Microsoft’s new Surface devices ditch magnetic charging port for USB-C

Microsoft has just announced two new Surface devices, and neither comes with the company’s Surface Connect charging port. The Surface Pro 12-inch and Surface Laptop 13-inch can now only be charged through USB-C ports on the devices, after years of Microsoft equipping its Surface laptops and tablets with the company’s proprietary magnetic charging port.

While this isn’t the first time Microsoft has ditched the Surface Connect port on a new device, it does feel like the company is now finally happy with charging over USB-C. This all but confirms that the next iterations of the larger Surface Pro and Surface Laptop models will also ship without the magnetic charging port.

The Surface 3 shipped with just Micro USB charging, but the company has always included the Surface Connect on its Surface Pro line of devices. The compatibility has meant you can use an existing Surface charger across a wide variety of Microsoft’s hardware dating back many generations.

Microsoft also no longer ships a charger in the box for its latest Surface devices, in compliance with EU initiatives to reduce e-waste. The switch to just USB-C charging on Surface devices comes nearly eight years after Microsoft was originally under pressure to add USB-C ports to its hardware. At the time, Microsoft created a USB-C dongle instead with former Surface chief Panos Panay joking that it was for “people who love dongles.”

You can read more about the new Surface Pro 12-inch here and the Surface Laptop 13-inch here.