Microsoft has updated its listing for the Commercial Surface Laptop to include some new configurations. Most notably, you can now buy one that ships with Windows 10 Pro, instead of 10 S.
At an event in May, Microsoft announced Windows 10 S, a version of the OS aimed at the educational market that only allows users to run apps that come from the Store. The flagship device for the new SKU of Windows 10 was, and still is, the Surface Laptop. The device came with an offer for a free upgrade switch to Windows 10 Pro, an offer that has since been extended to March.
Microsoft updated its Store listing for the Commercial Surface Laptop today, where you can actually buy one that ships with Windows 10 Pro now. While anyone should be able to buy the Commercial model, don’t expect this new variant to be available as a consumer model, as this change likely reflects the needs of organizations that need a large number of devices to run Pro, but without the hassle of having to upgrade each one.
What’s also interesting is that there are more color options for Windows 10 Pro than for 10 S. Up until today, the Commercial Surface Laptop only came in Platinum, but now Burgundy and Cobalt Blue are available. However, you can only get these colors if you get it shipped with Windows 10 Pro.
Microsoft is charging a premium for Windows 10 Pro though. The base model is a configuration that comes with a Core i5,8GB RAM, and 128GB SSD (not available in a consumer SKU) costs $1,099 with Windows 10 S, or $1,199 with Windows 10 Pro. The rest of the models are marked up by either $49 or $50, which is how much a switch from Windows 10 S to Pro should cost.
The decision between Windows 10 S and Pro purely comes down to the needs of the user. The two SKUs really aren’t that different, with the most notable change being that users can’t run legacy Win32 apps on 10 S. Other Pro features, like Hyper-V, still work.
The Burgundy and Cobalt Blue flavors of the Laptop are currently listed as out of stock, likely because the listings are brand new and Microsoft hasn’t actually started selling them. If you want to check out the Commercial Surface Laptop, you can find it here.
