Microsoft is reportedly re-evaluating the hardware specifications for its entry-level 12-inch Surface laptop. According to supply chain reports, the company aims to reduce production costs to better compete with Apple's MacBook Neo, which is currently priced at $699.
The potential hardware revisions under consideration include the processor, memory, camera, battery, and chassis components. While no final decisions have been made, these adjustments are intended to address the significant price gap between the Surface and its competitors.
Reports suggest that Microsoft is considering an AMD Arm-based processor for future models. Specifically, the AMD Sound Wave Arm APU has appeared in shipping manifests and is rumored to feature two performance cores, four efficiency cores, and RDNA 3.5 graphics with four compute units.
The power consumption target for the potential AMD chip is set between 5 W and 10 W. Despite these rumors, Microsoft has not confirmed a shift away from Qualcomm, and the company may choose to continue its current partnership for future device lineups.
