Microsoft’s updated Surface Pro X has a faster processor and new platinum color option

Microsoft is updating its $1,499 ARM-based Surface Pro X device today. The big new additions are an updated SQ2 processor, and a classic platinum color option found on Microsoft’s other Surface devices. The updated processor should improve performance across a variety of apps, and Microsoft is also promising up to 15 hours of battery life.

The SQ2 processor is the main internal change, and Microsoft has once again worked with Qualcomm to customize it for the Pro X. It’s essentially a variant of Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2 5G, without 5G support.

Microsoft is also using the same 13-inch PixelSense display (2880 x 1920) from last year’s model, up to 16GB of RAM, and up to 512GB of storage. There’s also two USB-C ports, the Surface Connect port, a nano SIM port for gigabit LTE connectivity, and removable SSD storage.

Little else has changed on this refreshed model, but a platinum color variant also means there are new signature keyboards. Microsoft will ship silver, blue, and red colors with the same built-in storage for the Surface Slim Pen that appeared on the original black version last year. You’ll still be able to pick the black color variant, too.

Microsoft isn’t making any big promises about how the new SQ2 processor will improve performance inside the Surface Pro X, though. We hit a few app compatibility issues with the original Surface Pro X, but Microsoft revealed earlier this week that it’s working on x64 app emulation support for Windows on ARM.

This new app support will allow the Surface Pro X to run all Windows apps, regardless of whether they’re 32- or 64-bit native ARM, or x86. Microsoft will start testing this emulation support in November, and we can expect to see it arrive in a Windows update next year.

This updated Surface Pro X is available for preorder today, starting at $1,499, and will start shipping on October 13th. There are now four Pro X models available for consumers:

• Surface Pro X – SQ1 processor, 8GB of RAM, 128GB of SSD storage: $999
• Surface Pro X – SQ1 processor, 8GB of RAM, 256GB of SSD storage: $1,299
• Surface Pro X – SQ2 processor, 16GB of RAM, 256GB of SSD storage: $1,499
• Surface Pro X – SQ2 processor, 16GB of RAM, 512GB of SSD storage: $1,799