Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 launch tipped for next week — with AMD and Intel chips

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The latest Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 leak hints at an impending launch

Surface Laptop 4 leak
(Image credit: Microsoft)

The Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 is among the worst kept secrets in computing right now, and thanks to this latest leak we’ve got further confirmation that the machine is indeed coming and potentially very soon. 

This latest leak comes courtesy of Microsoft’s own support pages, which updated to include a pair of placeholder listings for the still unannounced Surface Laptop 4. These were spotted by Twitter user WalkingCat (via The Verge), and give us a very clear indication that Microsoft’s next clamshell laptop is just around the corner. 

One placeholder page is for an AMD version of the laptop, and the other is for an Intel model which lines up nicely with previous leaks that suggested the device would be available with a processor from either manufacturer. 

The fact that Microsoft is readying support pages for the laptop would suggest that its release is fairly imminent. In fact, WalkingCat speculates that an official announcement could come as early as next week. 

Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 specs and design

There have been numerous leaks relating to the Surface Laptop 4 over the past few weeks that have ranged from substantial information such as the Surface Laptop 4's spec list to smaller additions like the potential inclusion of a new webcam.

The laptop is rumored to launch with either Intel Tiger Lake CPUs or AMD Ryzen 7 4000-series processor, which is particularly disappointing news as we’d hoped it might include the newest AMD Ryzen 5000-series, but it seems that won’t be the case. 

This is especially puzzling if Microsoft is indeed opting for newer chips in the Intel variant of the Surface Laptop 4 while including older AMD chips in the other. It will at least be a step up from the 3000-series used in the Surface Laptop 3 range, which launched in 2019. 

One theory that is doing the rounds is that Microsoft will actually be getting custom chips from AMD as a leaked benchmark listing referred to the chip as a Ryzen 7 “Microsoft Surface Edition”. So the laptop’s CPU could actually fall between the 4000-series and the 5000-series. 

Other spec leaks suggest the laptop will offer 16GB of RAM, and we can also safely assume that it will come with an SSD hard drive as this is very much the norm in new laptops at this point, and an SSD was included in the Surface Laptop 3. 

We’ve also been hoping that Microsoft will give the design of the Surface Laptop a refresh with this fourth entry in the series. However, further leaks have suggested that this won’t the case which is a big disappointment to us — narrower bezels, a larger trackpad and Thunderbolt 4 connectivity are a must.

At this point, it seems almost certainly a matter of when, not if, Microsoft announces the Surface Laptop 4. With so many leaks doing the rounds, an official unveiling likely isn’t far off. 

Rory Mellon
Rory Mellon
Senior Entertainment Editor (UK)

Rory is a Senior Entertainment Editor at Tom’s Guide based in the UK. He covers a wide range of topics but with a particular focus on gaming and streaming. When he’s not reviewing the latest games, searching for hidden gems on Netflix, or writing hot takes on new gaming hardware, TV shows and movies, he can be found attending music festivals and getting far too emotionally invested in his favorite football team.