Microsoft has revealed Intel-powered versions of the Surface Pro 11 and Surface Laptop 7, intended for businesses that aren’t quite ready for the new ARM era, or anyone else who would just prefer an x86 version. They will be available starting in February.
First up is the Surface Pro 11th Edition for Business. It’s similar to the consumer-focused Surface Pro that arrived last year, with a 13-inch 2880×1920 3:2 touch screen, a refresh rate of up to 120Hz, two USB-C ports with USB4/Thunderbolt 4 support, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, and a proprietary Surface Connect port. There’s also Windows 11 with Microsoft Pluton security, Windows Hello facial recognition, and a 1440p front-facing webcam.
The tablet supports up to 60W charging, either with the USB-C ports or the Surface Connect port. Microsoft will sell it with either an LCD or OLED screen. Notably, there’s no headphone jack. The Surface Pro can be used with one of several detachable keyboards, as well as the Surface Slim Pen 2nd Edition. It can be configured with 16-32 GB of RAM, and 256GB-1TB of SSD storage.
There’s also the new Surface Laptop 7th Edition for Business, which is again a lot like the consumer Surface Laptop released in 2024. It has a 120Hz refresh rate, Windows 11 with Microsoft Pluton security, a 1080p webcam, two USB-C/Thunderbolt 4 ports, one USB-A 3.2 connector, a 3.5mm headphone jack, a Surface Connect port, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, and a 1080p webcam.
Microsoft will sell the Surface Laptop in two sizes. One has a 13.8-inch 2304×1536 3:2 screen. The other one has a 15-inch 496×1664 3:2 screen, and adds a microSD card reader, bigger battery, and (in “select models and markets”) smart card reader. Microsoft will also release a 5G-enabled Surface Laptop “later in 2025.”
The main difference with these new Business PCs is that they use Intel x86 processors, instead of the ARM-based Qualcomm Snapdragon X chips in the regular Surface Pro and Surface Laptop. Both PCs will be sold with Intel Core Ultra 5 (236V or 238V) and Core Ultra 7 (266V or 268V) processors. Windows 11 on ARM is still a hit-or-miss experience, especially when it comes to software compatibility, so it’s not a surprise the business-focused models are sticking to the more predictable (but less power-efficient) Intel CPUs.
These are also official Copilot+ PCs with built-in NPUs, unlocking Windows features like real-time subtitles with translation, camera and microphone effects (like a webcam background blur), local AI image generation, eventually the Recall history feature. There are also dedicated Copilot keys on the keyboards.
Microsoft is building both machines with lots of repairable and replaceable components—presumably with the same improved hardware design and repair resources as the latest consumer Surface PCs. For example, the new Surface Pro has a serviceable display module, battery, motherboard, cameras, kickstand, enclosure, and other components. The RAM still isn’t upgradable, but you can swap the SSD.
The new Surface Laptop 7th Edition for Business and Surface Pro 11th Edition for Business will be available to purchase starting February 18th, 2024 from the company’s online store.
Source: Microsoft
