Surface Pro 11th Edition

The Surface Pro 11th Edition is a 2-in-1 detachable tablet computer developed by Microsoft to supersede the Surface Pro 10 and Surface Pro X. Released shortly after the Intel x86-based Surface Pro 10, and unveiled alongside the Surface Laptop 7th Edition, the Surface Pro 11E introduces the Qualcomm Snapdragon X series CPUs to the Surface Pro model line. It will run Windows 11 on ARM. It's also the first Surface device with a built-in NPU designed for generative AI, via Microsoft Copilot+

Surface Pro 11th Edition

Developer	Microsoft
Product family	Microsoft Surface
Type	2-in-1 detachable
Generation	eleventh
Release date	18 June 2024 (2024-06-18)
Introductory price	USD $999 to 2,099
Operating system	Windows 11 Home or Pro
CPU	Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus or Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite Qualcomm Hexagon (NPU)
Memory	16GB, or 32GB
Storage	256GB, 512GB, or 1TB SSD
Display	13 inch touchscreen 120 Hz refresh rate PixelSense Display 2880 x 1920, 267 PPI 3:2 Aspect Ratio
Graphics	Adreno
Sound	2W stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos
Input	Built-in: touchscreen, ambient light sensor, accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, dual far-field studio mics Sold Separately: type cover, mouse, stylus pen, Surface Dial
Camera	Front: 1440p Quad HD Rear: 10 MP, 4K
Touchpad	On the Surface Type Cover (sold separately)
Connectivity	WiFi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, 5G, 2 USB-C with Thunderbolt (interface)
Online services	Microsoft Store, OneDrive
Dimensions	287 mm x 208 mm x 9.3 mm (11.3 in x 8.2 in x 0.37 in)
Mass	895 grams (1.973 lb) – 895 grams (1.973 lb)
Predecessor	Surface Pro 10 Surface Pro X
Related	Surface
Website	www.surface.com

Background and reveal

Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon X line of CPUs on Oct 10, 2023. Microsoft announced the Surface Pro 11th Edition and Surface Laptop 7th Edition at an AI-related press event on May 20, 2024. The press release touted performance, efficiency, and battery life that would rival the MacBook Air M3, and major performance gains over the Surface Pro 9. The CPU options available are the Snapdragon X Plus with 10 cores, and the Snapdragon X Elite with 12 cores. The devices contain a Hexagon NPU for use with Microsoft Copilot+ generative AI app.

Given the mixed reception of previous Surface on ARM devices, the Snapdragon X family of CPUs sought to provide the best performance, improved battery life, and lower heat output as compared to x86 Surface devices (the latter two still considered pain points of x86 Windows mobile devices). As well as integrate generative AI features and the Hexagon NPU. ARM-native apps have also seen larger support on Windows now than ever before. With the early Surface devices running Windows RT, complaints were lodged regarding the lack of compatible apps on Windows on ARM. The Surface Pro X showed improvements, with the introduction of an x86-compatibility layer to emulate x86 apps. The Surface Pro 11E introduces a new x86 emulator known as Prism, which promises better x86 emulation performance. Presently, Microsoft claims that 90% of total app minutes that users spend in apps now have native ARM versions. Google released Chrome on ARM in 2024, and Adobe has been rolling out ARM native apps for Photoshop, Illustrator, and Premier Pro.

Hardware

• The Surface Pro 11E is the 13th overall addition to the Surface Pro line.
• Powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon X CPUs
• Qualcomm Hexagon NPU
• 5G connectivity models available in Fall 2024
• Battery life rated at up to 14 hours video playback, 10 hours active web usage
  LCD: 48Wh
  OLED: 53Wh
• 13-inch touchscreen at 267 PPI, 3:2 aspect ratio, and 120 Hz refresh rate
• 2 USB-C ports with data transfer, charging, and DisplayPort 2.1
• Surface Connect charging port
• Up to 1TB of SSD storage.
• Up to 32GB of memory
• 4K video camera support.
• 39W power supply

Software

Surface Pro 11E ship with a pre-installed 64-bit version of Windows 11 Home (which may be upgraded to Pro for a fee) and a trial of Office 365. Windows 11 24H2 includes an updated x86 emulator, now called Prism. Similar to Rosetta 2 on Apple Silicon, this is a compatibility layer which allows x86-based applications to run on the ARM instruction set, to address apps that have not yet seen ARM-native releases.

Windows 11 includes Microsoft Copilot for AI features. Microsoft Recall, a controversial snapshot search history AI feature was disabled upon launch, and will be opt-in only once it launches. Recall was widely derided upon it's reveal, citing security and privacy concerns, prompting Microsoft to make it an opt-in only feature.

Serviceability and repairability

Microsoft has released service guides for Surface Pro 11E and Surface Laptop 7th Edition.

iFixit has given both the Surface Pro 11E Surface Laptop 7E an overall rating of 8/10 on the repairability scale. Noting the improvements over previous Surface devices and the user-removable SSD.

Timeline

Timeline of Surface devices
Sources: Microsoft Devices Blog Microsoft Store