First look: Microsoft is updating its smaller Surface devices with Qualcomm's Snapdragon X2 Plus chip, giving the 12-inch Surface Pro and 13-inch Surface Laptop more processing power for graphics and local AI tasks. The update is a straightforward internal refresh for Redmond, as it keeps the compact Surface designs in place while adding newer Qualcomm hardware, more memory, and improved AI performance. The trade-off for buyers is clear: more capable systems, but at significantly higher starting prices.
The new models go on sale October 13. They look much like last year's versions, with the same screens, ports, and basic designs. The main changes are the processor, a higher starting RAM configuration, and brighter displays.
Prices are also going up sharply. The 12-inch Surface Pro will start at $1,149.99, up from $799.99 for last year's model. The 13-inch Surface Laptop will start at $1,199.99, compared with $899.99 previously.
Part of the increase reflects a change in the base configuration. Microsoft is dropping the 8GB option. Both devices now start with 16GB of RAM and can be configured with up to 24GB.
Microsoft is using a six-core Snapdragon X2 Plus chip in both systems. The company says the processor can deliver up to 18% better battery efficiency, more than 60% faster graphics performance, and up to 95% faster local AI inferencing through its neural processing unit.
These machines are built around the Copilot+ PC platform. The NPU handles supported AI workloads locally instead of relying entirely on cloud services. That can improve responsiveness in AI features and applications designed to take advantage of the hardware.
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