Microsoft’s new Surface Laptop and Pro have smaller screens, built-in AI, and USB-C charging

Microsoft announced new 13-inch Surface Laptop and 12-inch Surface Pro starting at $899 and $799, respectively, featuring smaller screens and built-in AI tools that run locally as part of its Copilot+ PC initiative.

Both devices now charge via USB-C and no longer include a power brick, aligning with the EU’s push to reduce electronic waste and marking a move away from Microsoft’s proprietary connector.

Microsoft hopes that faster performance, longer battery life, and on-device AI will get more users to upgrade — especially as support for Windows 10 ends later this year.

Alongside the new hardware, the company unveiled a Settings agent that lets users adjust system preferences by describing what they want in plain language. It’s an expansion of Microsoft’s AI-powered Copilot+ PC tools, which include the flagship Recall feature that lets users search and scroll through past activity.

In a media briefing in advance of the news, Microsoft executives said the new Surface Laptop is faster than Apple’s MacBook Air M3 at handling tasks that use multiple apps or processes at once — part of a broader effort by Microsoft to compete more directly with Apple’s popular laptops.

Releasing its quarterly earnings last week, Microsoft said commercial deployments of Windows 11 increased nearly 75% year-over-year, driven in part by the approaching end-of-support for Windows 10. Microsoft’s Windows device sales rose 3% from last year, amid higher levels of inventory due to uncertainty about tariffs.

During the Surface media briefing, Microsoft executives were asked directly if tariffs were affecting the pricing of the Surface devices. They didn’t give a clear yes or no, describing the tariff issue as a “moving target.”

The new Surface devices are available for preorder now, shipping May 20.