Microsoft’s New Surface Laptop and Surface Pro Get Faster—and Way More Expensive

Microsoft has announced immoderate long-awaited updates to its Surface Laptop and Surface Pro devices, some of which are being refreshed with the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 chips. The institution hasn’t fixed circumstantial names to this caller procreation of devices, but this is technically the eighth-generation Surface Laptop and 12th-generation Surface Pro.

These caller Qualcomm chips person been dilatory rolling retired connected assorted Windows laptops passim this archetypal fractional of the year. Microsoft says the caller chips supply “up to 53 percent faster graphic show than the erstwhile generation,” arsenic good arsenic 15.5 hours of artillery life.

While these chips are surely awesome successful the investigating I’ve done (whether that’s the Snapdragon X2 Elite oregon Snapdragon X2 Plus), the existent communicative present is the accompanying terms hike.

The caller Surface Laptop starts astatine $1,599, a $600 summation implicit the $999 starting terms of the erstwhile generation, which was known arsenic the Surface Laptop 7th Edition erstwhile it launched successful 2024. That archetypal $999 terms was past officially accrued a mates of months ago, bringing it up to $1,499. That summation was shocking capable astatine the time, but the caller terms feels adjacent worse, arsenic the caller Surface Laptop is not lone much costly but comes with conscionable 256 GB of storage—half arsenic overmuch arsenic the erstwhile generation. Microsoft discontinued the 256-GB mentation of the Surface Laptop precocious past year, but seemingly present it’s back.

All the models bash inactive travel with 16 GB of RAM. But with the caller Dell XPS 13 returning to 8 GB arsenic a starting configuration, I wouldn’t beryllium amazed if Microsoft follows suit connected its budget-tier Surface Laptop aboriginal this year.

The Surface Pro’s caller pricing is conscionable arsenic hard to swallow. That instrumentality besides started astatine $999 past year, past went up to $1,199 successful aboriginal 2026 erstwhile Microsoft chopped the 256-GB model. The caller starting configuration costs $1,499 portion the retention has dropped backmost down to 256 GB. And of course, that doesn’t see the terms of the detachable keyboard.

Microsoft isn’t alone. Other Windows laptops sporting the latest silicon from Intel oregon Qualcomm person been priced rather high, portion previous-generation laptops person stuck astir successful retail channels. The prices supply a snapshot of however beardown of an effect the constituent proviso shortage continues to person connected the PC industry, wherever RAM and retention prices stay dramatically inflated.

Many of my favourite things astir the Surface Laptop are inactive successful place, whether that’s the taller 3:2 facet ratio show signifier oregon the ultimate detachable keyboard. But the lone different changes successful this year’s Surface devices are immoderate caller colors. There’s a caller greenish colour enactment called Jade for the 13.8-inch Surface Laptop, portion the Surface Pro present comes successful a goldish Dune color.

The caller Surface Laptop and Surface Pro are some disposable starting today.

These caller Surface devices are the follow-up to Microsoft’s flashier announcement earlier this month, the Surface Laptop Ultra. That 1 is based connected the anticipated Nvidia RTX Spark chip, which is coming retired aboriginal this twelvemonth and volition service arsenic the company's due MacBook Pro alternative.