Microsoft launches Snapdragon X2 variants of Surface Pro 12 and Surface Laptop 8 with expensive consumer pricing

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Last month, Microsoft unveiled the Surface Laptop 8 and Surface Pro 12, powered by Intel Core Ultra series 3 chips and made available exclusively for business customers for a very high price. Today, the company is announcing the Surface Laptop 8 and Surface Pro 12 again, but this time with Snapdragon X2 chips and more consumer-friendly pricing.

While the Snapdragon models are cheaper than the Intel ones, they're still significantly more expensive than the Surface Laptop 7 and Surface Pro 11 were when they first launched in 2024.

The new Surface Laptop 8 with Snapdragon X2 starts at $1,599, and the Surface Pro 12 starts at $1,499. The entry-level SKUs include a Snapdragon X2 Plus with 16GB RAM and 512GB of SSD storage. To compare, the Surface Laptop 7 launched in 2024 with a Snapdragon X Plus with 16GB RAM and 256GB SSD storage for just $999.

So the new devices are $600 and $500 more expensive respectively, owing to the ongoing component pricing crisis caused by AI. The good news is Microsoft is offering incentives to upgrade to these new models. Between now and June 30, if you buy the new Surface Pro 13, it comes with a Surface Pro keyboard for free! If you order the Surface Laptop, you'll get a free Surface Arc Mouse, and a 50% off offer for Microsoft Complete.

Microsoft is also offering more money for trade-ins currently, so if you have an existing device that you don't need or want to swap for a new model, you can now save up to $900. It's clear the company is hoping that these deals will encourage users to upgrade to the newer models.

So what's actually new outside of the silicon? Well, Microsoft is touting 53% faster graphics performance compared to the last gen models, along with longer battery life on the Surface Pro, now coming in at 15.5 hours, and up to 20 hours on Surface Laptop.

The Surface Pro Flex Keyboard is now available in Dune, and the Surface Laptop 8 itself now comes in a beautiful new Jade green colorway. The Surface Laptop also has a new display on the 15-inch variant with a much higher resolution, coming in at 262PPI. The Laptop also has a new haptic trackpad, which provides subtle feedback when interacting with Windows.

The devices are now also available with more RAM configurations. The last-gen models could only be configured with either 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB RAM. The new devices now have a 24GB RAM option for those who find 16GB too little but 32GB too much, similar to what Apple does with the Mac.

Overall, these are nice quality of life upgrades for the Surface Laptop and Surface Pro. Whether they are worth the higher starting prices will be up to buyers to device. The devices are available to order today for consumers, with business variants of the Snapdragon X2 devices coming on July 14 which will include the same privacy screen features as found on the Intel variants.

Surface Pro 12 and Surface Laptop 8 specifications

If you're interested in the full specification breakdown on these new Surface PCs, we've compiled all the information into handy spec tables that you can view below.

Category

Specification

Processor

Snapdragon® X2 Plus (10 Core)

Snapdragon® X2 Elite (12 Core)

NPU

Qualcomm® Hexagon™ with 80 TOPS

Graphics

Qualcomm® Adreno™ GPU

Memory Options

16GB, 24GB, 32GB or 64GB LPDDR5x RAM

Storage Options

Removable solid-state drive (Gen 4 SSD): 256GB, 512GB, 1TB

OLED Display

Touchscreen: 13-inch PixelSense™ Flow display

Resolution: 2880 x 1920 (267 PPI), 3:2 Aspect ratio

Contrast ratio: 1M:1

Dynamic refresh rate: up to 120Hz

Brightness: SDR 600 nits maximum (typical) / HDR 900 nits peak luminance

Color Profiles: SDR mode (sRGB and Vivid), HDR mode (HDR)

Features: Individually color-calibrated, Adaptive color, Adaptive contrast, Auto color management, 10-point multi-touch, Dolby Vision IQ™ support, Strengthened glass

