OPINION : This calendar week , rumor and reputation have pointed towards a Surface Laptop 6 to arrive in the coming month . It seems like this could potentially mark the debut of Qualcomm ’s Snapdragon X Elite on a laptop computer . The new chip , alongside a long - needed design refresh , could make this unexampled equipment a large threat to the unexampled MacBook Air .
As someone who has spent much of my dear - five days as a technology reviewer examination laptops , I ’ve been keenly tracking the path that ’s been precede us towards theQualcomm Snapdragon X Elitechip . Ever since Qualcomm picked up upstart chip troupe Nuvia , comprised of some former Apple staffers , a more powerful microcomputer scrap from the company has moved nearer and close-fitting .
The announcement derive last yr , with the Snapdragon X Elite reveal , and now that big liberation looks to be converging with another likewise farsighted road – the road towards a giving Surface Laptop refresh . It could be a strong combination .
Arm wrestling
Putting the chip aside for one moment , the fact that Microsoft’sSurface Laptop 6and theSurface Pro 10are finally getting solid refreshes is , well , refreshing .
In damage of design , Microsoft ’s flagship laptop has always felt like the closest Windows auto to a MacBook . It offered a great keyboard , some of the right laptop speakers around and a delightfully portable intention . But then , as before long as you open up it up and peek within , you ’re greeted by what are some truly unsightly bezel in 2024 , unbefitting of a luxuriously price simple machine .
But , Bob Hope is in raft , withWindows CentralandThe Vergereporting that the Surface Laptop 6 is set for a metaphoric squawk up the backside . The new model is set to proffer up thin bezels , more rounded corner and a tactual trackpad . No discussion on if it will be particularly sparse or lighter though .
Outside of cumbersome bezel , the Surface Laptop kitchen range has often feel a tad behind fundamental competition on important metric like performance and barrage life , not by much but enough to see it eclipsed by poser from Asus , Dell and , yes , Apple . But that could be about to commute .
The reports state that the newfangled Surface Laptop will be come in two smell – an Intel Core Ultra version and the debut of the Snapdragon X Elite . Laptops with the newCore Ultrachip , like theAsus Zenbook 14 OLEDhave massively impressed , so the Intel version could be a strong contender in its own right wing . But , with it being more of a known quantity now , it is the Snapdragon edition that has that unsung sensation of fervour to it .
With a Snapdragon X elect model of the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 , we look coiffure to finally see just how Qualcomm ’s shiny new computing chip do . The company has been making a lot of claim , up against both Intel and Apple chips , since it announced the raw system - on - chip ( SoC ) , but I ’ve been keen to get my hand on it to put it through our thorough reviewing process ever since . Will it know up to the overall operation claims being made ? And , more importantly , how does it function mean solar day - to - day ?
I ’ve previously write about the key hurdle Qualcomm ’s new chip faces , and that’sWindows on Arm . Windows is still yet to prove that it has nailed the compatibility trouble that still lingers when it come to finding the best versions of your favourite apps on an Arm machine . However , with Apple forging the way , it very much seems like the industry is determined to make sleeve a thing , with Nvidia and AMD mark to get in on the natural process more in the future .
As such , while it may not happen immediately , Windows on Arm seems certain to improve and will hopefully reach out the superlative that Apple managed with its Arm switcheroo with the M series .
A true MacBook Air challenger
So , what does this all add up to ? The overlap of a modernise design , along with the touted business leader and battery life welfare that the Snapdragon X Elite offer , could make Microsoft ’s Surface Laptop 6 a formidable foe .
The MacBook Air M2 was , and remains a top - notch machine , but the Modern M3 range does appear to be a largely reiterative intimacy , as we learned in our review of theApple MacBook Pro 16 - inch ( M3 Max ) .
With Apple mostly fend still this year in the laptop department – but we ’ll enquire that further in our MacBook Air M3 review when the clock time do – it seems like the perfect time for a Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite machine to swoop .
We ’re expecting to see a range of devices sporting the new chip later in the yr and there may be top selection from manufacturer other than Microsoft . But , with pattern long being the most worthful plus of the Surface range , even if the bezels fell by the roadside , the Modern Surface Laptop 6 expect well placed to give theMacBook Air M3a run for its money .
