Microsoft on Tuesday announced new additions to its Surface Pro and Surface Laptop lines of Copilot Plus PCs. Just like last year’s models that introduced the Copilot Plus PC concept, the new models are based on Qualcomm Snapdragon X series CPUs. But each is smaller, lighter and cheaper than the Surface Pro 11th Gen 13-inch and the Surface Laptop 7th Gen 13.8-inch models we reviewed last year. The new Surface Pro features a 12-inch display, and the new Surface Laptop is based on a 13-inch screen.
Microsoft Surface Pro 12-inch
The Surface Pro 12-inch has the familiar two-in-one detachable design but with a smaller display and kickstand keyboard. Inside, it supplies an 8-core Snapdragon X Plus CPU and 16GB of RAM. You can opt for a 256GB or 512GB SSD. The touch display features a resolution of 2,196 x 1,464-pixels and up to a 90Hz refresh rate. The included Slim Pen can be attached magnetically to the back of the tablet, a feature that was not available on the previous model for convenient storage and charging.
The Surface Pro 12-inch weighs 1.5 pounds, Microsoft says, half a pound lighter than last year’s 13-inch model. Microsoft estimates its battery life to provide up to 16 hours of video playback and up to 12 hours of active web browsing. Those runtimes are in line with what we saw on our tests with the Surface Pro 11th Gen, which featured a Snapdragon X Elite CPU and lasted a few minutes shy of 13 hours on our video playback battery drain test. The new Surface Pro 12-inch is available in three colors: slate, ocean and violet.
Microsoft Surface Laptop 13-inch
Joining the Surface Pro is a shrunken Surface Laptop with the same specs as the detachable tablet: an 8-core Snapdragon X Plus CPU, 16GB of RAM, and either a 256GB or 512GB SSD. The 13-inch touch display features a resolution of 1,920 x 1,280-pixels and a standard 60Hz refresh rate. Microsoft says the 13-inch Surface Laptop weighs 2.7 pounds, which is a bit lighter than the previous 13.8-inch model that weighed nearly 3 pounds. Microsoft says you can get up to 23 hours of video playback and up to 16 hours of active web browsing. We tested last year’s Surface Laptop 7th Gen, and it ran for nearly 20 hours on our video playback test. The new Surface Laptop 13-inch is available in three colors: ocean, violet and classic platinum.
Pricing and availability of models
The Surface Pro 12-inch starts at $799, and the Surface Laptop 13-inch starts at $899. You can preorder the models at Microsoft, Amazon or Best Buy. The new models will start shipping out on May 20. There is a longer wait time for the Surface for Business versions on the commercial market. Those models will be available on July 22.
