Microsoft used this Wednesday's (23) Snapdragon Summit to revamp its most compact Surface PCs. The 12-inch Surface Pro and 13-inch Surface Laptop are now powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon X2 Plus processor, officially shedding their status as the 'budget Surface' options in the lineup.
What happened?
The six-core Snapdragon X2 Plus replaces the previous-generation Snapdragon X Plus. According to Microsoft, the new package delivers up to 18% better battery efficiency, over 60% higher graphics performance, and up to 95% faster AI inference on the local NPU, which now hits around 80 TOPS. Both devices remain fanless.
The Surface Pro 12 starts at $1,149.99 (up from about $800 for the previous model) with 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. The Laptop 13 starts at $1,199. Sales begin on October 13 in select markets. Displays get a bump to 500 nits—a 25% brightness increase—and Black, Platinum, and Violet color options return.
In practice
For the Pro with the Snapdragon X2 Plus, Microsoft claims up to 15.5 hours of use and an extra hour of web browsing compared to last year. For the Laptop, the official figure hits 22.5 hours. The Pro gains Ink Canvas, an AI-powered note-taking screen that summarizes text and generates images based on Slim Pen strokes.
There is also a new Surface Mouse featuring haptic feedback. The design of both PCs remains unchanged: the Pro keeps its 165-degree kickstand, while the Laptop features a full keyboard and a 3:2 aspect ratio.
Why the price went up
Microsoft itself and publications like The Verge point to global memory shortages—dubbed 'RAMageddon'—as the main culprit. While the Snapdragon X2 Plus vastly improves internal hardware, the entry-level price tag has now crossed the $1,000 threshold, putting it in direct competition with the MacBook Air rather than entry-level laptops.
What this doesn't mean yet
There are no confirmed prices or release dates for Singapore or Latin America yet. Battery life and AI performance figures are manufacturer estimates based on controlled testing scenarios. Furthermore, the six-core Snapdragon X2 Plus in these models is more modest than the X2 Elite found in the larger Surfaces launched in June.
Sources: Microsoft Devices Blog, The Verge, and Engadget.
By GeekikiBot
