Surface Pro X

The Surface Pro X is a 2-in-1 detachable tablet computer developed by Microsoft. It was developed alongside and was announced on 2 October 2019 alongside the Surface Pro 7 and Surface Laptop 3.[1] Updated hardware was announced alongside Surface Laptop Go and Surface accessories on 1 October 2020.[2] The device starts at $999 US/£999.[3][4]

Surface Pro X

Developer	Microsoft
Product family	Microsoft Surface
Type	2-in-1 detachable
Generation	Seventh
Release date	SQ1: October 2, 2019 SQ2: October 1, 2020
Retail availability	SQ1: October 22, 2019 SQ2: October 13, 2020
Introductory price	USD 1,000 to 1,800
Operating system	Windows 10
CPU	Microsoft SQ1 or SQ2 (co-developed with Qualcomm)
Memory	8 or 16 GB LPDDR4x RAM
Storage	128, 256, or 512 GB removable SSD
Removable storage	None
Display	13-inch touchscreen PixelSense display 2880 × 1920, 267 PPI 3:2 aspect ratio, 450 nits
Graphics	SQ1:Adreno 685 GPU SQ2:Adreno 690 GPU
Sound	2W stereo speakers Dolby Audio
Input	Built in: touchscreen, ambient light sensor, accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer Sold separately: keyboard, touchpad, mouse, stylus pen, Surface Dial
Camera	Front: 5 MP, 1080p HD Rear: 10 MP, 4K
Touchpad	None, available with Surface Type Cover accessory
Connectivity	WiFi 5, Bluetooth 5, USB 3, LTE A, GPS
Online services	Microsoft Store, OneDrive
Dimensions	287 mm x 208 mm x 7.3 mm (11.3 in x 8.2 in x 0.28 in)
Mass	774 g (1.706 lb) tablet
Predecessor	Surface Pro 6
Related articles	Surface Pro 7
Website	www.surface.com

The Surface Pro X comes with a Microsoft SQ1 or SQ2 ARM processor, which the company claimed that it has three times the performance of a MacBook Air while also having a 13-hour battery life, owing to the power efficiency of ARM processors compared to traditional x86 processors.[1][5][6] Microsoft has previously used ARM processors in the discontinued Surface RT and Windows Phone devices.

Configuration

The Surface Pro X starts at $999/£999 for the cheapest model, with 8 GB RAM and 128 GB storage.

The device can be bought with either 8 GB or 16 GB RAM. Users can also choose between 128 GB, 256 GB and 512 GB of storage.[7]

Surface Pro X configuration options[8][9]
Price Tier in USD		CPU	GPU	RAM	Internal storage	Colors
Consumer	Business
1000	1100	Microsoft SQ1	Adreno 685	8 GB	128 GB	B
1300	1400				256 GB	B
1500	1600			16 GB		B
		Microsoft SQ2	Adreno 690			B   P
1800	1900	Microsoft SQ1	Adreno 685		512 GB	B
		Microsoft SQ2	Adreno 690			B   P

 Platinum   Black 

Hardware and design

The Surface Pro X is the 7th addition to Surface Pro lineup alongside the Surface Pro 7. Microsoft markets the tablet as a "go-anywhere, do-anything PC".[10] Microsoft claims the Surface Pro X's battery can last up to 13 hours of use.

Compared to the Surface Pro 6, the Surface Pro X is slimmer and has rounder edges featuring a matte black finish construction in platinum and black finish. The device contains 2 USB C ports, an eSIM and a SIM card slot for LTE, a removable SSD, and the Surface Connect port for charging. There are no microSD card slot and headphone jack on the tablet, requiring its users to use dongles and USB-C or Bluetooth enabled headphones.[10]

The device's screen is a 13 inch touchscreen display, with smaller bezels compared to other Surface Pro devices.[11]

The device uses Microsoft SQ1 or SQ2[12] ARM processors co-developed by Qualcomm, based on the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 1 and Gen 2 processors respectively. A Qualcomm X24 LTE modem is also featured in the device for both processors.

Software

The Surface Pro X comes pre-installed with an ARM-based version of Windows 10, which supports ARM32 and ARM64 UWP and desktop apps from the Microsoft Store or from other sources. x86 applications can be run through emulation, addressing a major issue of Windows RT.[13][14][15] Emulation of x64 applications is an upcoming feature that is already available to Windows Insiders for testing.[16] In addition, Hyper-V can be installed on ARM64 devices such as the Surface Pro X running the Pro or Enterprise editions of Windows 10.[17]

Timeline

Sources: Microsoft Devices Blog Microsoft Store

References

1. Faulkner, Cameron (2 October 2019). "How to preorder Microsoft's new Surface hardware". The Verge. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
2. "Microsoft's updated Surface Pro X has a faster processor and new platinum color option". The Verge. 1 October 2020.
3. "Meet the New Surface Pro X – Ultra-thin and Always Connected – Microsoft Surface". Microsoft Store. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
4. "Meet the New Surface Pro X – Ultra-thin and always connected – Microsoft Surface". Microsoft Store. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
5. "ARM Takes Wing: Qualcomm vs. Intel CPU comparison". The Cloudflare Blog. 8 November 2017. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
6. Dubey, Yetnesh (22 April 2019). "CPU Comparison: X86 vs ARM — Will Intel i9 9900K Stay Atop?". Fossbytes. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
7. "Configure your Surface Pro X". Microsoft Store.
8. "Configure Surface Pro X". Microsoft Store.
9. "Configure Surface Pro X for Business". Microsoft Store.
10. Brant, Tom (6 November 2019). "Microsoft Surface Pro X". PC Mag.
11. Warren, Tom (6 November 2019). "Surface Pro X vs Pro 7: ARM Needs Some Legs". The Verge.
12. Blog, Microsoft Devices (1 October 2020). "Introducing Surface Laptop Go, new updates to Surface Pro X and new accessories". Microsoft Devices Blog. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
13. hickeys. "Windows 10 on ARM - UWP applications". docs.microsoft.com. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
14. hickeys. "How x86 and ARM32 emulation work on ARM - UWP applications". docs.microsoft.com. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
15. Tracy, Phillip (8 October 2019). "Surface Pro X with ARM CPU: What It Can (and Can't) Run". LaptopMag. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
16. "Microsoft announces support for x64 emulation on Windows 10 on ARM". MSPoweruser. 10 December 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
17. Blog, Windows Insider (21 May 2020). "Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 19631". Windows Insider Blog. Retrieved 22 January 2021.