Want Intel In Your Surface? Thatll Be $400 Extra, Says Microsoft

Businesses looking to pick up a Surface Pro tablet or laptop powered by Intel's latest generation of Core Ultra processors can expect to pay at least $400 more compared to Microsoft's existing Arm-based offerings.

The expanded business lineup, announced by the Windows goliath Thursday, now offers customers a choice of Surface products with either Qualcomm's Arm-compatible Snapdragon X-series processors or Intel's x86 Core Ultra Series 2 processors.

A Surface Pro and Surface Laptop, above, can now be had with your choice of Arm or x86 cores ... Source: Microsoft

However, this choice only appears to be available to business customers. From what we can tell, Microsoft's consumer-focused machines are only available with Qualcomm parts.

Launched back in September, Intel's Lunar Lake chips were its first to exceed the 40 NPU TOPS performance requirement for Copilot+ PCs set by Microsoft last spring.

Both Intel-based Surface form factors will start at $1,499 and come standard with a second-gen Core Ultra 5 processor with 4 performance and 4 efficiency cores, 16 GB of memory, 256 GB of storage, a 13-inch display, and of course an NPU capable of between 40 and 48 TOPS of grunt for all those AI efficiency boosting — or was it busting? — features baked into Windows' Copilot+ suite.

By comparison, Microsoft's Qualcomm-based Surfaces start at $1,099 and come equipped with a nearly identical loadout but swap the Intel part for a 10-core X-Plus chip.

Of course, unless you're content with the base configuration, actual prices will depend on whether you need additional memory, a larger display, or a bigger SSD. A fully loaded Surface Laptop with a 15-inch display, a higher clocked Intel Core Ultra 7 processor, 32 GB of RAM and a 1 TB SSD will cost you $2,599.

Businesses insisting on buying a Surface device but unsure of Windows on Arm compatibility will be able to pick up Microsoft's latest Wintel boxes beginning Feb. 18. However, those more concerned about integrated cellular connectivity will have to wait, as Microsoft says those boxes won't be ready for a little while longer.

• Microsoft catapults DeepSeek R1 into Azure AI Foundry, GitHub
• Linux rolls out the welcome mat for Microsoft's Copilot key
• Where does Microsoft's NPU obsession leave Nvidia's AI PC ambitions?
• Copilot invades Microsoft 365 Personal and Family for an extra three bucks a month

Regardless of whether you opt for an Intel or Qualcomm-based Surface, the machines will be compatible with Microsoft's new AI-augmented mobile device management portal, which will enter preview starting February 24.

Alongside the new PCs, Microsoft also announced a new USB 4 Dock with support for dual 4K displays, and 65 W of power pass-through, as well as the Surface Hub 3.

If you don't recall, Microsoft's Surface Hub is essentially an oversized all-in-one computer with either a 50 or 85-inch touchscreen and high-res webcam aimed at conference rooms. ®