The year 2023 is about to end but we are already looking towards 2024 and the future that awaits Microsoft products and services. Some of the big names of the year will be Surface and Arm, as the arrival of the new Qualcomm Snapdragon Elite X processors promises to revolutionize the landscape and finally stand up to Apple's excellent chips.
As reported by Zac Bowden for Windows Central, Microsoft is working to bring important renewals to the Surface Pro and Surface Laptop ranges in 2024 focused on new chips from Qualcomm and Intel, as well as new designs and features.
Thus, for the first time, Both the Surface Pro and Surface Laptop will be available in Intel and Arm versions and both will have the latest generation NPU processors. Bowden's sources place special emphasis on the weight that the Arm version will have, which we hope will mount a variant of the Snapdragon Elite X and offer excellent numbers in terms of power and energy efficiency.
The new Windows computers that have these Arm processors will be specifically designed for the next version of Windows codenamed Hudson Valley and which we have already talked about previously. These CPUs will be especially useful to take full advantage of the upcoming AI features that Microsoft will integrate into Windows starting in 2024.
Surface Laptop 6
According to Zac Bowden's sources, the new Surface Laptop 6 will feature an updated design with thinner bezels, rounded screen corners and more ports (including two USB-C, one USB-A, and one Surface Connect charging port). It will be the first time the Surface Laptop has received a design update since it has existed.
The device will be available in two sizes of 15 and 13.8 inches respectively. In addition, it will have a haptic touchpad and a dedicated Copilot button on the keyboard.
Surface Pro 10
The most important changes to the Surface Pro 10 have to do with the screen and its processor. The device's panel will now be brighter and support HDR, in addition to having a new anti-reflective coating and rounded corners.
On the other hand, according to the Windows Central journalist, Microsoft would be testing a version of the Surface Pro 10 with a slightly lower resolution than the base model (2160 x 1440 instead of 2880 x 1920).
Finally, it seems that Microsoft would equip the Surface Pro 10 with a NFC reader and a webcam with a wider viewing angle improved thanks to Windows Studio Effects. In addition, it would be available in new colors and we would have an updated version of the Type Cover with a button dedicated to Copilot (of course!).
The arrival of the new processors arm It will be especially interesting for this thin and light device that has suffered so many problems in the past due to the poor energy efficiency of Intel processors. Will we experience a resurgence of the Surface Pro with the new Snapdragon Elite X?