25/09/2021
Microsoft has gone a leap ahead with the launch of the new Surface Pro 8. With all the new additions and upgrades, it wouldn’t be wrong to call it Microsoft’s best Surface Pro machine so far. The Surface Pro 8 packs a 120Hz display with minimal bezels, Thunderbolt 4 support, and a new keyboard that along with an upgraded Surface Slim Pen 2. Surface Pro 8 has picked up the best parts from the Surface Pro X and powers them with an Intel chip.
Microsoft Surface Pro 8
It has, what Microsoft calls as, a 13-inch PixelSense Flow Display which is larger than the previous-gen Surfaces, plus it has a higher resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate too. Support of Dolby Vision and Adaptive Color Technology makes it “the most technically advanced display” and Microsoft’s best display innovation.
The Surface Pro 8 also gets a redesigned Surface Slim Pen 2 along with the signature keyboard, much like the combo found on Surface Pro X. Microsoft has finally dropped the USB-A port and has finally equipped the new device with Thunderbolt 4. The Surface Pro 8 ships with two USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports allowing it to run multiple 4K displays, use high-speed external storage, or even connect up to an external GPU.
Even though Windows 11 is available for the device, Microsoft has given users the liberty to choose between Windows 10 and 11, whichever users find better.
Variants
Processor: 11th Gen quad-core Intel Core i3/Core i5/Core i7
RAM & Storage: 8GB up to 32GB RAM & 128GB up to 1TB storage
Price: Starts at $1,099.99
Microsoft Surface Pro X Wi-Fi
While Microsoft was at it, it also announced that Surface Pro X will get a Wi-Fi-only variant too. Cellular connectivity on the Surface Pro X has been a pricking problem so with the Wi-Fi variant, buyers will have an option to go for a variant that suits their needs better. Even though the higher variant of the Surface Pro X houses a custom SQ2 processor based on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2 processor that supports 5G, the device has been restricted to 4G LTE only.
While the company has made no claims about battery life, we hope that the Wi-Fi variant of the Surface Pro X will last a little longer when compared to the cellular variant.
There are also a few improvements to Windows 11 support for both x86 and x64 emulation. The Wi-Fi-only Surface Pro X sale begins today at $899.
These machines were accompanied by a few more devices. Microsoft has also added the Surface Duo 2, Surface Go 3, Surface Slim Pen 2 & Ocean Plastic Mouse Official to its portfolio, more on which can be found here.
