Behind the design: Meet Surface Laptop 3, Surface Pro 7, and Surface Pro X
Published Oct 02 2019 08:30 AM 31.4K Views
Microsoft

Today we revealed updates to the Surface device portfolio for the commercial channel, including Surface Laptop 3, Surface Pro 7, and Surface Pro X.

If you’re a tech enthusiast seeking an inside look behind the design of these new devices with complete specifications, you’ll also want to watch our Microsoft Mechanics deep dive with Jochen Siegl, Senior Director on the Surface engineering team, to get the backstory and details of this newest round of Surface devices.

 

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With today’s announcements, we have added two new devices to the Surface portfolio. We now have a 15-inch display option for the new Surface Laptop 3. The Surface Pro X is a new ARM-based device with built-in LTE and next generation Surface Pen. We have also made major updates to Surface Laptop 3 with 13.5-inch display and Surface Pro 7.

 

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Shared innovation

Each new Surface is designed with purposeful innovation across every detail. The fit and finish is a signature of the Surface lineup and with every generation we are balancing battery life, portability and comfort with premium design so that we can get you into your flow as fast as possible and have the tech just fade into the background.

 

There are new color options for more personalization and new material options with both Alcantara and full metal keyboard covers offered on the Surface Laptop.

 

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Surface devices featuring Intel mobile processors share many updates, including:

  • Quad core, 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5 and i7 mobile processors on Surface Pro 7 and Surface Laptop device lines.
  • Power efficient LP DDR 4x memory on our Intel devices with up to 16 GB RAM Surface Pro 7 and up to 32 GB RAM on Surface Laptop 3.
  • Premium sound with our best-ever, dual Studio Microphone array that removes background noise and allows for crisp Teams calls and seamless dictation of voice commands.
  • USB Type-C 3.1 is standard on all devices and replaces the mini display ports. These ports are now capable of driving two 4k monitors at 60Hz.
  • Updated Windows Hello infrared cameras to optimize sign-on experience.

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Increased chipset diversity

One major theme you’ll notice with this round of updates are the additional processor options for Surface Laptop and Surface Pro X. The 15-inch Surface Laptop 3 now offers a new AMD Ryzen Microsoft Surface Edition for retail channels and Surface Pro X runs on the new Microsoft SQ1 ARM chipset co-designed with Qualcomm to enhance mobility, performance, and connectivity.

 

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Surface Laptop 3 redesigned from the inside out

Keeping the same design on the outside that everyone loves, Surface Laptop 3 is completely redesigned on the inside and delivers much faster performance with no added weight or thickness. It’s been redesigned to further improve serviceability, enabling a Microsoft Authorized Service Provider to easily remove or replace solid-state drives. The 2496 x 1664 resolution PixelSense display is brighter than and consumes less power.

 

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Surface Laptop now offers a full metal finish including the keyboard cover. In addition to the two Alcantara color options offered with the 13.5-inch Surface Laptop 3, there are now two additional full metal color choices available in both 15-inch and 13.5-inch devices.

 

The typing experience on the backlit keyboard is also optimized for readability in various lighting conditions, making it quieter and more comfortable than before. We have also added accessibility bumps on F4, F8, and power button keys to further improve the experience.

 

Our 2-in-1 form factor reimagined: Surface Pro X

Surface Pro X is the thinnest ever Surface Pro at 7.3mm and features an all new backlit keyboard with a wireless charging for the new Surface Pen. And there are two USB Type-C ports and a Surface Connect port.

 

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The custom-built ARM processor is the result of a 3-year collaboration with Qualcomm. Our goal was to build the fastest ARM-based Windows 10 device. It offers laptop-level performance that’s capable of meeting the most demanding requirements from commercial customers. The Microsoft SQ1 chip runs at 3GHz and the graphics processor is capable of 2.1 teraflops; it can also drive two 4k monitors at 60Hz. Surface Pro X features a built-in 4G LTE Advanced Pro modem that supports both nano SIM and eSIM.

 

Surface Pro X runs Windows 10 Pro, so you can domain join or Azure AD join, and manage these devices with your existing tools and they’ll also run your existing 32-bit Windows apps.

Fast charging

All devices announced today support fast charging, allowing you to charge the battery up to 80 percent in about an hour.
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Manageability focus across the portfolio

It’s important to point out our continued focus on making sure that Surface devices are easily customized and managed at scale. You can use the Windows Autopilot deployment service as part of Surface order fulfillment to get your devices business-ready without needing to reimage them. Surface Enterprise Management Mode (SEMM) is also shared across Surface products. SEMM enables you to manage aspects of the hardware at the firmware level.

