The Surface Pro 8 is expected to launch very soon as the upcoming tablet has been spotted by various retailers in Europe. The new portable Windows machine will be available in standard Wi-Fi only and Wi-Fi + LTE model options, suggest certain databases of European retailers. It is also expected that Microsoft will offer up to 32GB of RAM, although that might only be offered with the non-LTE variant.
The report comes from Winfuture, which suggests that the Surface 8 Pro, apart from offering support for the Surface Pen and the Surface Type Cover, will now come in a new Black color option alongside Platinum Grey. Microsoft had introduced this color on the Surface Pro X last year, and it seems that it might expand it to the regular Surface Pro lineup. Notably, the Black color option will not be offered with the LTE version.
There is also confirmation that the LTE version of the Surface Pro 8 in Europe will feature a wireless module and antennas integrated directly from the factory. Don’t expect a 5G variant anytime soon, and to be honest, it doesn’t make a lot of sense considering the limited availability of the network around the world. The base variant of the LTE version of the Surface Pro 8 is expected to arrive with an 11th-gen Intel Core i5 processor with Intel Xe graphics, 8GB of memory, and 128GB of internal storage. There doesn’t seem to be a Core i7 option available with LTE, which means that regular customers can only look at a maximum of 16GB RAM and 256GB storage. According to an alleged image of the Surface Pro 8, the memory is going to be clocked at 4267MHz. Also, while it is not mentioned, the display is expected to be similar to last year’s model having a 12.3-inch dimension with a 3:2 aspect ratio and a 2736 x 1824 pixel resolution.
The non-LTE Surface Pro 8 is expected to be offered in a high-end variant with 32GB of RAM, an Intel Core i7-1165G7 quad-core processor with a turbo clock speed of 4.7GHz, and a 1TB SSD. This variant is expected to be priced around €3000 ($3,650 approx).
The new Surface Pro 8 is expected to launch in January 2021. During the same launch event, Microsoft is also expected to launch the Surface Laptop 4, which would be more of a bump to the internals rather than a new design just like the Surface Pro 8. However, it is speculated that the new Surface Laptop 4 could launch in a separate AMD version, just like last year. Speaking of which, AMD is expected to launch the new Ryzen 5000 mobile chipsets at CES 2021. Will Microsoft make use of the new chips? Time will tell.