Microsoft refreshes its smaller Surface PCs with Snapdragon X2 Plus and brighter displays

Microsoft has launched the Surface Pro 12 inch and Surface Laptop 13 inch with Snapdragon X2 Plus, brighter displays and longer battery life.

Microsoft has refreshed its Surface machines with the new Snapdragon X2 Plus chips, bringing the Surface Pro 12 inch and Surface Laptop 13 inch into its latest generation of Windows PCs. The company has also introduced a new Surface Mouse with haptic feedback.

Microsoft’s latest Surface PCs bring Snapdragon X2 Plus to its compact Pro and Laptop line. (Microsoft)

By Amit Rahi

For the past seven years, I have tracked consumer tech through constant shifts in hardware, platforms, and the way people actually use devices. Covering everything from budget gear to flagship hardware, I focus on what readers need to know, not on buzzwords or launch cycle hype. My expertise spans gaming laptops and chairs, high-performance PCs, gaming monitors, printers, smartwatches, earphones, headphones, Bluetooth speakers, tablets, and more, with a particular emphasis on how these products hold up in daily use. Reviews, explainers, buying guides, and news pieces all share the same goal: giving readers enough detail to make confident decisions without wading through fluff. Away from deadlines, I spend a lot of time gaming and watching films and anime, which naturally filters back into the work. Performance, comfort, display quality, and sound are judged the way players and viewers experience them, not just by lab numbers, which keeps my coverage grounded in real scenarios rather than just benchmarks.

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Announced at Snapdragon Summit, the new Surface Pro 12 inch and Surface Laptop 13 inch retain the compact, fanless designs of their predecessors while getting upgrades to performance, battery efficiency, displays and on-device AI capabilities. Microsoft says the new models deliver up to 17% faster Office productivity performance, more than 60% faster graphics and up to 95% faster local AI inferencing compared with the previous generation.

Surface Pro 12 inch gets a brighter display and 5G option

The Surface Pro 12-inch is powered by the Snapdragon X2 Plus and continues as a fanless 2-in-1 Windows PC that can be used as either a tablet or laptop with the detachable keyboard. Microsoft has increased the display brightness by 25%, with the PixelSense touchscreen now reaching 500 nits.

Microsoft also claims up to 18% more efficient battery performance, while its web browsing tests show an additional hour of active browsing compared with the previous generation. A 5G configuration will also be available, although connectivity options can vary by market.

The Pro also introduces Microsoft Ink Canvas, an AI-powered, pen-focused experience for sketching, annotating, generating images and summarising text. It will come preinstalled on the new Surface Pro 12-inch.

Surface Laptop 13 inch focuses on battery life

The Surface Laptop 13 inch gets the same Snapdragon X2 Plus processor and a 500 nit PixelSense touchscreen. Microsoft says the laptop can deliver up to 22.5 hours of local video playback, while retaining its full-size keyboard, 3:2 display and fanless design.

Both new devices will also be available in a new Black finish, alongside other colours depending on configuration and market.

Surface Pro 12 inch and Laptop 13 inch price and availability

The Surface Pro 12 inch starts at $1,149.99, which is approximately ₹1.10 lakh based on the current USD to INR exchange rate. The Surface Laptop 13 inch starts at $1,199, or approximately ₹1.15 lakh. These are converted US prices and do not represent confirmed Indian pricing.

Both devices are scheduled to become available from October 13 in select markets. Microsoft has not announced India pricing or availability in its launch announcement.

Microsoft has also launched a new Surface Mouse priced at $79.99, approximately ₹7,650. It features haptic feedback, a customisable Copilot button and Bluetooth 6.0 connectivity.