Microsoft will sell an Intel-based 15-inch Surface Laptop 3 for business users only
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Microsoft announced a slew of new Surface devices this week in New York City. But there's one that didn't get any air time which potentially could be interesting to businesses: Another model of the Surface Laptop 3.
Microsoft officials touted two new Surface Laptop 3 models during the company's fall hardware event: A 13.5-inch Laptop 3 running Intel's 10th-generation Core "Ice Lake" and a 15-inch Laptop 3 running a customized AMD Ryzen processor developed in tandem by Microsoft and AMD. But there also is "="" processor"="">.
The Intel-based 15-inch model is available to business customers through a set of preapproved Surface business partners. Microsoft is not making the AMD-based 15-inch Surface available to business customers through these channels. (If you happen to be a business customer who wants the AMD-based 15-inch Surface Laptop 3, you can just buy it outside of the Surface business channels.)
Microsoft says Surface Laptop 3 will get up to 11.5 hours of battery life. It's configurable with up to 32GB of RAM. Pricing starts at $1,099. Microsoft has made the Alcantara-covered keyboard optional; metal keyboards are now offered, as well. Surface Laptop 3 is slated to begin shipping on October 22.
Update (October 4): Because there's some erroneous information on various Microsoft websites and the Store about exactly which 15-inch Surface Laptop 3 SKUs will be available, here's the complete official list from Microsoft:
What are the consumer SKUs and pricing for Surface Laptop 3 (15")?
- Custom AMD processor 5: 8GB RAM, 128GB Storage SSD - $1199.99 US ERP
- Custom AMD processor 5: 8GB RAM, 256 Storage SSD - $1499.99 US ERP
- Custom AMD processor 5: 16GB, 256GB Storage SSD - $1699.99 US ERP
- Custom AMD processor 7: 16GB RAM, 512GB Storage SSD - $2099.99 US ERP
- Custom AMD processor 7: 32GB RAM, 1TB Storage SSD - $2799.99 US ERP
What are the commercial SKUs and pricing for Surface Laptop 3 (15")?
- Intel® Core™ i5 (10th Gen): 8GB RAM, 128GB Storage SSD - $1299.99 US ERP
- Intel® Core™ i5 (10th Gen): 8GB RAM, 256GB Storage SSD - $1599.99 US ERP
- Intel® Core™ i5/16/256 (10thGen)2: 16GB RAM, 256GB Storage SSD - $1699.99 US ERP
- Intel® Core™ i7 (10th Gen): 16 GB RAM, 256GB Storage SSD - $1799.99 US ERP
- Intel® Core™ i7 (10th Gen): 16GB RAM, 512 Storage SSD - $2199.99 US ERP
- Intel® Core™ i7 (10th Gen): 32GB RAM, 1TB Storage SSD - $2899.99 US ERP
Update (October 7): I don't know the reason for this, but the Surface Laptop 3 15" Intel® Core™ i5/16/256 (10thGen) SKU will be available for commercial customers at a later date, not on October 22 like the rest of the family. Hopefully Microsoft will share more in the coming weeks about what's going on with that model.