Report: Surface Pro 10 and Laptop 6 Are Coming in Spring 2024 With Intel and Qualcomm Chips

Microsoft could be planning one of the biggest Surface refreshes in years with its upcoming Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6, with new AI-powered chips tailored for the next version of Windows. Windows Central’s Zac Bowden is reporting today that the two new Surface devices are expected to be announced in Spring 2024, with Microsoft giving consumers the choice between Intel 14th-gen “Meteor Lake” CPUs and Qualcomm’s brand new Snapdragon X Elite chips.

With the launch of the Surface Pro 9 in October 2022, Microsoft made the Qualcomm-powered version the new base model, discontinuing the ARM-based Surface Pro X line along the way. According to the report, this choice will now be extended to the Surface Laptop line as well, and Microsoft may once again be working with Qualcomm on custom versions of the company’s X Elite chips. These are the chips that Qualcomm said would provide “multiple days” of battery life and match peak PC performance while using just 1/3 of the power.

On the Intel side, the company’s first Core Ultra mobile CPUs also bring power efficiency improvements, a more powerful integrated Arc GPU, and a neural processing unit for AI workloads. If The Surface Laptop Studio 2 that launched in October was the first Intel-powered Surface device to include a dedicated NPU, Bowden reports that the Surface Pro 10 and Laptop 6 will “be marketed as Microsoft’s first true next-gen AI PCs.”

“Internally, Microsoft is calling next-generation Arm devices powered by Qualcomm’s new chips “CADMUS” PCs,” Bowden explained. “These PCs are purpose-built for the next version of Windows, codenamed Hudson Valley, and will utilize many of the upcoming next-gen AI experiences Microsoft is building into the 2024 release of Windows.”

In addition to these new AI-powered Intel and Qualcomm chips, the Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 are also expected to introduce some notable design changes. The new laptop may come with more ports (2 USB-C ports, one USB-A port), a haptic touchpad, and a new Copilot button on the keyboard. The two Laptop 6 models may also feature an updated display with rounded corners and thinner bezels. Moreover, the smaller model may see its display size increase from 13.5 inches to 13.8 inches, while the bigger model would keep its 15-inch display.

The Surface Pro 10, however, may get more minor design changes. The report mentions a brighter display with rounded corners and a new anti-reflective coating, as well as the possible addition of an NFC reader and a wider FoV webcam on commercial models. The Type Cover may also gain a new Copilot shortcut matching the one on the Surface Laptop 6 keyboard.

Bowden also reported that Microsoft is testing a Surface Pro 10 model with a 2160 x 1440 display instead of the standard 2880 x 1920 screen. “Sources say this lower-resolution panel is only being considered for lower-tier models, meaning the more expensive models will continue to ship with the higher-resolution display,” the report reads.

Lastly, Bowden heard that Microsoft could also be working on new Surface Pro and Laptop models for commercial customers that would keep last year’s designs, but add Intel 14th-Gen chips and other minor improvements. However, he added that he’s “unsure if these will actually ship.”

This year was pretty special for Surface hardware as we had no new versions of the most popular Surface devices on the market. Surface inventor Panos Panay also left Microsoft to become the new leader of Amazon’s Devices & Services division, and it was unclear if the Surface division would get the same level of investment going forward.

Surface devices usually didn’t come with the latest and greatest chips, but the Surface Pro 10 and Laptop 6 may finally change that. And it will be interesting to see if Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite chips can finally make Windows on ARM PCs a no-compromises experience.