Microsoft is branching out. WinFuture reported Monday that, per "dealer listings," both models of the Surface Laptop 4 will offer configurations featuring AMD CPUs. The Surface laptops may not be the best gaming laptops, or even make our list of the best ultrabooks and premium laptops, but they're still quite popular.
The entire Surface line was Intel-exclusive until Microsoft released the Surface Laptop 3 in 2019. That was the first tentative step toward expanding the line's processor offerings, because AMD CPUs were only available in the 15-inch model. But there were signs that Microsoft's partnership with AMD wouldn't end there, starting with the discovery of a Surface device featuring a Ryzen 5 4500U APU and Radeon RX 5300M mobile graphics card in the 3DMark 11 database in March 2020.
The 3DMark 11 database offered another hint at Microsoft's plans in June 2020 with a listing for a Surface device equipped with a Ryzen 7 4800U. The Surface Laptop 4 would be the obvious choice for the Zen 2 microarchitecture's Surface debut.
The Surface Laptop 4 remained a no-show throughout 2020. It's likely to be announced this year, however, and the WinFuture report suggests Microsoft has finalized its specs. The report claims that the Surface Laptop 4 will offer these configurations:
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Processor Type
AMD
Intel
CPU
AMD Ryzen 5-4680U or Ryzen 7 4980U CPU
Intel Core 11th Generation i5-1145G7 or i7-1185G7
Graphics
Radeon Graphics
Iris Plus Graphics 950
Memory
8 or 16GB
8, 16, or 32GB
Storage
128, 256, 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD
128, 256, 512GB or 1TB PCIe NVMe SSD
Display
13.5": 2,256 x 1,504 / 15": 2,496 x 1,664
13.5": 2,256 x 1,504 / 15": 2,496 x 1,664
Ports
Surface Connect, USB A, USB C
Surface Connect, USB A, USB C
Battery
6513 mAh, 49 Wh
6513 mAh, 49 Wh
Operating System
Windows 10 Home
Windows 10 Home
Dimensions (WxDxH)
13": 308 x 223 x 14.5mm / 15": 339.5 x 244 x 14.5mm
13": 308 x 223 x 14.5mm / 15": 339.5 x 244 x 14.5mm
Weight
13": 1.25kg / 15": Unknown
13": 1.31kg / 15": 1.54kg
A few things worth noting: Configurations featuring Intel processors will reportedly increase the memory and storage limits from 16GB and 512GB, respectively, to 32GB and 1TB. The higher specs do appear to result in some weight gain, however.
These are just preliminary specs; nothing has been made official. It's not clear when Microsoft plans to reveal the Surface Laptop 4, either, since it missed the October 2020 reveal many expected. We expect more details to leak in the coming weeks.
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Nathaniel Mott is a freelance news and features writer for Tom's Hardware US, covering breaking news, security, and the silliest aspects of the tech industry.
Waited this long, why not go with the Ryzen 5000-series mobile APUs? Also, very lame that the AMD laptops are being listed iwth lower storage/memory capacities. Computing-wise, that doesn't make sense at all. Perhaps Intel offered them marketing money to keep their side with the higher capacities.
Waited this long, why not go with the Ryzen 5000-series mobile APUs? Also, very lame that the AMD laptops are being listed iwth lower storage/memory capacities. Computing-wise, that doesn't make sense at all. Perhaps Intel offered them marketing money to keep their side with the higher capacities.
I can't prove it, but I would say it is likely. They have been convicted of similar things in the past against AMD.
