Microsoft unveils Surface Laptop Studio, Surface Pro 8, Surface Duo 2

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in General Discussion edited September 2021
On Wednesday, Microsoft showed off its new lineup of Surface computers -- the Surface Laptop Studio starting at $1,599, the updated Surface Pro 8 starting at $1,099, and the Surface Duo 2 starting at $1,499.

The new Surface Pro 8
The new Surface Pro 8


These tablet computers have been redesigned with thinner bezels, new connectivity, and improved display technology. In addition, the Surface Laptop Studio is a new hybrid foldable, the Surface Pro 8 has a 120Hz display, and the Surface Duo 2 has a redesigned hinge.

The Microsoft Surface line lies somewhere between Apple's iPad Pro and MacBook Pro lineup.

Surface Pro 8

Surface Pro 8 has a new Surface Slim Pen
Surface Pro 8 has a new Surface Slim Pen


The Surface Pro 8 is a 13-inch tablet-laptop hybrid with slightly narrower bezels and two Thunderbolt 4 ports. It can be configured with an 11th-generation Intel processor and has a user-upgradable SSD.

Microsoft calls the Surface Pro 8 the most powerful 2-in-1 on the market. It features 16-hours of battery life, Dolby-Atmos, Dolby-Vision, 120Hz refresh, and up to 32GB of RAM.

The new Surface Slim Pen 2 can be stored within a slot in the keyboard, which acts as a charging system. It has a vibration motor that simulates the feel of writing with a real pencil when drawing.

Surface Pro 8 starts at $1,099.99 and is available for pre-order in platinum and graphite colors. Surface Slim Pen 2 is also available for pre-order at $129.99.

Configurations include the Intel Core i5 processor with 8GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD at $1,099, up to the Intel Core i7 processor with 32GB of RAM and 1TB SSD at $2,599. The Surface Pro Signature Keyboard must be purchased separately at $279.99.



The Surface Pro 8 releases on October 5, 2021.

Surface Go 3

The kid-friendly Surface Go 3
The kid-friendly Surface Go 3


The Surface Go 3 has a 10.5-inch display, Dolby audio, and a 60% faster processor than the previous model. Microsoft positions this device as the perfect tablet for a family.

Customers can configure the Surface Go 3 with 10th-generation Intel processors. It comes with Windows 11 already installed, with built-in family safety limits and more.

The Surface Go 3 starts at $399.99 and is available for pre-order. The Type Cover is sold separately at $99.

Configurations include an Intel Pentium 6500Y with 4GB of RAM and a 64GB SSD for $399, up to an Intel Core i3 with 8GB of RAM and 128GB SSD at $629.

The Surface Go 3 releases October 5, 2021.

Surface Duo 2

The Surface Duo 2 has a new hinge
The Surface Duo 2 has a new hinge


The Surface Duo 2 is a refinement of Microsoft's first attempt at a dual-screen foldable. It has 5G antennas, NFC, and Wi-Fi 6.

The hinge has been redesigned, and the display is slightly exposed when closed which shows notifications at a glance. The two 5.8-inch AMOLED screens combine into a single 8.3-inch display with a variable 90Hz refresh rate.

Alongside a redesigned hinge, the Surface Duo 2 has a triple-lens rear camera system with an ultra-wide 16MP camera, a wide 12MP camera with OIS, and a telephoto 12MP camera with OIS. In addition, new algorithms ensure great photos are taken with natural color and light.

Available in Glacier or a new Obsidian, the Surface Duo 2 can be pre-ordered starting at $1,499.99.

The Surface Duo 2 releases October 21, 2021.

Surface Laptop Studio

A new hybrid device, the Surface Laptop Studio
A new hybrid device, the Surface Laptop Studio


The Surface Laptop Studio has a hinge that pulls the 14.4-inch display forward into a "stage mode" that looks similar to the iPad Pro Magic Keyboard hinge. Keep pulling the display forward, and it will lay completely flat over the keyboard in "studio mode."

This laptop has 11th-generation Intel Core H35 processors, Nvidia GeForce RTX GPUs, and can be configured for more performance when ordered.

The Surface Book 3 struggled with performance due to its removable display, but now, Microsoft has moved to an all-in-one design with no removable parts. The Surface Laptop Studio can transform between a laptop and tablet with this new hinge.

The Surface Laptop Studio starts at $1,599.99 and is also available for pre-order.

Configurations include an Intel Core i5 processor with 16GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD for $1,599, up to an Intel Core i7 processor with 32GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD for $3,099.

The Surface Laptop Studio releases October 5, 2021.



