Microsoft reveals new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop devices

Date:
Wed, 23 Sep 2026 20:30:00 +0000

Description:
The Microsoft vs Apple fight just got interesting again thanks to new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop reveals.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Microsoft has revealed a new Surface Pro 12-inch tablet and Surface Laptop 13-inch Both consumer devices are built around a 6-core Snapdragon X2 Plus processor They go on sale on October 13, 2026, starting at $1,149.99 for the Surface Pro and $1,199 for
the Surface Laptop It seems like Microsoft might be getting its mojo back for its Surface line-up of products, with Brett Ostrum, Corporate Vice President, Surface Devices, announcing at Qualcomms Snapdragon Summit that the company will be releasing a new Surface Pro 12-inch tablet and Surface Laptop
13-inch. Both will be powered by Qualcomms Snapdragon X2 Plus chips, which explains the venue choice. (Im sure it had nothing to do with the fact that the Snapdragon Summit is held in Hawaii).

According to Microsoft, the two new Surface devices with Snapdragon X2 Plus CPUs will be up to 17% faster for Office workloads, up to 18% more battery efficient, and offer over 60% faster graphics performance. As these are Microsoft products, there is also the now-customary boasting about AI performance, with the Qualcomm Hexagon NPU offering 80 TOPS (Trillion Operations Per Second) resulting in a claimed 95% faster local AI
performance. Latest Videos From TechRadar Watch full video here:

The Surface Pro 12-inch (2026) is a Windows 11 tablet built around the 6-core Snapdragon X2 Plus processor, partnered with either 16GB or 24GB of LPDDR5x RAM, and 256GB or 512GB storage. The 12-inch LCD display has a resolution of 2196 x 1464 and a refresh rate of up to 90Hz. The screen of this new model
is, according to Microsoft, 25% brighter than the previous model, and theres
a new black color. Microsoft estimates around 15.5 hours of local video playback and 13 hours of web use on a single charge. Itll start at $1,149.99 (around 900 / AU$1,650) and goes on sale on October 13, 2026.

The Surface Laptop 13-inch (2026) features the same 6-core Snapdragon X2 Plus chip and is available in the same memory and storage configurations as the Surface Pro. The 13-inch touchscreen has a resolution of 1920 x 1280 and a refresh rate of 60Hz, which Im not going to lie, is a bit disappointing in a laptop these days, although Microsoft claims the 500-nit display is 25% brighter than the last model. You may like Microsoft fires shots at MacBook Neo, but that battle is an uphill struggle The Surface Laptop for Business might be the most effective work device Microsoft has ever produced Nvidia
RTX Spark-powered laptops launch in October, and won't throttle performance
on battery

It also has two USB-C (USB 3.2) ports and a USB-A port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4. Microsoft claims up to 22.5 hours of battery life, which if accurate is very impressive.

The Surface Laptop will start at $1,199 (around 920 / AU$1,700) and will also go on sale on October 13, 2026. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Ready to take on the MacBook Air? Microsofts announcement of two new consumer Surface devices is definitely welcome. Surface Pro tablets and Surface Laptops used to be Microsofts flagship products and showcases for cutting-edge Windows features. They certainly felt like Microsofts attempts
to create a MacBook Air. The problem is, they never reached that potential, and when Apple switched to using its own Arm-based M series chips in 2020 , the gap widened even further.

Surface devices also had a larger than life cheerleader in the form of Panos Panay, who had a major role at Microsoft and whose passion for the Surface line-up, that he helped create, was infectious (even if that infection didnt translate into sales). After Panay left Microsoft for Amazon , it felt like the wind had been taken out of Surfaces sails, which wasnt helped when Microsoft aimed recent Surface devices at commercial and business users, rather than mainstream consumers.

So, its good to see that these new Surface devices are firmly pitched at consumers, and the price points are around the same as the MacBook Air since Apple increased prices earlier this year. It also pits them against new Googlebooks , which are going on sale soon as well, and are priced similarly. What to read next Ive reviewed hundreds of laptops these are the best ones from 2026 so far I'm not sad Microsoft has axed the Surface Go and Surface Laptop Go - here's why Rethinking the laptop is a big undertaking why Googlebooks are so much more than overpriced Chromebooks, and why Apple
should be worried

Will this mean Microsoft finally has a MacBook Air rival? While Im glad its trying again, Im not too sure. The Snapdragon X2 Plus is a decent mid-range chip, but the 6-core variant in the new Surface devices falls short of the 10-core CPU in the M5, especially as the M5 offers better single-core performance.

My main concern with the Surface Laptop is that the 1920 x 1280 screen just wont compare to the display of the MacBook Air, which offers a 2560 x 1664 resolution for a much sharper image.

Ive also seen the first five new Googlebook laptops, and they all come with higher resolution screens, and some also feature OLED .

The screen of the Surface Pro 12-inch (2026) is more promising, though if you want to use it as a laptop, youll need to buy a keyboard accessory, which
adds to the price. However, it should still come in at under the price of Apples 13-inch iPad Pro .

So, Im not entirely sure that these will be the MacBook Air/iPad Pro killers Microsoft needs them to be, but Im glad Microsoft is at least trying again, and I could be proved wrong when we get the new Surface devices in for review soon. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. The best laptops for all budgets Our top picks, based on real-world testing and comparisons

Read our full guide to the best laptops 1. Best overall: Apple MacBook Air 13-inch M5 2. Best budget: Apple MacBook Neo 3. Best Windows 11 laptop Microsoft Surface Laptop 13-inch 4. Best thin and light: Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i 5. Best Ultrabook Asus Zenbook S 16



======================================================================
Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/computing/windows-laptops/microsoft-announces-new-su rface-pro-and-surface-laptop-devices-powered-by-qualcomms-snapdragon-x2-plus-c hip-and-it-could-be-its-best-shot-at-taking-on-apples-macbook-air


--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 (Linux/64)
* Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100)