The Surface lineup is led by the Surface Pro, Microsoft’s flagship 2-in-1 device. But the Surface Laptop, a clamshell laptop with a touchscreen and a sleek design, represents a more conventional approach.
Microsoft announced the Surface Laptop 3 at its Surface event on October 2, and it’s chock-full of exciting new hardware and features. Here’s everything we know so far about the Surface Laptop 3.
Price and release date
The Surface laptop 3 will come out on October 22 and pre-orders are live now. Prices are $999 for the 13-inch and $1,199 for the 15-inch.
There is now a non-Alcantara option
As of the October 2 Surface Event, it has been confirmed that the Surface Laptop 3 will feature a “fully integrated aluminum chassis.” The Surface Laptop 3 will be available in the following colors: Sandstone, Matte Black, Cobalt Blue, and Platinum. All color options come with a choice of keyboard style, either Alcantara or the aluminum chassis.
A larger 15-inch model is here
Microsoft confirmed that the Surface Laptop 3 will offer a 15-inch model during its October 2019 Surface Event. The 15-inch model will feature a 15-inch PixelSense touchscreen display with a 2496 x 1664 resolution and custom AMD processors.
A 15-inch model may mean that Microsoft is targeting content creators. Other 15-inch laptops like the XPS 15 and MacBook Pro 15 offer dedicated graphics cards, up to Core i9 processors, and color-accurate, high-resolution displays.
Powered by AMD and Intel
The Surface 3 laptops will offer both AMD and Intel processors. The AMD processors are the AMD Ryzen 7 3780U and AMD Ryzen 5 3580U, and the Intel processor is a quad-core 10th generation Intel Core Ice Lake. The AMD processors are only available with the 15-inch iteration of the Surface Laptop 3. Both the 13- and 15-inch have the new Intel processors listed as options. At the October Surface Event, Microsoft claimed that the new Intel processor makes the new Surface Laptop 3 “two times faster than the Surface Laptop 2” and “three times more powerful than the MacBook Air.”
The Intel processor featured in the new Surface 3 laptops comes in two options: They’re both 10th generation, but you can get either an i5 or i7 version.
USB-C is confirmed
According to the October Surface Event announcement, the Surface Laptop 3 will, indeed, move to USB-C. The lack of USB-C was our biggest complaint about the previous iteration. The Surface Laptop 2 was one of the only laptops we reviewed in 2019 that didn’t include the modern, universal port, and instead relied on just USB-A, a mini-DisplayPort, and Microsoft’s magnetic Surface Connect port for power and docking.
A fast-charging battery and larger trackpad
At the October Surface Event, Microsoft also showed off two more improvements to the Surface line of laptops. The Surface Laptop 3 will feature a battery that is expected to charge up to 80% within an hour. Microsoft also claims that the battery life of the Surface Laptop 3 will be up to 11.5 hours.
The technology company also said that the Surface 3’s trackpad would be 20% larger.
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