Microsoft releases Surface Pro 9, sucessor to Pro 8 and Pro X, without a headphone jack | Now everyone can use a Dongle

[AlTech]

Summary

 

Mivrosoft has decided to consolidate their Surface Pro series and their Surface Pro X lines into just the Surface Pro line going forward and has released the Surface Pro 9 which replaces both the Pro 8 and the Pro X.

 

The Surface Pro 9 Wi-Fi only model comes with Intel 12th gen CPUs with 2x P cores and 8x E cores.

 

The Surface Pro 9 with 5G comes with the Microsoft SQ3 SOC which is speculated to be based on the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3.

 

Both models have a Surface Connect port and either 2x Thunderbolt 4 ports on the Intel model or 2x USB 3.2 ports on the SQ3 mode

 

The Intel models come with Up To 32GB of Soldered RAM and the SQ3 models come with Up To 16GB of Soldered RAM.

 

The Intel model starts at $1000 for 8GB RAM and 128GB SSD. The SQ3 model starts at $1300 for 8GB RAM and 128GB Storage.

 

Storage is user upgradable. Display and other all other specs are the same besides the SQ3 model having Microsoft Pluton support.

 

None of the models have a headphone jack.

 

Quotes

Quote

 Microsoft has taken pains to make the CPU the only difference you can notice between these two computers. While the Surface Pro 8 took a lot of cues from the Surface Pro X design, the Surface Pro 9 models have fully converged, with the exact same dimensions and weight (just a shade under two pounds) and the same 13-inch, 120 Hz, 2880×1920 touchscreen. The two machines support the same Type Cover and Surface Pen accessories and have user-replaceable M.2 storage drives. Both models also have an upgraded Windows Hello-compatible 1080p webcam and a 10-megapixel rear-facing camera.

 

My thoughts

 What next? Are we gonna have laptops with no ports besides 1 port for charging or what? The idea of not including a headphone jack on a laptop or laptop replacement is ridiculous.

 

Also, having these use totally different CPUs and yet use almost identical names is misleading AF.

 

I stopped liking the Surface series a long time ago but this is just really taking the cake with MS using their proprietary and frankly really bad Surface Connector still despite the fact that they'll have to change to type C charging in a few years.

 

If Microsoft wants to go all in on ARM they shouldn't have released an Intel model and just made it ARM only with or without 5G. Also, Microsoft should really figure out what's stopping them from making a 32GB RAM SQ3 SKU and get that out there. 16GB socketed RAM would already be enough of a slap in the face but 16GB soldered means the Pros who need 32GB and 5G will be out of luck.

 

Sources

 https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/10/surface-pro-9-comes-in-both-intel-and-arm-flavors-absorbing-the-surface-pro-x/

[Supreme Calamitas]

Microsoft surface 5 laptop 

 

[HomeBoi]

I own 4 different bluetooth headsets/earbuds so I don't see the issue here, I never have any need anymore for jacks on laptop/phone/tablets. Don't see the problem here.

[AlTech]

1 hour ago, HomeBoi said:

I own 4 different bluetooth headsets/earbuds so I don't see the issue here, I never have any need anymore for jacks on laptop/phone/tablets. Don't see the problem here.

Not everybody wants to use Bluetooth. It provides inferior audio quality, tends to introduce latency, and promotes a culture of throwing away earbuds and headphones once the, usually impossible to replace, battery dies.

[HomeBoi]

4 minutes ago, AluminiumTech said:

Not everybody wants to use Bluetooth. It provides inferior audio quality, tends to introduce latency, and promotes a culture of throwing away earbuds and headphones once the, usually impossible to replace, battery dies.

Then avoid laptops and tablet and phones, use a DAC and be one of those weird audio people, for the 98% it is more than good enough. Also the environment argument is getting tired since nobody lives the green life who yells about it.

[AlTech]

1 minute ago, HomeBoi said:

Then avoid laptops and tablet and phones

Why? People who want to use wired headphones or earphones are entitled to use laptops, phones, and tablets as much as anybody else.

1 minute ago, HomeBoi said:

use a DAC and be one of those weird audio people, for the 98% it is more than good enough. Also the environment argument is getting tired since nobody lives the green life who yells about it.

