New video breaks down all the small changes for the bigger Surface Pro 8

The latest Microsoft Mechanics deep dive video sheds light on many of the smaller improvements to Surface Pro 8.

What you need to know

• The Surface Pro 8 gets a breakdown in the latest Microsoft Mechanics video.
• Faster Windows Hello, new ambient color sensor, 23-watt TDP, and more were revealed.
• Surface Pro 8 also switches from magnesium to anodized recycled aluminum for the chassis.
• There's also a new carbon composite thermal dissipation system.

The all-new Surface Pro 8 is the first major overhaul to the Surface Pro line since 2014's Surface Pro 3. Besides thinner bezels, Thunderbolt 4, a larger display, and 11th Gen CPU, there are many other more minor changes that weren't mentioned in the press release or product specs announcement.

The latest Microsoft Mechanics video spends a good seven minutes breaking down what's new, and as it turns out, there is quite a lot that you may not have known about.

We've summarized the main points below, but it's worth watching the video yourself to have it all explained:

• Modern, rounded chassis and "compliments the fluid UI design of Windows 11"
• The thinner bezels expand the display real estate by 11%
• The chassis is made from recycled aluminum instead of magnesium
• Both "classic" Platinum and Graphite Pro colorways are anodized
• First Surface display with ambient color sensor to dynamically adjust display colors based on room lighting
• Display brightness peaks at 450 nits and goes down to just two nits
• 120Hz display makes pen latency "seemingly undetectable"
• The IR camera has been improved "substantially" in terms of speed and accuracy
• Microsoft's AI platform lets Windows Hello dynamically adapts to changes in your appearance with glasses or changes in facial hair
• The 5MP full HD RGB camera has larger 1.4-micron pixels for better low-light performance
• The camera also has tuning optimizations to keep your face in focus and lighting exposure more consistent
• Dolby Vision (HDR) and Dolby Atmos (surround sound) enhance the multimedia experience
• Surface Pro 8 supports up to 23-watt TDP for the 11th Gen Intel processor, a "first for the Pro line"
• You can get LTE in Core i3 and Core i7 models for the first time (Commercial markets)
• Battery has increased to 50.4 WHr up from 43.2 WHr (Surface Pro 7+ is also 50.4WHr, but Surface Pro 7 is 43.2)
• Uses new carbon composite thermal dissipation system: Vapor chamber, three heat pipes, and three graphite spreaders
• Improved perimeter venting
• 46% faster compute and 75% boost to graphics processing compared to Surface Pro 7

That's a lot of stuff for Surface Pro 8, which goes to show you that what makes a PC "great" is more than just the name on the processor.

We'll keep all these changes in mind when we do our Surface Pro 8 review sometime in October to see how much of a difference it really makes. You can get more of an idea of how Surface Pro 8 compares to Surface Pro 7 to hold you over for now or go deeper on those new 11th Gen processors.

SKU	Price
Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 128GB Storage	$1,099.99
Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB Storage	$1,199.99
Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 512GB Storage	$1,399.99
Intel Core i5, 16GB RAM, 256GB Storage	$1,399.99
Intel Core i7, 16GB RAM, 256GB Storage	$1,599.99
Intel Core i7, 16GB RAM, 512GB Storage	$1,899.99
Intel Core i7, 16GB RAM, 1TB Storage	$2,199.99
Intel Core i7, 32GBR AM, 1TB Storage	$2,599.99

Surface Pro 8 is expected to begin shipping on October 5 in the following markets:

• United States
• United Kingdom
• Canada
• Austria
• Germany
• Ireland
• Switzerland
• France
• Japan

Classic 2-in-1

Surface Pro 8

From $1,099 at Microsoft Store

Updated design, same 2-in-1 form factor.

The Surface Pro 8 finally adopts the modern design that Microsoft first introduced with Surface Pro X, now with two USB-C ports that are Thunderbolt 4 enabled, an upgraded 13-inch display with a high-refresh rate of 120Hz, and support for the Surface Pro X style Type Covers with the Slim Pen charging cradle.