Microsoft may release a new Surface Laptop running AMD’s not-yet-announced Picasso chips with integrated AMD Radeon graphics in late 2019, according to Beneath a Surface, a new book by Microsoft insider Brad Sams, as per The Verge.
According to the report, Sams’ book alludes to increasing tension between Microsoft and Intel following the latter’s ongoing delay in releasing 10nm CPUs.
In August, another Microsoft insider and colleague of Sams, Paul Thurrott, said Microsoft originally wanted to use an Arm processor for its latest Surface Go, but Intel “petitioned Microsoft heavily,” resulting in the 2-in-1 donning Intel’s Pentium Gold CPUs instead.
If Microsoft does indeed launch its next Surface Laptop with AMD CPUs, it would be a first for the vendor and sign of more mainstream growth for AMD, which has traditionally held far less market share than Intel. The current-generation Surface Laptop 2 uses Intel’s Core i5-8250U or Core i7-8650U CPU, depending on the configuration. Microsoft's Surface lineup has been long-rumored for a redesign next year.
The report also suggests that the Microsoft's dual-screened Andromeda may still come along but in a less-pocketable form factor.
