Just a couple days ago, news about a possible Surface Go 2 appeared in filings on the FCC’s website. But now, it looks like we’ve just gotten some info about a different laptop from Microsoft, thanks to leaked product listings from gadget retailers in Europe.
According to MSPowerUser, who found a list of SKUs for the upcoming Surface Book 3, the Surface Book 3 will be available in both 13- and 15-inch sizes along with a range of 10th-gen Intel chips and Nvidia GPUs, just like the previous generation.
The least expensive Surface Book 3 appears to be a 13-inch model with a Core i5-1021U CPU and a 256GB nVME SSD for just over 1,000 euros, or about $1,700. That said, there’s always some wiggle room when converting international pricing to U.S. dollars, so we’re probably looking at a starting price between $1,600 and $1,750. Unfortunately, the listing doesn’t specify how much memory or what GPU you get on that config, but if we speculate that it will have 8GB of RAM and Intel integrated graphics, that price seems about right.
From there, things escalate quickly. Moving up to the 15-inch model and adding in faster CPUs, more RAM, and discrete graphics, the most expensive SKU tops out north of 4,000 euros (nearly $7,000) for a 15-inch Surface Book 3 with a Core i7-1051u processor, 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD.
The jump up to 32GB of RAM is a nice upgrade, because the Surface Book 2 topped out at 16GB of RAM. With MSPowerUser claiming the Surface Book 3 will also support Nvidia Quadro GPUs instead of more consumer-focused GeForce cards, it seems that Microsoft will focus more on attracting high-end content creators like animator and video editors than people who simply want a premium 2-in-1.
Interestingly, the leaked listing doesn’t mention the option for a AMD Ryzen-based Surface Book 3, which seems a bit strange considering Microsoft worked with AMD last fall on the Surface Laptop 3.
Unfortunately, there’s no clear timeline for when the Surface Book 3 will officially go on sale, especially with all the recent product launch delays caused by the spread of covid-19. However, based on the number of other laptops makers that have recently begun pushing out refreshed systems, it’s probably a safe bet to expect the Surface Book 3 and the Surface Go 2 to make an appearance sometime later this spring, most likely in early or mid-May.