34 TECH ADVISOR • JANUARY 2020MICROSOFT SURFACE EVENT
Surface Connector to power the tablet, but it sounds
like USB-C might be an option in a pinch. Each port can
supply 15 watts of power.
After years of ignoring USB-C, it’s sort of hard to
believe Microsoft jumped into it with both feet, but it
certainly did. Three ports that you’d expect to see in a
Surface – the USB-A port, the microSD slot squirrelled
away under the kickstand, and the headphone jack –
have all disappeared. It’s a plus for all those who have
made the leap to Bluetooth earbuds, but ditching so
many legacy ports so quickly is disconcerting.
On the plus side, one of the understated features
of the design is Microsoft’s ability to squeeze a 13in,
2,880x1,920 display into what it calls a 12in chassis.
(The tablet measures 287x208x7.3mm, slightly smaller
than the Surface Pro 7.) The bezels are extremely thin.
One of the Surface family’s signature features is a
bright, pixel-rich display, and the Surface Pro X lives
up to that tradition.
The Surface Pro X weighs exactly the same as the
Surface Pro 6: 774g. Again, it’s to Microsoft’s credit that
it feels like a Surface tablet: There’s only one matte-
black colour option for the aluminium chassis, but
both the tablet and keyboard feel sturdy, with a solid
connection between the keyboard and chassis.
What’s inside the Surface Pro X, though, is just as
noteworthy as the outside – see its specs on page 36.
Leaked reports of a Surface Pro tablet running a
Qualcomm 8cx chipset were correct, although Microsoft
has customized and rebranded the chip as the Microsoft
SQ1. We’re told that the SQ1 now runs at a full 3GHz,
rather than the projected 2.84GHz Qualcomm itself34 TECH ADVISOR • JANUARY 2020MICROSOFT SURFACE EVENT
Surface Connector to power the tablet, but it sounds
like USB-C might be an option in a pinch. Each port can
supply 15 watts of power.
After years of ignoring USB-C, it’s sort of hard to
believe Microsoft jumped into it with both feet, but it
certainly did. Three ports that you’d expect to see in a
Surface – the USB-A port, the microSD slot squirrelled
away under the kickstand, and the headphone jack –
have all disappeared. It’s a plus for all those who have
made the leap to Bluetooth earbuds, but ditching so
many legacy ports so quickly is disconcerting.
On the plus side, one of the understated features
of the design is Microsoft’s ability to squeeze a 13in,
2,880x1,920 display into what it calls a 12in chassis.
(The tablet measures 287x208x7.3mm, slightly smaller
than the Surface Pro 7.) The bezels are extremely thin.
One of the Surface family’s signature features is a
bright,pixel-richdisplay,andtheSurfaceProX lives
upto that tradition.
The Surface Pro X weighs exactly the same as the
Surface Pro 6: 774g. Again, it’s to Microsoft’s credit that
it feels like a Surface tablet: There’s only one matte-
black colour option for the aluminium chassis, but
both the tablet and keyboard feel sturdy, with a solid
connection between the keyboard and chassis.
What’s inside the Surface Pro X, though, is just as
noteworthy as the outside – see its specs on page 36.
Leaked reports of a Surface Pro tablet running a
Qualcomm 8cx chipset were correct, although Microsoft
has customized and rebranded the chip as the Microsoft
SQ1. We’re told that the SQ1 now runs at a full 3GHz,
rather than the projected 2.84GHz Qualcomm itself