Microsoft’s Surface Pro 7 Just Got A Major Upgrade - But You Probably Can’t Buy It
Microsoft doesn’t usually have much to announce at CES, but the company has taken to this year’s virtual conference to show off a refresh of the Surface Pro 7.
The Microsoft Surface Pro 7+ for Business, as the device is officially named, makes some major improvements over the original Surface Pro 7.
The most interesting upgrade is the additional of a removable SSD. This works just like it does on the Surface Pro X and Surface Laptop 3, and means that users can easily swap out the drive for repairability or upgrades.
The Surface Pro 7+ also packs Intel’s latest 11th-Gen processors, which Microsoft claims translates to a 30% boost in processor performance and an 80% improvement in graphics performance thanks to the new Iris Xe graphics. Microsoft claims that Surface Pro 7+ is now "2.1 times faster" than before.
Intel’s Tiger Lake processors also bring some hefty battery improvements, according to Microsoft, which claims the Surface Pro 7+ can achieve up to 15 hours of battery life; by comparison, the original Surface Pro 7 boasted 10.5 hours from a single charge. The new model can also recharge up to 80% in less than an hour thanks to the inclusion of fast charging technology.
Microsoft’s new 2-in-1 hybrid also offers buyers the option of built-in LTE. However, as the Surface Pro 7+ Qualcomm’s older Snapdragon X20 LTE modem, there’s no support for 5G speeds.
The Microsoft Surface Pro 7+ also features up to 32GB of RAM for the first time, a 12.3-inch PixelSense display, a USB-C port, USB-A port, and the Surface Connect port.
There’s a pretty major catch with the Surface Pro 7+, however, as Microsoft will only be offering the device to business and education customers. For those eligible, the device will start shipping on January 15th in the US, Canada, the UK, New Zealand, Australia and a large number of European countries.
According to The Verge, the cheapest model (Core i3, Wi-Fi only) will be available from $899, increasing to $2,799 for the top-end model (Core i7, 4G support).
