Surface Laptop 3 is the spiritual successor to the Surface Laptop 2, considered to be one of the best clamshell laptops around. The 3rd generation Surface Laptop can be launched by Microsoft in 2019 to take the Surface Laptop line forward. In this article, we have done a roundup of all the Surface Laptop 3 leaks and rumors so far and have also added our wishlist of what Microsoft must add/change in Surface Laptop 3 over its predecessor.
Surface Laptop 3 Price & Release Date:
Microsoft has finally confirmed a Big Surface event on October 2 in New York City. Some have claimed that this time Microsoft will perhaps make this the biggest Surface launch event ever. Surface Pro 7 and Surface Laptop 3 are near-certain candidates for an unveil at this launch event. While we don’t have definitive dates out for this event, one can expect a Surface event on October 2019.
Coming to the pricing, Surface Laptop 3 may be priced similar to the Surface Pro 2, which was launched at a starting price of $999 with higher-end variants clocking even higher pricing. It may also happen that Surface Laptop 3’s price could jump a bit but it also does seem possible that Microsoft may introduce a cheaper Surface Laptop 3 variant if AMD processor variant rumors come true.
Surface Laptop 3 Design & Processing Power:
Recent leaks and rumors have Surface fans enthused with the possibility of an AMD variant of Surface Laptop 3. Rumors suggest that there may be Surface Laptop 3 variant powered by 12nm custom, AMD SOC, codenamed Picasso apart from an Intel processor-powered Surface Laptop 3 variant.
A recent leak has claimed that Surface Laptop 3 will have a 15-inch model and it will be powered an AMD processor most probably Ryzen family of processors
While fans would expect Intel’s 10th Generation Ice Lake CPUs tom be the one plonked into Surface Laptop 3 to make it more powerful than its predecessor, the processor may not be commercialized by Intel until end of 2019. Whiskey Lake processors that are already in the market are not a big upgrade to the Kaby Lake processors in Surface Laptop 3.
Coming to the design, Microsoft may go for only iterative design changes in Surface Laptop 3 design over the Surface Laptop 2. Surface Laptop 3 was a beautifully crafted clamshell device but the successor needs to bring some polish and usability improvements.
For example, the keyboard may see a redesign as was caught in a patent that indicates that the Type Cover may be thinner than it is right now. Similarly, another patent talks about the use of magnets to prevent the Type Cover from losing its grip.
Surface Laptop 3 Wishlist: What we want to see
More innovative Surface Pen: We recently reported about a new radical innovation patented by Microsoft that makes Surface Pen with replaceable “sensing tips” possible. These sensing tips can be specialized for different purposes like one can be for drawing while another for more mundane tasks. The user would be able to easily replace sensing tips.
More powerful processors: Surface Laptop 3 may most probably feature Intel Whisky Lake processor as these will be the latest commercially available Intel processors at the time of its launch. But if Microsoft is already testing the 10th gen Ice Lake processor in collaboration with Microsoft we may see Surface Laptop 3 getting launched with the latest and the most powerful Intel processor ever.
USB Type-C or Thunderbolt 3 port: USB Type-C ports have been done and dusted by all yet Microsoft is reluctant to add it to Surface Pro and Laptop range. But this time Microsoft must add USB Type-C ports and also keep traditional ports there similar to what they did on Surface Go.
Thinner and more premium design: While Surface Laptop 2 already has a beautiful design and its bezels are not overly thick yet thinner Bezels are a must along with more premium design for the Surface Laptop 3 to truly shine. While the existing Surface devices feel premium Microsoft needs to take the game few notches higher with Surface Laptop 3 design.
