Last yr’s Surface Pro 8 was one of many greatest design upgrades for Microsoft’s pill PC, including long-awaited options like Thunderbolt 4 and stunning upgrades like a 120Hz show. This yr’s Surface Pro 9, paradoxically, is each extra of the identical and a dramatic departure. It has the same old chip refresh — on this case, Intel’s far superior Twelfth-gen CPUs — however there’s additionally a brand new 5G-equipped mannequin with a customized SQ 3 Arm chip.

If that sounds complicated to you, properly, it’s. We final noticed the corporate’s SQ chip within the 2020 Surface Pro X, a pc that we discovered each lovely and irritating, due to Windows’ crummy software program compatibility with Arm chips. To shift that downside over to a pc with the identical identify as its Intel sibling is a recipe for catastrophe. (We can simply think about the annoyed Best Buy customers who’re dazzled with the thought of a 5G Surface, solely to be taught they can not run most of their conventional Windows apps.) The 5G Pro 9 can be damaged down into millimeter-wave and Sub-6 variants, which might be bought of their respective markets.

It’s comprehensible why Microsoft is not eager to maintain the Surface Pro X moniker going — the Pro 8 lifted lots of its fashionable design cues, in spite of everything. But from what we have seen, Windows 11 would not remedy the issues we initially had with the Pro X.

Beyond the chip updates, the Pro 9 appears largely the identical as its predecessor, with a 13″ 120Hz PixelSense show, in addition to comparatively slim display bezels. Microsoft claims the 1080p webcam has been improved, and there is additionally a 4-degree tilt to assist maintain you targeted. You’ve additionally obtained just a few bolder colours to select from, together with Sapphire, Forest and a brand new Liberty London Special Edition. (And sure, earlier than you ask, you will nonetheless have to choose up a Surface Keyboard and Slim Pen 2 individually when you really need to be productive with the Pro 9.)

Adding to the confusion of getting two chip platforms underneath the identical product identify, there are a number of main variations between them. For instance, the Intel model might be geared up with as much as 32GB of LPDDR5 RAM and a 1TB SSD, whereas the Arm variant is restricted to 16GB of LPDDR4x RAM and a 512GB SSD at most. You’ll additionally lose the 2 USB-C 4.0/Thunderbolt 4 ports on the Arm Pro 9 — as a substitute, you will get two USB-C 3.2 connections. (On the plus aspect, the 5G mannequin ought to rise up to 19 hours of battery life, 3.5 extra hours than the Intel model.)

The Intel-based Surface Pro 9 begins at $999 for a Core i5 mannequin with 8GB of RAM and a paltry 128GB of storage, whereas the most affordable 5G mannequin will run you $1,300 with the identical specs. You’ll be capable to pre-order the Surface Pro 12 in choose fashions starting today, with common availability starting on October twenty fifth.

Follow together with the remainder of our information from Microsoft’s 2022 Surface occasion.