In an effort to standardize its Windows on Arm products, Microsoft intends to combine Arm- and Intel-based Surface Pro X and Surface Pro 9 PCs in a single product line later this year.
The Surface Pro 9 will be available in both Arm and Intel configurations, according to sources cited by Windows Central. The Arm option is powered by a modified Snapdragon 8cx Gen3 SoC dubbed the Microsoft SQ3.
The move follows the announcement of the company’s first Windows on Arm desktop PC, which is offered as a developer kit named ‘Project Volterra’. The kit reportedly includes the Snapdragon 8cx Gen3 SoC and the same neural processing unit (NPU) AI features that the Surface Pro 9 Arm is expected to launch with.
On the Intel front, Windows Central reports that the Surface Pro 9 likely comes with 12th-generation P-series CPUs, providing a significant performance boost over the Surface Pro 8.
Surface Pro 9 and Surface Pro X
According to Windows Central, there are no plans to provide AMD CPUs on the Surface Pro 9, while AMD alternatives will be offered on the next Surface Laptop 5.
Other Surface Pro 9 updates include SKUs with 5G connections, which have never been included in Surface PCs before. Furthermore, Microsoft is reportedly working on new Type Cover colors and styles.
What the tech giant intends to achieve with the Surface Pro X, which is somewhat slimmer than the regular Surface Pro range, is unknown.
Things may play out differently
Using two different processors in a single product line is nothing new for Microsoft. The organization has been shipping Surface laptop models with both Intel and AMD CPUs since 2019.
Windows Central expects Microsoft to unveil the new Surface Pro 9, Surface Studio and Surface Laptop in the coming weeks. Of course, plans may change between now and the time of the announcements.
Tip: Microsoft PowerToys now runs natively on Surface Pro X and Arm PCs
17 hours ago
