At an event in Manhattan today, Microsoft announced refreshes for all but two of its consumer Surface products. The Surface Pro 6 and Laptop 2 are all available with newer internals than their predecessors, and there are little other changes aside from some new color options.
Both the Surface Pro 6 and the Surface Laptop 2 now come in black, a throwback to the original Surface devices that launched back in 2012 and 2013. But more important than a simple aesthetic change is that the choice in processor configurations has finally caught up with the competition, as the devices are now offered with Intel"s eighth-generation U-series processors.
Another thing that Surface chief Panos Panay pointed out is that the Surface Pro 6 now starts at $899, lowering the price point by $100. He was actually talking about the Core i5 model, as it would seem that there"s no Core m3 model this time around.
Aside from that, there really isn"t anything of note that"s new in these devices. Panos pointed out that the display on the Laptop 2 has over 3.4 million pixels, and it"s the thinnest display on such a device ever.
You can pre-order the Surface Pro 6 and the Surface Laptop 2 beginning today, and it will be available on October 16.
Update: The Surface Pro 6 and Surface Laptop both ship with Windows 10 Home in consumer models and Windows 10 Pro in commercial models. The Pro 6 Core i5 model is an i5-8250U or 8350U in consumeer and commercial, respectively, and the i7 is a Core i7-8650U. The base model with 8GB RAM and 128GB SSD only comes in Platinum for $899, and you"ll need to get the same config but with 256GB storage for $1,199 if you want to get it in Black. Black models go up to a Core i7 with 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD for $1,899, and Platinum goes up to the same but with a 1TB SSD for $2,299. You can check it out here.
The Surface Laptop 2 starts at $999 for 8GB RAM, a Core i5, and 128GB SSD, and that only comes in Platinum. As with the original, you"ll need to go up to 256GB SSD at $1,299 for any other color. It"s $2,199 for a Core i7, 16GB RAM, and a 512GB SSD in all colors, and a 1TB model is available in Platinum for $2,699. You can check it out here.