Microsoft had a pretty busy fall with that whole Xbox Series X | S launch, and back in early October, it announced the new Surface Pro X and the Surface Laptop Go, but notably missing from all of this were the traditional fall refreshes of the Surface Pro and the Surface Laptop.
Rumors about the Surface Pro 8 and Surface Laptop 4 have been swirling, but actual images and a firm release date have eluded us. With the end of the year approaching, it seems like we finally have both (via Windows Central).
- Which Surface Is Right for You? Pro X vs Pro 7 vs Laptop 3 vs Go 2
- Best 2-in-1 laptops in 2020
- The Best After Cyber Monday deals 2020
The photos were first posted by a Twitter user named @Cozyplanes who found them through a Korean certification organization. Now, as is typically the case with certification photos, these aren't exactly glamor shots; we have a side angle look at the Surface Pro 8 and a top-down view of the Surface Laptop 4.
The photos are accompanied by code numbers for each, 1950 for the Surface Laptop 4, 1960 for the Surface Pro 8 and (unpictured) 1961 for the Surface Pro 8 with LTE. While the photos don't show much they do appear to confirm the rumors that there isn't any kind of major redesign happening for either device this time around.
All of the big changes will be happening internally with the jump to an Intel 11th Gen Tiger Lake processor with Intel Xe graphics for both the Surface Pro 8 and the Surface Laptop 4, while the latter will also be getting AMD processor options again. While the performance improvements will be reasonably substantial, particularly for the AMD-powered Surface Laptop 4 models, this is still likely going to come as a disappointment to Surface Pro fans who were hoping the delay meant something more.
As for the timing of the release, Zac Bowden of Windows Central indicates that his sources are pointing to a mid-January launch. He goes on to say that it is most likely going to be a quiet release, which is to be expected for a spec bump upgrade like this. Dashed hopes for a true hardware redesign aside, the Intel 11th Gen and Ryzen 4000-series processors aren't to be dismissed and, if you've held off for a couple of generations, this will have been worth the wait.
