Microsoft Surface Pro 9 will have both x86 and Arm versions
Microsoft first launched the Surface Pro series product line in 2013, equipped with Intel’s x86 processor, and after years of hard work, it has gained certain market recognition. In 2019, Microsoft launched the Surface Pro X series product line, using Qualcomm’s custom SQ1 processor based on the Arm architecture.
The reason why Microsoft adopts the strategy of merging product lines is mainly to normalize Windows on Arm products and no longer open a separate product line. The Arm version of Surface Pro 9 will use the SQ3 processor based on Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen3 SoC, which integrates an AI accelerator. At MWC22, Lenovo released the first ThinkPad notebook equipped with an Arm processor, the model is ThinkPad X13s, which is also the only product equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen3 so far.
According to Windows Central, Microsoft intends to make adjustments to the entire Surface Pro lineup, offering both x86 and Arm versions on the Surface Pro 9 released in October, which means the current Surface Pro X lineup will no longer exist.
The reason why Microsoft adopts the strategy of merging product lines is mainly to normalize Windows on Arm products and no longer open a separate product line. The Arm version of Surface Pro 9 will use the SQ3 processor based on Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen3 SoC, which integrates an AI accelerator. At MWC22, Lenovo released the first ThinkPad notebook equipped with an Arm processor, the model is ThinkPad X13s, which is also the only product equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen3 so far.
It is understood that the x86 version of the Surface Pro 9 is only available on the Intel platform, equipped with the 12th generation Core mobile processor. There are no plans for the AMD platform for the time being, and it is also possible that the latter will be offered in the Surface Laptop lineup. The Surface Pro 9 is rumored to add new features, including 5G connectivity, and will be compatible with existing Surface Pro 8 and Surface Pro X accessories.
In addition, Microsoft Surface Pro 9 will be optimized around the Windows 11 operating system. Since Microsoft has provided Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA), devices with Arm architecture processors should have a better experience than ever before.
