Back in the day, “Mac vs. PC” was a big deal. They even made TV commercials about it. Thanks to the latest Microsoft Surface announcement, we might be back to that era.
Ahead of Microsoft Build 2024, the Windows maker announced its most powerful consumer-grade Surface Laptop yet. The new flagship Windows laptop from Microsoft itself packs in an “elite” new processor to potentially compete with the MacBook Pro currently on the market. It starts at $999.
Microsoft Surface Laptop 6: Everything we know
The big news with the new Surface Laptop is its new Snapdragon processor, which distinguishes it from the Intel-based Surface Laptop 6 for business that launched earlier this year. That said, there are plenty of other stuff to like about it, too:
Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus (13.8-inch model only) or Elite processor
13.8-inch or 15-inch display
Dynamic refresh rate up to 120Hz on both models
16GB or 32GB RAM
256GB, 512GB, or 1TB internal storage
Up to 20 hours of battery life on video playback (13.8-inch model)
Up to 22 hours of battery life (15-inch model)
As I said, the processor is the big story here. Rumors and analysis prior to Microsoft’s official confirmation of the Surface Laptop 6 suggested it could be on par with the M3 MacBook Pro that launched last year, which is currently one of the best laptops on the market.
Of course, these days, a new processor has to do more than just bump up the Geekbench score. As The Verge noted, the new Surface Laptop has a bunch of built-in Copilot AI features that could give it a leg up over Apple’s current offerings.
A new Recall feature lets you use AI to quickly search through files and documents on your PC, while on-device live translation could theoretically help out in video calls with people who speak other languages.
It will take more than just a beefier processor and some AI features to dethrone the MacBook line, but Microsoft sure is trying.
