Lunar Lake vs. Snapdragon inside a convertible - Microsoft Surface Pro OLED for Business review

While our verdict on the Surface Laptop 15 was still quite clearly in favor of the Intel model, the situation is somewhat more complicated when it comes to the convertible Surface Pro OLED. In principle, the Lunar Lake variant naturally has the advantage of better compatibility and higher GPU performance. It also supports Thunderbolt 4 and, surprisingly, its fan behavior is different. You'll probably never hear the Intel variant's fan during everyday use—even using best performance mode.

On the other hand, the Snapdragon variant delivers noticeably higher multi-core performance and generally better CPU efficiency. Plus, the ARM model has some advantages in terms of battery life, and Microsoft only offers a 5G module for the ARM version, which could be a massive advantage, especially for a mobile device like the Surface Pro.

All in all, however, we must once again criticize Microsoft's product policy. It seems that business customers don't want ARM devices, but private customers are practically forced to buy Qualcomm models. Although you can also buy the Surface for Business products as a private individual, the high prices (which corporate customers generally don't pay if they buy large quantities) simply make the Intel variant uninteresting for private users. Our test device, for example, costs more than $2,400 without the keyboard cover, while the corresponding ARM model is available for around $2,100. Microsoft should really let customers choose between Qualcomm and Intel.

Last year, the Surface Pro OLED was launched exclusively with the new Snapdragon processors from Qualcomm. However, the same as with the Surface Laptop, additional models with Lunar Lake processors from Intel were released in February, which are aimed specifically at business customers but can also be purchased by private customers. We're testing the version with the Core Ultra 7 268V, 32 GB RAM, a 1-TB SSD and a 120 Hz OLED screen for an MRSP of $2,499.99. In the following review, we'll mainly be looking at the differences compared to the ARM model. More detailed information on its case and OLED display can be found in our detailed review of the ARM version:

• Microsoft Surface Pro OLED Copilot+ with the Snapdragon X Elite review

There are no differences to the Snapdragon model in terms of the laptop's case. The Intel version comes with Thunderbolt 4 support but otherwise, its features—including Wi-Fi 7 and high-resolution cameras—are identical. Both variants have a Copilot+ certification, meaning they support the advanced Windows AI functions. The Snapdragon model now optionally comes with a 5G module, which isn't available on the Intel model.

The Surface Pro is Energy Star certified and Microsoft provides extensive information on its website about the use of recycled materials for the device as well as its packaging (e.g. case made from 89.1% recycled materials). Its packaging is made entirely of paper and cardboard.

Microsoft has again exclusively gone for Intel processors (Core Ultra 5 or 7) with vPro, either with 16 or 32 GB RAM (LPDDR5x-8533). The laptop's vPro support once again underpins its focus on business customers.

Microsoft doesn't offer any additional energy profiles. As with the Surface Laptop for Business, Microsoft has adapted the names of the Windows energy profiles and now uses these names by default. We ran the benchmarks in best performance mode.

Our test device is equipped with the Core Ultra 7 268V, which consumes 37 watts for short periods and 30 watts continuously. To enable the fairest possible comparison with the Snapdragon model, we focussed on the latest versions of Cinebench and Geekbench, which run natively on the ARM version as well. This revealed that the Snapdragon X Elite delivers significantly higher multi-core performance but in the single-core tests, both were practically on par (with a minimal advantage for the Intel model). Thanks to its high multi-core performance, the Snapdragon device also often had an advantage during emulated tests. The efficiency measurements additionally showed an advantage for the ARM model. Our test device's CPU performance remained stable in battery mode, while its multi-core performance dropped by around 15% under continuous load.

As expected, the Intel version of the Surface Pro is a super responsive device and it also beat the ARM version in the cross-system CrossMark. On the other hand, the Snapdragon model had an advantage during the browser tests.