Microsoft's new Surface Pro 9 laptop-tablet hybrid comes with a pleasant surprise: a new ARM-based chip system that's closer in line with Apple's M1 Macs.
What's up with Windows laptops?
The Surface Pro 9 comes in two flavors: a good old Intel x86 version that maximizes compatibility with existing software at the expense of battery life, and another with an ARM processor, which offers insane battery life and adds 5G mobile networking to the mix. ARM has had a shaky start on Windows machines, but it looks like it’s finally ready for mainstream action.
"Contrary to popular belief that ARM is weak compared to x86 chips, which are power-hungry but capable of powerful performance, the new ARM chips have redefined this. The Apple Silicon M1, M2, and Snapdragon SQ3 proved that ARM can now compete with x86 chips," Rajesh Namase, technology writer and co-founder of TechRT, told Lifewire via email. "The reality is that consumers aren't very tech-savvy when they buy their computers, so the longer battery life of ARM computers is more appealing to them."
ARM is an established chip architecture favored for its efficiency and low power consumption. Until recently, however, ARM was outperformed in performance by Intel's x86 architecture, which has been used in Macs and PCs for years.
