Microsoft Refreshes Surface Business PCs With Panther Lake to Beat M5 MacBook Air Graphics

Microsoft is rolling out a new generation of Surface devices for enterprise customers, kitted with Intel's latest-generation Core Ultra Series 3 processors based on Panther Lake. In doing so, Microsoft claims both the retooled Surface Pro for Business and Surface Laptops for Business, as they're called, deliver up to 35% more graphics performance than Apple's MacBook Air with M5.

"From analyzing complex information to presenting to customers or creating content on the go, the Intel Core Ultra Series 3 GPU enables work to move in real time, delivering the sustained, fluid performance leaders expect from a premium business PC, without compromising mobility, battery life or security," Microsoft says.

Starting with the 13-inch Surface Laptop for Business, Microsoft says it's the most portable Surface Laptop to date. Interested buyers can configure the system with 16GB or 24GB of LPDDR5X memory, paired with an Intel Core Ultra 5 325 processor and 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB of removable PCIe 4.0 solid state drive (SSD) storage.

Other specs include a 13-inch PixelSense display with a 1920x1280 resolution (3:2 aspect ratio), a Full HD 1080p front-facing camera, dual USB 3.2 Type-C ports, a USB 3.2 Type-A port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 wireless connectivity, and of course Windows 11 Pro.

Microsoft's also offering 13.8-inch and 15-inch models with expanded processor options. On the 13.8-inch model, Microsoft's offering Core Ultra 5 335, Core Ultra 7 366H, and Core Ultra X7 368H configurations, and Core Ultra 5 335 and Core Ultra X7 368H on the 15-inch variant.

They also optionally come with more RAM—16GB, 32GB, or 64GB. Storage options are the same, while display resolutions differ (2304x1536 and 120Hz on the 13.8-inch model, 3270x2108 and 120Hz on the 15-inch model, with an integrated privacy screen available on the latter).

The Surface Pro for Business is a 13-inch machine in the 2-in-1 form factor. It features a 2880x1920 resolution and 120Hz refresh rate, powered by an Intel Core Ultra 5 335 or Core Ultra 7 366H processor and 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB of LPDDR5X memory. Storage options are the same as the refreshed Surface Laptops.

Naturally, Microsoft is pushing AI with these new models.

"Surface for Business devices are built for the future of AI. Whether you are running models in the cloud or on device, Surface devices are built to take advantage of both. That means features like real-time meeting transcription, intelligent writing assistance, select on-device image generation and live translation that work whether your employee is in a server room, on a plane or in a hospital ward," Microsoft says.

The elephant in the room with this Surface refresh is that it comes at a time when memory and storage prices are skyrocketing, and that's somewhat reflected in the MSRPs. The 13-inch Surface Laptop starts at $1,499 with an 8GB configuration priced at $1,299.99 coming later this year; the 13.8-inch and 15-inch models start at $1,949.99; and the Surface Pro for Business starts at $1,949.99 as well.

Microsoft says it will offer Snapdragon X2 configs later this year, too.