Surface Model 1985 & 1986 hit FCC list – Pro 8 with M.2?

Those of us that have scripts periodically querying sites like fccid.io and safetykorea.kr may have noticed new FCC registrations from Microsoft that popped up within the last 24 hours. The registrations only include photos of unsurprising modular radio components for LTE (Quectel EM12GPA-512) and Wi-Fi 6 (Intel AX201). Given last year’s FCC registrations, I expect these to be from the upcoming Surface Pro 8:

FCC Registration linkDevice model numberPresumed device modelMicrosoft LTE-A Cat 12 M.2 Module 1986 FCC ID C3K19861986Surface Pro 8 LTEMicrosoft WiFi 6 AX201 1985 FCC ID C3K19851985Surface Pro 8

What is interesting is that Microsoft goofed on the FCC registrations by posting Wi-Fi photos for the LTE registration and LTE photos for the Wi-Fi registration. With the FCC rubber stamp process, its not surprising this error slipped through. Also, unlike prior LTE-enabled models like the Pro X and Pro 5, the LTE module is a B-keyed M.2 2242 form factor. Does this mean that non-LTE Pro 8 models will have an-populated M.2. slot that can be used for an extra SSD? Given the limited bandwidth requirements of LTE, only USB 2.0/3.x is necessary and is what the Quectel devices use. So we’ll have to wait to find out if the Pro 8 motherboard routes 2x PCIe lanes or SATA to the socket. Given Microsoft’s push towards modularity in recent launches, I’m hopeful.

I’m also hopeful for tremendous performance. Geekbench results of a design verification (DV) model were posted last month showing significant improvements compared to Pro 7 CPU/GPU performance with Intel’s RocketLake platform. With Windows 10 21H1 and device driver updates, hopefully we’ll see an even higher performance bump when the Pro 8 launches.

References:

• Surface Pro 8 and Laptop 4 coming soon per Korean certifications