 

[LAwLz]

300 dollars more for the ARM version seems like a bad deal to me. 

The SQ3 is, if it's based on the 8cx gen 3, not that great hardware wise, and Windows on ARM is not exactly great either. 

 

The X1 CPU cores in the 8cx gen 3 are 2.5 years old at this point. The X3 has already been announced. 

It would have been kind of meh if it had X2 cores since we are so close to X3, but the fact that it's X1 just goes to show how little MS and Qualcomm cares about Windows on ARM. 

[suicidalfranco]

So... the arm version costs more than the Intel one... what a world Microsoft lives in

And they couldn't fit a Sim card reader in the Intel one

[captain_to_fire]

With the price of a Surface Pro 9 with an SQ3 chip ($1300), you could just get an M1 MacBook Air on discount and it will run more ARM native applications (universal binary) and through Rosetta 2 translation, will probably have better performance and battery life, keyboard is attached, and has more storage starting at 256GB compared to 128GB of the Surface.

[Doobeedoo]

Yeah, yet again older specs but in general insane price what these devices are. Yet again 128GB 8GB models that should not exist at this point. Could have more ports.

The ARM model should be matching Apple M though. Overall rather weak devices with huge price premium.

I do like the laptop design, reason I'd like to see it with decent specs and price. It just seems most price goes, where, chassis? Not sure but yeah..

[LAwLz]

1 hour ago, captain_to_fire said:

With the price of a Surface Pro 9 with an SQ3 chip ($1300), you could just get an M1 MacBook Air on discount and it will run more ARM native applications (universal binary) and through Rosetta 2 translation, will probably have better performance and battery life, keyboard is attached, and has more storage starting at 256GB compared to 128GB of the Surface.

Don't forget that the 1300 dollar model doesn't include the keyboard either, which is more or less a requirement if you actually want to use the Surface Pro.

So that's another 100-150 dollars to add to the price. 

 

So the Surface Pro 9 with an Arm processor is somewhere between 40-45% more expensive than a MacBook Air. 

[thewelshbrummie]

On 10/12/2022 at 11:29 AM, AluminiumTech said:

I stopped liking the Surface series a long time ago but this is just really taking the cake with MS using their proprietary and frankly really bad Surface Connector still despite the fact that they'll have to change to type C charging in a few years.

Interesting take. But you're wrong on this point.

 

Apart from a magnetic power adapter being really helpful on any device but particularly a tablet, you've also misinterpreted the EU rules on USB-C. While OEMs have to include USB-C from 2024, there's nothing stopping an OEM from adding any other charging adapter they wish - the device just has to have a USB-C port that can be used to charge the device. So Microsoft are under no obligation to drop the Surface connector as their tablets now all support USB-C charging. Doesn't matter if it's not as fast (and I don't think they need to put a USB-C charger in the box), my understanding is that so long as the device has a USB-C socket that can be used to charge, then it's compliant with the new rules.

 

As for not including a headphone jack, you're right on that point - unfortunately Apple and Microsoft aren't the only ones doing that - Dell's XPS 13 Plus has 2x thunderbolt 4 ports... and that's it.

4 hours ago, LAwLz said:

Don't forget that the 1300 dollar model doesn't include the keyboard either, which is more or less a requirement if you actually want to use the Surface Pro.

So that's another 100-150 dollars to add to the price.

The classic argument that doesn't hold up from personal experience. When I bought my Surface Go I just used a Bluetooth keyboard I already had and, when I needed it, a Bluetooth mouse - but swiping through webpages worked perfectly well for me on Win 10. The keyboard option is exactly that and not strictly required.

[WereCat]

9 hours ago, HomeBoi said:

Then avoid laptops and tablet and phones, use a DAC and be one of those weird audio people, for the 98% it is more than good enough. Also the environment argument is getting tired since nobody lives the green life who yells about it.

Yep, alienate everybody who disagrees with your use case to support your "argument". BT is great on the go and many people are fine with it at home as well but it's nice to have options you know. Dongles are just annoying and this is not a small device like a phone where jack may get in a way of design (even that can be argued about).