LCD Display

Touchscreen: 13-inch PixelSense™ Flow display

Resolution: 2880 x 1920 (267 PPI), 3:2 Aspect ratio

Contrast ratio: 1300:1

Dynamic refresh rate: up to 120Hz

Brightness: SDR 600 nits maximum (typical) / HDR 600 nits peak luminance

Color Profiles: SDR mode (sRGB and Vivid), HDR mode (HDR)

Features: Individually color-calibrated, Adaptive color, Adaptive contrast, Auto color management, 10-point multi-touch, Dolby Vision IQ™ support, Strengthened glass

Size and Weight

Length: 11.3 inch (287 mm)

Width: 8.2 inch (209 mm)

Height: 0.37 inch (9.3 mm)

Weight: 1.97 lbs (895 g) (not including Keyboard)

Battery Life

Up to 15.5 hours of local video playback

Up to 11.5 hours of active web usage

Security

Windows 11 Secured-core PC

Microsoft Pluton security processor / TPM 2.0

Windows Hello facial recognition with Enhanced Sign-in Security

Microsoft Defender for enhanced identity and privacy protection

Smart App Control

Cameras

Front: Quad HD front-facing Surface Studio Camera (1440p) with ultrawide field of view

Front Features: Support for Windows Studio Effects (automatic framing, portrait blur, creative filters, eye contact, portrait light)

Rear: 10 MP Ultra HD rear-facing camera

Audio

Dual Studio Mics with voice focus

2W stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos®

Support for Bluetooth® LE Audio

Ports and Charging

2 x USB-C® / USB4® (supports Charging, Data transfer, and DisplayPort 1.4a up to three 4K monitors at 60Hz)

Surface Connect Port / Surface Pro 13-inch Keyboard port

Fast charging supported (minimum 60W charger via Surface Connect or USB-C)

Network & Connectivity

Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth® Core 5.4 technology

Exterior & Colors

Casing: Anodized aluminum

Colors: Platinum, Black, Dune

Physical Buttons: Volume, Power

Kickstand: 165 degrees full friction hinge

Specification

Surface Laptop, 13.8-inch (8th Edition)

Surface Laptop, 15-inch (8th Edition)

Processor

Snapdragon® X2 Plus (10 Core)
Snapdragon® X2 Elite (12 Core)

Snapdragon® X2 Plus (10 Core)
Snapdragon® X2 Elite (12 Core)

NPU

Qualcomm® Hexagon™ with 80 TOPS

Qualcomm® Hexagon™ with 80 TOPS

Graphics

Qualcomm® Adreno™ GPU

Qualcomm® Adreno™ GPU

Memory

16GB, 24GB, 32GB or 64GB LPDDR5X RAM

16GB, 24GB, 32GB or 64GB LPDDR5X RAM

Storage

Removable Gen 4 SSD:
256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TB

Removable Gen 4 SSD:
512GB, 1TB, 2TB

Display

13.8-inch PixelSense Flow™ touchscreen
Resolution: 2304 x 1536 (201 PPI)
Aspect ratio: 3:2
Contrast ratio: 1300:1
Refresh rate: Up to 120Hz
Brightness: 600 nits max (SDR/HDR)

15-inch PixelSense Flow™ touchscreen
Resolution: 3270 x 2180 (262 PPI)
Aspect ratio: 3:2
Contrast ratio: 1300:1
Refresh rate: Up to 120Hz
Brightness: 600 nits max (SDR/HDR)

Dimensions & Weight

Length: 11.85" (301 mm)
Width: 8.67" (220 mm)
Height: 0.69" (17.5 mm)
Weight: 3.00 lbs (1.36 kg)

Length: 12.96" (329 mm)
Width: 9.41" (239 mm)
Height: 0.72" (18.3 mm)
Weight: 3.67 lbs (1.66 kg)

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Zac Bowden is a Senior Editor at Windows Central and has been with the site since 2016. Bringing you exclusive coverage into the world of Windows, Surface, and hardware. He's also an avid collector of rare Microsoft prototype devices! Keep in touch on Twitter and Threads

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