 

To learn more, check out today’s Microsoft Mechanics episode with Jochen Siegl for an insider look at each new device. And go to www.microsoft.com/surface for all things Surface.

23 Comments

Just Awesome :cool:

Awesome. Some questions on the new Surface Pro 7.

1. I see that it has 802.11ax. Which chipset? Still Marvell or _______________?

2. Is the i5 still fanless?

3. Can it be charged over USB-C and if so, what are the requirements for a power adapter.

 

It isn't just me that is asking for answers on this.

 

TIA.

Microsoft

Hi Barb

Great questions. 

We're using Intel WiFi in the new Pro 7 and Laptop 3. 

The i5 is still fanless Yes!

The as with Go and Book2 now both Pro 7 and Laptop 3 can charge via USB. You can go as low as a 7W charger but in this case more is better and we recommend the Surface Connect for fast charging.

Frank,

Thanks for the info..

 

SL3 Ryzen AMD would not be Intel WiFi (and from the Store specs, looks to be 802.11ac and not WiFi6/802.11ax).  Correct?

@Frank Buchholz,

 

It always boggled my mind that a "Premium" device used a sub-par product in the MARVEL chipset for WiFi/Bluetooth. We had so many problems with the chipset drivers and firmware that we avoided deploying Surface products at client sites.

 

SP7 with an Intel based WiFi/Bluetooth chipset makes it a viable product to deploy ... and a reason for us to upgrade from our current SP4 units we have.

 

When Surface Book gets Intel we'll be looking to deploy them as well.

 

IMNSHO, MARVEL was a bean counter decision. It certainly wasn't an engineering one as it was, and is, a poor choice. One would not put a Chevy motor in a Cadillac. N'est-ce pas?

Frank,

thanks for previous info. could you please answer some additional questions that customers are asking in the Answers Forum?

 

  1. Will the existing typecovers for SP3/4/5/6 work on the new Pro X or not? They MAY be asking because the new typecovers for the X are coming soon and not available to purchase.
  2. They want to know more about battery life on SP7 as the marketing rating changed from 13 hours to 10 hours. Same capacity battery ? Why the difference?
  3. Will the existing SP3/4/5/6 pens work on the Pro X?
  4. Will the existing Surface Dock work with the SP7 and Pro X ?

TIA

More questions from the Forums for Frank:

 

1. Does the Surface Pro 7 have USB C Gen 1 port (5GB/s) or USB C Gen 2 port (10GB/s)?

2. What sort of USB A port does it have? USB 3.0 or USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5GB/s) or USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10GB/s) port? 

3. Does it have a SATA SSD or M.2 SSD? M.2 was mentioned only for the Surface Pro X at this month's Surface Event. 

Copper Contributor
Heya, @Frank Buchholz, can you guys share more details on the new Wireless Surface Pen? Are there any improvements regarding latency? How are the pressure-sensitivity levels? Also is the Surface Pro 7 Pen the same as the Surface Pro 6 Pen?

@Frank Buchholz 

Is the card slot on the SP7 uhs-II or ? Customers want to know this spec. 

Also, waiting on replies to my questions from 10/6:

1. Does the Surface Pro 7 have USB C Gen 1 port (5GB/s) or USB C Gen 2 port (10GB/s)?

2. What sort of USB A port does it have? USB 3.0 or USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5GB/s) or USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10GB/s) port? 

3. Does it have a SATA SSD or M.2 SSD? M.2 was mentioned only for the Surface Pro X at this month's Surface Event. 

@Frank Buchholz 

 

Here is another question from the Answers Forum "

Will the surface pro 7 be able to connect to two monitors at the sane time to work on both independently with a usb-c to 2×HDMI adapter? I believe the surface pro 7 will need to support DP ALT Mode to work? Does it?"

Microsoft

Hi @barb bowman Barb,

Quick round up of answers to your questions...

