Surface Pro 9 comes in both Intel and Arm flavors, absorbing the Surface Pro X

For this refresh, Microsoft works up the courage to remove the headphone jack.

Andrew Cunningham – Oct 12, 2022 10:00 am | 47

Microsoft's Surface Pro 9 is actually two totally different computers that look the same from the outside. Credit: Microsoft

Microsoft is introducing a pair of typical, iterative updates to its Surface Pro convertible tablet PCs today. One is a modest upgrade to the Surface Pro 8, with 12th-generation Intel processors that promise much-improved performance for things that benefit from lots of CPU cores. The other is a refresh of the Surface Pro X, with a new Microsoft SQ3 Arm processor provided by Qualcomm.

The catch is that both of these tablets are now called “Surface Pro 9,” an admission on Microsoft’s part that it knew about the number 9 all along (and also possibly an effort to stop people from thinking that a Surface Pro X is one better than a Surface Pro 9).

The vanilla Surface Pro 9 is the more traditional Intel version, while the “Surface Pro 9 with 5G” includes an entirely different processor and the Arm version of Windows, with all that entails—a performance penalty for the vast majority of third-party Windows apps, but also the promise of better battery life. Both Surface Pro 9 models will be available on October 25, with preorders available now.

The Intel version of the Surface Pro 9 comes in a total of four colors, which (when translated from marketing copy to English) are silver, black, green, and blue. The Arm-powered 5G version only comes in silver. Credit: Microsoft

Microsoft has taken pains to make the CPU the only difference you can notice between these two computers. While the Surface Pro 8 took a lot of cues from the Surface Pro X design, the Surface Pro 9 models have fully converged, with the exact same dimensions and weight (just a shade under two pounds) and the same 13-inch, 120 Hz, 2880×1920 touchscreen. The two machines support the same Type Cover and Surface Pen accessories and have user-replaceable M.2 storage drives. Both models also have an upgraded Windows Hello-compatible 1080p webcam and a 10-megapixel rear-facing camera.

There are more differences inside. Both tablets have the same number of physical ports, but the protocols supported are slightly different—you get one Surface Connect port and two USB-C ports that support Thunderbolt 4 on the Intel version of the Surface and USB 3.2 on the Arm version. Neither tablet includes a headphone jack, an omission that is still rare but that we’ve also seen in newer versions of the Dell XPS 13.

The Surface Pro 9 with 5G obviously supports 5G instead of just Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1, and it also includes Microsoft Pluton compatibility that the Intel version lacks.

A snazzy sub-variant of the blue Surface Pro 9 includes an intricate pattern called “Liberty,” which will sadly only be available at Liberty and Microsoft Stores and only for a limited time. Credit: Microsoft

The Intel version of the Surface Pro 9 starts at $1,000 for a configuration that only comes in the Platinum color option and includes a Core i5-1245U CPU, 128GB of user-upgradeable storage, and 8GB of non-upgradeable RAM. For $1,099, you step up to 256GB of storage and can choose from among the Platinum, Graphite, Forest, and Sapphire finishes. A Core i7-1265U CPU upgrade with somewhat higher clock speeds (but the same number and type of cores), 16 and 32GB RAM upgrades, and 512GB and 1TB storage upgrade options are also available, topping out at $2,600 for a maxed-out version.

Per usual, any Type Cover or Surface Pen accessories you choose to buy will cost extra—they aren’t included in the base price of either tablet.

There are fewer options available for the Surface Pro 9 with 5G, which only comes in Platinum and starts at $1,300 for a version with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of user-upgradeable storage. A version with 256GB of storage costs $1,400, while a version that also adds 16GB of RAM is $1,600 (there is no 32GB option in the Arm model).

Microsoft didn’t say much of anything about the specs of the SQ3 processor, but it’s most likely a lightly customized version of the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3, an eight-core CPU that Qualcomm says has 85 percent better CPU performance and 60 percent better GPU performance than the 8cx Gen 2 that was the basis of the Microsoft SQ2. The company also played up the chip’s “Neural Processing Unit,” or NPU, as a way to accelerate AI and machine learning workflows.

One Microsoft-branded, Arm-powered device we haven’t heard more about? Project Volterra, the developer-centric mini desktop that Microsoft announced at its Build developer conference back in May. It seems likely that Volterra will use the same Microsoft SQ3 processor (both the Volterra press release and today’s Surface release play up the presence and capabilities of the NPU in similar terms), but beyond that, we don’t know much—a Microsoft representative reiterated to Ars that “there would be more to share at a later date.”

Ars Technica may earn compensation for sales from links on this post through affiliate programs.