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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 28
    CheeseFreezeCheeseFreeze Posts: 1,249member
    Attractive devices for Windows users, with obviously amazing access to software.
    Oferththaikus
  • Reply 2 of 28
    narwhalnarwhal Posts: 119member
    These look nice. I'm a little concerned about the weird extra vent shelf under the Surface Laptop Studio. The design is nice where you convert from a laptop to a tablet, but that results in a VERY thick tablet. C'mon, Intel or Qualcomm, one of you can come up with a fast, cool processor.
    Fred257
  • Reply 3 of 28
    RoderikusRoderikus Posts: 53member
    Interesting form factors. So sad to see  being absent in this arena
    edited September 2021 williamlondonOferelijahg
  • Reply 4 of 28
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    Microsoft previously said that the reason the Surface didn't have Thunderbolt ports was for security reasons.  I wonder why they changed their tune.
    dewmewatto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 28
    KITAKITA Posts: 392member
    crowley said:
    Microsoft previously said that the reason the Surface didn't have Thunderbolt ports was for security reasons.  I wonder why they changed their tune.
    Thunderbolt 4 fixes the security issue they had with Thunderbolt 3 regarding direct memory access (DMA).


    Oferdewmecrowleyjony0
  • Reply 6 of 28
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    KITA said:
    crowley said:
    Microsoft previously said that the reason the Surface didn't have Thunderbolt ports was for security reasons.  I wonder why they changed their tune.
    Thunderbolt 4 fixes the security issue they had with Thunderbolt 3 regarding direct memory access (DMA).


    An excellent and quick answer, thanks!
     
    OferAlex_V
  • Reply 7 of 28
    macky the mackymacky the macky Posts: 4,801member
    If I was a Soft-head, these would interest me…
    magman1979watto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 28
    williamlondonwilliamlondon Posts: 1,324member
    Roderikus said:
    Interesting form factors. So sad to see  being absent in this arena
    Yeah, stupid Apple being super successful by producing products that people actually buy in large numbers which make the company oodles of money, totally stupid.

    You should be the new CEO, copying Microsoft is obviously the path to take, right into oblivion.
    lkruppmagman1979watto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 9 of 28
    mark fearingmark fearing Posts: 420member
    I admire, is a sad way, but still, I admire Microsoft pretending anyone cares about their hardware. You guys, you Microsoftians, you just keep believing! 
    lkruppmagman1979JapheyAlex_Vwatto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 10 of 28
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    Roderikus said:
    Interesting form factors. So sad to see  being absent in this arena
    Yeah, people like you are perpetually sad when it comes to Apple. Every other OEM on the planet has superior design, hardware, and software. How in the world is Apple still in business let alone worth two trillion dollars? Apple is a loser, right?
    edited September 2021 williamlondonmagman1979watto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 11 of 28
    dewmedewme Posts: 5,362member
    The rounder corners are a styling improvement, definitely more iPad-like.

    These look like decent upgrades over their predecessors, nothing earth shattering, but okay I guess. With pretty everyone moving to minimalist port options in this class of product I'm not sure how to differentiate one vendor's offerings from the others. Why aren't we hearing anyone crying about the lack of USB-A holes?

    I'm assuming that Microsoft, unlike Dell, HP, Acer, Asus, etc., doesn't load up their machines with a bunch of crapware and trialware (yeah Dell, I'm looking at you), so that alone would put Microsoft one step above the competition in my book. 

    I know that I may be the only one ... but I'd really like to see Apple release just one last Intel based MacBook Pro with a screen in the 14"-16" with Intel's latest chips. This would be the very last notebook I'd ever have to buy to maintain full-up macOS and Windows 11 installations on a single portable device. All I'm looking for is 5 more years of guaranteed compatibility. Within 5 years either I will no longer need Windows or Apple and Microsoft will have figured out how to make their ARM strategies play well together.


    watto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 28
    AppleZuluAppleZulu Posts: 2,006member
    Roderikus said:
    Interesting form factors. So sad to see  being absent in this arena
    MS Surface has yet to create a compelling case for Apple to look at it and say, we should be doing that! 

    Windows is a bloatware OS designed to run everything from a tablet to a power workstation, and on every possible configuration of third-party hardware out there. It does all that, but at a real cost to agility, security, and reliability. 

