KEY POINTS

  • Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 to come out with AMD variants
  • AMD follows lead of Apple in SoC market
  • Premium Surface Laptop 4 models inspired by success of predecessors

It appears the days of Intel being the major holder of processors in devices is severely threatened. Not long after came out that Apple may be raising the curtains on its ARM chips, Microsoft may be doing the same for the Surface Laptop 4. Reports have it that the next variant may come out with an AMD Ryzen 400 CPU, a move that could take Intel out of the picture once more.

It is believed that this move was inspired by the success of the AMD Surface Laptop 3 which came out last year. It was the first surface laptop to come out with an AMD processor and received warmly. This was even though there were Intel-based CPU units available alongside it. But it was the "Surface Edition" laptops that made quite an impact. These premium models came out with a Ryzen 7 3700U and a Ryzen 5 3500U onboard.

It appears Microsoft plans to do the same again this year for the Surface Laptop 4. Benchmark signings showed two Ryzen-powered computers that were tied to Microsoft. From that alone, it hints that the new batch will have AMD powered variants available. And based on the sighting, it appears the new models are showing great potential.

Surface Laptop
Microsoft's Surface Laptop 3 15 is a great choice for those who simply want laptop with a bigger display. Microsoft

One of them is a device powered by an AMD Ryzen 7 4800Uthat included 8 cores and 16 threads. This is twice the ones that the Ryzen 7 3780U has. The other one showed a Ryzen 5 4500U which comes with 6 cores and six threads. That still shows a slight improvement compared to the Surface Laptops that came out last year. Unfortunately, further details and specs are unavailable for now.

With AMD slowly rising in the processor market, Intel may find its hold on the market slightly slipping. They will now have to deal with two new players in providing CPUs to devices. Apple is expected to reveal new products that will run on ARM chips, something that could very well go down at WWDC 2020. A 13-inch MacBook and a 24-inch iMac are said to be the first devices under the Cupertino company's umbrella to have Apple's patented processor according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

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