It looks like Apple is not the only one having a hard time keeping their upcoming laptops under wraps. Following a quite massive leak of the next-gen M4-powered MacBook Pro, Microsoft is joining its rival with an unannounced Surface Laptop popping up for sale on a Chinese website. The device in question does not look very different from the current model, but it has one important difference under the hood: the processor.
The current-gen Surface Laptop 7 is available exclusively with the Snapdragon X Plus or Elite processors. If you want an Intel chip, you have to settle for the Surface Laptop 6 for Business and its first-gen Intel Core Ultra chips. The leaked model, though, is powered by the Intel Core Ultra 7 268V, also known as Intel Lunar Lake.
Besides Intel"s latest chip, the prototype features 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD, indicating a top-end model with a hefty price tag of 19,000 CNY (roughly $2,600). The buyer also claims that the device will only be available next year. For reference, the Surface Laptop 7 with 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage costs $1,999 for the 13.8-inch model and $2,099 for the 15-inch model. The seller is clearly inflating the price for exclusivity, especially considering the device has no quality issues and comes with the original package and a charger (still says "prototype").
Windows Central, citing unknown sources within Microsoft, says the company is indeed working on a Surface Laptop with Intel"s Lunar Lake processors. However, it is unknown whether the device will launch in 2025 as the Surface Laptop 8 or the Surface Laptop 7.
Microsoft has already confirmed that Copilot+ PC features, including Recall, are coming to devices with the latest Intel and AMD processors. Therefore, it makes sense to expand the current lineup with additional options for those who are not ready to switch to Windows on ARM, regardless of how well it works and how well its battery life is. It might also be Microsoft"s next-gen Surface Laptop for Business, as suggested by the vPro tag, according to the person who spotted the listing.