Microsoft is expected to launch several new Surface products on September 22nd, and leaks point to an updated Surface Duo dual-screen phone and spec bump for the Surface Go budget tablet.
Now a new leak seems to show what we can expect from the Surface Pro 8. Expect a bigger display, slimmer bezels, and Thunderbolt ports, among other things.
According to a tweet from @Shadow_Leak (and retweeted by the generally reliable WalkingCat), the Microsoft Surface Pro 8 will feature:
- 13 inch, 120 Hz display
- 11th-gen Intel Core processor
- Dual Thunderbolt ports
- Replaceable SSD
- Windows 11
By comparison, the Microsoft Surface Pro 7 has a 10th-gen Intel “Ice Lake” processor, USB-C and USB-A ports (but no Thunderbolt), 12.3 inch, 2736 x 1824 pixel display with a 3:2 aspect ratio, 267 pixels per inch, and a 60 Hz refresh rate.
Moving to a bigger screen would typically mean making a larger tablet, but the leaked image shows a device with slimmer bezels, suggesting the overall dimensions of the Surface Pro 8 may not have changed much, if at all. That could be good news if you’re hoping that cases, keyboards, and other accessories made for the previous-gen will be compatible with the new version.
Adding Thunderbolt ports also opens the door to support for new accessories including external graphics docks or higher-speed docking stations.
And while the Surface Pro 8 wouldn’t be the first Surface with a replaceable SSD, the most recent model with this feature was the business-only Surface Pro 7+ rather than a mainstream version of Microsoft’s flagship tablet.
It’s always a good idea to take this sort of leak with a grain of salt – the image in the tweet, which seems to show a Chinese retail product listing, could have been doctored. But there’s nothing particularly unrealistic in the claims, all of which would be reflective of recent trends in the laptop and tablet space.
Microsoft Surface Pro 8 Exposure ✅
– Intel’s 11th-generation Core processor
– 13″ 120Hz High Refresh Rate Narrow Border Screen
– Windows 11
– Dual Thunderbolt Interfaces
– Replaceable SSD Hard Drives#Microsoft #Surface #SurfacePro8 pic.twitter.com/ITFftYG4dg— Sam (@Shadow_Leak) September 19, 2021