Microsoft went with black anodized aluminum, which looks incredibly stick, but at the same time it is a magnet for fingerprints. In other words, the whole package weighs just over one kilogram, or 2.2lbs. It weighs 293 grams (0.646 lb) with the stylus. We used a Signature Keyboard with Slip Pen and used a digital scale to get the answer. Microsoft is very secretive about the weight of the Type cover. The Surface Pro X measures 287x208x7.3mm (11.3x8.2x0.28-in) and tips the scale at 774g (1.7 lbs), without the Type Cover. One of the key value propositions of Surface Pro X is the X24 integrated 4G LTE modem and always connected standby. Microsoft is using the Windows Halo camera, consisting of a front five-megapixel unit and ten-megapixel rear camera. The Hexagon 690 DSP runs 9 TOPS and a Spectra ISP capable of 192 Megapixel camera support. So, in essence the Microsoft SQ1 is an overclocked or binned SoC, notably improved for the needs of Microsoft’s Surface line. Microsoft is using the Adreno 685 GPU, a 2TFLOP part, while the original 8CX comes with Adreno 6.5 GFLOPs of potential performance. The low power cluster of four CPU cores runs at 1.8Ghz in both cases. It is powered by the Kryo 495 CPU, with four cores clocked at 3GHz (the 8CX variant runs at 2.84 GHz).

Today, you can get twice the performance from a GPU integrated into a mobile SoC, which sounds impressive.Ĭompared to Qualcomm 8CX, Microsoft’s SQ1 SoC features higher clocks on both the CPU and GPU.

To put this into perspective, the first discrete GPU to boast teraflop performance was AMD’s Radeon HD4850, a high-end product launched 11 years ago. The SQ1 is marketed as a custom SoC designed by Qualcomm, backed by a two teraflop Adreno GPU. What we call Qualcomm 8CX, Microsoft’s marketing department refers to as the Microsoft SQ1 processor. The new Surface Pro X is thinnest and lightest surface 2-in-1 powered by Qualcomm’s 8CX processor. Microsoft has released an Intel-based Surface Pro 7 and even and AMD-based Surface laptop, as the company wants to be CPU- and platform-agnostic. Surface Pro X shows Microsoft’s commitment to both software and hardware, and it finally makes more sense why the software giant invested heavily to make its Windows 10 operating system ARM-compatible. Nailing the Surface X Pro deal is a big step for Qualcomm’s Always Connected PC (ACPC) initiative.

Microsoft sq1 cpu