Ahead of Microsoft's hardware event in two days from now, a fresh leak has reportedly revealed two key upgrades for the upcoming Surface Pro 8 — a 120Hz display with narrower bezels and Thunderbolt ports. So far, Microsoft has stayed away from the faster Thunderbolt port interface, even as the competition has increasingly transitioned to Thunderbolt 4 in 2021. The biggest advantage of the Thunderbolt standard is the speed boost over the USB standard, with Intel claiming a maximum throughput of 40Gbps when it comes to data transfer speeds with the latest iteration.
Another advantage is the versatility, allowing users to easily connect their PC with a wide range of accessories. Even Apple has warmed up to the idea with its latest M1-equipped iPad Pro models. While the absence of Thunderbolt ports on Surface hardware is perplexing, it was revealed last year that the company has avoided it because of security concerns, citing the fact that a Thunderbolt port is a direct memory access port. Another area where the Surface hardware has been lagging is a high-refresh rate panel. However, there are only a handful of non-gaming Windows laptops out there that offer a high-refresh rate screen.
It now looks like the two aforementioned shortcomings will finally be addressed this year. A Tweet from Shadow_Leak includes a screenshot of a product listing that suggests the Surface Pro 8 will offer improvements in four key areas. There will be an 11th Gen processor at its heart, which is to be expected from expensive PC hardware in 2021. The replaceable SSDs from Surface Pro X will be coming to the Surface Pro 8, and the screen refresh rate will be getting a boost from 60Hz to 120Hz.
According to the latest leak, the screen will measure 13 inches diagonally and the bezels will also be slimmer compared to the Surface Pro 7. This falls in line with a report from The Verge that also mentions slimmer bezels on the upcoming machine, citing a source familiar with the latest developments at Microsoft. The image shown in the Tweet is actually an official Surface Pro X render, and not the Surface Pro 8. However, it is unclear if Microsoft is going after the slimmer and cleaner aesthetics of its ARM-based convertible, or if it will retain the familiar design last seen on the Surface Pro 7 to ensure compatibility with older accessories.
The 120Hz refresh rate is likely to be the key selling point, putting the Surface Pro 8 in the same league as the iPad Pro and boosting its appeal for content consumption as well as for creative tasks. Now that the Xbox game streaming service (previously known as xCloud) is available on Windows PCs, the Surface Pro 8's 120Hz screen will also carry some additional gaming appeal as well. 11th Gen Intel processors and a pair of Thunderbolt 4 ports (replacing the USB-A ports) will bring a significant speed boost, while Microsoft's Windows 11 will handle things on the software side with a fresh design language and a ton of new tricks.
Source: Shadow_Leak/Twitter, The Verge
from ScreenRant - Feed https://ift.tt/2Xy0iFM
0 Comments