Surface Pro (11th generation)

Last updated

Surface Pro (11th generation)
Microsoft Surface logo.svg
Developer Microsoft
Product family Microsoft Surface
Type 2-in-1 detachable
Generationeleventh
Release date18 June 2024;
17 days ago (2024-06-18)
Introductory price USD $999 to 2,099
Operating system Windows 11 Home or Pro
CPU Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus or
Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite
Qualcomm Hexagon (NPU)
Memory16GB, or 32GB
Storage256GB, 512GB,
or 1TB SSD
Display13 inch touchscreen
120 Hz refresh rate
PixelSense Display
2880 x 1920, 267 PPI
3:2 Aspect Ratio
LCD or OLED
Graphics Adreno
Sound2W stereo speakers with
Dolby Atmos
InputBuilt-in: touchscreen, ambient light sensor, accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer,
dual far-field studio mics
Sold Separately: type cover, mouse, stylus pen, Surface Dial
CameraFront: 1440p Quad HD
Rear: 10 MP, 4K
TouchpadOn the Surface Type Cover
(sold separately)
Connectivity WiFi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, 5G, 2 USB-C with Thunderbolt (interface)
Online services Microsoft Store, OneDrive
Dimensions287 mm x 208 mm x 9.3 mm
(11.3 in x 8.2 in x 0.37 in)
Mass895 grams (1.973 lb) – 895 grams (1.973 lb)
Predecessor Surface Pro 10
Surface Pro X
Related Surface
Website www.surface.com

The Surface Pro (11th generation) (also referred to as the Surface Laptop 11th Edition) is a 2-in-1 detachable tablet computer developed by Microsoft to supersede the Surface Pro 10 and Surface Pro X. It was released shortly after the Intel x86-based Surface Pro 10, and unveiled alongside the Surface Laptop (7th generation). The Surface Pro 11 introduces the Qualcomm Snapdragon X series CPUs to the Surface Pro model line, and therefore runs Windows on ARM. It's also the first Surface device with a built-in NPU designed for generative AI, via Microsoft Copilot+

Contents

Background and reveal

Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon X line of CPUs on Oct 10, 2023. [1] Microsoft announced the Surface Pro 11 and Surface Laptop (7th generation) at an AI-related press event on May 20, 2024. The press release touted performance, efficiency, and battery life that would rival the Macbook Air M3, and major performance gains over the Surface Pro 9. The CPU options available are the Snapdragon X Plus with 10 cores, and the Snapdragon X Elite with 12 cores. The devices contain a Hexagon NPU for use with Microsoft Copilot+ generative AI app. [2]

Given the mixed reception of previous Surface on ARM devices, the Snapdragon X family of CPUs sought to provide the best performance, improved battery life, and lower heat output as compared to x86 Surface devices (the latter two still considered pain points of x86 Windows mobile devices). As well as integrate generative AI features and the Hexagon NPU. ARM-native apps have also seen larger support on Windows now than ever before. With the early Surface devices running Windows RT, complaints were lodged regarding the lack of compatible apps on Windows on ARM. [3] The Surface Pro X showed improvements, with the introduction of an x86-compatibility layer to emulate x86 apps. The Surface Pro 11E introduces a new x86 emulator known as Prism, which promises better x86 emulation performance. Presently, Microsoft claims that 90% of total app minutes that users spend in apps now have native ARM versions. [4] Google released Chrome on ARM in 2024, and Adobe has been rolling out ARM native apps for Photoshop, Illustrator, and Premiere Pro. [5] [6]

Hardware

Software

Surface Pro 11 ship with a pre-installed 64-bit version of Windows 11 Home (which may be upgraded to Pro for a fee) and a trial of Office 365. Windows 11 24H2 includes an updated x86 emulator, now called Prism. Similar to Rosetta 2 on Apple Silicon, this is a compatibility layer which allows x86-based applications to run on the ARM instruction set, to address apps that have not yet seen ARM-native releases. [8]

Windows 11 includes Microsoft Copilot for AI features. Microsoft Recall, a controversial snapshot search history AI feature was disabled upon launch, and will be opt-in only once it launches. Recall was widely derided upon it's reveal, citing security and privacy concerns, prompting Microsoft to make it an opt-in only feature. [9]

Release and reception

The Surface Pro 11 was released on June 18, 2024, and received generally positive reviews. Praises include great performance for regular use, greatly improved battery life, impressive design and form factor, and much improved repairability. John Loeffler of Tech Radar admitted that the SP11 vastly surpassed his own expectations from the year prior, where he scoffed at the idea of another ARM-based Surface Pro being a good idea. Loeffler cites the improved x86 emulation via ‘’Prism’’, the outstanding battery life, OLED display, and performance. He cites it as a worthy competitor to the iPad Pro. Complaints were lodged at the expensive cost of the flex keyboard and Surface Pen (for a device that already has a baseline price of $999). He also feels that the AI features are still rather gimmicky, and that there still needs to be greater adoption of ARM-native apps for the platform. [10]

Ed Bott of ZDNET says that the SP11 has replaced his daily driver tablet after one week of trying it out. He cited how much more cooled and quiet the device is, with his x86 Surface Pro would be uncomfortably hot for after the same amount of time doing the same tasks as he was. Per the battery life, he said that his initial impressions so far coupled with the battery report, indicate that the can get about twice as much battery life than his Surface Pro 9, and on-par with his Macbook Air M2. He was also very impressed with the camera. He said that app compatibility is a mixed bag. Some x86 apps run well, others are still problematic, and that ARM-native apps are gradually rolling out. He noted that at the time of review, Google Drive and popular VPN apps like Proton VPN and ExpressVPN are still only x86, and so users of those apps may want to stick with x86-based devices. He too expressed a mixed reception over the AI features, some felt gimmicky, others added a nice touch to existing apps. [11]

