Welcome back to the Windows Central podcast! In this special episode, Daniel Rubino and Zak Bowden take a deep dive into Microsoft’s massive new wave of Surface devices announced this week. While consumer versions are scheduled for later this summer, today it’s all about the new commercial portfolio.
We break down the three newly refreshed business devices:
- The Surface Laptop 8 (the flagship 13.8 and 15 inches)
- The 13-inch Surface Laptop (the mid-range option)
- Surface Pro 12 (the flagship 13-inch 2-in-1)
(And yes, we spent a few minutes laughing at how incredibly confusing Microsoft’s naming conventions have become!)
In this episode:
Practice with Surface Laptop 8
Daniel gives his first-hand impressions of the new 13.8-inch Laptop 8, which includes some major improvements under the hood despite maintaining the near-perfect exterior design of the last generation. We talked about the new Intel Core Ultra Series 3 “Panther Lake” X7 chip, the surprisingly capable B390 GPU, and how quiet those fans stay under heavy load.
New trading features
We also delve into features that business users will love, including:
The Windows 11 Haptic Touchpad and Haptic Cues: How Microsoft’s new API makes the digital world feel tactile when closing windows, snapping apps, or clearing video timelines.
The electronic privacy screen: Daniel explains the technology behind the new e-Privacy Display option that instantly reduces viewing angles with a simple press of the F1 key to keep your sensitive data safe from people looking over your shoulder.
The price of business and what’s next for consumption models
We conclude the episode by addressing the elephant in the room: price increases. We look at why these business units are crossing into $1,950+ territory, the reality of component pricing, and how Microsoft’s strategy compares to that of Apple and other PC OEMs. Plus, we look forward to what we can expect when the Snapdragon X2-powered consumer variants arrive later this summer.
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