It is speculated that the new launch from Microsoft’s ARM-powered laptop may give a tough fight to Apple. Microsoft’s next surface pro might have a Snapdragon 8cx variant, the company has been working on several new Surface products that are supposed to be launched in 2020.
Microsoft is all set to introduce the range of devices that include new Surface Laptop, Surface Book, and Surface Pro device; however, the company is yet to announce it officially. Experts believe that a new form factor in the form of a dual-screen 2-in-1 codenamed Centaurus will be introduced in the product which is likely to be available in the market in 2020.
Speculations suggest that Microsoft’s major hardware will remain the same including most part, feature, designs, however, a USB-C instead of the Surface Connect port is expected. Reports suggest that Microsoft has been testing AMD Picasso SoC versions of the next Surface Laptop, this might be due to Microsoft’s relationship with Intel which is likely to end soon.
Microsoft is reportedly avoiding intel and looks inclined towards AMD and Qualcomm for surface silicon in the near future. Microsoft is keen to test the ARM version of the next Surface Pro; the company is planning to unveil Microsoft Teams for life and might announce Windows Lite during the launch.
AMD is gaining traction in the laptop and desktop PC market due to the company’s Ryzen processors that are economic, efficient and perform significantly well compared with their equivalent Intel chips.
Microsoft has been actively pushing Windows on ARM for the past few years and been in talks with Qualcomm. Qualcomm officials state that their future Snapdragon 8cx processor would change that by offering Intel Core i5-like performance. However, according to Brad Sams, Microsoft is working with Qualcomm on a custom system-on-a-chip code-named “Excalibur,” which may be better optimized for Windows 10.
Pricing looks predictable, for instance right now, the price of a 13.5-inch Book 2 model starts at around $1,200 and the price of the 15-inch model cost at around $2,500 (average price). The price range in the earlier models was comparatively higher, so no further rise in the pricing is expected.