Devindra Hardawar of Engadget cites the SP11 as the best Surface Pro device ever made, in spite of the AI, which he feels is a far less compelling reason to buy the device. While he feels it’s overall solid, instead, the great performance of the Snapdragon X chips, great battery life, display, and flex keyboard are the true x-factors at play. He also notes that it can get expensive quickly, and that app compatibility still has its problems. [12]

Tom Warren of The Verge commented on Windows on ARM as a whole. He noted that the Windows on ARM experience has improved dramatically from the Surface Pro X in 2019. Noting popular apps such as Photoshop, DropBox, Spotify, Prime, Hulu, Firefox, Chrome, Vivaldi, Edge, Brave, and Opera are all ARM-native now. He says that after a week, he hasn’t seen the erratic behavior that plagued previous x86 emulation on Windows on ARM, but says it doesn’t measure up quite to Microsoft’s claimed performance. Ultimately, it depends on the complexity of the app. And that Qualcomm should engage with app developers on how to best optimize the apps for the hardware, as they cannot rely on Prism to handle everything. He also states that gaming experience is lacking: Some games won’t even run, others run at a particularly mid performance, and many anti-cheat softwares use kernel drivers that aren’t yet supported by emulation. He ultimately feels that ARM-native app accessibility will only improve within the coming years, and that Windows on ARM finally feels poised to succeed. [13]

Serviceability and repairability

Microsoft has released service guides for Surface Pro 11 and Surface Laptop 7. [14]

iFixit has given both the Surface Pro 11 Surface Laptop 7 an overall rating of 8/10 on the repairability scale. Noting the improvements over previous Surface devices, and the user-removable SSD. [15]

Timeline

Timeline of Surface devices
Surface Duo 2Surface DuoSurface Hub 3Surface Hub 2SSurface HubSurface Studio 2Surface Studio 2Surface StudioSurface Laptop SESurface Laptop Studio 2Surface Laptop StudioSurface Laptop Go 3Surface Laptop Go 2Surface Laptop GoSurface Laptop (7th generation)Surface Laptop 6Surface Laptop 5Surface Laptop 4Surface Laptop 3Surface Laptop 2Surface LaptopSurface Book 3Surface Book 2Surface BookSurface Pro XSurface Pro XSurface Go 4Surface Go 3Surface Go 2Surface GoSurface Pro (11th generation)Surface Pro 10Surface Pro 9Surface Pro 8Surface Pro 7Surface Pro 7Surface Pro 6Surface Pro (2017)Surface Pro 4Surface Pro 3Surface Pro 2Surface ProSurface 3Surface 2Surface (2012 tablet)Surface Pro (11th generation)

Notes

    Related Research Articles

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    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Qualcomm Snapdragon</span> Suite of system-on-a-chip (SoC) semiconductor products

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    Windows Dev Kit 2023 is an ARM-based compact desktop computer for software developers, developed by Microsoft. It was announced during the Build conference on May 24, 2022, and was released on October 24, 2022.

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    Lunar Lake is the codename for the upcoming Series 2 Core Ultra mobile processors designed by Intel, set for release in the third quarter of 2024. It is set to follow on from Meteor Lake which saw Intel move from monolithic silicon to a disaggregated MCM design. Meteor Lake was limited to a mobile release while Arrow Lake includes both socketable desktop and mobile processors.

    References

    1. ↑ "Introducing Our Next Gen Intelligent PC Platforms: The Snapdragon X Series". www.qualcomm.com. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
    2. ↑ "Microsoft Surface Pro 11 release date, specs, price and latest news". www.tomsguide.com. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
    3. ↑ "Hands on: Microsoft Surface Pro: giving the iPad Pro a serious challenge for the first time". www.techradar.com. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
    4. ↑ "Accelerating innovation: A new era of AI at work begins". www.blog.windows.com. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
    5. ↑ "Google just launched a faster, more efficient Chrome browser for Windows, but there's a catch". ZDNet . Retrieved 20 May 2024.
    6. ↑ "Adobe finally takes Windows on Arm seriously with native versions of Premiere Pro and Illustrator coming next month". www.xda-developers.com. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
    7. ↑ "Microsoft Surface Pro Fact Sheet" (PDF). www.microsoft.com. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
    8. ↑ "Microsoft says "Prism" translation layer does for Arm PCs what Rosetta did for Macs". Ars Technica. 20 May 2024. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
    9. ↑ "Microsoft's all-knowing Recall AI feature is being delayed". The Verge. 13 June 2024. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
    10. ↑ "Microsoft Surface Pro 11 review: the best Surface ever — and it'll only get better". www.techradar.com. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
    11. ↑ "I tested the cheapest Surface Pro Copilot+ PC for a week, and it easily replaced my daily driver". ZDNet . Retrieved 26 June 2023.
    12. ↑ "Surface Pro Copilot+ review: The best Surface tablet ever made, no thanks to AI". www.engadget.com. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
    13. ↑ "Windows on Arm finally has legs". www.theverge.com. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
    14. ↑ "Download Surface Service Guides from Official Microsoft Download Center". Microsoft.com. 19 June 2024. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
    15. ↑ "From 0/10 to 8/10: Microsoft Puts Repair Front and Center". www.ifixit.com. 22 June 2024. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
    Preceded by Surface Pro
    11th generation
    With: Surface Laptop (7th generation)     		Succeeded by
    TBA


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