Microsoft is reportedly planning to merge its Surface Pro series into a single product line. Currently, we have the Surface Pro X, which is powered by an ARM chip, and the regular Surface Pro, featuring an Intel CPU. By bringing both families together, consumers will be greeted with a future model rumored to be called the Surface Pro 9 that will tout both ARM and Intel flavors.
Surface Pro 9 With ARM SoC Could Ship With a Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3, but With Slight Changes
The latest rumor comes from Windows Central’s Zac Bowden, who claims that he has heard from his sources about Microsoft making the Surface Pro 9 available in two processor variants. It is strange to hear that the company is not providing an AMD option for customers, given that the latter is churning out more power-efficient CPUs than Intel in the laptop and 2-in-1 space, but it is possible that updated AMD chips are reserved for the Surface Laptop series.
As for which silicon the ARM version of the Surface Pro 9 will be equipped with, assuming that the launch happens before Qualcomm’s annual Snapdragon Summit, it will likely be the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3. Microsoft will probably rename it the SQ3 while bringing some minor changes to it, such as varying CPU and GPU clock speeds. Currently, the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 only powers the Lenovo ThinkPad X13s. In terms of performance, Qualcomm’s latest and greatest chipset for Windows notebooks fails to beat the M1, let alone the M2.
Been hearing from my sources for a while now that MS is planning to merge the Surface Pro X under the main Surface Pro line this fall, meaning the Surface Pro "9" will be available in both Intel and ARM flavors for the first time. Big milestone for WoA!
— Zac Bowden (@zacbowden) August 28, 2022
Regardless, performance is decent for an ARM-powered Windows machine, though looking at Apple, we would like to see Qualcomm getting a little more serious in this category. Then comes the level of optimizations, and there needs to be plenty of it for customers to even show an iota of interest in the Surface Pro 9. We may get 5G connectivity with the new model, but other info, like design changes, are currently unknown to us.
Regarding the launch period, Microsoft could host an event in October, so we will keep our eyes open and reminders on our phones for future updates, so stay tuned.
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