Microsoft’s Surface Laptop 3 will reportedly have a 15″ variant with an AMD CPU

2 min. read

Published on September 16, 2019

published on September 16, 2019

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Microsoft’s upcoming Surface event in New York on October 2 may bring some good surprises for fans of the company’s Surface Laptop line. Citing information coming from European retailers, Roland Quandt from German website WinFuture.de claims that Microsoft’s new Surface Laptop 3 will be available for the first time in a 15” variant. Interestingly, this 15” model will be powered by an AMD processor, which would be a first for a Surface product.

New Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15-inch runs…. AMD!

Massive design win for AMD and their Ryzen SoCs. Also could signal an attractive pricing on the new 15in model. Confirmation based on non-public retail info. https://t.co/cDWMPCBcNz

— Roland Quandt (@rquandt) September 15, 2019

According to the report, Microsoft may offer three three AMD-based models of the Surface Laptop 3 with a 15-inch display, but it’s still not clear if there also could be Intel variants of the new 15” Surface Laptop 3. The 13” model is expected to stick with Intel processors, though an AMD variant may also be on the table.

While not as popular as Intel CPUs, AMD processors are usually cheaper and come with much better integrated GPUs. Earlier this year, the chip maker unveiled 2nd Gen Ryzen PRO mobile processors, which are 12nm chips with fast integrated Radeon Vega graphics. Anyway, a 15″ Surface Laptop 3 should be an interesting alternative to the 15″ Surface Book 2, which has a detachable form factor that may not be that attractive for people who are not creative professionnals.

According to AdDuplex’s numbers from last year, Microsoft’s Surface Laptop 2 and its predecessor have been far less popular than the Surface Pro 6 and the more affordable Surface Go. Maybe AMD processors and a new 15″ model will help to shake things up, but as pretty much all premium laptops now come with multiple USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 ports, it’s time for Microsoft to finally ditch its proprietary Surface connector and switch to these more versatile options.

Radu Tyrsina

Radu Tyrsina has been a Windows fan ever since he got his first PC, a Pentium III (a monster at that time). For most of the kids of his age, the Internet was an amazing way to play and communicate with others, but he was deeply impressed by the flow of information and how easily you can find anything on the web. Prior to founding Windows Report, this particular curiosity about digital content enabled him to grow a number of sites that helped hundreds of millions reach faster the answer they're looking for.