Overview
- Microsoft launched the consumer Surface Laptop 8 and Surface Pro 12 with Snapdragon X2 processors and new options for memory and storage.
- The company claims up to about 58 percent faster graphics on the Laptop and about 53 percent on the Pro plus an 80 TOPS Hexagon NPU for on-device AI workloads.
- The consumer models went on sale Tuesday, June 16, with starting prices of $1,599 for the Laptop 8 and $1,499 for the Pro 12 and business Snapdragon and Intel variants scheduled to ship on July 14.
- New hardware details include a 24GB RAM tier, up to 64GB LPDDR5x, removable PCIe Gen4 SSDs, a haptic trackpad and pen haptics, and a return of an optional OLED on the Pro.
- Microsoft ties higher base prices to rising component and memory costs and is offering limited-time incentives through June 30 such as free accessories and elevated trade-in credits to encourage upgrades.