- Microsoft held its latest Surface devices event earlier today.
- The new lineup includes a notebook, convertible tablet, desktop AIO, audio dock and accessibility accessories.
- For now there is no word on when the new devices will be available in South Africa.
Announced a few weeks ago, Microsoft held its latest Surface devices event earlier today and the company did not disappoint on the new offerings front, as it revealed the Surface Laptop 5, Surface Pro 9, Surface Studio 2+, an Audio Dock and a range of accessories focused on accessibility.
As is the case with any new hardware from Microsoft itself, we need to temper our expectations as not all Surface devices make their way to South African shores.
That is the case with this latest lineup, as Microsoft SA will share more details on local availability and pricing later in the year.
In the interim we can at least look at what is on offer, starting with the Surface Laptop 5. The latest in this series features 12th Gen Intel Core silicon options, a USB Type-C Thunderbolt 4 port to handle most connectivity and charging concerns, and an all-day battery life according to Microsoft.
Added to this is either 13.5″ or 15″ PixelSense display options, as well as a pair of front facing cameras and studio-level microphones to assist with videoconferencing. There are also four colour options, with Sage Green being the latest. Stateside the Surface Laptop 5 starts at $999.
Next is the Surface Pro 9 as Microsoft’s flagship 2-in-1 device.
This new offering sports a 13″ display that supports up to 120Hz refresh rates, along with an under the display front facing camera. There is also some clever audio software at work that focuses on the speaker’s voice during video calls and blocks out background noise.
In terms of the internals, 12th Gen Intel processors are present too, along with a 5G supporting model being added to the mix. Microsoft says the Pro 9 can muster up to 19 hours of battery life supports Thunderbolt 4 connections to pair the 2-in-1 to a monitor or AIO. Pricing also starts at $999 in the US for the Surface Pro 9.
Lastly the Surface Studio 2+ completes the trio of new devices.
Here this AIO Desktop PC, which is also capable of being laid flat for stylus-based design work, features a 28″ 3:2 display. Internally it is powered by different options compared to the other new Surface devices, as Microsoft says it has rearchitected an Intel Core i7 H Series processor to yield up to 50 percent faster CPU performance.
It also has an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 graphic card to double the graphics performance compared to its predecessor. The Surface Studio 2+ is the most expensive of all the options shown today, starting at an eye watering $4 299 in the United States.
