Microsoft has unveiled the Surface Pro 7 Plus, an upgraded version of the Surface Pro 7 intended for business customers (and perhaps education). The tablet has been upgraded to 11th Gen Intel Core processors, has a larger battery and, perhaps most surprisingly, a removable SSD. The design is otherwise largely the same on the outside.
It will start at $899 with an Intel Core i3-1115G4 CPU, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB SSD for $899.99. If you want LTE, the entry option is with a Core i5-1135G7, 8GB of RAM and 128GB SSD. Bumping up to a Core i5, 16GB of RAM and 256GB SSD brings you to $1,649.99, while the top-end version with a Core i7-1165G7, 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD is $2.799.99. Of course, the Type Cover is sold separately no matter which option you pick. It will begin shipping by the end of the week.
The SSD, however, is removable, like it is on the Surface Pro X and Surface Laptop 3, which should be a boon for IT departments looking to replace drives for repairs or simply to add more storage for users that need it (the Surface 7 Pro Plus is using an m.2 2230 SSD, which is slowly becoming more popular).
But much of it is the same, including the 12.3-inch, 2736 x 1824 display (and the thick bezels around it) as well as the port selection. On the Wi-Fi model, there is still a microSD card beneath the kickstand, though on LTE versions that is replaced with a nano SIM slot.
One difference is in weight, however, as Microsoft claims it's 23% lighter than the previous generation of machines.
The battery appears to be larger, with Microsoft rating it at 15 hours on Wi-Fi or 13.5 hours on LTE, up from 10.5 hours on Wi-Fi on the regular Surface Pro 7.
It's unclear if the Surface 7 Pro Plus will become available for non-business or education users, as LTE and 11th Gen will likely tempt some people
This is a announcement from Microsoft, which doesn't announce its own hardware around the CES 2021 timeframe. Additionally, Microsoft announced that its 85-inch Surface Hub 2S will begin shipping out in select markets later this month.
