During its Surface 2021 event, Microsoft has unveiled new hardware including an all-new Surface Laptop Studio, Surface Pro 8, the much-improved Surface Duo 2, new Surface Go 3, Wi-Fi only Surface Pro X, and new accessories ahead of its Windows 11 launch. Let’s talk about each one in detail.
Surface Pro 8
Making its biggest upgrade to its Intel-powered Surface Pro lineup, Microsoft has announced the all-new Surface Pro 8 with a larger display, smaller bezels, and much more.
Surface Pro 8 features a 13-inch PixelSense Flow Display which is 12.5 percent brighter than previous models and also supports Dolby Vision and Adaptive Color Technology. Pro 8’s display runs at 60Hz by default but will jump up to 120Hz dynamically for touch or stylus tasks.
Due to the bigger display, Microsoft has reduced the bezels on the sides of the Surface Pro 8, which makes it look somewhat similar to the Surface Pro X. Coming to the next upgrade, the separate Surface Pro Signature Keyboard now has a garage for the new Surface Slim Pen 2 (powered by Microsoft G6 processor and is priced at $130), which has a built-in haptic motor and a finer tip for extra precision. The stylus charges in the keyboard base which is also similar to Pro X.
And finally, after so many years Surface Pro 8 now comes with two USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports (which you can use to connect to multiple 4K displays, or even connect up to an external GPU) and the usual Surface Connect port for charging.
Under the hood, Pro 8 can be powered by up to 11th Gen quad-core Intel Core i5 and Core i7 processors, with a minimum of 8 GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, and a maximum of 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. It also comes in LTE variants, sporting a Snapdragon X20 modem but you can only get up to 256GB of storage, though.
Pro 8 comes with an ultimate trial of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for one month and is the most significant update of Microsoft with a battery lasting up to 16 hours.
Microsoft Surface Pro 8 will ship on October 5th and is starting from $1,099.99 with pre-orders now open.
Surface Go 3
Next in the line is Surface Go 3 which looks identical to the Surface Go 2 and also has the same 10.5-inch 1920 x 1280 display, cameras, speakers, ports, and even the same dimensions.
However, Go 3 comes with the new Intel processors – Intel Pentium Gold 6500Y or Core i3-10100Y and can be coupled with either 4GB or 8GB of RAM, plus 64GB eMMC or 128GB SSD storage. According to Microsoft, it is 60 percent faster than its predecessor. ou can get.
This device has Windows 11 and also has Windows Hello facial recognition. Though the stylus is not included but Go 3 supports Microsoft Pen Protocol. The claim is about a full-day battery (LTE version only).
Microsoft Surface Go 3 starts at $399.99 and is now available for preorder on the Microsoft Store. LTE models are on their way “in the coming months.”
Surface Pro X
The hardware is not upgraded that much but you can configure the chip on the basis of the SQ1 chip or the SQ2 chip with up to 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage. New Pro X has a 13-inch PixelSense display with a resolution of 2880 x 1920, and also supports the Surface Slim Pen (the original one also).
Pre-orders are now live for Surface Pro X priced at $899 with a full launch on October 5th. Also, it now has Wi-Fi only a variant, for those that don’t need LTE.
Surface Laptop Studio
At its surface 2021 event, Microsoft revealed the all-new Surface Laptop Studio which is the successor of the Surface Book and the company’s first new form factor in years.
Surface Laptop Studio features a 14.4-inch PixelSense Flow display (2400 x 1600) that supports up to 120Hz (60Hz default) and Dolby Vision. It leverages a new flexible Dynamic Woven Hinge, which allows this laptop to transition between three modes: laptop, stage, and studio.
- The laptop mode arranges the display just like a regular laptop, with a full keyboard and a new touchpad with haptics.
- The stage mode is designed for gaming, streaming, or presenting. This will cover the keyboard, and the angle is more suited toward watching Netflix or playing games.
- The studio mode is designed for writing, sketching, and anything else creative.
The new design also makes space for the new Surface Slim Pen 2 underneath the keyboard deck, where it sticks and charges magnetically.
Now talking about performance, Surface Laptop Studio is powered by Intel Core H35-series processors (35W) i.e. quad-core 11th Gen Core i5, which ship with Intel Iris Xe graphics, or Core i7 processors which ships with Nvidia’s RTX 3050 Ti GPU (NVIDIA RTX A2000 GPU for commercial) with 4GB of VRAM.
Additionally, Laptop Studio comes with two Thunderbolt 4 ports, a Surface Connect port, and of course, there’s a 3.5mm headphone jack. This laptop will have options between 16GB and 32GB of RAM, and up to 2TB of removable SSD storage.
Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio will ship on October 5th and is starting at $1,599.99 with pre-orders now live.
Surface Duo 2
Next up is Microsoft’s second attempt at an Android-powered folding phone i.e. new Surface Duo 2 with the same design as the first-generation model. However this time it features a legit camera, supports 5G, Surface Slim Pen 2, and has bigger screens too. Surface Duo 2 will be available starting on October 21st for $1,499.99 in the U.S., Australia, Canada, Germany, France, and the UK. Pre-orders are now live.
Here is the full specs sheet of Surface Duo 2;
| Surface Duo 2 specifications | |
| Display | Dual PixelSense Fusion displays: 8.3-inch AMOLED, 2688 x 1892p 401 PPI HDR support 100% sRGB, DCI-P3 90Hz adaptive refresh rate 800nits peak brightness Protected with Corning Gorilla Glass Victus |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 |
| RAM & Storage | 8GB LPDDR5 + 128GB 8GB LPDDR5 + 256GB 8GB LPDDR5 + 512GB |
| Rear Camera(s) | Primary: 12MP f/1.7 with dual pixel PDAF, OIS Telephoto: 12MP f/2.4 with PDAF, OIS, 2x optical zoom Ultra-wide: 16MP f/2.2 with 110° FoV (distortion correction) |
| Front Camera | 12MP f/2.0 |
| Battery & Charging | 4,449mAh dual battery with 23W fast charging support Fast charger (sold separately) |
| Security | Fingerprint sensor with enterprise-grade security |
| Port(s) & Audio | USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C Stereo speakers |
| Software | Surface Duo 2 UI based on Android 11 |
| Connectivity | Dual-band Wi-Fi 6 Bluetooth 5.1, NFC 5G-NR NSA (mmWave) (the US only) 5G-NR NSA (Sub-6) Gigabit LTE, 4×4 MIMO |
| Colors | Glacier Obsidian |
| Price | $1,499.99 for 8GB+128GB configuration $1,599.99 for 8GB+256GB configuration $1,799.99 for 8GB+512GB configuration |
Microsoft Ocean Plastic Mouse
As the name suggests this mouse consists of 20 percent recycled ocean plastic, which is a large step towards sustainability as Microsoft will also recycle your old mouse. The mouse comes partnership in with SABIC and has Bluetooth 4.0 that has 33 feet range with Swift Pair connection. The mouse has will work for 12 months on a single AA battery.
Microsoft Ocean Plastic Mouse is priced at $25 and is now available to pre-order.
Surface Adaptive Kit
Lastly we have the kit that helps you find the specific keys, flip your PC, and locate ports. The kit comes from the Inclusive Tech Lab. Within the box, you will get, translucent keycap labels, a set of three-dimensional bump labels, and raised port indicators.
Microsft hasn’t detailed the pricing and release date for Surface Adaptive Kit.