What you need to know
- Microsoft will announce a new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop this spring.
- The devices will feature upgraded displays, new processors, and be the company's first AI PCs.
- Intel models will ship in April, and Arm models will ship in June.
- Plus, details on Windows 11's upcoming AI features, including a new "AI Explorer" experience.
Microsoft is gearing up to announce new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop hardware later this month, which sources say will rival the iPad Pro and MacBook Pro in terms of performance and efficiency. The company will likely unveil these devices as its first AI PCs, supporting special AI features coming to Windows 11 later this year.
I hear the first wave of Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 hardware is expected to be unveiled on March 21, and the second wave will be unveiled on May 20. Microsoft's spring Surface PCs will ship with new Intel Core Ultra and later, Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite-based processors with next-gen NPUs (neural processing units) for enhanced AI performance. I reported back in December that both product lines will be available in either Intel or Arm flavors, a first for the Surface Laptop, which hasn’t had an Arm variant before.
My contacts say these new chips will enable huge performance and efficiency gains over previous Surface Pro and Surface Laptop models. Both devices are expected to achieve true all-day battery life and high-end performance capabilities. The devices will also sport other upgrades, including new displays, ports, and more.
Specifically, the Surface Pro 10 will feature a similar design to the Surface Pro 9 but with an upgraded anti-reflective OLED screen that’s brighter and supports HDR content. The device will also feature a new ultrawide front-facing webcam enhanced with AI Studio Effects and a built-in NFC reader.
Surface Laptop 6 will feature a more notable design update, including thinner display bezels with rounded corners, a new haptic touchpad, a dedicated Copilot key, and an updated selection of ports, including two USB-C and one USB-A on the left-hand side, and the magnetic Surface Connect charger on the right.
According to my sources, the new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop will be launched in two waves, the first of which will ship in April and consist only of the Intel models, followed by the Arm variants later in June. I suspect the ARM versions will feature a customized version of the Snapdragon X Elite, similar to what Microsoft did with the Snapdragon 8cx Gen3 in the Surface Pro 9.
Microsoft is also working on commercial-specific variants of the Surface Pro and Surface Laptop that will be announced on March 21 that include additional features that have been highly requested by its business and education customers. Such features include a built-in CAC reader on Surface Laptop, and 64GB RAM configurations.
I have also heard whispers that Surface Go 4 will get a consumer release this spring. Up until now, Surface Go 4 has only been available via Microsoft's commercial channels.
Windows 11's big AI upgrade comes into focus
The new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop will be some of the first devices on the market to support Windows 11's upcoming wave of next-gen AI experiences, which will launch later this year. These features include on-device Copilot functionality, a new real-time live captions and translations feature, video game upscaling and frame rate smoothing, enhanced Windows Studio Effects, and a new feature internally called "AI Explorer."
According to my sources, AI Explorer is the blockbuster AI experience that will separate AI PCs from non-AI PCs. It's described as an "advanced Copilot" with a built-in history/timeline feature that turns everything you do on your computer into a searchable moment using natural language. It works across any app and allows users to search for previously opened conversations, documents, web pages, and images.
For example, you could type, "Find me that list of restaurants Jenna said she liked," and Windows can bring up the exact conversation you were having when Jenna mentioned those restaurants. Even vague prompts should work, like "Find me that thing about dinosaurs," Windows will pull up every word, phrase, image, and related topic about dinosaurs that you've previously opened on your computer.
The AI Explorer app can also understand context, help jumpstart projects or workflows, and even suggest tasks based on what's currently on screen. For example, suppose you're looking at an image in an app. In that case, the AI Explorer will automatically show an "edit image" button that lets you type out your criteria, such as "remove this image's background using the Photos app."
These new AI features are expected to ship as part of the Windows 11 version 24H2 update this fall, meaning AI PCs launching over the summer won't have this functionality immediately. It's still unclear if Microsoft will discuss these new AI features on March 21 or if the company plans to wait longer.
Microsoft officials declined to comment on these plans.
Updated: Added information on commercial-focused Surface Laptop and Surface Go 4 for consumers. Clarified wording on when some devices are likely to be announced.
