Microsoft today announced the general availability of the new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop to enable users in South Africa to discover new experiences and accelerate their journey towards artificial intelligence (AI). The devices are part of Microsoft’s Copilot+ PC portfolio, a new category of Windows PCs designed for AI.

PC with Microsoft Copilot+

Copilot+ PCs are the fastest, smartest Windows PCs ever built. With powerful new silicon capable of over 40 TOPS (trillion operations per second), all-day battery life, and access to the most advanced AI models, Copilot+ PCs are designed to achieve a level of performance never seen before. They also come with a host of innovative features, including Cocreator, which generates and refines AI images in real time, and Live Captions, which instantly translates any live or pre-recorded video into 44 languages.

Talia Naidoo, Surface Category Manager at Microsoft South Africa, He said the new Surface devices are designed for students, professionals and enthusiasts looking to enhance their productivity with the power of AI experiences we’ve never seen before. “Over the past year, we’ve seen an incredible pace of AI transformation with solutions like Microsoft Copilot that enable us to do things we never dreamed possible, and now, we’re beginning a new chapter of AI innovation with the introduction of our first Surface Copilot+ PCs.”

Microsoft Surface Pro

The Microsoft Surface Pro 11^He The Copilot+ PC edition is designed to give consumers who are always on the go ultrafast performance, AI-accelerated power, and a stunning optional OLED (organic light-emitting diode) display – all in a thin, light, and versatile package. Built with the new Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus processors, the device delivers incredible performance that’s 90% faster than Surface Pro 9. When connected to the office, the powerful 2-in-1 supports fast Wi-Fi 7 connectivity and the ability to connect to three 4k monitors. Plus, all-day battery life of up to 14 hours gives users on the go peace of mind.

Microsoft Surface Laptop

Similarly, the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7^He The Copilot+ PC edition enables users to accelerate innovation, solve problems faster, and drive business impact with new AI capabilities and Copilot experiences powered by the new Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus processors. The laptop has been completely redesigned from the ground up to help users be even more productive with stunning new, brighter displays with ultra-narrow bezels, more ports than ever, faster connectivity with Wi-Fi 7, and up to 22 hours of battery life. The laptop is available in two sizes: the 13.8-inch display in a more compact design and a 15-inch display for expanded visuals.

Both devices have been developed to be secure by default, Naidoo explains: “At Microsoft, we believe the best way to protect information on a PC is to protect the entire PC itself. All Copilot+ PCs are Secure Core PCs, bringing advanced security to both commercial and consumer devices. In addition to the layers of protection in Windows 11, Secure Core PCs also provide advanced firmware safeguards and dynamic root of trust measurement to help protect from the chip to the cloud.”

Technology with security in mind

Additionally, all Copilot+ PCs will have a Microsoft Pluton security processor enabled by default. Pluton is a chip-to-cloud security technology, designed by Microsoft and developed by silicon partners, with zero trust principles at its foundation. This helps protect credentials, identities, personal data, and encryption keys, making it much harder to remove them from the device, even if a user is tricked into installing malware or an attacker has physical possession of the PC. All Copilot+ PCs, including the new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop, will ship with Windows Hello Enhanced Sign-In Security (ESS). This provides more secure biometric logins and eliminates the need for a password.

The Microsoft Surface Pro 11th Edition Copilot+ PC and Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition Copilot+ PC will be available in South Africa starting on 3^Third from September 2024. The estimated retail price for the Microsoft Surface Pro 11th Edition Copilot+ PC will start from R29,999, which includes a Type Cover Keyboard, while the estimated retail price for the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition Copilot+ PC will start from R26,999.

The new Surface devices are available at Incredible Connection, Makro, Amazon, Takealot, Evetech and Braintree.