Microsoft’s October 12 Surface showcase has now begun, and now we can get a detailed look at the tech giant’s suite of Surface products, including the Surface Pro 9. Having earned our high marks for the Surface Pro line in the past thanks to the excellent Surface Pro 8 with improved specs, a nifty redesign, a larger display and Thunderbolt 4 support, the Pro line has re-established itself as the best 2-in-1 1 status of one of the laptops.
And, so far, Microsoft appears to have beefed up it by improving the camera, extending battery life, and offering two versions: including a 5G version powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU. However, it’s certainly not a perfect upgrade either, choosing to play safely in specs and design.
Now that we know the specs and general performance, let’s take a look at what the Surface Pro 9 has to offer.
Microsoft Surface Pro 9: release date and price
Microsoft has adhered to a strict annual release schedule for each new Surface Pro model, usually in the third quarter of each year since 2013. Pre-orders from the Microsoft Store are live now, starting at $999.99 / £1,099 / AU$1,649, and are available in a variety of configurations. It will go on sale on November 8, 2022.
Microsoft Surface Pro 9: Design
The Microsoft Surface Pro 9 has the same 13-inch screen and 2880 x 1920 resolution as its predecessor. However, the cameras have been improved, and both versions have a front-facing camera with 1080p Full HD video and a 10.0MP rear-facing autofocus camera that supports 1080p HD and 4k video. It’s a shame the rear camera isn’t 12MP, unlike the iPad Pro, which is a step up from the Pro 9.
Its port selection is still weak, as both versions of the Surface Pro 9 feature two USB-C ports, a Surface Connect port, and a Surface Keyboard port. However, unlike the standard version which supports USB 4.0/Thunderbolt 4, the 5G model only supports USB-C 3.2, but also comes with a nano-SIM port.
The Surface Pro 9’s design remains largely unchanged from the Pro 8, with the same kickstand on the back for extra support. And, just like the Surface Pro 8, the Surface Pro 9 supports the Surface Slim Pen 2 and Signature Keyboard series, but neither comes in the box, forcing buyers to pay more for those accessories.
Microsoft Surface Pro 9: Performance
Both consumer and commercial Surface Pro 9 models feature Intel 12th Gen processors, which are an obvious choice thanks to the big.LITTLE core architecture. The Pro 9 powered by the Alder Lake chip is ahead of the Pro 8 powered by the Tiger Lake chip.
The standard model uses a standard Intel Iris Xe GPU, while the new 5G version of Surface Pro 9 will feature an SQ3 CPU and an SQ3 AdrenoTM 8CX Gen 3 GPU, the latter powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon. It is said that the SQ3 chip will significantly improve the performance by 60% over the SQ2, and will greatly increase the power of the 5G version.
LPDDR5 memory is supported, but unfortunately, only the standard model has that feature, along with up to 32GB of RAM. 5G has to cut corners somewhere we think, and supports LPDDR4x memory, with only up to 16GB of RAM.
Thankfully, there have been major improvements in battery life, with the standard model getting over 15 hours of battery life and the 5G up to 19 hours.
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