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Introducing new Surface devices built for business and AI acceleration
"At Flagstar, we're focused on equipping our teams with technology that's secure, flexible and ready for the next wave of AI. Surface brings together the hardware, security and Microsoft ecosystem in a way that just works, giving our teams the confidence to run AI-powered workflows on device while staying protected and productive wherever they are." — Jason Pope, Chief Technology Officer, Flagstar Bank
We have always believed that the hardware people use enables businesses and teams to achieve more. Surface was created to set the standard for what a premium Windows PC can be, and that standard has never been higher. Today, we are proud to announce the next generation of the Surface for Business portfolio, the new Surface Pro for Business and Surface Laptop for Business powered by Intel Core Ultra Series 3 processors are available today in select markets, delivering world-class performance and AI on the edge to accelerate productivity. Powered by Intel's next‑generation Core Ultra Series 3 architecture, the new Surface Laptop for Business and Surface Pro for Business deliver a meaningful leap in graphics performance, delivering up to 35% more graphics performance than MacBook Air with M5[1], and more than 90% faster performance than Laptop 5[2] on select configurations with Intel Core Ultra X7. From analyzing complex information to presenting to customers or creating content on the go, the Intel Core Ultra Series 3 GPU enables work to move in real time, delivering the sustained, fluid performance leaders expect from a premium business PC, without compromising mobility, battery life or security. Whether your teams are in the boardroom, at a customer site or working from anywhere, these AI PCs are built to perform at the speed of business. Later this year, we will extend the Surface for Business portfolio with models featuring the Snapdragon X2 processors, delivering up to 80% faster local AI inferencing than before[3] and uncompromising battery life[4].
The new Surface Laptop for Business 13-inch is the most portable Surface Laptop, available starting today in select markets in 16GB and 24GB configurations starting at $1,499 (MSRP), with an 8GB configuration coming later this year starting at $1,299.99 (MSRP). With on-device AI processing, Wi-Fi 7[5] and a removable Gen 4 SSD designed for enterprise serviceability, it brings the full Surface experience to the entry-premium tier without asking IT or employees to trade off performance and productivity for portability.
- Security and trust are fundamental and should be built into every aspect of a device.
- Innovative devices are the platform that enables organizations to move faster with hybrid AI to accelerate workflows, productivity and end-to-end management.
- Intentional, functional and human centered design is imperative for hardware that supports how businesses work, with PCs that are built with a focus on reliability, sustainability and repairability features designed to keep employees productive and in their flow.
For the first time ever on a Surface device, we are introducing an optional integrated privacy screen with anti-glare. Built directly into select configurations of the 13.8-inch display of our Surface Laptop for Business, this software driven visual privacy filter helps protect sensitive information from unintended viewers and can be centrally managed by IT or activated instantly by employees with a single keystroke. Once activated, the privacy screen provides immediate protection from prying eyes without the need of a third-party physical screen protector. Designed from the ground up as part of our security‑by‑design approach, this innovation is made possible only by the tight integration of Surface hardware and software.
Surface allows us to run AI where learning happens, on the device itself. The future of AI is not everything going to the cloud; it's AI at the edge." — Eric Sedore, AVP and Chief Technology Officer, Syracuse University
For organizations building and deploying enterprise AI applications, Surface is also the reference platform for Windows AI APIs and the Foundry platform. Surface is purpose-built for developers who need a trusted, consistent hardware baseline, helping to enable on-device AI processing that can help offload everyday workloads from the cloud and optimize overall AI infrastructure costs at scale. Surface for Business does not just transform the experience for employees, it transforms the experience for IT. From UEFI to browser, it can be managed through Microsoft Intune. Every device in this portfolio is built to support the end-to-end Microsoft stack: Microsoft Intune, Windows Autopilot and the Surface Management Portal give IT administrators a single, unified plane to provision devices at scale, enforce policies and manage the full device lifecycle including zero-touch deployment that gets people productive from day one.[7] When the hardware, the operating system, the management platform and the productivity suite are all built and optimized by Microsoft, the result is not just operational efficiency, it’s a level of assurance and confidence that benefits the end-customers and businesses.Raising the bar together. Introducing the Driver Quality Initiative at WinHEC 2026
“Great platforms aren’t built in isolation. Platform quality depends on early, honest collaboration across OEMs, ODMs, silicon partners and IHVs. WinHEC brings engineers together with Microsoft to align early, solve real problems and deliver higher‑quality solutions for our shared customers” — Syam Poluri, Distinguished Engineer, Dell Technologies
Raising the bar on quality takes all of us.
