Microsoft’s Surface hardware event 2021: rumors, news, and announcements

Microsoft announced a new version of the Surface Pro last week, along with the Surface Laptop Studio. The Surface Pro 8 feels very much like a logical evolution of Microsoft’s tablet / laptop. Some of the more notable improvements include a 120Hz display with slimmer bezels, Thunderbolt 4 support, as well as a reworked surface keyboard that includes a dedicated space to store and charge the new Surface Slim Pen 2.

Meanwhile, the Surface Laptop Studio features a uniquely hinged screen and more powerful hardware. This is effectively a replacement for the Surface Book 3, with a three-point adjustable display that can lay flat for drawing or snap upright to deliver a more traditional laptop experience. This laptop comes equipped with an Nvidia RTX 3050 Ti GPU and a four-core, 4.8GHz, 11th Gen Intel processor.

Microsoft has a new phone of its own, the Surface Duo 2, arriving October 21st — and if you buy an optional “Surface Duo 2 Pen Cover,” you’ll be able to magnetically dock and wirelessly charge the company’s optional $130 Surface Slim Pen 2 stylus and use it with the Android phone.

The need for a special cover wasn’t quite made clear during the company’s presentation last week, nor a price or release date, but Microsoft confirmed to Windows Central today that it’ll cost $65 on October 21st. While that’s the same day the Surface Duo 2 is slated to launch, it strangely didn’t go up for pre-order alongside the phones, and still isn’t available to add to a cart now. You can find its product page here, with the Pen Cover listed as “Coming soon.”

As expected, Microsoft announced the new Surface Duo 2 during what was an otherwise laptop-focused Surface event. The tech giant debuted the new Android phone alongside four new Surface devices, including the Surface Pro X, Surface Pro 8, and Surface Go 3.

Packed with some major updates, the successor to last year’s Surface Duo is faster and comes equipped with an improved camera and support for contactless payments. Pricing starts at $1,499.99, and the dual-screen, hinged device will launch on October 20th. However, you can preorder the phone — as well as the other Surface hardware — from several retailers now, and check out our hands-on to see if it’s worth the purchase here.

Microsoft just wrapped up its latest Surface event, and it was packed with news — including the redesigned Surface Pro 8, a camera-equipped Surface Duo 2, and even a new flagship laptop that puts a hinge behind the screen.

If you weren’t able to watch the show live, catch up with all of the biggest announcements from the event right here. And if you’re interested in buying any of the products, they’re all available for preorder Wednesday ahead of release on October 5th.

Microsoft recently held its fall Surface event to debut new hardware, and the company essentially refreshed its entire lineup, plus some. Microsoft recently held its fall Surface event to debut new hardware, and the company essentially refreshed its entire lineup, plus some. There’s a Wi-Fi version of the Surface Pro X, followed by the Surface Pro 8, Surface Go 3, and the all-new Surface Laptop Studio. Microsoft picked a good time to release a bunch of new gadgets, as they’ll be among the first to run Windows 11, the next iteration of the OS that launches on October 11th. 

The improvements made to each of these products seem substantial, with the Surface Pro 8 featuring faster 120Hz refresh rate displays. Last but not least, there’s Microsoft’s new Surface Laptop Studio, which brings the articulating screen from the Surface Studio all-in-one to the laptop form factor with powerful specs.

The Microsoft Surface Pro X now comes in a Wi-Fi-only version. Microsoft is offering a version of its ARM-based Surface device that does away with cellular connectivity.

Cellular connectivity on the Surface Pro X has been a bit of a thorny issue. The higher-end version of the Surface Pro X rocks a custom SQ2 processor based on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2 processor. That 8cx can support 5G, but the Surface Pro X limits cellular connectivity to 4G LTE. The new model almost feels like it’s taking a step backwards by doing away with cellular connectivity entirely.

Microsoft has refreshed its Slim Pen to magnetically fit into the Surface Pro 8’s keyboard. Notably, the Slim Pen 2 has a custom chip called Microsoft G6 and haptic functionality that aims to make writing and drawing feel more realistic. Microsoft says that it’s extending the haptic tech to work in several apps, and it showcased the stylus being used in Adobe Photoshop.

