Through a series of staggered press releases, Microsoft has introduced six new Surface devices this year. He Ultra Surface Laptop and Surface RTX Spark Development Box They have different names and designs that make them easy to identify. But the situation is less clear for the rest of the Surface hardware.
The business and consumer versions of the Surface Laptop 8 and Surface Pro 12 were announced separately by Microsoft and have key differences. But the average buyer will have a hard time finding the right PC because of Microsoft’s Surface naming scheme.
Let’s say you heard about the new Surface hardware because you’re an enthusiast. Despite the lack of an event, the launch of commercial devices without consumer counterparts at first, and Microsoft’s general lackadaisical attitude towards the Surface, we learned that consumer versions of the Surface Pro and Surface Laptop are on the way. What do you encounter? A confusing naming scheme that basically requires you to already know which device you want.
Microsoft’s website doesn’t even have a device officially called the “Surface Laptop 8.” Instead, the company has a “13-inch Surface Laptop” and a “13.8-inch Surface Laptop” available. Considering many companies have round screen sizes in their names, you’d be forgiven for assuming these are the same device.
Head to a third-party retailer and things will get worse. Search “Surface Laptop” on Best Buy’s website and you’ll see a combination of the 13.8-inch Surface Laptop (7th Edition), 13.8-inch Surface Laptop (8th Edition, but not specified on the search results page), and the Surface Laptop 13.
Normally, I wouldn’t criticize a company for keeping the same name for generations. Car buyers never seem confused about the difference between the 2025 and 2026 models of the same car. But things get a little complicated when there are similarly named devices from different generations of the same line and a PC from a separate line.
The Surface Pro family adds another layer of complexity because it has been around for so long that its generation numbers overlap with screen size configurations.
The 12-inch Surface Pro came out after the Surface Pro 11 (officially called the 13-inch Surface Pro (11th Edition)), which confused people and caused some reviews and references to call the smaller device the “Surface Pro 12.”
My head hurts writing about this. Just look at this chart covering the latest devices:
|
Official name |
casual name |
|---|---|
|
Surface Pro 13-inch (11th Edition) |
Surface Pro 11 |
|
Surface Pro 12-inch (1st Edition) |
12-inch Pro Surface |
|
Surface Pro 13-inch (12th Edition) |
Surface Pro 12 |
Maybe Microsoft would say their official names are clear, but the company changed its naming scheme a couple of years ago, and that added to the confusion. The first handful of Surface Pros were just Surface Pros followed by a number. Microsoft tried a new naming scheme with what many are calling the Surface Pro 5, but then reverted to traditional numbering for a while.
But Microsoft backed down and now uses the “Edition” naming structure, except for the confusingly named 12-inch Surface Pro.
let’s be real
I predict people will say they understand all the Surface names and that I’m an old man yelling at a cloud. But take a moment to consider people who aren’t tech savvy. Shouldn’t a Google search for “Surface Pro 12” bring up a device? Shouldn’t searching for the same on Microsoft’s own website provide clarity?
The average buyer doesn’t eat, live, or breathe Surface ads. Microsoft’s Surface naming scheme is as consistent as Xbox and Windows.
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