Microsoft has announced the Surface Pro 9, a modest update on the Surface Pro 8. As such, the Surface Pro 9 retains its predecessor's 13-inch display, which operates natively at 2,880 x 1,920 pixels, 120 Hz and in a 3:2 aspect ratio. The Surface Pro 9 weighs 879 g though, 11 g lighter than the Surface Pro 8. Additionally, Microsoft has upgraded the Surface Pro series to Alder Lake processors, although not 28 W parts like the Surface Pro 8 has.
Instead, the Surface Pro 9 relies on Alder Lake-U series parts. Specifically, the Surface Pro 9 is available with the Core i5-1235U or the Core i7-1255U, plus 8 GB, 16 GB and 32 GB of LPDDR5 RAM. Moreover, Microsoft offers the device with 128 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB and 1 TB of removable storage. As always, the Surface Pro 9 supports Windows Hello face authentication and Microsoft's Surface Connect port. Incidentally, Microsoft also includes two USB Type-C ports (USB 4.0/Thunderbolt 4), but the Surface Pro 9 misses out on a 3.5 mm headphone jack.
According to Microsoft, the Surface Pro 9 should last up to 15:30 hours on its 47.7 Wh battery, which is likely an extremely ambitious battery estimate. As expected, the Surface Pro 9 comes in Platinum, Sapphire, Forest and Graphite colourways. The Surface Pro 9 is already orderable in multiple markets and will start shipping in the US on October 25. Conversely, the device will not become available in the likes of the UK until early November.
At launch, prices start from US$999.99 with the Core i5-1235U, 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage. For reference, this configuration only comes in Platinum; by contrast, the other colourways can be configured with 256 GB configurations upwards. Similarly, Microsoft has decided to limit the Core i5-1235U to 256 GB of storage, with 512 GB and 1 TB options exclusive to the Core i7-1255U. Full pricing can be found on Microsoft's website, albeit without a Type Cover or a Slim Pen 2 factored in.