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Microsoft is giving its compact Surface devices a subtle refresh. Today at Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Summit in Hawaii, the U.S. tech giant announced the Surface Laptop 13-inch (2nd edition) and Surface Pro 12-inch (2nd edition) with the Snapdragon X2 Plus chip. The latter will support a new AI-powered drawing and annotating tool called Microsoft Ink Canvas.
Externally, both new Surface devices gain 25 percent brighter touchscreen displays and new black color options. They’re otherwise identical to their predecessors from spring 2025.
The updated Surface Laptop 13-inch and Surface Pro 12-inch will hit the market on Oct. 13, starting at $1,199.99 and $1,149.99, respectively. (Preorders are now live at Best Buy, B&H Photo, and the Microsoft Store.) They’ll be joined by a redesigned Surface Mouse with built-in haptic feedback and a customizable action button, which will start at $79.99.
Notably, both new Surface devices start with 16GB of RAM. This summer, Microsoft downgraded the base configurations of their first-gen counterparts to 8GB of RAM to lower their prices under $1,000 amid the global memory shortage.
When asked by Mashable whether the company will continue to sell those older models as budget options, a Microsoft rep declined to comment on the record. They were no longer available for purchase through the Microsoft Store at the time of writing, but third-party retailers like Amazon and Best Buy still had them in stock.
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The Surface Laptop 13-inch and Surface Pro 12-inch are smaller, lighter, and more affordable versions of Microsoft’s flagship Surface devices. In June, the company introduced the Surface Laptop 8 and Surface Pro 12 with Snapdragon X2 Plus and X2 Elite chips.
Same look, new chip
The Surface Pro 12-inch (2nd edition) will come pre-loaded with Microsoft’s new “Ink Canvas” AI feature.Credit: Microsoft
The X2 Plus is a mid-range processor that will give the new compact Surface devices “18 percent more efficient battery performance, over 60 percent faster graphics, and 95 percent faster on-device AI” than their predecessors, said Brett Ostrum, corporate vice president of Surface devices, in a blog post. For reference, last year’s inaugural Surface Laptop 13-inch and Surface Pro 12-inch ran on the original Snapdragon X Plus chip from 2024.
The X2 Plus will also power Ink Canvas on the Surface Pro 12-inch. Users will be able to handwrite prompts for Windows 11’s Copilot assistant directly on the device’s touchscreen with a Surface Slim Pen (sold separately for $129.99). Ostrum described Ink Canvas as “a pen-first experience for sketching, annotating, generating images, and summarizing text.”
Ink Canvas will come pre-installed on the new Surface Pro 12-inch and be available for download on other compatible Windows devices starting Oct. 13.
Microsoft Surface Laptop, 13-inch (2nd edition) specs
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CPU:Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Plus
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Battery life: Up to 22.5 hours of video playback
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Screen size and tech:13-inch touchscreen display with 1,920 x 1,280 resolution, 500 nits of brightness, and 60Hz refresh rate
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Ports:Two USB-C ports, one USB-A port, and a headphone jack
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Wireless connectivity: WiFi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4
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Dimensions: 11.25 x 8.43 x 0.61 inches
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Colors: Violet, platinum, and black
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Full-sized backlit keyboard and Precision touchpad
Microsoft Surface Pro, 12-inch (2nd edition) specs
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Battery life: Up to 15.5 hours of video playback
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Screen size and tech:12-inch touchscreen display with 2,196 x 1,464 resolution, 500 nits of brightness, and 90Hz refresh rate
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Cameras:1080p front camera and 10MP rear camera
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Ports:Two USB-C ports and Surface Pro 12-inch Keyboard connector port
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Dimensions: 10.8 x 7.47 x 0.3 inches
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Stylus and keyboard sold separately; has built-in storage for Surface Slim Pen
Microsoft Surface Mouse specs
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Inputs:Left, right, and middle click support with customizable action button and mechanical scroll wheel
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Wireless connectivity: Bluetooth 6.0; up to three devices
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Wireless range:32.8 feet in open area and 16.4 feet in office setting
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Sensor:1,000dpi (400dpi to 2,400dpi adjustable)
Haley Henschel is a Chicago-based Senior Shopping Reporter at Mashable who reviews and finds deals on popular tech, from laptops to gaming consoles and VPNs. She has years of experience covering shopping holidays and can tell you what’s actually worth buying on Black Friday and Amazon Prime Day. Her work has also explored the driving forces behind digital trends within the shopping sphere, from dupes to 12-foot skeletons.
