Microsoft’s annual Construct convention kicks off later this month, and alongside that occasion, the corporate will begin promoting a new Surface Pro pill that is smaller, lighter and cheaper than final 12 months’s mannequin.
That is type of a massive deal for me as somebody who opinions tablets for a residing, as a result of final 12 months’s Surface Pro 11 is, for my cash, one of the best pill Microsoft’s ever bought.
in our Surface Pro 11 assessment, my colleague Tony Polanco known as that mannequin “one of the best Surface in years” for good motive. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X chips energy this skinny slate, giving it exceptional velocity and battery life that outpaces a number of the greatest Home windows laptops.
Plus, paying for the optionally available OLED improve makes the Surface Pro 11 really feel like a premium slate to rival the iPad Pro — and in contrast to the iPad, Microsoft’s pill runs a full (Arm-based) model of Home windows 11.
On Could 20, Microsoft will start promoting a barely thinner, lighter model of the Surface Pro 11 with a 12-inch display screen that is smaller than the 13-inch panel on final 12 months’s mannequin. This new Surface Pro 11 (12-inch) additionally has a beginning value that is $100 cheaper than the Surface Pro 11 (13-inch), although this mannequin is much less succesful and much less upgradable than its predecessor.
And albeit, after digging into the specs and the state of the pill market, I have a laborious time recommending you rush out and purchase this new 12-inch Surface Pro, as a result of you will get the older (but extra highly effective) Surface Pro 11 (13-inch) for a similar value or cheaper.
In fact, if velocity and display screen refresh fee aren’t that essential to you, the new 2025 Surface Pro 11 (12-inch) may be higher to your wants because it’s lighter, thinner and advertises higher battery life than its predecessor.
To point out you what I imply, I’ve in contrast the important thing particulars of the 12-inch Surface Pro 11 towards the older 13-inch mannequin within the chart under so you may simply see the most important variations between these two fashions.
| Header Cell – Column 0 |
Microsoft Surface Pro 11 (12-inch) 2025 |
Microsoft Surface Pro 11 (13-inch) 2024 |
|---|---|---|
|
Beginning Worth |
$799 |
$999 |
|
CPU |
Snapdragon X Plus (8-core) |
Snapdragon X Plus (10-core) |
|
RAM |
16GB |
16GB |
|
Storage |
256GB, 512GB |
256GB, 512GB |
|
Show |
12 inch (2196 x 1464 pixels) 90Hz LCD touchscreen |
13 inch (2880 x 1920) 120Hz LCD touchscreen |
|
Graphics |
Qualcomm Adreno |
Qualcomm Adreno |
|
Ports |
2x USB-C |
2x USB-C |
|
Wi-fi |
Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4 |
Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4 |
|
Battery life |
12 hours net, 16 hours video |
10 hours net, 14 hours video (12:10 examined) |
|
Measurement |
10.8 x 7.4 x 0.3 inches |
11.3 x 8.2 x 0.37 inches |
|
Weight |
1.5 kilos |
1.97 kilos |
|
Colours |
Ocean, Platinum, Violet |
Black, Dune, Sapphire, Platinum |
However whereas I can see that the 2025 Surface Pro 11 (12-inch) may be a very compelling slate for folk wanting a extra reasonably priced Surface pill for engaged on the go, the primary factor I’m most enthusiastic about is not the value or the potential battery lifetime of this skinny and light-weight slate: it is the new colour.
Do not shrink from violet
Particularly, I love that Microsoft is providing the new 12-inch Surface Pro in a beautiful shade of purple. It caught my eye instantly, and it is precisely the splash of colour I’d wish to get pleasure from each time I pull out a pill to get some work finished (or watch a video) on a lengthy aircraft experience.
Admittedly, that is the one attention-grabbing colour you will get this slate in. For those who do not go for Violet you may solely get the new 12-inch Surface Pro 11 in Ocean (blue grey) or Platinum (darkish grey). That is disappointing since final 12 months’s Surface Pro 11 got here in 4 colours: Black, Dune (a sandy bronze), Sapphire (blue) and Platinum (silver).
On the time I was excited concerning the debut of the Dune colour scheme, which ought to offer you some sense of how starved we pill reviewers are for a little bit of colour in our lives. Practically each laptop computer and pill in the marketplace is available in some variation of black, grey or silver, to the purpose that for those who bought everybody in your workplace to pile their devices collectively I suppose you’d have a laborious time figuring out which was yours at a look.
Apple is among the uncommon corporations to interrupt this pattern, and it is one of many few issues I unabashedly love concerning the firm’s merchandise. Whether or not you are shopping for a new Apple iMac M4 or a new iPad, you will get it in at the least three to 5 completely different vivid, main colours.
That is why I’m so blissful to see Microsoft taking a page from Apple’s playbook and providing its new pill in a vivid, eye-catching colour scheme. I’m not even the largest fan of purple — I’m extra a fan of a deep emerald inexperienced, personally — and I’m sorely tempted to contemplate the Violet 12-inch Surface Pro 11 the following time I want to purchase a pill.
In fact, I will not know for certain how good this lavender-shaded slate is till we get one in to check and assessment for ourselves. I’m hoping that may occur later this month when I attend Microsoft Construct 2025 on the firm’s headquarters, however we’ll have to attend to see. And who is aware of—possibly the corporate could have extra new Surface units to indicate off in a while,
If that is true, I certain hope they arrive in additional than black and silv… sorry, Platinum!
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