The artist on display claimed that its sharper tip makes it easier to use and more responsive. It can work with every product announced today, including the Surface Pro 8, the Surface Go 3, the Pro X, and the Surface Duo 2 via its pen cover. It can attach magnetically to the side of the new Surface Laptop Studio.

Today, Microsoft is unveiling the Surface Duo 2, a new Android-based smartphone with two screens and a raft of updates over the problematic original Surface Duo. From improvements to the cameras to bigger screens to software tweaks to a better way to store a Surface Pen, Microsoft is addressing all the obvious problems from the first model.

As before, it’s a dual-screen device meant to help people multitask by letting them run two apps side by side. The overall design is very similar, but Microsoft has softened the corners and allowed the glass to curve into the edges more. It’s a nice object to hold even though it’s not quite as visually striking as the original.

With the new Surface Pro 8, Microsoft has finally gone and done the thing we’ve all been waiting years for: modernized the design of its flagship device. I had a chance to briefly use the new 2-in-1 Windows machine at Microsoft’s San Francisco office yesterday and found much more to like than dislike.

The redesign takes cues from the Arm processor-based Surface Pro X, which means it has a larger 13-inch touchscreen and much narrower bezels. That screen is bright and sharp at 267 PPI and maintains the Surface’s 3:2 aspect ratio. Microsoft tells me that it is able to adjust the color temperature of the display to match the room, but it was difficult to see in my brief time with it.

Alongside the new Surface Pro 8, Microsoft is introducing an all-new computer: the Surface Laptop Studio. It’s the successor to the Surface Book 3, but instead of featuring a detachable screen, it has one that flips into tablet mode. Where other 2-in-1s usually just go for a 360-degree hinge that flips the screen to the back, Microsoft’s system has it settling in on top of the keyboard.

The Laptop Studio starts at $1,599.99, which is a premium price for what Microsoft is clearly positioning as a premium device. While it looks just like a MacBook when it’s in laptop mode, that comparison is mostly down to it being a very well-made device with a silver, aluminum body. Once you start moving the screen, it becomes another kind of device entirely.

Microsoft is announcing the Surface Laptop Studio today, a successor to the Surface Book line of powerful laptops. It presents a total redesign for Microsoft’s flagship laptop, ditching the removable display in favor of one that pulls forward to transform from laptop into tablet (or what Microsoft calls studio mode).

“Surface Laptop Studio is the most powerful Surface we’ve ever built,” says Pete Kyriacou, vice president of devices at Microsoft. “It is the culmination of years of Surface innovation – on hinges, display, silicon, and more – and brings the best of the Surface heritage together in one powerhouse device.”

Microsoft is creating a Surface Adaptive Kit for people with disabilities. The kit makes Microsoft’s range of laptops and tablets more accessible with keycap labels, bump labels, port indicators, and device openers.

The keycap and bump labels make it easier to identify important keys, or find ports and cables. The opener support includes a pull tab and ring to provide more flexibility for opening a laptop lid or maneuvering a Surface kickstand. Microsoft has created the kit in collaboration with people with disabilities to make sure it covers a wide spectrum of needs.

Microsoft has officially announced the new Surface Duo 2, its second attempt at an Android-powered folding phone. The Duo 2 retains the head-turning design of the first-generation model, but it specifically addresses many of the complaints we had. This time around, Microsoft is putting a legit camera on it, supporting 5G, using a current processor, and is throwing in bigger screens — things that are all quite nice to have on expensive phones. Microsoft says the Duo 2 will be available starting on October 21st for $1,499.99.

The Surface Duo 2, which is available in the same white color as the first-gen plus a new black option, has two 5.8-inch, 1344 x 1892 OLED displays connected by a hinge that allows you to open it like a book or prop it up like a tent. It’s a markedly different approach from what Samsung is doing with its folding phones, which have a single large screen that gets folded in half. Combined, the two Duo 2 displays measure 8.3 inches diagonally and both of them feature a faster 90Hz refresh rate. A slight curve on the screen allows it to be viewed when the Duo 2 is closed, showing you time and missed notifications. Covering the screens is Corning glass.

Over the years, we’ve seen many remarkable mice from Microsoft, but the one it’s announcing today focuses on recycling and sustainability instead of innovative scroll wheel controls or high-precision DPI. The Ocean Plastic Mouse is notable because it has a shell made of 20 percent recycled ocean plastic and packaging that is 100 percent recyclable.

