Microsoft Surface Pro (12 Inch) and Surface Laptop (13 Inch): Specs, Price, Features, Release Date

Microsoft announced two new Surface laptops today—the Surface Laptop and Surface Pro—but these aren't replacing the models that debuted last year. Instead, they're slightly more affordable and exist as new options within the Surface lineup. Microsoft says these Windows laptops are the thinnest and lightest Surface devices yet, with the longest battery life, too. On paper, they sound great, but choosing a Surface laptop is now more complex.

With an MSRP of $799 for the Surface Pro (12 Inch) and $899 for the Surface Laptop (13 Inch), they're cheaper than the 2024 Surface Laptop (7th Edition) and Surface Pro (11th Edition), both of which started at $999. A lower price means some compromises—the new laptops are equipped with Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Plus chip, with no option to upgrade to the more powerful Snapdragon X Elite. The screens are smaller, with lower screen resolutions and refresh rates.

Here's everything you need to know.

The New Surface Laptop

Unlike the Surface Laptop (7th Edition), which comes with the choice between a 13-inch or 15-inch screen size, the Surface Laptop is only available in one size. The screen measures exactly 13 inches (instead of 13.8 inches on the 7th edition). It sports a 60-Hz refresh rate with up to 400 nits of brightness and supports up to two 4K monitors (at 60 Hz).

There's a 1080p webcam, a fingerprint reader built into the power button, and a decent port selection: two USB-C ports, a USB-A port, and a 3.5-mm headphone jack. Microsoft did away with the Surface Connect Port, but the USB-C port supports fast charging (with a 60-watt charger or higher).

Inside is the Snapdragon X Plus processor, which was unveiled alongside the Surface Laptop (7th Edition) and Surface Pro (11th Edition). However, this chipset has fewer cores in the newer laptop—eight versus 10—so there is a small performance hit. Microsoft says it's up to 50 percent faster than the Surface Laptop 5, which the company anticipates most Surface buyers will be upgrading from. But this could also succeed the Surface Go line, which has always been the default choice if you wanted the most compact and portable machine. The new Surface Laptop has 16 GB of RAM, and storage starts at 256 GB but can be bumped to 512 GB.