What just happened? Microsoft on Wednesday unwrapped its new Surface Pro 9, a premium 2-in-1 that's stood atop the category for several years. The latest iteration packs a 13-inch PixelSense display with a resolution of 2,880 x 1,920 pixels (267 PPI), a 3:2 aspect ratio, a 1200:1 contrast ratio and a dynamic refresh rate up to 120Hz. The 10-point multi-touch panel also supports Dolby Vision IQ and is coated in Corning Gorilla Glass 5.
Under the hood, buyers can opt for Intel or Arm-branded hardware. The traditional route will get you up to a 12th-gen Intel Core i7-1255U processor alongside Intel Iris Xe Graphics, up to 32GB of LPDDR5 RAM and a spacious 1TB SSD. The Surface Pro 9 with 5G packs a Microsoft SQ3 SoC based on Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8CX Gen 3. It utilizes Adreno graphics and can be configured with up to 16GB of LPDDR4x RAM and up to a 512GB SSD.
Battery life is rated at up to 15.5 hours of typical usage on the standard Surface Pro 9 and up to 19 hours on the Arm variant. Both have the same measurements - 11.3" (287mm) length x 8.2" (209mm) width x 0.37" (9.2mm) height. The Arm model is a tiny bit heavier at 1.95 pounds (883g) versus 1.94 pounds (879g) on the Intel unit.
Both models feature dual 2W stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos, dual far-field studio microphones, a rear-facing 10-megapixel camera with autofocus, a front-facing 1080p camera for Windows Hello face authentication, Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.1 connectivity, and come backed by a one-year limited warranty.
Pricing for an Intel-equipped Surface Pro 9 with a Core i5, 8GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD starts at $999.99. Arm models with the SQ3 chipset start at $1,299.99 and also include 8GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD, but it is only offered in silver. Models with an Intel Evo chip are additionally available in blue, green or black color schemes. They are available to pre-order now ahead of retail launch on October 25.