Microsoft Surface Pro With Faster Snapdragon 8cx ‘Plus’ Spotted In Leaked Benchmark Indicating Arrival Of New ‘Refreshed’ Edition?

The current-generation Microsoft Surface Pro X has a custom ‘Microsoft SQ1’ SoC, which is essentially based on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx. The core processor within the SQ1 operates at a base frequency of 3.0GHz. A just leaked benchmark of possibly a prototype of Microsoft Surface Pro X multi-form-factor Windows 10 tablet, however, points to a new and slightly more powerful variant of the Snapdragon 8cx.

Although Microsoft hasn’t officially acknowledged or even hinted yet, there could be a refresh of Microsoft Surface Pro X in the near future. An unreleased version of the Surface Pro with a faster Snapdragon 8cx has been spotted in a leaked benchmark. The results include a faster variant of the custom SoC within the tablet.

Updated Microsoft Surface Pro Could Arrive With a Snapdragon 8cx ‘Plus’ Operating At 3.15 GHz Base Clock?

The unreleased mystery Microsoft Surface Pro was spotted inside a Geekbench 5 listing with a typical codename ‘OEMSR OEMSR Product Name DV’. The product appears to be Microsoft Surface Pro X and it was being tested with Windows 10 Enterprise (64-Bit).

The peculiar aspect of the benchmark leak was the listed clock speed. Instead of the currently available Surface Pro X running at 3.0GHz Base Clock, the mystery variant was running on an SoC with 3.15 Base Clock. This could mean Microsoft is testing a new Surface Pro X variant with a Snapdragon 8cx ‘Plus’. Incidentally, there was a recent report suggesting a faster Snapdragon 8cx chipset with a base frequency of 3.15GHz which was rumored to launch soon.

The processor being used within the mystery Surface Pro variant featured the internal model number SC8180XP. The currently available variant using the Snapdragon 8cx SoC had SC8180X. Experts indicate Microsoft might launch the refreshed edition of the Surface Pro X with the slightly faster SoC in the near future. However, according to some analysts, the current generation of Microsoft SQ1 SoC can work up to 12W with the 3GHz speed. Hence instead of pushing the clock speed, the tablet could benefit from a 15W x86 CPU.

Qualcomm To Announce Snapdragon 865 and Snapdragon 8cx ‘Plus’ But Apple Still Rules In Tablet Computing?

According to persistent rumors, Qualcomm is expected to announce the eagerly awaited Snapdragon 865 Plus. Although, some claim Qualcomm might not release the Plus variant, and instead, go directly on to Snapdragon 875. Still, the steeper acquisition and deployment costs of Snapdragon 875 might force Qualcomm to release a slightly faster SoC, as it has been doing in the past.

Unknown Surface Pro with alleged Snapdragon 8cx Plus spotted https://t.co/flmco0HHEu pic.twitter.com/RHxhviic5n

— Windows Latest (@WindowsLatest) June 30, 2020

In addition to the aforementioned processor, Qualcomm could also announce the Snapdragon 8cx ‘Plus’. Subsequently, Microsoft could officially unveil the refreshed edition of Surface Pro X. Experts claim, Microsoft might not make any cosmetic or design changes and would restrict itself to upgrading the processor. In other words, the mystery Microsoft Surface Pro would be an iterative upgrade only.

Interestingly, the scores in the leaked benchmark aren’t promising for the mystery Snapdragon 8cx Plus. The scores for the faster Surface Pro X are still slower than the A12Z Bionic running through Apple’s translation layer Rosetta 2.