Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Summit will feature new chips. Rumors claim chip manufacture may be delayed until November. So, things that were supposed to arrive sooner won’t. Microsoft Surface Pro 9 may not get new hardware. Instead, it will feature a custom-built SQ3 chip based on Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3.
Project Volterra is a stackable mini-PC running Windows on ARM. Project Volterra is more like Microsoft’s Developer Transition Kit (DTK) than the Apple M1-based Mac mini. Rich Woods says the Surface Pro 9 will be Microsoft’s second device with the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3. The XDA Developers Managing Editor earlier hinted that the next-generation Surface Pro X would not use the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3, which only recently’started delivering in the ThinkPad X13s’
The Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 has four 2.99 GHz ARM Cortex-X1 processors. The Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 has four times the main cores of the Snapdragon 888 series but uses older technology than the Cortex-X2 core of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1. Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 contains four 2.4 GHz Cortex-A78 cores, like Snapdragon 888. Microsoft SQ3 should offer significant performance gains over Microsoft SQ2, a repackaged SQ1.
Surface Pro 9 Features
Microsoft was rumored to merge its Surface Pro lineup. The next Surface Pro generation should feature ARM and Intel-based variants. This makes sense and should help the company.
Too early for what sorry? The SQ3 is expected to be an overclocked 8cx Gen 3. Therefore, the Surface Pro 9 will have the 8cx Gen 3. Unless you're saying the Surface Pro 9 will still have the SQ2 or it will have the SQ3 (but that will still be based on the 8cx Gen 2)? Thanks.
— Alex (@alexmcc78) September 12, 2022
Twitter leaker: Surface Pro 9 will have Microsoft’s SQ3 processor. Microsoft and Qualcomm will create it. It’s a customized Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 chip. The Microsoft SQ3 chip may have varied CPU and GPU clock frequencies. Parameters will stay the same as Qualcomm’s chip. Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 performed well but couldn’t beat Apple M1.
Microsoft Surface Pro 9 will accept styluses and have long battery life and 5G network capabilities thanks to ARM-based CPUs.
Intel-based laptops will presumably have 12th-generation processors. This means the two Surface Pro 9 models will perform differently. This implies costs will vary, providing users more options. ARM-based models cost less. If you want the “real” Surface Pro 9, buy the Intel model.
Microsoft will launch a refreshed Surface lineup in October.
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