Microsoft announces new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop with smaller screens, lower starting prices, and surprising design changes

Microsoft has announced that it's launching two new Surface PCs this month, designed to be more portable and affordable in the Copilot+ PC space. The company is expanding the Surface Pro and Surface Laptop lines with new 12- and 13-inch models, respectively, featuring tweaked designs and lower starting prices.

Microsoft launched its first Copilot+ PCs last May with the 13-inch Surface Pro 11 and 13.8- and 15-inch Surface Laptop 7, powered by Snapdragon X Plus and X Elite SoCs. These devices started at $999 and were positioned as the company's flagship Surface PCs. Now, these devices are gaining two new, smaller siblings.

The new Surface Pro 12-inch

The new Surface Pro 12-inch starts at $799 and is the more interesting product being announced today. It's a complete redesign of the Surface Pro, featuring a new 90Hz display that's flanked by uniform bezels and a redesigned chassis with built-in magnetic pen charging on the back.

That means you no longer need the Surface Pro Keyboard accessory to store and charge the Surface Slim Pen, as it now attaches to the back of the tablet itself. The 12-inch Surface Pro has its own keyboard accessory for $149, which features a new "smooth matte" palm rest, and connects to the tablet via pogopins.

This new keyboard doesn't raise and attach to the lower bezel like the 13-inch Surface Pro keyboard can. It's also not wireless and doesn't have a haptic trackpad like the Surface Pro Flex Keyboard does. However, it does feature a backlight and a new hinge that lets the keyboard rotate 360 degrees and lie flat on the back of the tablet.

Just like its larger sibling, the Surface Pro 12-inch doesn't skimp out on biometric authentication. It features the fully-fledged Windows Hello face unlock, which is fast and secure and is much preferred over fingerprint login. It also features two USB-C ports, just like the flagship, but omits Surface Connect.

The magnetic Surface Connect charging port has been a staple of the Surface Pro since its inception, and this 12-inch model is the first to remove it. The device can be charged via USB-C, and a USB-C cable is included in the box.

The new Surface Pro 12-inch is thinner and lighter than the flagship 13-inch Surface Pro. In fact, it's very similar in weight and thickness to the Surface Pro X, thanks in part to the fact that the Surface Pro 12-inch doesn't have a fan or vents.

It's a fully enclosed chassis, which means the device can be thinner as it doesn't need to make room for airflow. The device is passively cooled, made possible by the Snapdragon X Plus that powers the device.

The device weighs just 686g and is 7.8mm thin, that's down from 895 grams and 9.3mm on the 13-inch Surface Pro 11. It's also just 7.8mm thin, down from 9.3mm. It's very comparable to the Surface Pro X, which was 774g and 7.3mm.

The new 13-inch Surface Laptop

The new Surface Laptop 13-inch starts at $899 and is an upgraded Surface Laptop Go in everything but name. Compared to the Surface Laptop Go 3, it features a larger and higher resolution 1080p screen, a backlit keyboard, and an all-aluminum chassis.

It also includes Windows Hello fingerprint unlock built into the power button, a non-haptic trackpad, and a 60Hz touchscreen panel. Those are a downgrade over the Surface Laptop 7 13.8-inch, which has Windows Hello face unlock, a haptic trackpad, and a 120Hz touchscreen panel.

It does also include a slightly tweaked design over both the Surface Laptop Go and Surface Laptop 7. It has a rounder chassis more similar to the MacBook Air, and a rejigged port layout. It has one USB-A port and 3.5mm audio jack on the left, and two USB-C ports on the right.

Just like the Surface Pro 12-inch, the Surface Laptop 13-inch omits the magnetic Surface Connect charge port, meaning the device can only be charged via a USB-C cable, which is included in the box.

The new Surface Laptop 13-inch is $100 more expensive than the outgoing Surface Laptop Go 3, but $100 cheaper than the 13.8-inch Surface Laptop 7, meaning it slots in nicely between the two offerings.

Unlike the Surface Pro 12-inch, the Surface Laptop 13-inch is still actively cooled with a fan, which should mean better sustained performance under load. All Surface Laptop's on sale by Microsoft have a fan.

Microsoft also touts the Surface Laptop 13-inch as its longest-lasting Surface, with 23 hours of video playback. That beats the Surface Laptop 7 15-inch, which is rated for 20 hours of video playback.

Pre-orders live now

Pre-orders for both the Surface Pro 12-inch ($799) and Surface Laptop 13-inch ($899) are now live, with shipments expected to begin on May 20. As always, Microsoft also offers these devices to students at a discount, making these devices even cheaper than $799 and $899.

Alongside the new Surface PCs, Microsoft has also announced a handful of new Windows experiences coming soon to Windows 11, including more Copilot+ AI features such as an AI agent in Windows Settings.