Microsoft has launched the Surface Pro X, a redesigned thin and light two-in-one Windows 10 PC running on custom ARM chips rather than traditional Intel processors, plus the Surface Pro 7 and Surface Laptop 3, and previewed a folding phone and dual-screen tablet.
According to the Guardian, the products were unveiled at an event in New York on Wednesday, where Microsoft sought to grab attention from rivals including Apple and Samsung.
The Surface Pro X is Microsoft’s next-generation mobile tablet-laptop hybrid. It fits a larger high-resolution 13 inches screen into the 12 inches frame of the existing Surface Pro, is only 5.3 millimetre thick at its thinnest point and weighs 762 grams. It retains the detachable Type Cover keyboard from Microsoft’s existing line, but introduces a new Surface Slim Pen stylus that fits between keyboard and tablet for charging and storage.
The biggest change is the use of the Microsoft SQ1 chip instead of Intel chips. The new custom ARM-based processor has an integrated AI engine and was developed with Qualcomm based on mobile device technology but running full Windows 10. Microsoft said the chip is three times more powerful per watt than the processor in the existing Surface Pro 6.
“What does that mean? Better battery life, faster, thinner, lighter with unprecedented performance, all while running the full power of Windows, Office, Edge and Chrome,” said Panos Panay, the chief product officer of Microsoft.
The new tablet PC also has always-connected 4G, similar to a smartphone, and promises battery life far in excess of traditional Intel computers.
The Surface Pro X will start at £999 in the United Kingdom and $999 in the United States, where it will ship in early November.
Alongside the new ARM-powered Surface, Microsoft also announced an updated version of its traditional Windows tablet, the Surface Pro 7.
It will use Intel’s 10th generation Core chips, making it more powerful than the outgoing Surface Pro 6. But the addition of USB-C connectivity to the tablet and a new fast-charging technology that will mean the battery can reach 80 per cent in under an hour, are the biggest changes.
The Surface Pro 7 will cost from $749 in the US and will ship on October 22. It will cost £799 in the UK.
Microsoft also unveiled updated traditional laptops with a refreshed 13.5 inches and brand new 15 inches Surface Laptop 3.
The 13.5 inches Surface Laptop 3 has a 20 per cent larger trackpad, comes in either aluminium or Microsoft’s fabric Alcantara finish, and has USB-C for the first time.
It also uses 10th-generation Intel Core chips, which Microsoft said are twice as fast as those found in the outgoing Surface Laptop 2 and three times more powerful than those found in Apple’s MacBook Air.
