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The Verge’s announcement on the new Microsoft Surface 4:

Microsoft is refreshing its Surface lineup with the Surface Laptop 4 today, which now offers the choice between AMD or Intel processors across both the 13.5- and 15-inch models. Both sizes will ship with Intel’s latest 11th Gen processors or AMD’s Ryzen 4000 series processors. Microsoft is shipping its Surface Laptop 4 on April 15th in the US, Canada, and Japan, starting at $999 for the AMD model and $1,299 for the Intel version — a $300 price gap between the pair. The difference in pricing likely comes down to the fact that Microsoft isn’t using AMD’s latest 5000 series CPUs here. Instead, Microsoft is using AMD’s Zen 2-based chips for its AMD Ryzen Surface Edition processors. Despite this, performance between the Intel and AMD versions could be rather similar, but we’ll have to wait for full reviews to judge how Microsoft’s choices have landed. These processor improvements allow Microsoft to promise up to 70 percent more performance over the Surface Laptop 3, and some (on paper) battery life gains. Microsoft is promising up to 19 hours of battery life on the 13.5-inch AMD model and up to 17.5 hours on the 15-inch version. The Intel-powered 13.5-inch Surface Laptop 4 is rated up to 17 hours of battery life, while the larger 15-inch model hits 16.5 hours.

So the AMD versions are cheaper, have a slightly longer battery life, and performance is most likely comparable even though its the older Zen 2 architecture. Got it.

Me, two weeks ago:

The M1 is beating Intel not just in pure clock speed but also in two things that are incredibly important in low to midrange computers5, like the ones shown in the ads: thermals and power draw. […] Even though the only thing I truly worry about are the thermals on my Mini, this matters way more when looking at laptops. More power draw means less battery life and hotter laptops. Hotter laptops mean fans kick up and sound like jet engines. While none of this is important enough for me to run out and replace my Mini. However if I had to replace my 2013 Macbook Air sporting a 1.3 GHz i5 with a current model, Intel or M1, Which one do you think it would just make more sense to go with? Certainly not Intel.

Also:

However, if AMD can show they have the same stability as Intel and get their branding together they can easily put Intel in a very dire position. A cursory glance at Dell’s website shows they don’t even have to compete on price.

Even though I was talking about M1 there we’re starting to see this shift with the Surface refresh. Numbers don’t lie.

AMD might not need to get their branding together in the traditional sense. If they can prove these things and prove them quietly through things like the Surface, why not?

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