On Wednesday, September 22nd, 2021 Microsoft announced a bunch of surface devices at an event. Along with others, the next-generation Surface Pro 8 has been announced and the same will be released on October 5th, 2021.

Microsoft is always known for its innovation and simplicity and to continue the same spirit they always create something that boosts your productivity. Windows is the platform where you can learn, create, connect and achieve all the possibilities you ever imagined.

The 2-in-1 Tablet from Microsoft has all the power of a Laptop but it still feels light and portable at the same time. The new Surface Pro is a perfect blend of style and power.

After seven years we finally see a brand new design that we’ve been waiting for so long, Now the bezels are much thinner and the keyboard is stiffer with a super responsive pen that captures every single touch more fluidly.

Surface Pro 8 is powered by 11 gen Intel-powered CPU and based on the Intel EVO platform which gives you an immersive experience.

The 120Hz display with thinner bezels, Thunderbolt 4 support, removable SSD storage, and a new keyboard that has a chamber for Surface Slim Pen 2 makes it a real contender among all tablets in the market.

According to Microsoft, the new Surface has a high-resolution Display, improved pair of cameras, High-quality HD sound, better processor, good battery backup, and On top of that New Surface, Pro 8 runs Windows 11 the brand new operating system from the company.

The Specifications:

Ok, let’s go and discuss the important parts and features of Surface Pro 8 in a brief way…

The Design, Build and Display:

From the Inside and outside we have a completely redesigned Surface Pro 8 that gives you a truly next level of performance and productivity. The modern rounded chassis not only looks great, it feels great to hold and compliments the fluid UI design of Windows 11.

The new Surface was built from eco-friendly recycled aluminum, as opposed to magnesium in our prior generations. There are two classic anodized colors to choose from, Platinum or New Graphite.

The Surface is quite slim the thickness is only 9.33 mm which is pretty slim and the full dimension is 287 mm x 208 mm x 9.3 mm (11.3” x 8.2” x 0.37”). The ultra-portable tablet is light weighing just 889 grams.

On the right side, we have a power button, two USB type C Thunderbolt ports, and a power port. On the right side, we have the volume rocker and a 3.5 mm audio jack for connecting your favorite wired headphone.

The two super-fast USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports make it easier to customize your home or work setup. With them, you can connect fast external storage, multiple monitors, or even external GPUs.

On the backside at the top, we have a 10 Megapixel autofocus camera that now supports 4K resolution. At the lower left of the backside, we have a slot for SSD where you can plug in your Solid-state drive easily. Maximum capacity supports one terabyte. For LTE models you’ll find a Nano-SIM slot there too.

The main attraction lies at the front where we have a larger 13-inch PixelSense Flow touch display that delivers a stunning image at 2880×1920 resolution with 267 PPI at a 3:2 aspect ratio.

Surface Pro 8’s display is the first display in the Surface portfolio featuring the new ambient color sensor that adapts your screen content dynamically through different ambient light sources, as well as lighting intensity from 450 all the way down to 2 NITs.

The new 13-inch PixelSense Flow touch display is also the first in the Proline that supports Dolby Vision to ensure more accurate color rendering and detail. It looks very sharp and very responsive when you use the new surface pen 2 to write anything on the screen.

But the most important part of the Pro 8’s display is the fact it’s now 120Hz. While it will run at 60Hz by default, the display will jump up to 120Hz dynamically for touch or stylus tasks.

On the top of the bezel of the Front screen, you’ll find an updated camera array. The first is an IR camera for Windows Hello face authentication, the second sensor is 5 megapixel, front-facing RGB camera with large 1.4-micron pixels for great low-light performance capable of 1080p, full-HD video.

Apart from these, we have dual mics and stereo speakers with adaptive equalization as volume drops, bass, and treble are boosted and optimized to deliver you the best sound across all volume ranges. It also supports Dolby Atmos.

The Storage and Performance:

In terms of RAM, you’ll be able to choose from 8GB, 16 GB, and 32GB configurations. Microsoft also offers a choice between 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB in SSD storage, depending on whether you’re going for a Wi-Fi-only or LTE option.

Moving to the internals this time we have a brand new 11 Generation Intel Core Processors with different clock speeds and integrated GPU. The consumer versions of the device will feature the 11th Gen Intel Core i5 or i7 processors, while commercial configurations will also include the choice to opt for the i3.

