Hardware for Windows 11: New Surface Pro and Surface Go unveiled

On October 5, Windows 11 will be officially released for all Windows 10 users as an update and ISO download. At the same time, the first devices that have Windows 11 preinstalled will appear on the market. Just in time, Microsoft today announced a successor for the Surface Pro 7 and Surface Go 2, which will be released with Windows 11 in October.

Surface Pro 8

The design of the new Surface Pro 8 is based more on the Surface Pro X than its predecessor. The display edges have shrunk by quite a bit and the thickness of the device has also been reduced somewhat. The screen diagonal is still 13 inches. In addition, the screen now has a variable refresh rate of up to 120 Hz. Combined with the new Surface Slim Pen 2 with haptic feedback, writing on the Surface Pro 8 should feel like writing on a piece of paper, according to Microsoft. Similar to the Surface Pro X, the pen can be stowed in the Type Cover and charged at the same time.

Inside, there are now eleventh-generation Intel Core i5/i7 processors including Intel UHD graphics or Iris Xe, depending on the model. In addition, 8 to 32 GB of working memory is available. SSD storage is available between 128 GB and 1 TB, but can also be exchanged via a flap under the kickstand.

Microsoft promises up to 16 hours of battery life. In practice, that will most likely not be achievable and settle in the 10 hour range, I expect. In addition, the Surface Pro 8 comes with a 60-watt power adapter that is supposed to bring the device to 80% charge within just under an hour.

Thanks to new USB-C ports, the Surface Pro 8 gets Thunderbolt 4 support. USB-A ports are no longer installed. For wireless connectivity, the Surface Pro 8 supports Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1, and versions of the Surface Pro 8 with LTE are also available. 5G is still a long time coming.

The Surface Pro 8 is now available for pre-order starting at a price of 1179€. It will start shipping on October 28.

Surface Go 3

For the slimmer wallet, Microsoft has announced a revision of the Surface Go. The Surface Go is basically a smaller and less powerful device in the Surface family. In this regard, I would describe the new Surface Go 3 as a slimmed-down Surface Pro 7.

The design doesn’t catch up with the other new Surface devices that have been unveiled. The display edges are still relatively wide, just like on the Surface Pro 7. Likewise, the Surface Go 3 does not support the new Slim Pen 2, but still the round Surface Pen.

Internally, you get either an Intel Pentium Gold 6500 or Core i3-10100Y with Intel UHD graphics. 4 or 8 GB of RAM are also available. You have the choice between 64 GB as eMMC or 128 GB as SSD. Up to 10 hours of battery life should be possible with the Surface Go 3, according to Microsoft. Charging is possible via the included power adapter with 24 watts.

Besides the Surface Connect port, the Surface Go 3 only has one USB-C port, but unlike the Surface Pro 8, it does not support Thunderbolt. Wi-Fi 6 is also available on the Surface Go 3, just like on the Surface Pro 8. Bluetooth is available in version 5.0, and there is LTE support for some variants.

The Surface Go 3 is available for pre-order for 439€ starting today. Unlike the Surface Pro 8, it will be shipped and available in stores as early as October 8.