  • SL3 Ryzen AMD would not be Intel WiFi (and from the Store specs, looks to be 802.11ac and not WiFi6/802.11ax).  Correct?
    • That is correct.  The AMD is targeted for consumer customers and sold through retail outlets.  The specs you have are correct.
  • Will the existing typecovers for SP3/4/5/6 work on the new Pro X or not? They MAY be asking because the new typecovers for the X are coming soon and not available to purchase.
    • The Surface Pro X introduces a new Signature Keyboard and Slim Pen.  The existing type-covers for the Pro line (3,4,Pro,6) are not compatible with the Pro X connector.  The Surface Pro X Signature Keyboard is only compatible with the Pro X.
  • They want to know more about battery life on SP7 as the marketing rating changed from 13 hours to 10 hours. Same capacity battery ? Why the difference?
    • We have designed this generation of Surface devices to be up to twice as fast with a balance of performance, battery life, and great user experiences in a thin and light design. As a result of increased performance, overall battery life has been impacted, but we expect customers will continue to get a full day of use from their Surface, and faster charging when they need it.
  • Will the existing SP3/4/5/6 pens work on the Pro X?
    • Yes!
    • For the Surface Pro X Slim Pen it is compatible with Surface Go, Surface Studio 2, Surface Studio, Surface Laptop 3, Surface Laptop 2, Surface Laptop, Surface Book 2, Surface Book, Surface Pro X, Surface Pro 7, Surface Pro 6, Surface Pro (5th Gen), Surface Pro 4, Surface Pro 3
  • Will the existing Surface Dock work with the SP7 and Pro X ?
  • Does the Surface Pro 7 have USB C Gen 1 port (5GB/s) or USB C Gen 2 port (10GB/s)?
    • Here are the specs for the USB-C on Pro 7: 
      • USB 3.2 (Gen2) and earlier supporting 10GB/s
      • DP 1.4 (HBR3 + DSC) 2 Lanes + USB3.1 (DP Alt Mode pin assignments C and E). (MultiFunction)
      • DP1.4 (HBR3 + DSC) 4 Lanes (DP Alt Mode pin assignments D and F)
      • Digital Audio 
  • What sort of USB A port does it have? USB 3.0 or USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5GB/s) or USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10GB/s) port? 
    • USB 3.1 Gen 1
  • Does it have a SATA SSD or M.2 SSD? M.2 was mentioned only for the Surface Pro X at this month's Surface Event. 
    • Pro X and Laptop 3 use a M.2 SSD as does Surface Hub 2S. 
  • Will the surface pro 7 be able to connect to two monitors at the sane time to work on both independently with a usb-c to 2×HDMI adapter? I believe the surface pro 7 will need to support DP ALT Mode to work? 
    • Surface Laptop 3, Pro 7 and Pro X will all support Up to 2X 3840x2160 @60Hz (4K UHD) via USB-C.
Copper Contributor
@Frank Buchholz Thanks for the extra details. In the video, "Surface Connect+" is mentioned: https://youtu.be/ucxShAm5660?t=471 How is this different to the "Surface Connect" or "SurfLink" port in prior Surface devices? Will DP 1.4 and USB 3.x Gen2 (10GB/s) be supported via the "Surface Connect+" with future accessories? Also can you confirm the peak power delivery charge rate via USB-C on these devices? Is 20v @ 3A (60W) as well as 15V @ 3A (45W) deliverable to Pro 7, Pro X, and Laptop 3? And is the quick charging up to 80% battery capacity supported via USB-C or *only* via Surface Connect/SurfaceConnect+? Thanks.
Brass Contributor

Is the "new pen" just new colours? Or were there hardware tweaks? The non-slim pen I mean.

@Frank Buchholz 

thanks for the details. one more question from the forums - is the microSD slot UHS II and if not, what spec is it?

Copper Contributor
For SP7, SL3, and SPX, can the GPU drive external monitors at refresh rates greater than 60Hz? For example: 1080p @ 144Hz 1440p @ 144Hz, 4k @ 120Hz? With HBR3 bandwidth it seems these are feasible, but would be good to know if the display controller and device drivers support this when recommending solutions for customers. The Intel and AMD GPU specs are not super detailed on the output capabilities.

@Frank Buchholz what is the wattage of the SP7 charger? The trade press is reporting 65Watt chargers. MS discontinued the replacement 65W universal Surface Pro charger some time ago and shipped 44W with SP 2017, etc. Is a 65W charger being shipped with SP7's? Will there be replacement 65W chargers available?

Copper Contributor

Hi @Frank Buchholz 

 

Referring to your reaction to @barb bowman on 10-15-2019

 

I have one quest - how do you know which Surface pro 7 has the following features.

 

as far as I understand USB-C support for the below is one or but not all?

