Microsoft Surface October Event Announces Surface Laptop 5 With 12th Gen Intel CPUs
Microsoft unveiled new Surface devices at its annual hardware event, which was held virtually: the Surface Laptop 5, Surface Pro 9, and the Surface Studio 2+, each of which has a new processor. The business also unveiled a fresh Microsoft 365 app and a few new work-from-home gear.
The following Surface hardware is all presently available for preorder at Microsoft.com and will go on sale on October 25. Everything Microsoft announced is included below.
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 is now available, however the only thing that has changed from the models from the previous year is the number in the name. The new Surface Pro 9 detachable two-in-one and a (slightly) updated Surface Studio 2 Plus all-in-one desktop were both unveiled on Wednesday at Microsoft's Surface event.
The switch to Intel's 12th-gen Core processors, namely a choice of an i5-1245U or i7-1265U, is the main change between the Surface Laptop 4 and this model, which is available in 13.5- and 15-inch sizes. According to Microsoft's release, performance is 50% faster and battery life is a little bit longer than the Surface Laptop 4.
Along with the new processor comes speedier DDR5 memory in capacities of 8GB, 16GB, or 32GB. It comes with a detachable solid-state drive with a storage capacity of 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB. Additionally, AMD aficionados this time around are out of luck (at least for the moment).
There aren't many ports on the Surface Laptop 5. There is only one USB-C port, one USB-A 3.1 port, one Surface Connect port, and one combined headset jack. The USB-C port is now USB 4.0/Thunderbolt 4, which is a plus. Microsoft appears to have missed the word about enhancing built-in webcams, as the Surface Laptop 5's one is stuck at a 720p HD quality. For generally crisper, more detailed video, other PC manufacturers have increased resolution to 1080p full HD.
The 13-inch model ships on October 25 for $1,000, and the 15-inch model starts at $1,300.
Ironically, Microsoft has two new add-ons that enhance the experience of hybrid meetings. The first presentation controller approved for Microsoft Teams is Microsoft Presenter Plus. The Bluetooth remote includes a Teams button that allows you to raise or lower your hand in a meeting to facilitate involvement in addition to the standard presenter functions like slide advance, mute/unmute, and screen pointer.
The Microsoft Audio Dock is another option; it combines a speakerphone and a USB-C dock. The speaker is compatible with Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and Google Meet and boasts two forward-facing, noise-canceling microphones in addition to a 15-watt woofer and 5-watt tweeters (far more power than the speakers on your laptop). You can always tell when your microphone is live thanks to the built-in volume, play/pause, and mute controls, as well as the mute status light.
You may utilise the HDMI 2.0 out and one of its two USB-C ports to drive two monitors when you connect it to your laptop with the 1-meter USB-C connection. Additionally, there is a USB-A 3.2 connector and another USB-C port that can be utilised for data or device charging.