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Surface Pro 9 announced, now with 5G and 12th gen Intel CPUs

During their event overnight Microsoft officially announced the Surface Pro 9, their next generation in the Surface line of 2in1 devices, which they started around 10 years ago.

The basics of the design are still there, a 13inch PixelSense display, full aluminium body and that insane kickstand that lets you fold the device to work at an angle you want.

But there is more, with up to 120Hz refresh rate and underneath the display is an HD camera, Omnisonic speakers, directional microphones and their custom G6 chip that takes inking to the next level with tactile signals. Combined with the new Ink Focus in Microsoft OneNote, or the new GoodNotes app coming in early 2023 to Windows 11, digital ink on the screen should feel more like writing with pen and paper, than ever before.

Beneath the now iconic exterior, Surface Pro 9 offers a choice between processors – 12th Gen Intel Core processor built on the Intel Evo platform with Thunderbolt 4, or Microsoft SQ3 powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon with 5G connectivity. In either case, you’re getting the same iconic Surface Pro form, great performance, all-day battery life and Secured-core capabilities. The choice comes down to the combination of scenarios that are most critical to you and how you work, create and connect.

That 12th Gen Intel CPU means that Surface Pro 9 offers around 50% more performance when compared to the Surface Pro 8, so it is a big jump and with the series now offering Thunderbolt 4 ports, you can connect an external display and enjoy outputting your content to 4k monitors.

As for colours, there are a few to choose from this time, with two of them being new, there is Sapphire and Forest, or for the people who don’t care, Blue and Green. They join the Platinum and Graphite offerings, so Silver and Black.

The most basic model is the 12th Gen Intel Core i5, with 8gb of RAM and a 128gb SSD and that will set you back $1,649, but it only comes in Platinum. If you want colour choice, you have to go up to the 12th Gen Intel Evo Core i5, which starts at $1,799 but comes with a 256gb SSD.

Here are the full list of options, which will be available starting October 25th:

  • 12th Gen Intel Core i5 - Platinum - 8gb RAM - 128gb SSD - $1,649

  • 12th Gen Intel Evo Core i5 - All Colours - 8gb RAM - 256gb SSD - $1,799

  • 12th Gen Intel Evo Core i5 - All Colours - 16gb RAM - 256gb SSD - $2,249

  • 12th Gen Intel Evo Core i7 - All Colours - 16gb RAM - 256gb SSD - $2,549

  • 12th Gen Intel Evo Core i7 - All Colours - 16gb RAM - 512gb SSD - $2,999

  • 12th Gen Intel Evo Core i7 - All Colours - 16gb RAM - 1tb SSD - $3,499

  • 12th Gen Intel Evo Core i7 - All Colours - 32gb RAM - 1tb SSD - $4,149

  • Microsoft SQ3 - Platinum - 16gb RAM - 256gb SSD - $2,599

You can view the full tech specs for all the model versions here.