Microsoft is launching a new Surface Pro tablet today that has a 12-inch display and lots of design changes over the larger 13-inch Surface Pro 11. The Surface Pro 12-inch, as Microsoft is calling it, is an Arm-powered device that is a spiritual successor to the even smaller Surface Go tablet that Microsoft tried to popularize in the past. This time around Microsoft is going fan-less, ditching its Surface Connect charging port, and making some big keyboard changes so that this Surface Pro is less compromised than the 10.5-inch Surface Go 4 that came before it.
I got to spend some time with the new Surface Pro 12-inch model at Microsoft’s headquarters last month, and I’m intrigued by all the changes that the company has made to this smaller model.
The Surface Pro 12-inch will ship with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Plus 8-core chip, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage all for $799. This chip is Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon X series variant that’s designed to push down the prices of laptops, and it includes eight cores instead of the 10 usually found on the X Plus. That should result in around 12 hours of battery life during active web usage.
You’ll have to purchase a keyboard separately, priced at $149.99. There will also be a model with 512GB of storage priced at $899.
Microsoft is using a 12-inch LCD display on the Surface Pro 12-inch, with a resolution of 2196 x 1464 (220 ppi). The company has stuck to the usual 3:2 aspect ratio found on Surface devices, but this time it’s using a 90Hz panel instead of the 120Hz found on the 13-inch Surface Pro 11. There’s no OLED option on the Surface Pro 12-inch.
The changes to the display on this smaller Surface Pro aren’t the only major differences, though. Microsoft has reworked the entire chassis here, and gone are the vents you’ll find on the larger Surface Pro to help cool the device. Microsoft has used a fan-less design with the Snapdragon X Plus chip, allowing the company to have a rounded chassis that looks and feels a lot nicer than the 13-incher.
Microsoft had to create a new Surface keyboard for this smaller Surface Pro, because older Type Covers would have simply been too big for this new 12-inch form factor. That’s led to a total redesign of the Surface keyboard and even how it connects to the Surface Pro 12-inch. It still magnetically attaches, but Microsoft is using a different connector, which means the keyboard is no longer angled and lays flat.
The new Surface Pro 12-inch keyboard also lacks an insert for the Surface Pen. You can now purchase this stylus separately and attach it to the rear of the device, where it will also charge. Microsoft says it has done a lot of work to ensure the Surface Pen won’t simply detach when you slide the Surface Pro 12-inch into a bag, and during my hands-on I wasn’t able to easily detach it from the rear of the device — it felt rather sturdy.
I also tested the Surface Pro 12-inch on my lap, and I think I ultimately prefer the angled keyboard on the larger Surface Pro 11 instead of the flat one on this smaller model. Both are good at reducing the bounce and flex that you’d find on older versions of the Surface Pro, though.
Microsoft has also ditched some of the alcantara fabric it uses on Surface Pro keyboards with this new 12-inch model. The palm rests are no longer alcantara, and have been replaced with a smooth matte finish. The rear of the keyboard maintains the alcantara fabric with options for slate, violet, or ocean green colors across the keyboard and Surface Pro 12-inch.
Another big change is the lack of the Surface Connect port. Microsoft has now switched fully to USB-C on the Surface Pro 12-inch, so there are now only two USB-C 3.2 ports that can be used for charging, data transfers, and DisplayPort 1.4a to connect up to two 4K monitors at 60Hz. I think this change will eventually arrive on the bigger Surface Pro models once Microsoft refreshes them, as the company now believes USB-C has matured enough to be relied upon for both charging and data transfers.
Microsoft is using a 1080p front-facing camera on the Surface Pro 12-inch, instead of the 1440p version found on the larger model. There’s also a 10-megapixel rear-facing camera that has been repositioned on the Surface Pro 12-inch so it’s easier to take portrait video or photos, if you really want to use a tablet for that.
The Surface Pro 12-inch is also a Copilot Plus PC because of that Snapdragon X Plus chip, so you get access to the new Recall feature as well as AI-powered Windows search, Click to Do, and a variety of other Windows AI features.
You can preorder the new Surface Pro 12-inch today at Microsoft’s own store, Amazon, or Best Buy, with pricing starting at $799. Microsoft is shipping the new Surface Pro and a smaller 13-inch Surface Laptop on May 20th to consumers, and businesses will be able to purchase these devices on July 22nd.
