do you plan on picking one up? Why or why not? Which model? What color? Let me know in the comments section below!