Just like its predecessor, the Microsoft Surface Pro 8 doesn’t have a dedicated graphics card, instead opting for integrated graphics with Intel Iris Xe featured alongside the 11th Gen Intel Core i5 and i7 configurations and Intel UHD graphics on the i3 option.

However, if you’re planning on doing more graphics-heavy tasks, you’ll always have an option to connect an external GPU using one of the tablet’s two USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports.

In addition to the two Thunderbolt 4 ports, the updated device also features a standard 3.5mm headphone jack and a Surface Connect port that allows you to connect your tablet to external displays.

To help keep the system cool while unleashing all of this performance, there is a new carbon composite thermal dissipation system. It’s an advanced active cooling solution in a Surface Pro that utilizes a vapor chamber, three heat pipes,
and three graphite heat spreaders to cool down the system.

Surface Pro 8 will deliver at least 46% faster computing and a 75% boost to graphics processing compared to Surface Pro 7.

Connectivity, Battery Life, and Security :

Surface Pro 8 connects to your wireless networks via wifi 6 and your peripherals using Bluetooth 5.1. You can get LTE in Core i3 and Core i7 models for the first time (Commercial markets). This also supports e-Sim as well.

Moving on to power. Surface Pro 8’s battery capacity has been increased to 50.4 watt-hours to deliver the highest all-day battery life of any Surface Pro.

But our previous experience was not good in terms of battery life. The battery hardly lasts for seven to eight hours of moderate to heavy usage. But this time Microsoft claimed the new Surface Pro 8 will offer up to 16 hours of battery life on a single charge, So it looks promising at least on paper.

The Microsoft Surface Pro 8 is integrated with Firmware TPM chip for enterprise-grade security and BitLocker support. It uses the Windows Hello face sign-in to secure your system.

Windows Hello dynamically adapts to changes in your appearance, such as glasses or changes in facial hair to give you the maximum level of security.

New Optional Surface Keyboard with Slim Pen2:

The Surface Keyboard will help you to use your surface device as a full fledge PC and gives you all the functionalities of a physical keyboard.

It looks very sleek and compact and can easily connect with your surface device. The Mechanical backlit keys and optimum key spacing supports fast and accurate typing.

The new Surface Pro Signature Keyboard featured a large glass touchpad and luxurious, Alcantara® material covering. Ready to pair with Surface Pro 8, Surface Pro X, and Surface Slim Pen 2. The stylus stores securely and recharges in the built-in storage tray. Available in a choice of rich colors: Poppy Red, Ice Blue, Platinum, and Black.

The stylus charges in the keyboard base and includes a built-in haptic motor that attempts to replicate the feeling of writing on paper. This new stylus also has reduced latency and better precision, thanks to a redesigned tip.

The New Surface Slim Pen 2 has an improved sharper tip that is more accurate and feels great on the display. It leverages the tactile signal supported by Windows 11 and a custom Microsoft G6 processor to enhance the natural feel and interactions of the pen through an added haptic motor.

A sharper pen tip and an improved design let you approach the screen at a perfect 77° tilt for ultra-precise shading and an exceptional 4,096 points of pressure sensitivity.

The New Surface Pro Signature Keyboard is priced at $179.99 and the Surface Slim Pen 2 is priced at $129.99 and is ready for preorder. If you bought them together the price will be a little less $279.99

The Price and Release Date:

You don’t have to wait for your next surface, Surface Pro 8 will be made available from 5th October and is already available for pre-order but the availability of the base variant is low compared to other models.

The Surface Pro 8 is already available for pre-order starting at $1,099 and the top high-end model is priced at $2599.  In between, there are different price ranges available according to storage, RAM, and CPU.

Right now the Surface Pro 8 is available for pre-order in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Germany, Ireland Switzerland, France, and Japan and will be available in more countries (INDIA) in Early 2022.

Last thought:

Surface Pro 8 brings hardware and software together beautifully, leaving nothing between you and what you want to create. It’s still the versatile form factor that you know and loves.

You can use it as a laptop with the optional Surface Pro keyboard, taking advantage of the full friction hinge to find your ideal angle. Take the keyboard off and with Windows 11, it is a powerful, intuitive tablet.

And of course, Surface Pro 8 turns into the ultimate workstation setup when docked and connected to multiple displays.

So as of now, it looks like a real blend of Power and Style and we have to wait for a couple more days to find out the real-life performance of the Microsoft Surface Pro 8, till then goodbye and don’t forget to share your comments on this.