Microsoft's latest Surfaces were built for serious business

Microsoft announced the Surface Pro 10 for Business and the Surface Laptop 6 for Business on Thursday, as expected. But what differentiates these new Surfaces from earlier models is that these new laptops actually feel like they were designed with businesses in mind — and the Surface Pro 10 is perfect if you’re coming down with spring fever.

Microsoft is accepting orders for both devices today, with shipments beginning April 9. Prices begin at $1,199 for both. Consumer versions of the Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 are likely due in May. Microsoft has scheduled a second event just before its Build conference, with additional Surface hardware and AI improvements in Copilot and Windows on the table.

This marks the first time that the Surface for Business brand actually feels somewhat purpose-built. For years, Microsoft’s “business” devices have been essentially carbon copies of the consumer hardware, merely running the “Pro” version of Windows 10 and Windows 11. Meanwhile, competitors like Dell have differentiated commercial and consumer brands like Latitude and Inspiron through differences in design as well as marketing.

Inside these new devices are upgrades that will clearly benefit businesses, such as the use of Intel’s Core Ultra processor; the eventual addition of 5G to an Intel-based Surface, the first time Microsoft has done so; a new bolder, business keyboard; NFC (on the Surface Pro 10) and a smartcard reader (on the Surface Laptop 6). They’re Secured-Core PCs with enhanced sign-in security on by default. They do not, however, include Intel’s business-oriented vPro version of the Core Ultra chips.

Microsoft has also announced other upgrades to these new Surface devices that I expect will be a sneak peek at the consumer versions. They include a significantly brighter, but more anti-reflective screen and better webcams, including a new wide-angle camera on the Surface Pro 10 that most likely will be used for AI panning and zoom. And, of course, there’s the new Copilot key that will launch Microsoft’s AI service where it’s available.

Microsoft

Otherwise, the new Surface Pro 10 for Business is the same 13-inch tablet you’ve seen before, and the familiar Surface Laptop 6 comes in both 13.5- and 15-inch options. Unfortunately, Microsoft still isn’t selling the (almost mandatory) new Surface Pro Keyboard or the (more optional) Surface Slim Pen 2 as a unified bundle out of the gate, though most retailers will eventually sell them as a bundle.

What’s new in the Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 for Business

AI, of course, is the new watchword. Both Surface devices will include the dedicated Copilot key that Microsoft talked about earlier, with a catch: if Copilot isn’t available in your region, it will default to the standard Windows Search instead. Copilot can also select between “Work” and a personal account, so that Copilot can access a user’s workplace environment. And although Microsoft’s Windows app allows Mac users to access a Windows Cloud PC, Windows users in businesses can use it for Windows 365 and other cloud tools.

Both the Surface Pro 10 for Business and Surface Laptop 6 for Business will be the first Surfaces to use Intel’s Core Ultra (Meteor Lake) chips, which include a dedicated AI block, the NPU. Windows 11 taps that NPU for what it calls Windows Studio Effects, which includes automatic zoom and panning, as well as noise filtering.

Select laptops, including the Surface Pro 9, had used a dedicated Movidius AI card to achieve those same effects. Now, both the hardware and the processor have been more closely aligned for AI-enhanced video calls. The upcoming consumer versions of the Pro 9 and the Laptop 6 are expected to use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite chip instead, which also features a dedicated and likely more powerful NPU than what the Core Ultra offers.

Microsoft

In a video, Microsoft showed off how Copilot could be used as an assistant to an app like OneNote — using AI to help organize and clean up notes, but also reformat them. One Microsoft exec showed off how her handwritten notes on agile software could be reformatted into a text table, just by asking Copilot.

Microsoft is also announcing a new Surface Pro Keyboard with a “bold” keyset — meaning that the characters on the keys are brighter and more pronounced. Microsoft is also making its Adaptive Accessories available to business customers.

Microsoft

The more significant upgrades seem to have been reserved for the Surface Pro 10 for Business.

Windows Studio Effects is almost certainly the justification for the new Ultrawide Studio Camera that now appears in the Surface Pro 10. It features a wider 114-degree field of view, which normally wouldn’t be all that useful if the camera was focused on a single person.

Mark Hachman / IDG

But the Ultrawide Studio Camera now offers 1440p resolution, up from a 1080p webcam a generation ago. Microsoft will likely use that additional resolution as an option to crop down or zoom in on your face, and do the same if you move from left to right. Microsoft isn’t giving the same treatment to the Surface Laptop 6 for Business, however, which features a more typical 1080p camera.

A tablet for the great outdoors?

But if you don’t want to spend all day in an office, Microsoft has also made the Pro 10 for Business a great tablet for outdoor use.

