Today, Microsoft confirmed some long-standing rumors and unveiled two new compact Surface devices, its second batch of Qualcomm-powered Copilot+ PCs.
The devices include a more portable 13-inch Surface Laptop and a 12-inch Surface Pro, which are pared-down versions of Microsoft's flagship laptop and convertible. Both Surface devices feature an eight-core Snapdragon X Plus processor with an NPU rated at 45 trillion AI operations per second (TOPS), which supports the latest Copilot+ experiences.
The new Surface Laptop and Surface Pro will come with 16GB of RAM, 256GB or 512GB of UFS storage, and three finishes: Ocean, Violet, and Platinum. They're set for release on Tuesday, May 20 starting at $899.99 and $799.99, respectively. Preorders are now available from the Microsoft Store and Best Buy.
The new 13-inch Surface Laptop: No more 'Go'?
Measuring in at 11.25 x 8.43 x 0.61 inches and 2.7 pounds, the new 13-inch Surface Laptop is the "thinnest and lightest Surface Laptop yet," according to a company blog post. It joins the Surface Laptop 7th Edition, Mashable's current favorite Windows laptop, which debuted in June 2024 in two sizes: 13.8 inches and 15 inches.
Compared to last year's model, the new Surface Laptop has a downgraded 60Hz touchscreen display with a lower resolution and contrast ratio. It's also a tad less powerful, as the existing Surface Laptop 7 is configurable with 10-core Snapdragon X Plus and 12-core Snapdragon X Elite CPUs with up to 64GB of RAM. It should still be plenty peppy, though: Microsoft's announcement claims it "outpaces the MacBook Air M3," Apple's previous-generation notebook.
The 13-inch Surface Laptop might have one leg up over the flagship model in the stamina department. It's rated at 23 hours of local video playback per charge, whereas the Surface Laptop 7 is rated at 20 hours. That said, the latter lasted nearly 23 hours in Mashable's hands-on testing, so they could be equals in practice.
At $899.99, the new Surface Laptop is $100 cheaper than the entry-level Surface Laptop 7, and even cheaper than Apple MacBook Air laptops.
The launch of the 13-inch Surface Laptop seems to mark the end of Microsoft's Surface Laptop Go line of budget portable laptops, which was last updated in 2023 (we've reached out to a company rep to confirm this). It's also a sign that the tech giant is committed to Windows on ARM over x86-based processors (for its consumer-oriented products, at least). The most recent Surface Laptop Go 3, a 12.4-incher, was powered by a 12th-gen Intel Core CPU.
The new 12-inch Surface Pro: A tinier hybrid
The 12-inch Surface Pro measures 10.8 x 7.47 x 0.3 inches and weighs in at only 1.5 pounds, making it "the thinnest and lightest Copilot+ PC yet" across all brands, per Microsoft's announcement. That was a title previously held by the Asus ZenBook A14.
A hybrid device with a built-in adjustable kickstand, the new Surface Pro is a smaller alternative to last year's 13-inch Surface Pro 11th Edition, which came in two different configurations: a 10-core Snapdragon X Plus variant with a LCD touchscreen display, and a 12-core Snapdragon X Elite model with an OLED touchscreen display, both with up to 64GB of memory. Its own touchscreen has a worse refresh rate, resolution, and contrast ratio than both of the flagship options, but a better rated battery life of 16 hours of local video playback per charge (compared to 14 on WiFi-only models and nine with those sporting cellular connectivity). As with the new Surface Laptop, we'll see how that translates to real-world usage.
A new Surface Pro 12-inch Keyboard will turn the Surface Pro into a laptop, while Microsoft's Surface Slim Pen will allow the user to draw or take notes on its display. (It can magnetically attach to the back of the new Surface Pro for safekeeping.) Both accessories are sold separately.
The new Surface Pro will start at $799.99, making it $200 cheaper than the base Surface Pro 11.
New Windows Copilot+ experiences
Microsoft introduced several new and updated Copilot+ experiences alongside its new Surface devices Tuesday, including a dynamic lighting feature in Microsoft Photos, a custom sticker generator in Paint, image description-reading capabilities for Narrator, and more Click to Do actions. They'll roll out to members of its Windows Insiders feature preview program over the course of the next month.
Copilot+ PC users will also soon have the option to enable an AI agent that can automate and execute tasks within their Settings menu. Users will be able to describe what they need help with in plain English, such as "my mouse pointer is too small," and the AI agent will take care of it.
Head over to the Microsoft Blog to check out the full list of new Copilot features.
