Arm Windows 10 laptops, tablets, and 2-in-1 hybrids have been around for a couple of years all powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon processors so far. Now Microsoft is launching Surface Pro X Windows 10 tablet powered by its own Microsoft SQ1 Arm processor.
It sells for $999 with 8GB RAM, 128GB storage, and a 13″ 2880 x 1920 x pixel touchscreen display in the default configuration, but you can also customize your order with up to 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD storage, optional keyboard and stylus for over $2,000.
Microsoft Surface Pro X Specification
Microsoft Surface Pro X specification:
- SoC – Microsoft SQ1 Arm processor @ 3.0 GHz with Adreno 685 GPU
- System Memory – 8GB or 16GB LPDDR4x RAM at 3733Mbps (option for 16GB)
- Storage – Removable 128, 256, or 512GB M.2 SSD
- Display – 13” PixelSense Display with 2880 x 1920 resolution (3:2 aspect ratio), 10 point multi-touch, 450 nits brightness
- Audio – Dual far-field Studio Mics; 2W stereo speakers with Dolby Audio Premium
- Cameras
- 5.0MP front-facing camera with 1080p full HD video, Microsoft Hello support
- 10.0MP rear-facing autofocus camera with 1080p HD and 4k video
- Connectivity
- Wi-Fi 5 802.11ac compatible
- Bluetooth 5.0
- Cellular
- Qualcomm Snapdragon X24 LTE Modem
- Up to Gigabit LTE Advanced Pro with nanoSIM and eSIM support.
- LTE Bands supported: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 38, 39, 40, 41, 46, 66
- 1x nanoSIM slot
- GNSS – Assisted GPS and GLONASS support
- USB – 2x USB-C ports
- User input – 1 x Surface Connect port for optional keyboard, optional pressure-sensitive stylus
- Sensors – Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Magnetometer, Ambient light sensor
- Security – Firmware TPM; enterprise-grade protection with Windows Hello face sign-in
- Misc – Volume & power buttons
- Battery – Up to 13 hours of typical device usage
- Dimensions – 287 x 208 x 7.3 mm ( anodized aluminum with carbon composite fanless thermal cooling)
- Weight – 774 grams (tablet only)
Surface Pro X runs Windows 10 Home with a 30-day trial for Microsoft Office 365 30. The tablet ships with a power supply, a Quick Start Guide, as well as
Safety and warranty documents. If you’d like both the keyboard and stylus above it will cost you $269.99 extra.
Microsoft notes the tablet enables “ultimate mobility” for working and connecting without an office, browsing, sketching on-screen, and streaming Netflix.
Microsoft SQ1
Microsoft did not exactly design a new Arm processor from the ground up, and instead, collaborated with Qualcomm. Microsoft SQ1 looks like a custom version of the Snapdragon 8cx processor with eight Kryo 495 cores clocked up to 3.0 GHz, an Adreno 685 GPU with 2 TFLOPS of processing power, and an integrated Snapdragon X24 modem allowing for Gigabit LTE connectivity. There’s also a 9 TOPS AI accelerator in the chip.
Microsoft Surface Pro X Reviews
Several larger news outlets and blogs have already posted reviews about the Surface Pro X including CNet, Engadget, and The Verge.
All reviewers really like the hardware design, but also note the Arm processor hurts software compatibility, stability, and performance. That’s quite a big issue for a $1,000+ machine.
Microsoft programs all work fairly well, but third-party apps such as benchmarks or Photoshop CC may not run at all. While many graphics benchmarks failed, Engadget’s reviewer was able to run Overcooked game smoothly. So it’s hit-and-miss, and you may want to double-check if the programs you intend to run are compatible before purchasing the tablet.
Via Liliputing
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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By printing their name on CPUs, Microsoft really wants us to forget the old “Wintel” era. The funny thing here is that if intel had not sold most of their ARM division, they could actually still be part of the game 🙂
>Microsoft really wants us to forget the old “Wintel” era.
Did they start feeling this way before or after Microsoft/Windows logos were silk screened/etched on a lot of AMD chips, SuperH machines etc?
~$1300 for this with keyboard or $1300 for a Lenovo laptop that actually runs stuff that isn’t a microsoft app or runs in a browser. Going to be a hard sell guys.
In theory yes, in practise no. You know there’s this usual competition in the meeting room, of those with the thinnest laptop or those with the most recent model of the stuff with a fruit-shaped lamp included in the back of the screen. Thin*recent = expensive. 30 years ago people would wear expensive watches to show how successful they are in business. 15 years ago they were showing their phones. 8 years ago they were bring their ipads with them without ever using them. Now the last thing that remains after all this crap is dirt cheap is the thinness… Read more »
I feel fortunate that I don’t have to get involved in that sort of “conspicuous consumption” at work. IMHO for the type of people that do Microsoft isn’t a sexy brand. I think people would see this and think “oo thats a new expensive i thing” then notice it’s made by Microsoft and immediately go back to talking about the iPhone 12 super dx model with 30 cameras they use for gmail and youtube.
very likely indeed 🙂
A typo: “512GB RAM”
it’s only another ARM tablet…a little bit expensive toy… another attempt by Microsoft to re-enter the ARM ecosystem … after leaving Windows Phone.
I think I prefer the Pine Book pro… 10 times cheaper
agreed, my PBP is awesome for the money!
I wouldn’t mind more horsepower and RAM though, since I’m having to compile stuff from scratch on the PBP itself…
Angelos, I recently purchased an HP Elite x2 1012 G1 from ebay for 168. The device was essentially brand new. When I look at what I have here and what Microsoft is charging for this arm device that looks essentially the same to me. I think it’s ridiculous that someone would pay a $1000 for this. I haven’t purchased a PBP, but I would buy one over this machine in a heartbeat…it seems fairly priced and I do like their phone as well. When did it become acceptable for anyone to be expected to purchase manufacturers concept devices at huge… Read more »
Actually this coul be a very nice WSL machine, before it gets kernel support.