Microsoft officially announces Surface Pro LTE, coming in December

As expected, Microsoft hardware chief Panos Panay today officially announced the Surface Pro LTE device during his keynote at the Future Decoded conference in London. Focussing on bringing enterprise-class manageability to an increasingly mobile workforce, Microsoft writes:

The new culture of work will require devices with more performance and more versatility, without sacrificing beautiful design. The Surface family has been designed to engage and inspire employees. To help people bring ideas to life. It’s why we do what we do, it’s what drives us because we believe your people are at the core of your business success. Your people and their ideas are your company’s most precious asset and this transformation starts with people.

Surface Pro with LTE Advanced is the latest addition to the Surface family and will begin shipping to business customers in December 2017. With a Cat 9 modem, Surface Pro with LTE Advanced is the fastest LTE-enabled laptop in its class1. It delivers global connectivity with support of 20 cellular bands2 so you can work, study, create or relax uninterrupted.

Surface Pro with LTE Advanced rounds out our family of ultimate laptops, giving businesses options to meet the needs of everyone in their workforce. Whether it’s the pure power of Surface Book 2, the most powerful Surface yet with up to 17 hours of battery life3, the unmatched versatility of Surface Pro, or the beauty and emotional appeal of Surface Laptop. The entire Surface family is built to bring the best of Windows to life, including the new mixed reality, 3D, and inking experiences in the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update.

Surface Pro LTE will be initially available in two different models, one with Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD and the other one with Intel Core i5, 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD. The LTE version of Surface Pro will be based on Qualcomm X16 Gigabit Class LTE modem supporting up to 450 mbps and will offer almost same battery life as the current WiFi model. It will enable global connectivity with support of 20 cellular bands.

Surface Pro LTE with Intel Core i5, 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD will cost $1,149 and the one with Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD will cost $1,449. Surface Pro LTE will be available to business customers for purchase in December.