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Microsoft announces Surface Pro 11 for Business with Intel Core Series 2 processors

Surface Pro 11 for Business with a keyboard

Microsoft's first hardware announcement in 2025 is the new Surface Pro 11 for Business, the first Copilot+ PC Surface with an Intel processor. The tablet is powered by Intel's Core Ultra Series 2 processors, giving business customers more choice and flexibility, especially for those who have stricter compatibility requirements and who are not ready to adopt Windows on ARM (there is a business version of the Snapdragon-powered Surface Pro 11).

The Surface Pro 11 for Business is basically the same Surface Pro 11 but with a processor from another manufacturer. Instead of the Snapdragon X Plus and X Elite chips, the new tablet is powered by the Core Ultra 5 236V, 238V and Core Ultra 7 266V and 268V. Unlike Snapdragon models, which have the same neural processing unit with 40 TOPS across all variants, the Core Ultra 7 variants have more capable NPUs—48 TOPS over 40 TOPS in the Core Ultra 5 models.

With the new chips, Microsoft promises significant performance and battery life updates in the new Surface Pro 11 for Business. The company claims that the tablet has double the battery life of the Surface Pro 9 in Teams calls. Overall, the Surface Pro 11 for Business is rated for 14 hours of local video playback and 10 hours of "active web usage."

Also, having a powerful NPU enables Copilot+ PC features like Windows Studio Effects, Recall (currently available only to Windows Insiders), improved Windows Search, Paint Cocreator, Live Captions, and more.

Memory and storage options are the same as those found in the consumer version of the Surface Pro 11. Customers can pick between 16GB or 32GB of LPDDR5x memory, with storage including 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB (user-removable SSD).

Like the Surface Pro 11 with Snapdragon processors, the Surface Pro 11 for Business comes with two display variants: LCD and OLED. Both have the same aspect ratio and resolution, but the OLED variant has a much higher contrast ratio and HDR support, plus a better anti-reflective coating that reduces glare and reflections.

In addition to a 1440p Windows Hello-compatible webcam, the Surface Pro 11 for Business has an NFC reader for authentication with security keys like YubiKey 5C NFC or NFC-enabled badges. The tablet is also compatible with all the existing accessories for the previous-gen models, including the Surface Pro Flex keyboard and the Surface Slim Pen 2.

The Surface Pro 11 for Business and the Surface Laptop 7 for Business
Surface Pro 11 for Business and the Surface Laptop 7 for Business

Interestingly, unlike the Surface Pro 10 for Business, which was announced in March 2024, the Surface Pro 11 for Business does not have optional 5G connectivity. This time, Microsoft reserved that feature only for the Surface Laptop 7 for Business, which is the first Surface Laptop to ever come with a cellular connection.

Finally, the Surface Pro 11 for Business comes with Windows 11 Pro pre-installed and only two colors: Black and Platinum. If you want more vivid and bright colors, your only choice is to opt for the Snapdragon-powered Surface Pro 11.

The Surface Pro 11 for Business will be available on February 18, 2025, with a starting price of $1,499.99 for the Intel Core Ultra 5 236V variant with an LCD display, 16GB of RAM and 256GB SSD.

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