Microsoft showed off some swanky new laptops and tablets on Thursday. Let's check 'em out.
At its annual Surface showcase in New York City, Microsoft took to the stage to talk mostly about AI, but also partly about new hardware. And while there wasn't a great quantity of new hardware, what we got wasn't half-bad.
Here's the new (consumer-facing) hardware Microsoft showed off at the event.
Surface Laptop Go 3
First up is the cheaper (by far) of the two devices, the Surface Laptop Go 3. Starting at $800, it's available in four colors: Sage, Sandstone, Platinum, and Ice Blue. Here are the basic specs:
- 12.4-inch touchscreen display
- 8GB or 16GB RAM
- 128GB, 256GB, or 512GB storage options
- 15-hour battery life
- 12th gen Intel Core i5 processor
- Ports: 1x USB-C, 1x USB type-A, 3.5mm headphone jack, Surface Connect port
As you can see, this is a fairly conventional (touchscreen-enabled) laptop with decent specs and a reasonable selection of ports. It's also got some AI-powered video editing tools with the ability to directly share to apps like TikTok, if you're so inclined. Microsoft claims that AI can review the video and add things like transitions in less than a minute, and all of that is done on the device itself.
I know you're wondering: What if I want to spend more than twice that amount on a Windows laptop? Well, I have good news for you.
Surface Laptop Studio 2
Meet the Surface Laptop Studio 2! It's a follow-up to the excellent 2021 original, a powerhouse that could double as a super portable work machine and a bonafide gaming PC. This one starts at a whopping $2,000 and comes in one color: platinum. I guess it's too professional for fun colors. Anyway, here are the specs:
- 14.4-inch touchscreen display with 120Hz refresh rate
- 13th gen Intel Core i7 processor
- Four GPU options: Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 or 4060, Nvidia RTX 2000, or Intel Iris Xe
- 16GB, 32GB, or 6GB RAM
- 512TB, 1TB, or 2TB storage
- 16 to 19 hours of battery life depending on specs
- Ports: 2x UCB-C Thunderbolt 4, 1x USB type-A, MicroSD card reader, 3.5mm headphone jack, Surface Connect port
Just like the last model, you can pull the display forward to turn it into a canvas for digital drawing, or for any other reason, I guess. It's also compatible with the Surface Slim Pen 2, for similar reasons. New this time around is a haptic touchpad that Microsoft is calling the "most inclusive" touchpad on any laptop. That, combined with Microsoft's usual suite of adaptive accessories, should make this more usable for those with disabilities. Of course, those accessories will be sold separately.
Surprisingly, that's all Microsoft had to show in terms of consumer-facing hardware. It really was more of an AI-focused event, and fans of weirder Surface devices might be left disappointed. But hey, the Surface Laptop Studio was great, and we'll definitely take another one of those.