 

" Does the Surface Pro 7 have USB C Gen 1 port (5GB/s) or USB C Gen 2 port (10GB/s)?

  • Here are the specs for the USB-C on Pro 7: 
    • USB 3.2 (Gen2) and earlier supporting 10GB/s
    • DP 1.4 (HBR3 + DSC) 2 Lanes + USB3.1 (DP Alt Mode pin assignments C and E). (MultiFunction)
    • DP1.4 (HBR3 + DSC) 4 Lanes (DP Alt Mode pin assignments D and F)
    • Digital Audio 

 

would love to see a reaction.

 

 

Copper Contributor

Is there any hardware difference between the Consumer Surface Pro 7, and the Surface Pro 7 for Business?

 

specifically

Copper Contributor
The USB-C spec details below from Frank Buchholz's comment need to be included on the Surface Pro 7 Tech Specs page on the Microsoft Online store. Here are the specs for the USB-C on Pro 7: USB 3.2 (Gen2) and earlier supporting 10GB/s DP 1.4 (HBR3 + DSC) 2 Lanes + USB3.1 (DP Alt Mode pin assignments C and E). (MultiFunction) DP1.4 (HBR3 + DSC) 4 Lanes (DP Alt Mode pin assignments D and F) Digital Audio The Tech Specs page should explain what these USB-C specs mean with regards to real world benefits such as: external monitor refresh rate, HDR support, and FreeSync/G-Sync support. The Tech Specs (or some other) page should also explain the best ways, or at least provide example ways, to connect a Surface Pro 7 to external monitors that take advantage of the SP7's new video capabilities.
Copper Contributor

@Frank Buchholz 

Hello,

About those usb c specs, any example of compatible dock that can be used to plug two 4k monitors @60Hz ?

The HP dock G5 seems to have all the specs compatible with those described here but yet seems to not be compatible with the surface pro 7.

Looking at the forums, it appears no one was actually able to use the DP alt mode from the usb c, and I would very like to be able to achieve this : 

Surface Laptop 3, Pro 7 and Pro X will all support Up to 2X 3840x2160 @60Hz (4K UHD) via USB-C.

 

Any chance that this will change in a future update ?

Will another brand be able to make a dock compatible ?

Or do we have to wait for a new surface dock ? 

Copper Contributor

Hi,

I'm an educator and next school year I can chose between the Microsoft Surface 3 laptop and the Surface Pro 7. I'm not sure which to chose? It seems like the Pro is difficult to work with unless you have a desk because of the 'kick stand' setup. But I like the 2-in-1 option with this product. I work mostly with websites and spreadsheets in my daily job. And I also move around a lot so a light weight product is most desirable. Any opinions for me? Many thanks in advance :o)

 

Copper Contributor

Hello N Detrick,

As usual, the "right" answer depends on your use case(s) and preferences. I bought the Surface Pro 7 because I'm all in on the Surface Pro "form factor." It better fits my needs and preferences than a traditional laptop in most if not all of my use cases, which include UI design, teaching night classes (Electronics 101), and media consumption. For one thing I use the pen often for idea capture, that is "back of the envelope" sketches and notes. On the SP7 you simply fold the keyboard out of the way while you "ink" and then back again when you want to type. While you can use the pen on the Surface laptop, it is not convenient. I also find the SP7 keyboard and trackpad to be excellent. So when it comes time to finalize an idea as one or more documents (PowerPoint, Word, or Excel in my case) the SP7 does not let me down. At lectures, I digitally project a copy of my SP7 screen, on which I show prepared slides, which I can annotate in real time using the pen, or blank slides on which I can write bullet points or draw equations or schematics. And at the end of lecture, all of these slides can be posted for students to review later. So a big improvement over the traditional chalk board. With regard to media consumption, I have no trouble reading or web surfing with the SP7 on my lap (with my feet on a comfortable foot rest) or even in bed with the SP7 on my chest. For serous work I use a USB-C cable to connect the SP7 to a 27-inch 4k desktop monitor, along with a wireless mouse and ergo keyboard. Hope this reply helps.

Cheers. Chris 

Copper Contributor
 
Microsoft (
‎Oct 15 2019 01:12 PM) wrote,

"Surface Laptop 3, Pro 7 and Pro X will all support Up to 2X 3840x2160 @60Hz (4K UHD) via USB-C."

 

Is this also true if the Surface Pro 7 has 16 Gb of Ram?

Thanks,

 

 

 

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