Our review photos of the Surface Pro 9 (5G) were shot outdoors, an appropriate place to work with an integrated 5G radio. The Pro 9’s screen only put out 443 nits of brightness — still significantly above the 260 nits we consider adequate for working in a well-lit room. But the Surface Pro 10 for Business features a new screen capable of 600 nits, which pushes it into the “why don’t I try ‘working’ from the hammock territory.” Contrast has been bumped up a bit, from 1200:1 to 1300:1, too.

Mark Hachman / IDG

The other bane of outdoor work are the reflections caused by a glossy screen. Both the Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 include an anti-glossy screen that promises to cut reflections by 50 percent, while hopefully not affecting inking. Both device’s displays also include upgraded adaptive-color technology to offset a change in lighting, too.

Finally, the Surface Pro 10 will also later include a dedicated 5G radio, a first for an Intel-based Surface platform. “Surface Pro 10 for Business with 5G will be available later this year in select markets,” a Microsoft representative said in an email.

All this will allow you to more easily take your Surface into the great outdoors during the opening days of spring.

Surface Pro 10 for Business: detailed specifications

Other than the features mentioned above, the biggest changes arriving on the Surface Pro 10 for Business are a substantial memory bump, in terms of capacity, with a 64GB option and use of the faster LPDDR5X memory standard. The rear-facing webcam is now 10.5Mpixels, up from 10Mpixels.

Microsoft is still allowing “a skilled technician” to repair its Surface devices, and now there are “instructional QR codes” built into the inside of the device to help out.

Otherwise, the Surface Pro 10 for Business has the same dimensions including weight as its predecessor, the Surface Pro 9.

Display: 13-inch PixelSense Flow (2880×1920, 267 PPI, Gorilla Glass 5) up to 120Hz with dynamic refresh rate and 10-point multitouch
Processor: Intel Core Ultra 5 135U, Core Ultra 7 165U
Graphics: Intel Graphics
Memory: 8, 16, 32, 64GB LPDDR5X
Storage: 256GB, 512GB, 1TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD
Ports: 2 USB-C (USB 4.0/Thunderbolt 4 w/DisplayPort 2.1), 1 Surface Connect port, 1 Surface Keyboard Port
Security: Camera (Windows Hello), NFC/smartcard reader; TPM 2.0 chip
Camera: 1440p ultrawide (user-facing) with Windows Studio Effects, 10.5MP rear-facing
Battery: Design capacity: 48Wh
Wireless: Wi-Fi 6e (802.11ax), Bluetooth 5.3; optional 5G
Operating system: Windows 10 Pro or Windows 11 Pro
Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.2 x 0.37 inches
Weight: 1.94 pounds
Color: Platinum, Black
Price: $1,199 to $2,799
Optional accessories: Surface Slim Pen 2: $90 on sale at Amazon

Microsoft representatives emailed us this list of Surface Pro 10 prices and configurations, attached below.

Surface Laptop 6 for Business: detailed specifications

While many other laptops now offer high-refresh-rate screens, the Surface Laptop 6 for Business still offers the standard 60Hz refresh rate and the 400-nit screen of the Surface Laptop 5. Memory and storage options have improved, however, in line with what the Surface Pro 10 offers.

Microsoft

Interestingly, the 13.5-inch model includes a 39W power charger, and the 15-inch includes a 65W charger.

Display: 13.5-inch PixelSense multitouch (2256×1504, Gorilla Glass 5); 15-inch (2496×1664, Gorilla Glass 5); 400 nits
Processor: Intel Core Ultra 5 135U, Core Ultra 7 165U
Graphics: Intel Graphics (8GB RAM) / Arc Graphics (everything else)
Memory: 8, 16, 32, 64GB LPDDR5X
Storage: 256GB, 512GB, 1TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD
Ports: 13.5-inch: USB-C (USB 4.0/Thunderbolt 4 w/DisplayPort 2.1), USB-A, 1 Surface Connect port, 3.5mm headphone jack 15-inch: adds another Thunderbolt 4 port
Security: 13.5-inch: Camera (Windows Hello) 15-inch: Camera (Windows Hello) and integrated smart card reader; TPM 2.0 chip
Camera: 1080p (user-facing) with Windows Studio Effects
Battery: 47Wh (both models)
Wireless: Wi-Fi 6e (802.11ax), Bluetooth 5.3
Operating system: Windows 10 Pro or Windows 11 Pro
Dimensions: 13.5-inch: 12.1 x 8.8 x 0.66 in.; 15-inch: 13.4 x 9.6 x 0.67 in.
Weight: 13.5-inch: 3.06lb; 15-inch: 3.7lb
Color: Platinum, Black
Price: $1,199 to $2,999

Microsoft provided us a list of prices and configurations for the Surface Laptop 6 for Business, which we’ve attached below. Opting for the smartcard reader costs an additional $50, and those options are only available in the United States and Canada.

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