Copilot+ represents a new era for Windows laptops, and it’s a fresh reimagining for Surface as well. You’ll notice that the generational number in the name is gone with this new era — one that comes with a new design, higher performance, and AI features.
Both the new Surface Laptop and Surface Pro come exclusively with the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite, which brings massive leaps in performance, battery life, and AI capabilities over the previous generation of Surface devices.
Microsoft took the opportunity to tighten up the design of both devices too. The Surface Laptop gets a large, haptic feedback touchpad, thinner bezels across the top and sides, and new color options (for a total of four), plus it supports up to three 4K external monitors. It features two USB-4 ports, one USB-A port, a Surface Connect magnetic charging port, and a headphone jack. The new Surface Laptop still comes with a 1080p webcam.
The Surface Pro gets an even bigger upgrade this time around. It now has the option for an OLED display, capable of up to 800 nits of brightness in HDR. The standard LED model, meanwhile, tops out at 600 nits in SDR, which is incredibly bright. The device also now comes with an ultrawide quad-HD Surface Studio Camera, as well as a 4K rear-facing camera. Like the Surface Laptop, the Surface Pro can also support up to three 4K external monitors, using the two USB4 ports and the Surface Connect port.
One of the most interesting features is the new Surface Pro Flex keyboard, which can be used either connected to the screen or disconnected. By integrating a battery and Bluetooth receiver, you can use the keyboard detached. It also automatically charges while connected. In theory, this opens up some new ways of interacting with the device, such as using the keyboard and Surface Pen in tandem or on your lap during a flight.
There’s also a new keyboard option with larger, brighter characters to be inclusive of those who might benefit from it. The detachable keyboard also features a 14% larger haptic feedback touchpad, slightly wider and taller than before.
Thanks to the use of haptics, the touchpad isn’t as loud to click as in the past.
On the performance front, Microsoft claims that it’s 90% faster than the Surface Pro 9. Battery life is off the charts too, with a claimed 22 hours of local video playback battery life, which is longer than the MacBook Air and a huge improvement over the previous generation.
Microsoft also spent some time talking about the new AI capabilities that can take advantage of the on-device AI processing provided by the 45 Tera Operations Per Second (TOPS) neural processing unit (NPU). One included Cocreator, a diffusion-based image generation feature that takes hand-drawn photos and turns them into more realistic AI images. A new feature in the popular video-editing app Capcut was also shown off. It allows the presenter to quickly mask five dancers from a video and replace the background, all running on the NPU.
Both devices start at $999, coming with 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. You’ll have to pay extra for the detachable keyboard on the Surface Pro, but Microsoft says previous versions going back to the Surface Pro 8 keyboard are compatible.
Like the rest of the Copilot+ PCs, the new Surface Laptop and Surface Pro will be available for preorder today and will be shipping on June 18.
This is a developing story, and we’ll continue to update as more information becomes available.
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Luke Larsen is the Senior editor of computing, managing all content covering laptops, monitors, PC hardware, Macs, and more.
Gemini Advanced vs. Copilot Pro: which is the better deal?
Google and Microsoft both have free versions of their AI chatbots, but the paid versions offer significantly more features. Google recently announced its Gemini Advanced chatbot, which is paired with its Google One AI Premium suite of tools, services, and storage options. It is considered a direct competitor to Microsoft’s Copilot Pro service, which rolls AI into Office apps. Which is the better package deal? Let’s dig in.
Availability and pricing
Gemini Advanced and Microsoft Copilot Pro are currently available with competitive pricing. You can sign up for either service for $20 per month and access a similar suite of productivity tools and services.
Google has an ongoing deal offering a free two-month trial for web and mobile users, but there is still no telling how long the deal will last. Microsoft offers a one-month free trial of Copilot Pro to those who install the Copilot mobile app on iOS or Android devices.
The Surface Pro 10 sounds amazing, and it may be coming soon
Microsoft could be getting ready to reveal the Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 sooner than expected. Reporting from Windows Central’s Zac Bowden indicates the devices might be announced on March 21, and could feature both Intel Core Ultra and Snapdragon X Elite chips under the hood, along with some design tweaks.
These new Surface devices are expected to go all-in on AI features in Windows 11. More important is that we could see the next Surface Laptop in a new ARM-based variant in addition to one with a traditional Intel Core Ultra CPU. This change in chips should not only bring more choice like the Surface Pro 9 did, but also performance gains that can help the devices rival what Apple has accomplished with the iPad Pro, as well as the new MacBook Pro with the M3 chip.
‘Take this as a threat’ — Copilot is getting unhinged again
The AI bots are going nuts again. Microsoft Copilot — a rebranded version of Bing Chat — is getting stuck in some old ways by providing strange, uncanny, and sometimes downright unsettling responses. And it all has to do with emojis.
A post on the ChatGPT subreddit is currently making the rounds with a specific prompt about emojis. The post itself, as well as the hundreds of comments below, show different variations of Copilot providing unhinged responses to the prompt. I assumed they were fake — it wouldn’t be the first time we’ve seen similar photos — so imagine my surprise when the prompt produced similarly unsettling responses for me.
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