Surface Pro 8: Release date, specs, and everything you need to know

Microsoft’s Surface Pro 8 is arriving Oct. 5, 2021. Here’s what we know about the iconic 2-in-1 PC.

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Microsoft’s line of Surface Pro 2-in-1 laptops is undoubtedly the most popular and well known of all the Surface PCs — after all, it is theoriginalthat started it all.

But Microsoft hasn’t given the Surface Pro a significant makeover since 2015’sSurface Pro 4where it picked up Windows Hello, its 12.3-inch PixelSense display, improved pen, and more. And whileSurface Pro 7+is actually quite impressive, it’s also aimed at enterprise and not consumers.

Announced on Sept. 22, 2021, Surface Pro 8 matches with our earlier reporting that the overall look and style of the device remains, but it has been updated with modern components, a larger display, new ports, and more.

Here’s what we know about the all-new Surface Pro 8 for 2021.

Surface Pro 8: Release date and availability

Update Sept. 22, 2021:Microsoft has officially revealed Surface Pro 8 to the public.

Surface Pro 8 goes on sale in select markets onOct. 5, 2021. Those markets are:

Due to an ongoing global chip and processor shortage thataffects Microsoft quite substantially, some markets may not see Surface Pro 8 until early 2022, while others may see it in late 2021. Those markets include:

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Surface Pro 8: What’s new

Here are some of the significant changes in Surface Pro 8 (compared to Surface Pro 7):

Windows 11also delivers some new hardware features that Microsoft could enable with Surface Pro 8, including:

Many more changes were detailed in aMicrosoft Mechanics video, posted above. Those changes and improvements over Surface Pro 7 are:

It is safe to say that Surface Pro 8 is a complete redesign from the ground up compared to Surface Pro 4, Pro 5, Pro 6, and Pro 7.

With Thunderbolt 4, users can now plug Surface Pro 8 into aneGPUto provide even more graphics power for gaming or video editing, while also keeping the benefits of the magnetic Surface Connect port.

Surface Pro 8: Specs

Here are the current Surface Pro 8 specs as noted by Microsoft:

In May 2021, Intel announced it hadrefreshed 11th Gen U-series processors, which bump existing clock and turbo speeds over earlier models. Those chips are not expected to ship until the fall, aligning with the Surface Pro 8 release.

While that extra 100MHz may not make a big difference compared to Surface Pro 7+, the consumer version ofSurface Pro 7only ships with 10th Gen chips, making it a much better upgrade.

There is no 5G option for Surface Pro 8, but there is for 4G LTE. However, those models are not expected to launch until later in 2021 (December) and may be for commercial markets. However, instead of LTE only being available in the Core i5 model, it will be an option for Core i3, i5, and i7 Surface Pro 8 SKUs.

While consumer editions of Surface Pro 8 all ship with Windows 11, commercial purchases will havean option for Windows 10 or Windows 11.

Surface Pro 8: Price

Surface Pro 8 pricing is mostly similar to Surface Pro 7 at launch. However, there are some subtle differences due to the availability of options for configurations at this time. Here is the current pricing at launch for Surface Pro 8:

As always, these prices do not include the Surface Pen and Surface Type Cover. Those necessary accessories add between $100 and $230 extra to the cost.

Previously, Surface Pro 7 started at$749for the Core i3 model to wellover $2,000for the Core i7 with maxed out RAM and 1TB of storage. Microsoft has not announced pricing or availability yet for the Surface Pro 8 Core i3 models, so the starting price seems higher at $1,099 (Core i5, 8GB, 128GB) instead of $749 (Core i3, 4GB, 128GB).

That said, the entry-level Core i5 model is $100 more with Surface Pro 8 compared to Surface Pro 7, but all other models are priced the same as Surface Pro 7 when it launched. Indeed, Surface Pro 7 with i7/16/1TB launched at $2,299, but the same Pro 8 model is $100lessat $2,199.

New for Surface Pro 8 is a higher top-tier model with 32GB of RAM instead of 16GB, along with a Core i7 and 1TB SSD, which is priced at $2,599.

Updated design, same 2-in-1 form factor

The Surface Pro 8 finally adopts the modern design that Microsoft first introduced with Surface Pro X, now with two USB-C ports that are Thunderbolt 4 enabled, an upgraded 13-inch display with a high-refresh rate of 120Hz, and support for the Surface Pro X style Type Covers with the Slim Pen charging cradle.

Surface Pro 8 latest news

Daniel Rubino is the Editor-in-chief of Windows Central. He is also the head reviewer,podcast co-host, and analyst. He has been covering Microsoft since 2007, when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central). His interests include Windows, laptops, next-gen computing, and watches. He has been reviewing laptops since 2015 and is particularly fond of 2-in-1 convertibles, ARM processors, new form factors, and thin-and-light PCs. Before all this tech stuff, he worked on a Ph.D. in linguistics, watched people sleep (for medical purposes!), and ran the projectors at movie theaters because it was fun.