Microsoft to Unveil AI-Focused Surface Laptops at CES

We are currently careening toward the first Consumer Electronics Show (CES) since generative artificial intelligence took over the tech industry. It’s going to be an artificially generated mess, without a doubt, but there might be some important announcements. For example, the rumor mill says Microsoft will be on hand to show off a new generation of Surface computers, and yes, they’re going to be designed for AI.

In the past year, Microsoft has released new versions of the Surface Laptop Studio, Surface Laptop Go, and Surface Go. These updates mostly consisted of minor spec bumps, and there was no sign of a new Surface Laptop or Surface Pro—that’s what Microsoft will allegedly have on hand at CES.

According to Windows Central, 2024 will be the first time Microsoft offers both the Surface Pro and Surface Laptop with Intel and Arm options side-by-side. There isn’t much information on the supposed specs of the Intel machines, but the computers are expected to have dedicated AI processing hardware. That suggests the latest Meteor Lake CPUs, which are the first Intel chips to have a neural processing unit (NPU). Microsoft is more excited about the Arm systems, which will have a version of Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon X chips.

The upcoming Surface Laptop 6 is rumored to come in two sizes, a 13.8-inch model and a larger one at 15 inches. There will be more ports this time, including two USB-C ports, a USB-A, and the customary Surface Connect. There will be a touchpad with haptic feedback, as well as a dedicated Copilot button.

The Surface Pro 10 (Microsoft probably regrets releasing a Surface Pro X in 2019) will retain the tablet-style form factor of past versions. The big change for this machine is the addition of a brighter 13-inch display with HDR support. Microsoft may offer a non-HDR option on cheaper versions of the machine, though. The Surface Pro 10 won’t ship with the keyboard, but there might be a Copilot button on that, too.

Microsoft is at the forefront of AI thanks to its massive investment in OpenAI. The company’s GPT language models have changed the technology industry in the past year (and gotten both OpenAI and Microsoft sued), but will consumers care about AI laptops? This could be the time to shake up Surface with a new focus on AI—the division is just a few months out from the departure of longtime head Panos Panay, who left to work at Amazon after taking over Windows development in 2020.

CES 2024 will begin on Jan 9 and run through Jan 12. Companies usually begin previewing their announcements in the days leading up to the show, so we could have more information on the upcoming Surface refresh in about a week.