Surface Laptop 3 is Microsoft’s most powerful laptop yet, and it charges fast, too – CNET

di Antonello CicciùICT

067-microsoft-surface-event-10-2-2019Sarah Tew/CNET

Microsoft announced the new Surface Laptop 3 on Wednesday at its Surface event in New York. Like the Surface Laptop 2, the Laptop 3 is a 13.5-inch clamshell touchscreen laptop, but will now come in a larger 15-inch size as well and moves away from mini-DisplayPort in favor of USB-C, confirming multiple leaks ahead of the event. It will also have a modular hardware design and an exclusive AMD Ryzen Surface Edition processor. 

The event also saw the launch of the Surface Neo dual-screen tablet and Surface Duo dual-screen Android phone, and Windows 10 X software for dual-screen devices. More conventional new products included the Surface Pro X and Surface Pro 7 tablets, Surface Earbuds and the SQ1 custom Arm chip.

The two new Surface Laptop 3 models have a 20% larger trackpad and the keyboards have 1.3mm of travel, a 19mm pitch between keys and a subtle dish on the keys, said Microsoft Chief Product Officer Panos Panay. 

Microsoft/GIF by Lauren Routt/CNET

Panay used the keyboard discussion to dive into the new serviceability of the design. Instead of accessing the internal components through the bottom, Microsoft designed the keyboard deck to be removable with a tool. This allows for a more seamless design of the aluminum chassis, but you’ll still be able to upgrade or repair the laptops. 

Inside you’ll find 10th-gen quad-core 10nm Intel processors which Panay said will make the them three times more powerful than a current MacBook Air. AMD got involved with the Surface Laptop 3, too, creating a Ryzen Surface Edition graphics processor. 

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Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 looks like a killer MacBook Air alternative

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“This is the most powerful mobile processor, AMD has ever created,” Panay said. “It’s actually the fastest processor for any laptop in its class today.”

The new laptops will charge quickly, too. Microsoft worked closely with Intel and AMD to make it possible to charge the Laptop 3 up to 80% in less than an hour.  

The 13.5- and 15-inch Surface Laptop 3 are available to preorder now and ships on Oct. 22. The 13.5-inch starts at $999 while the 15-inch starts at $1,199.  

Read all the news from Microsoft’s Surface event here. 

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