The new Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 is rumored to be coming in both Intel and AMD processor configurations, giving consumers the choice of which CPU brand they want in Microsoft's popular laptop at launch.
The Surface Laptop line first introduced AMD Ryzen processors in the consumer version of the Surface Laptop 3, with Intel processors installed on enterprise and education models of the laptop. According to The Verge, the Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 is set to launch in April with both processor brands available to consumers.
On the AMD side, consumers will have a choice between the AMD Ryzen 5 4680U and the Ryzen 7 4980U. Unfortunately, this isn't the latest generation of Ryzen mobile processor, the Ryzen 5000-series, which AMD announced at CES 2021 this year, so we might have to wait a bit longer for the bleeding edge of Ryzen chips to make it into Microsoft's Surface Laptops.
Intel will be bringing its latest generation of mobile processors to the Surface Laptop 4, however. Both the Core i5-1145G7 and Core i7-1185G7 will be an option, which brings the Intel Evo platform to the Surface Laptop for the first time.
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Other details leaked about the Surface Laptop 4
The leaked specs on the Surface Laptop 4, which first appeared on the German-language tech site WinFuture, indicate that both the 13.5-inch and 15-inch versions of the laptop will keep their 3:2 aspect ratio, so a 2256 x 1504p resolution for the 13.5-inch and a 2496 x 1664p resolution for the 15-inch.
The report also says that for Intel models, RAM will max out at 32GB while storage will max out at 1TB. For AMD models, the RAM and storage will max out at half that – 16GB and 512GB, respectively – so Intel will definitely have a spec advantage here, though those configurations will certainly come with higher price tags as well.
There's no word on whether the Surface Laptop 4 will feature the swappable lids we saw in a Microsoft patent last month, but it doesn't rule it out either. Such a feature would be a major change for the Surface Laptop line, so Microsoft might be keeping that under wraps for when the new laptop is officially announced at some point, hopefully in the next few weeks.
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