Possible next-generation Surface Pro X surpasses Intel Tiger Lake-U processors with a Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 SoC
Several benchmark listings have surfaced on Geekbench, all under the name OEMVL OEMVL Product Name EV2. According to WinFuture, these are first test runs of a new Microsoft Surface, conceivably a next-generation Surface Pro X. While the product name does not confirm if it is a new Surface Pro X, 'EV2' implies that it is an Equipment Verification Testing (EVT) prototype.
Typically, Microsoft would undergo Design Validation and Production Validation (DVT/PVT) testing before releasing a new product. Hence, the device benchmarked here is probably a few months away from being released. If past Surface hardware releases are anything to go by, Microsoft could be preparing to release the next Surface Pro X in spring or autumn 2022.
Regardless, the EVT device features the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3, an SoC that Qualcomm presented in December. For reference, the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 contains four ARM Cortex-X1 CPU cores at 2.99 GHz and four Cortex-A78 cores at 2.4 GHz. Unlike smartphone SoCs, the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 dispenses with efficiency cores in favour of outright performance. Evidently, Qualcomm's decision has paid off, at least in synthetic benchmarks.
Based on the five benchmark results above, the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 matches the Core i7-1185G7 and Core i7-1195G7 in multi-core work, even if it falls short in single-core tasks. Unfortunately for Microsoft and Qualcomm, the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 cannot keep pace with the Apple M1 that powers the iPad Pro 11, iPad Pro 12.9 and the MacBook Air, among other devices.
