But surprisingly or not, this versatile new iPad Pro alternative with Copilot support isn’t marketed as a Surface Pro 12 or 12th Gen Surface Pro, and the reason is pretty easy to understand. Instead of improving on the aforementioned Surface Pro (11th Edition) with a 13-inch panel, the 2025 Surface Pro 12-inch actually brings a few notable downgrades to the table in the name of affordability and portability.
Here’s your bittersweet spec sheet
- 12-inch PixelSense LCD touchscreen with 2196 x 1464 pixel resolution and up to 90Hz dynamic refresh rate technology;
- 8-core Snapdragon X Plus processor;
- 16GB RAM;
- 256 and 512GB UFS storage options;
- Up to 16 hours of battery life (local video playback);
- Full HD front-facing Surface Studio camera;
- 10MP Ultra HD rear-facing camera;
- 2W stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos;
- Two USB-C 3.2 ports;
- Wi-Fi 7;
- Bluetooth 5.4;
- 274 x 190 x 7.8mm dimensions;
- 686 grams weight.
The 12-inch Surface Pro looks somewhat familiar, but also very different from its 13-inch brother. | Image Credit — Microsoft
Unlike the 13-inch Surface Pro (11th Gen), which is available in both LCD and OLED variants, the new 12-incher only comes with the inferior LCD panel technology. And then there’s the Snapdragon X Plus chipset, which powers the cheapest 13-inch variants with 10 CPU cores while going down to just 8 on the smaller 2025 Surface Pro.
Unfortunately, more downgrades can be noticed in the front-facing camera and even the USB tech departments, but the Surface Pro 12-inch is significantly thinner and lighter than the 13-incher while also offering better battery life. That’s right, the weight is reduced by around 200 grams (which is a lot!) and the thickness by exactly a millimeter and a half, and somehow, you’re promised an extra couple of hours of endurance between charges as well (at least in uninterrupted video playback).
Is the Surface Pro 12-inch worth $799.99 and up?
That’s because the two products are simply too different to share the same optional accessories, and even the otherwise unchanged Surface Slim Pen attaches differently to the new Surface Pro, essentially taking a page from Samsung’s Galaxy Tab playbook instead of sitting at the top of the keyboard.
