Microsoft Refreshes Surface for Business Lineup With Intel’s Latest Core Ultra Chips

Microsoft is refreshing its Surface for Business lineup today with new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop models powered by Intel’s latest Core Ultra Series 3 mobile CPUs, also codenamed “Panther Lake.” Besides a performance bump, business customers can expect a new advanced haptic touchpad on the 13.8-inch and 15-inch Surface Laptop for Business, as well as an optional privacy screen with anti-glare on select 13.8-inch models.

“Surface was created to set the standard for what a premium Windows 11 PC can be, and that standard has never been higher,” said Nancie Gaskill, Vice President, Surface Business, COO. These new Intel-powered Surface for Business models will be followed by ARM-based versions powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X2 chips later this year.

Microsoft promises “more than 90% faster performance than Laptop 5 and up to 2x faster performance than Surface Pro 9” with Intel’s Core Ultra Series 3 chips.” As for graphics performance, business customers can expect up to 35% more graphics performance than Apple’s M5 MacBook Air on Surface Laptop models with high-end Core Ultra X7 CPUs.

The new chips also include an NPU delivering up to 50 TOPS of performance for on-device AI tasks, and they also support Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 connectivity.

All Surface for Business devices are Secured-core PCs with a Microsoft Pluton security processor offering chip-to-cloud protection. They’re easy to manage through Microsoft Intune, Windows Autopilot, and the Surface Management Portal. Moreover, Surface for Business devices are designed for repairability, with all major device components being easily replaceable.

New 13-inch Surface Laptop for Business (1st Edition)

The smaller 13-inch Surface Laptop that Microsoft launched last year is now available in a Business Edition with Intel Core Ultra 5 Series 3 CPUs. It’s available in select markets starting today in 16GB and 24GB configurations and up to 1TB of storage, with a $1,499 starting price. A more affordable model with just 8GB of RAM is coming later this year, and it will start at $1,299.99.

“The new Surface Laptop for Business 13-inch is the most portable Surface Laptop, ready for the AI era from the moment it is deployed,” Gaskill said today. With on-device AI processing, Wi-Fi 71, and a removable Gen 4 SSD designed for enterprise serviceability, it brings the full Surface experience to the entry-premium tier without asking IT or employees to trade off performance and productivity for portability.”

The 13-inch Surface Laptop for Business (1st Edition) features a 13-inch 3:2 PixelSense display with a 1920×1280 resolution and a 60Hz refresh rate. It offers up to 14 hours of active web usage and up to 22 hours of local video playback. Users can connect up to two 4K 60Hz monitors using the two USB-C 3.2 ports, and there’s also one USB-A 3.2 port.

While the 1080p camera on the 13-inch Surface Laptop for Business supports the AI Windows Studio Effect, there’s no Windows Hello facial recognition. Microsoft added a fingerprint sensor to the power button, however. The Surface Laptop also lacks a Surface Connect port for charging, but the two USB-C ports support fast charging with a minimum 60W charger. If a USB-C charging cable is included in the box, Microsoft’s Surface 45W USB-C charger is an optional purchase.

13.8-inch and 15-inch Surface Laptop for Business (8th Edition)

The new 13.8-inch and 15-inch Surface Laptop for Business start at $1,949.99, and they’re available with different Intel Core Ultra Series 3 CPUs: The smaller model is configurable with Core Ultra 5 and Core Ultra X7 chips, while the 15-inch model is only available with Core Ultra 7 chips. All models are offered with either 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB of RAM, and 256B, 512GB, or 1TB of storage.

Microsoft is introducing advanced haptic touchpads on the new laptop, which offer tactile feedback when snapping and resizing windows, dragging and dropping content, and more. Haptic feedback can be fine-tuned or disabled through Windows settings.

There’s also an optional integrated privacy screen with anti‑glare on select configurations of the 13-inch model. It can be enabled by using the dedicated keyboard key (F1), and the feature uses a luminance control algorithm to make the anti-reflective PixelSense display appear significantly dimmer from off-axis viewing angles. “It is designed to operate alongside core Windows display technologies such as automatic brightness and HDR,” the company explained.

Compared to the 13-inch Surface Laptop for Business (1st Edition), the 13.8-inch and 15-inch models (8th Edition) offer better displays with a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate, and more performance with Core Ultra X7 and Ultra 7 chips, and up to 64GB of memory. The devices also offer Windows Hello Facial recognition and a Surface Connect port for charging.

Using the two USB-C ports and other accessories like the Surface Thunderbolt 4 Dock, users can connect up to three 4K 60Hz monitors, and there’s also an additional USB-A port. Select configurations of the 15-inch model also include an optional MicroSDXC card reader, and Microsoft also offers a free power supply in select markets.

New 13-inch Surface Pro for Business (12th Edition)

Microsoft’s new 13-inch Surface Pro for Business tablet (12th Edition) is available with Intel Core Ultra 5 and Ultra 7 CPUs, up to 64GB of RAM, up to 1TB of storage, and optional OLED displays. This year, the company is also offering optional 5G connectivity, which was previously only available on Qualcomm-powered versions of the Surface Pro for Business (11th Edition).

Compared to the previous model, the new Intel-powered Surface Pro for Business offers up to 17 hours of battery life with local video playback (up from 14 hours on the previous model), and it can connect to up to three 4K monitors using the 2 USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports and other accessories like the Surface Thunderbolt 4 dock. The Surface Connect port is still there with support for 60W Fast Charging, though Microsoft only includes a 39W power supply in the box in select markets.

Just like the latest 13.8-inch and 15-inch Surface Laptop for Business, the Surface Pro for Business (12th Edition) supports Windows Studio Effects and Windows Hello face authentication camera via its superior Quad HD front-facing Surface Studio Camera with an ultrawide field of view. The new tablet also offers an adaptive 120Hz refresh rate on both its LCD and OLED 2880×1920 PixelSense displays with an anti-reflective coating.

The new 13-inch Surface Pro for Business (12th Edition) starts at $1,949.99, though the keyboard still needs to be purchased separately. The new tablet is compatible with the new Surface Pro 13-inch Flex keyboard and existing Surface Pro and Pro X Signature keyboards.