The Microsoft Surface Laptop is well-regarded for its thin design, speed, and functionality. The latest version champions Qualcomm’s ARM-based Snapdragon Elite chips on Windows PCs. However, Microsoft may soon unveil a surprise for those anticipating an Intel x86 Lunar Lake chip, known for competitive performance and battery life without sacrificing software compatibility.
A Microsoft Surface laptop featuring an Intel Lunar Lake chip was recently listed on the Chinese website Goofish, targeted at ultra-small notebooks. This information was initially reported by Redditors and Windows Central, although Gizmodo could not independently verify the claim since the listing has been removed. According to Windows Central, which cites anonymous sources, Microsoft is currently testing Surface Laptops with Lunar Lake chips, potentially releasing as early as 2025.
It remains unclear whether Microsoft will continue with a Surface Laptop 7 or introduce a new Surface Laptop 8. The leaked information, however, reveals a Surface model equipped with an Intel Core Ultra 7 268V, a significant advancement over many first-generation sub-16-inch laptops with Lunar Lake chips, such as the Asus Zenbook S 14, which come with either Core Ultra 7 256V or 258V specifications. Larger laptops, like the upcoming Acer Swift 16 AI, are expected to feature the Core Ultra 9 288V.
Should Microsoft proceed with releasing a next-generation Surface Laptop equipped with such specifications, it would likely stand at the forefront of its class. The Core Ultra 7 268V features four cores and four threads, a 5.0 clock speed, and an Arc 140V GPU, which ranks as the second highest frequency in the Ultra 2 lineup. It matches the top-end Core Ultra 9 288V in memory, though it does not share the same base thermal design power (TDP).
The Goofish listing indicated a price of 19,000 CNY, or approximately $2,600 USD, for the purported Surface Laptop, which should be taken cautiously. The detailed specifications include 32 GB of RAM and 1 TB of storage, placing it among the high-end configurations. Comparatively, the current 13.8-inch Surface Laptop 7 with a Snapdragon Elite CPU, 32 GB of RAM, and a 1 TB SSD starts at $2,000, while the 15-inch version is priced at $2,100.
The previous iteration of the Surface Laptop, equipped with first-generation Meteor Lake chips, was exclusive to the business segment. Enterprise laptops generally command higher prices than consumer models, which might explain the elevated price on Goofish.
While Gizmodo expressed reservations regarding the form factor and battery life of the Surface Pro 11, the Qualcomm Snapdragon Elite chip performs exceptionally in multi-core benchmarks, surpassing Meteor Lake and Apple M3 Chips. Although Intel’s Arrow Lake chips aim to challenge the perception that ARM is the future, evidence of their performance in top-end laptops is still pending.
