Published on 05:16 PM, October 13, 2022

New surface laptops, AI-powered designer tool: Everything Microsoft just unveiled

Microsoft has concluded its Surface event for 2022, unveiling the Surface Laptop 5, Surface Pro 9, and Surface Studio 2 Plus. Microsoft also displayed new tools and applications, such as a Designer app run by Dall-E 2.

Here's a quick rundown of everything Microsoft just unveiled:

Surface Laptop 5

Microsoft has removed the AMD option for the Laptop 5. The Core i5 and Core i7 processors are the only available options on the Laptop 5.

The Surface Laptop 5 has undergone two additional notable changes. A green colour option is now available (on "selected models only," according to Microsoft). Additionally, the device now officially supports Thunderbolt 4.

Other than that, Laptop 5 resembles Laptop 4 in appearance and style. It will be offered in screen sizes of 13.5 and 15 inches, with a 3:2 aspect ratio, and will support Dolby Atmos 3D spatial processing.

Surface Pro 9

Platinum, sapphire, graphite, and forest colours are now available for the Surface Pro 9. In celebration of the Surface line's tenth anniversary, Microsoft has also collaborated with the design studio Liberty to produce a special edition SKU with a floral pattern.

Another significant development is that the Surface Pro 9 will offer both an Intel and an Arm option. Qualcomm and Microsoft's SQ3 chip will power Arm models. In addition to 5G support and a new neural processing unit, the SQ3 will have a few unique extra features. More than 15 trillion calculations can be performed in a second, according to Microsoft.

The Pro 9 has a similar 13-inch display to the Pro 8, with a 120Hz refresh rate and stylus support.

Surface Studio 2 Plus

Microsoft upgraded the Surface Studio 2. Except for the addition of three new Thunderbolt 4 ports on the back, it is virtually identical. The interior chips have also undergone modernization. The 2 Plus is powered by RTX 3060 GPUs from Nvidia and 11th Gen Core H-series processors from Intel. According to Microsoft, the chips will result in "up to 50% faster" performance.

Team-up with Apple

At the Surface event, Microsoft announced some updated and new Apple integrations in addition to its attention to Android and its apps. The Xbox platform is now home to the first Apple Music app, and preview versions of the dedicated Apple TV Plus and Apple Music apps for Windows will be released next year.

With the new iCloud Photos integration for the default Photos app that keeps your photos synced up, Windows is also becoming simpler to use for iPhone owners. Installing Apple's most recent iCloud Windows app is all Windows users need to do to take advantage of this integration.

New AI-art platform

The Microsoft 365 suit now includes a brand-new graphic design tool called Microsoft Designer. It is driven by the text-to-image tool Dall-E 2 from OpenAI.

Any image or graphic can be created using AI after being described by a prompt from an artist. Additionally, you can instruct Dall-E 2 to combine two images or edit only a portion of another.

Get free web preview access right away if you're interested in trying out Microsoft Designer. Designer will have a free version once it is ready to launch, with premium features only accessible to Microsoft 365 subscribers and will also be integrated in Edge.

Teams accessories 

Along with the dual front-facing microphones, Teams button, and mute button, the pill-shaped Audio Dock is an all-in-one speakerphone solution with a 60W passthrough PC charger and four different ports (HDMI, USB-A, and two USB-C). The second item is a brand-new Presenter Plus handheld remote control, which works with Teams to make giving presentations more comfortable whether you're streaming them or doing them in person. The price and the release date are not yet known.