Microsoft Launches 5G-Enabled Surface Laptop for Business, Starting at $1,800

Microsoft on Tuesday introduced the Surface Laptop 5G, its first notebook with built-in cellular connectivity. The 13.8-inch device runs on Intel’s new Core Ultra Series 2 chips and houses a Neural Processing Unit capable of more than 40 trillion operations per second, qualifying it for the company’s Copilot Plus artificial-intelligence features. The base configuration, priced at US$1,799.99, pairs a Core Ultra 5 processor with 16 GB of memory and 256 GB of storage, while a top-tier version at US$2,699 upgrades to a Core Ultra 7, 32 GB of RAM and a 1 TB solid-state drive. Pre-orders began 22 July, with shipments scheduled for 26 August in a single platinum finish. Connectivity is delivered through a 5G modem that supports both physical nano-SIM cards and eSIM profiles. Microsoft designed a six-antenna “dynamic” array that adjusts signal paths and power usage based on how the laptop is held, a layout the company says improves reliability compared with conventional antenna placement near the base of a device. Tested with more than 100 carriers across 50 plus countries, the notebook can also function as a mobile hotspot. Microsoft said adding 5G capability had become one of the most requested features among enterprise customers; the laptop joins refreshed 13-inch Surface Laptop and 12-inch Surface Pro models in the company’s Surface for Business portfolio.