/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25347505/New_Surface_for_Business_Devices.jpg?w=1200&resize=1200,628&ssl=1 "Microsoft’s first AI PCs are the Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 for businesses")
Microsoft is gearing up for its “year of the AI PC” with two new Surface devices that won’t be sold directly to consumers. The Surface Pro 10 for Business and Surface Laptop 6 for Business both feature Intel’s latest Core Ultra processors, Microsoft’s new Copilot key, and a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) to accelerate some existing and upcoming AI-powered features in Windows 11. Microsoft is calling them “the first Surface AI PCs built exclusively for business.”
Both of these new Surface devices haven’t been redesigned on the outside, so the Surface Pro 10 for Business will look largely like the Intel version of the Surface Pro 9. The Surface Laptop 6 for Business has an additional USB-C Thunderbolt 4 port and an optional smart card reader, but the screen bezels and overall design are very much the same as the Surface Laptop 5. Both will start shipping to commercial customers on April 9th.
Microsoft usually lags behind in adopting the latest Intel chips for Surface devices, but this time around, the company is one of the first out of the gate to ship Intel’s new Core Ultra processors.
On the Surface Pro 10 for Business, there’s a choice between Core Ultra 5 135U and Core Ultra 7 165U options, alongside a base spec of 8GB of memory that’s configurable all the way up to 64GB of RAM. The base spec that will retail at $1,199 will also include a 256GB Gen4 SSD. The Surface Pro 10 for Business will include two USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports and Microsoft’s Surface Connect port for charging. Microsoft is promising up to 19 hours of battery life with these new Intel chips.
Microsoft has improved the 13-inch display on the Surface Pro 10 for Business with a new antireflective coating and 33 percent more brightness. Despite rumors that falsely claimed Microsoft would unveil a Surface Pro 10 with OLED today, the Surface Pro 10 for Business will ship with an LCD display.
I asked Microsoft about the rumors of a Surface Pro 10 with an OLED display. “We are not announcing that product at this time,” says Nancie Gaskill, general manager of the Surface business, in an interview with The Verge. That sure sounds like the product exists, so I asked whether it did, and Gaskill says, “We aren’t corroborating any rumors that are out there at this point, Surface Pro 10 for Business comes with an antireflective display.”
Sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans tell me the company will announce a consumer-focused version of the Surface Pro 10 with an OLED display at a May 20th hardware and AI event.
Beyond the display, the Surface Pro 10 for Business also has a greatly improved front-facing camera. It has a 114-degree field of view and even captures footage in 1440p resolution. “It will be the first camera with the ultrawide field of view on the PC market today,” says Gaskill. Thanks to the NPU chip inside, you’ll also get access to Windows Studio Effects with background blur and automatic framing during video calls.
Microsoft is also shipping an NFC reader on the Surface Pro 10 for Business, allowing businesses to easily use devices like YubiKey NFC security keys for authentication. Microsoft is also planning a 5G option for the Surface Pro 10 for Business. “It’s our first time bringing 5G to Intel on the Surface Pro,” explains Gaskill. “We had Surface Pro 8 LTE and Surface Pro 7 Plus LTE, but we did bring 5G previously to our Surface Pro 9 with Qualcomm.”
Last but not least, Microsoft is improving the Surface Pro keyboard with a new bold keyset featuring a larger font, improved backlighting, and the new Copilot key to launch its AI-powered feature in Windows 11.
The Surface Laptop 6 for Business has been “redesigned from the inside out,” according to Gaskill. Microsoft has picked Intel’s Core Ultra H-series chips for the Laptop 6 for Business, which are designed to deliver desktop-grade performance. Businesses will be able to pick between the Core Ultra 5 135H and the Core Ultra 7 165H, 8GB of RAM on the base $1,199 model which is configurable up to 64GB, and storage that starts at 256GB Gen4 SSD up to 1TB.
The 15-inch model will include two USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports for the first time, alongside a regular USB-A, a headphone jack, and Microsoft’s Surface Connect port for charging. The smaller 13.5-inch model will only have a single USB-C Thunderbolt 4, alongside the headphone jack and Surface Connect port.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24456038/Resident_Evil_4___3rd_Trailer___PS5___PS4_Games_____Resident_Evil_4___3rd_Trailer___PS5___PS4_Games_2023_2_23_133522.312_1440p_streamshot.png?w=100&resize=100,100&ssl=1 "iPhone 15 Pro users will pay full console price for Resident Evil 4 remake")
Microsoft hasn’t made any major changes to the display on the Surface Laptop 6 for Business, but it has added an antireflective coating. The front-facing camera has also been upgraded to a 1080p one, but there’s no wide angle like the Surface Pro 10 for Business. You will get access to Windows Studio Effects with background blur and automatic framing during video calls, though.
Microsoft claims the Surface Laptop 6 for Business will be twice as fast as the Laptop 5 thanks to the Ultra H-series processors. There’s also an optional smart card reader in select markets, and Microsoft’s new Copilot key for access to the AI-powered Copilot assistant in Windows 11.
Microsoft will sell both of these devices exclusively to businesses through its own channels and authorized resellers, so these aren’t designed for consumers to just pick up at a place like Best Buy. You could still technically just buy them from Microsoft’s business store online, or through resellers, though. “These products are built exclusively for business, that doesn’t mean that we are not building products for consumers going forward,” says Gaskill. “We remain committed to that, but we’re announcing these that are specifically built for commercial.”
Both of these devices are also Microsoft’s “most easily serviceable Surface devices ever,” according to Gaskill. Microsoft has placed QR codes on the internal components of both, and there are internal markings on the Surface Pro 10 for Business to make it easier to identify the screws and driver types for certain components.
Microsoft still isn’t ready to talk about the many AI features it’s adding to Windows later this year, but these two new devices will be ready for them. Microsoft now plans to hold a special Windows and Surface AI event on May 20th, where Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella will share the company’s “AI vision” for both software and hardware.
I’m expecting to see consumer versions of the Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 at the May 20th event, alongside some big new AI features for Windows 11 that make use of the NPU chips. Until then, both the Surface Pro 10 for Business and Surface Laptop 6 for Business will start shipping on April 9th priced from $1,199.