    For Apple to be present "in this arena," they would either have to make iOS/iPadOS able to run a $30,000 rack-mount Mac Pro, or they would have to alter MacOS to include an additional, entirely different touch UI that will run both on that workstation and on an iPad mini. I can assure you, doing that for the sole purpose of capturing a small market segment that just has to have a tablet/notebook hybrid would not be a wise or beneficial move. 
    williamlondonmagman1979watto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 13 of 28
    thttht Posts: 5,443member
    crowley said:
    KITA said:
    crowley said:
    Microsoft previously said that the reason the Surface didn't have Thunderbolt ports was for security reasons.  I wonder why they changed their tune.
    Thunderbolt 4 fixes the security issue they had with Thunderbolt 3 regarding direct memory access (DMA).


    An excellent and quick answer, thanks!
     
    Who knows if this is the answer to the question of MS not implementing TB on Surface models for so long. The table is a list of certification requirements to brand a TB implementation as TB3 or TB4. The DMA protection was optional for TB3, or something any Intel vendor could support even if they didn't have TB. Apple implemented DMA protection for its TB3 Macs. Apple basically implemented everything in TB4 with its TB3 implementation save for supporting accessories with 4 TB ports.

    Alex_Vwatto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 28
    danvmdanvm Posts: 1,409member
    AppleZulu said:
    Roderikus said:
    Interesting form factors. So sad to see  being absent in this arena
    MS Surface has yet to create a compelling case for Apple to look at it and say, we should be doing that! 
    If you ask me, Apple saw something in the Surface Pro 4, considering it copied many elements for the iPad Pro. 
    Windows is a bloatware OS designed to run everything from a tablet to a power workstation, and on every possible configuration of third-party hardware out there. It does all that, but at a real cost to agility, security, and reliability. 

    For Apple to be present "in this arena," they would either have to make iOS/iPadOS able to run a $30,000 rack-mount Mac Pro, or they would have to alter MacOS to include an additional, entirely different touch UI that will run both on that workstation and on an iPad mini. I can assure you, doing that for the sole purpose of capturing a small market segment that just has to have a tablet/notebook hybrid would not be a wise or beneficial move.

    I think Apple is, to a some degree, present in the 2-in-1 devices arena, when you consider the iPad Pro with Magic Keyboard works very similar to a touchscreen notebook, but with the benefits and limitations of iPadOS.

    edited September 2021 narwhal
  • Reply 15 of 28
    TRAGTRAG Posts: 53member
    I am all in with Apple outside of my work devices so not in the market for any of these; but I am glad Microsoft experiments and keeps pushing the design envelope. Not as profitable a model as Apple’s limited, popular form factors and SKUs but the different designs can only be good for the consumer, both Windows and Apple.
    williamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 16 of 28
    AppleZuluAppleZulu Posts: 2,006member
    TRAG said:
    I am all in with Apple outside of my work devices so not in the market for any of these; but I am glad Microsoft experiments and keeps pushing the design envelope. Not as profitable a model as Apple’s limited, popular form factors and SKUs but the different designs can only be good for the consumer, both Windows and Apple.
    Competition is great. I just don't know why people look at non-Apple configurations and think Apple should do that instead of what they're doing. What they're doing seems to be working pretty well for them as well as the significant number of people who buy their stuff.
    williamlondonJapheymuthuk_vanalingamTRAGwatto_cobra
  • Reply 17 of 28
    bloggerblogbloggerblog Posts: 2,464member
    Every new device with an Intel processor just feels so antiquated 
    williamlondonxp17watto_cobra
  • Reply 18 of 28
    waveparticlewaveparticle Posts: 1,497member
    AI, is this Surface Duo an Android phone? This article did not make this clear. Some forum members think it is running on Windows. 
  • Reply 19 of 28
    xp17xp17 Posts: 15member
    This is SONY VAIO FLIP series copy mixed with MBP design.
    Microsoft can't create anymore.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 20 of 28
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    tht said:
    crowley said:
    KITA said:
    crowley said:
    Microsoft previously said that the reason the Surface didn't have Thunderbolt ports was for security reasons.  I wonder why they changed their tune.
    Thunderbolt 4 fixes the security issue they had with Thunderbolt 3 regarding direct memory access (DMA).


    An excellent and quick answer, thanks!
     
    Who knows if this is the answer to the question of MS not implementing TB on Surface models for so long. The table is a list of certification requirements to brand a TB implementation as TB3 or TB4. The DMA protection was optional for TB3, or something any Intel vendor could support even if they didn't have TB. Apple implemented DMA protection for its TB3 Macs. Apple basically implemented everything in TB4 with its TB3 implementation save for supporting accessories with 4 TB ports.
    It's the reason that Microsoft gave: https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/28/21239517/microsoft-surface-laptops-tablets-thunderbolt-support-security-concerns
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