Microsoft has today announced updates to its Surface Pro line-up, featuring a more powerful 8th generation Intel processor over its predecessor. The new Surface Pro marks the return of numbered releases, with this one being called Surface Pro 6.
In addition, the new Surface Pro 6 also comes in black, a call-back to the original Surface RT and Surface Pro that shipped in 2012 and 2013. Surface Pro 6 will go on sale starting October 16 for $899.
The matte black finish covers the entire device, and you can swap out the keyboard for different colors as usual. Microsoft’s black coloring is not the only new addition here, though. Microsoft’s Surface chief, Panos Panay, says the company has overhauled the inside of the Surface Pro 6 so it has improved cooling. That means the Surface Pro 6 now supports quad-core processors, and Microsoft claims it will be 67 percent faster than the previous model.
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MORE BATTERY LIFE AND INTERNAL CHANGES
This new internal design should also help improve battery life. Microsoft says the new device will last for 13.5 hours on battery life. While there’s an internal redesign, the outside looks very familiar. It still 1.7 pounds, and it has the same 12.3-inch display and up to 16GB of RAM inside.
Unfortunately, the Surface Pro 6 will include the same connectivity and external design as the existing model, which means there are still no USB-C ports. It’s surprising Microsoft still isn’t adopting USB-C in its flagship Surface Pro, especially given the company has introduced this new connector on both the Surface Go and Surface Book 2.
