Microsoft Surface Pro X 2020 Should be Significantly Faster with Brand new SQ2 SoC

As expected, Microsoft today unveiled a new version of its exciting Windows on ARM flagship. The newest Surface Pro X 2020 offers significantly more performance thanks to the brand new Microsoft SQ2 SoC, which is probably a modified version of a Qualcomm chip.

In addition to the brand new Surface Laptop Go, Microsoft has also updated the Surface Pro X. When talking about the Surface Pro X specs, not that much has changed, apart from the processor, because the new model uses the Microsoft SQ2 instead of the SQ1 as before. The manufacturer did not reveal too much information about the new chip, but it should be an adapted version of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2.

This additional performance is likely to soon be necessary because Microsoft has also announced that the greatest weakness of the Surface Pro X and Windows on ARM, in general, will soon be eliminated – 64-bit x86-apps are emulated in a few months so that, for example, Adobe Photoshop can finally also be used on the Surface Pro X.

It also has Adreno 690 graphics, a nano-SIM card slot, LTE Advanced Pro, Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac), Bluetooth 5.0, a 5MP front-facing camera with Windows Hello face authentication sign-in, a 10MP rear-facing camera with 4K video recording and autofocus, and dual integrated microphones for Cortana, Microsoft’s intelligent assistant.

In addition, the battery life is to increase to 15 hours, thanks to new versions of the Edge browser and Microsoft Teams specially optimized for ARM, there is now an even larger selection of software that runs particularly quickly on the Qualcomm chip. 

Surface Pro X price and availability

The newest Surface Pro X 2020 can now be pre-ordered on the Bhphotovideo.com and BestBuy.com websites. The model with 16 GB of RAM and a 256 GB SSD costs $1,499.99, 16 GB or 512 GB costs $1,799.99. Delivery will start on October 27, 2020. The Signature keyboard with Slim Pen is available separately for $269.99.