An August 2020 pledge from Microsoft said it will pursue a goal of zero-waste operations by 2030 and put an end to the use of single-use plastics in packaging by 2025. The small box this mouse comes in, made of recyclable wood and sugarcane fibers, represents a step toward that future. Microsoft also mentions a free mail-in program so people can send their old mouse for recycling.

Microsoft’s Surface Go 2 is one of the best cheap laptops you can buy, and it’s gotten a sequel today: the new Surface Go 3.

The device looks identical to the Surface Go 2. The two devices have the same 10.5-inch 1920 x 1280 display, the same set of cameras and speakers, the same ports, and the same dimensions.

Microsoft is announcing the Surface Pro 8 today, the biggest upgrade to its Intel-powered Surface Pro lineup since the Surface Pro 3 in 2014. While we’ve seen tweaks to the design of the Surface Pro for seven years, the Surface Pro 8 jumps to a 120Hz display with thinner bezels, Thunderbolt 4 support, and a new keyboard that neatly houses an upgraded Surface Slim Pen 2.

Microsoft’s Surface Pro 8 has taken most of the best parts of the Surface Pro X and paired them with an Intel chip. It’s the Surface Pro we’ve been waiting years for.

Microsoft is set to announce a whole bunch of new Surface computers today. At an event starting at 11AM ET / 8AM PT, we are expecting to see a new Surface Pro 8, Surface Book, Surface Go, Surface Pro X, and even the Android-based Surface Duo. That’s a lot of devices for one livestream, so we’ll be live blogging with real-time analysis right here.

Details of the Surface Pro 8 have already leaked, so we are confident we’ll see a new slate with an Intel 11th Gen processor, 120Hz display, and a switch to Thunderbolt ports — finally. The Surface Duo has also been spotted with a big camera bump, so Microsoft may be addressing one of the biggest problems of the original — and may support some form of wireless charging, though it’s possible that’s simply to charge a Surface Pen.

Microsoft is holding an online hardware event on Wednesday, September 22nd, at 11AM ET / 8AM PT, where it’s expected to announce redesigned Surface tablets and laptops (and potentially a new phone). The Verge will be covering any announcements from the event and running this world-class live blog, and here’s how you can watch along with us, too.

It’s simple: Microsoft will have a livestream on the events page of its website, and you’ll also be able to watch it on on Microsoft’s Surface Twitter account. You can follow @verge on Twitter to see news from the event as it happens.

Microsoft is preparing to launch a new Surface Pro 8 model next week, and a leak appears to have revealed exactly what to expect. Twitter account Shadow_Leak has published a photo of the Surface Pro 8 from what appears to be a retail listing. The account claims the Surface Pro 8 will ship with a new 13-inch 120Hz display with narrow bezels and two Thunderbolt ports.

The Verge reported last week that the Surface Pro 8 would ship without USB-A ports, in favor of USB-C and Thunderbolt. We also reported that Microsoft has been testing 120Hz displays for the Surface Pro lineup. The leaked image and specs line up with what we’ve heard from sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans.

Microsoft is holding a Surface event on September 22nd, where “the company will talk about devices and Windows 11.” With Windows 11 set to debut on October 5th, we’re expecting to see four new Surface devices showcasing all the latest software features in the new OS. It won’t be all Windows 11, though. Microsoft will also launch a second version of its Surface Duo Android-powered foldable device next week.

The Verge will be covering all of Microsoft’s Surface hardware announcements starting at 11AM ET / 8AM PT on September 22nd, and here’s what to expect.

Microsoft is holding a special Surface hardware event on September 22nd. The software maker has started sending media invites for this fall hardware event, although it will be online-only and not in person. Microsoft’s invite says “the company will talk about devices and Windows 11,” and we’re expecting to see a successor to the Surface Duo and a new Surface laptop.

Leaked images of Microsoft’s upcoming Surface Duo 2 device appeared online in July, and we’re expecting to see the official announcement of this Android-powered dual-screen hardware on September 22nd. The leaked images suggest the biggest change will be a triple camera system, complete with telephoto, ultrawide angle, and standard lenses. The Surface Duo 2 is also rumored to include Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 processor, 5G support, and an NFC chip for contactless payments.