Drivers sit at the heart of every Windows experience. They connect the OS to the silicon, components and peripherals that make Windows one of the most versatile platforms in the industry. Today, thousands of partners contribute to tens of thousands of active driver families across the Windows install base. When drivers are high quality, customers experience reliable, secure, performant devices. When drivers fail, customers experience it as a device problem, regardless of where the root cause sits.- Architecture: We are heavily investing in hardening kernel mode drivers and enabling the third-party kernel mode driver transition to either user mode driver or Microsoft authored class drivers. This is to ensure higher driver security, reliability and resiliency. User-mode driver investments include performance updates to PCIe devices with DMA support as well as Wi-fi stack (coming soon). Class driver investments include Soundwire Device Class for Audio (SDCA), introduction of the I3C class driver, NCM USB ethernet class driver as well as continuous enhancements to existing first-party class drivers on Windows 11.
- Trust: We are raising the bar for trusted partners and trusted drivers, including stronger partner verification, expanded automated analysis and updated Windows Hardware Compatibility Program requirements.
- Lifecycle: We are improving driver lifecycle management through better Windows Update catalog hygiene, including deprecating outdated or low-quality drivers, advancing SBOM alignment and enabling faster issue analysis through driver symbols.
- Quality Measures: We are expanding how driver quality is measured beyond crashes to include stability, functionality, performance, and power and thermal impact, giving partners clearer signals to improve the real customer experience.
“Delivering high-quality drivers and resilient platforms isn’t owned by any one company—it’s a shared commitment. Through our close collaboration with Microsoft, AMD is focused on building a culture of joint accountability to ensure security, stability and predictable performance for our customers at scale.” — David Harmon, Director, Software Engineering, AMD
What we did at WinHEC
Day 1 opened with a keynote presentation featuring our Windows leadership team, organized around three themes: navigating the evolving landscape, raising the bar on Windows 11 quality and the future vision for Windows. The keynote set the tone for the days ahead. We were candid about where we are, clear about where we're going and explicit about the partnership required to get there. From there, attendees broke out into workshops, with sessions spanning five tracks:- End-to-end driver quality — covering the full lifecycle from authoring and validation through publishing, and post-release health
- Platform fundamentals — power, thermal and storage fundamentals that define everyday device experience
- Exceptional device experiences — delivering best-in-class quality across media and display, camera, audio, connectivity and peripherals
- Windows Server — platform direction, reliability and the evolving requirements for modern datacenter and edge deployments
- Ecosystem advancement — end-to-end security, co-engineering tools, manufacturing and AI hardware innovation.
“At Acer, we believe that continuous innovation and collaboration are the engines that drive the technology industry forward. On display at WinHEC, Windows stands out as an innovative platform that brings together partners across a broad range of expertise. The Microsoft conference is where innovation, technology and domain experts come together to unlock the true value of platform engineering.” — Mark Yang, Associate Vice President of Compute Software Technology, Acer Inc.
"The customers ASUS serves — gamers, creators, students and professionals — each demand a different kind of Windows device. WinHEC is where ASUS and Microsoft engineers go deep on the platform fundamentals that make those very different devices share the same quality bar, generation after generation." — Justin Yo, Software Associate VP, ASUSTeK Computer Inc.
What we heard from partners
A few themes came through clearly in our conversations across the two days:- Quality is a shared priority. Across silicon, OEM and IHV partners, the message was consistent — driver and platform quality is central to the customer experience, and the ecosystem is ready to invest.
- Innovation thrives on a strong foundation. When the fundamentals are solid, partners can invest more confidently in differentiated experiences, AI-powered capabilities and next-generation hardware, knowing the platform will support them. The energy around what becomes possible when quality is a given, not a variable, was one of the most exciting themes of the week.
- There is real appetite for this kind of engagement. Partners told us repeatedly that the combination of roadmap clarity and hands-on technical depth is exactly what the ecosystem needs at this moment and going forward.
- Transparency matters. Partners welcomed the open methodology behind driver quality metrics, the phased rollout of lifecycle states and the commitment to incentive-based distribution as the right model for moving forward together.
"The best customer experiences are built on the foundation of strong partner collaboration. WinHEC is where that work happens — engineers from HP and Microsoft aligning early, solving real problems and ensuring that what we ship together actually works for the people who depend on it every day. That kind of direct, honest partnership across the ecosystem raises the bar for everyone." — Deepak Patil, Senior Vice President, Personal Systems Engineering, HP Inc.