Microsoft’s Surface line has become iconic in a few different ways, but performance was never its strong suit. However, according to rumors that have been building throughout this year, we’ll be getting the most powerful Surface device we’ve ever seen later this year.
The product in question is the Surface Laptop Studio 2, a follow-up to the debut of the design in 2021. That initial Surface Laptop Studio was already the most powerful device in the lineup as the replacement of the previous Surface Book designs. Most importantly, these are the only Surface devices to get discrete graphics, making them the best options for creatives and gamers. Of course, that device was unique for its form factor — but performance was a big selling point too.
Two years later, though, reports show that we’re getting a sequel to the Surface Laptop Studio that could increase performance in three important ways.
First off, the Surface Laptop Studio 2 is rumored to get the bump to Nvidia’s RTX 40-series graphics. A leaked Geekbench run was posted on Twitter earlier this year that showed a configuration with the RTX 4060, which likely represents the most powerful option available. The generational bump will be significant, but beyond that, the Surface Laptop Studio was limited to just the RTX 3050 Ti, never offering an RTX 3060. The RTX 40-series also comes with DLSS 3 and Frame Generation, which boosts frame rates further in games that support it.
Secondly, the Surface Laptop Studio 2 may finally provide a more powerful processor. One of the major hang-ups with the Surface Laptop Studio was its use of a 35-watt processor, the Intel Core i7-11370H. Now, that same Geekbench leak shows the Surface Laptop Studio 2 will use the Core i7-13800H. Not only is this a proper 45-watt part like the ones featured in competitive systems, but it also has 14 cores, split between six Performance cores and eight Efficiency cores. That’ll be a huge jump in performance over the quad-core part used in the original laptop. It’ll also provide an even larger performance delta between this and the Surface Laptop 5 (or Surface Laptop 6, for that matter).
Lastly, the Surface Laptop Studio 2 may also get support for higher memory capacity than we’ve seen before. The previous model capped out at 32GB, but this new model may get 64GB. Again, this makes it more competitive with similar laptops from other manufacturers and expands its possible demographic to those who could actually put this much RAM to use. It should be noted that the 14-inch MacBook Pro offers up to 96GB, though that’s hardly the standard.
Microsoft holds an annual Surface hardware launch each fall, and the Surface Laptop Studio 2 is expected to make an appearance there, along with a new Surface Pro, Surface Laptop, and more. Zac Bowden of Windows Central reportedly confirmed with sources that the Surface Laptop Studio 2 has been code-named internally as “Ersa” and will, indeed, be announced later this year.
I, for one, am excited that Microsoft is continuing the Surface Laptop Studio line and not delaying it further. I love the design, the multiple modes of use, and the gorgeous screen. I was worried after an update was skipped in 2022, but this more powerful model might be exactly what I’ve been waiting for.
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
I've spent a good amount of time digging into the spec sheet of the new M6 MacBook Pro (14-inch), and for all intents and purposes, this is a classic Apple "chip and connectivity" refresh. It's not a full redesign. The chassis, Liquid Retina XDR panel, speakers, ports, and battery, all of them carry over unchanged.
However, the M6 brings more cores, stronger on-device AI, higher memory bandwidth on the larger configs, and modern wireless. Here’s the practical rundown of what actually improved, and whether those gains are worth your money.