As Microsoft gears up for its upcoming event on May 6, the tech giant seems poised to introduce a new range of Surface devices aimed at strengthening its presence in the Arm-powered PC sector. Reports from the German site WinFuture suggest that Microsoft is developing a new 12-inch Surface Pro and a compact 13-inch Surface Laptop, both utilizing Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Plus technology.
The anticipated 12-inch Surface Pro brings back a smaller size reminiscent of previous models like the Surface Pro 3, yet it incorporates modern Arm-based hardware. It will feature a PixelSense Flow LCD display and be powered by the Snapdragon X Plus X1P-42-100 chip, which includes eight custom Oryon CPU cores and an integrated Hexagon NPU capable of reaching up to 45 TOPS (trillion operations per second) of AI performance.
The device is expected to come with 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and will offer storage options of either 256GB or 512GB using UFS technology, which is faster and more economical than traditional NVMe SSDs. However, this choice means that the storage will no longer be user-replaceable.
Battery life is projected to be impressive, offering up to 16 hours for local video playback. The device will include two USB 3.2 Type-C ports and will be available in Ocean Blue, Platinum Gray, and Violet, all accompanied by matching accessories.
These new models reflect a strategic pivot for Microsoft, as they seem to be promoting a more accessible and energy-efficient Surface line, likely setting the stage for the next advancements in Windows on Arm expected in the upcoming major Windows release.
The official announcement is anticipated during Microsoft’s event on May 6, where details regarding pricing, availability, and further specifications for these new Surface products may be revealed.
