I take the rumor is the the gen 3 of this cpu will be based on the new 8 gen 1(maybe the + version?) or something else?
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So this is a dumb and annoying bug with the Pro X and Windows 11 21H2 (and possibly earlier), though we first saw it yesterday.
With the keyboard attached you will notice that in the “safely remove hardware and eject media” button there is a “eject surface button HID keyboard device”.
If you eject it either on purpose or accidentally as one of our engineers did yesterday you will of course not be able to use the device. So normally the way to resolve it would be the same thing you’d do with a removeable drive, which is to unplug the drive, wait a moment and then plug it back in.
That however doesn’t work in this case. Nor does a simple restart. The only thing that works is a full shutdown, wait 15 seconds, attach the keyboard then start up the system.
Like I said this may predate 21H2, but that’s where we discovered it. It affects both SQ1 and SQ2 models of the Pro X. It doesn’t affect any of the Intel based surfaces, at least as far as we can tell.
Obvious QA miss IMHO of a bug in device enumeration in WOA 
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I apologize in advance, but I am going to beat the proverbial dead horse - WOA is DOA at this point. It doesn’t matter if it has better 5g, battery life (very doubtful), or even good “potential.” Microsoft is only “all in” on one things - SERVICES BY SUBSCRIPTION - and even an old x86 machine can play in that profitable playground, along with current x86, Android, and any flavor of Mx from Apple. As Khan said
If you want those pesky Android phone/tablet apps, we’ve got you covered in Windows 11. As for pleas for battery Windows, or even a real WOA…
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May want to save your WOA gripes for Q3-Q4 though 
We know of at least three new WOA devices coming from the OEMs with newer 8Ccx gen 1 + chips as well as hearing rumors that the Pro X line is going to be refreshed, including allegedly a new display size option.
And WOA has gotten better: The 64 bit X86 emulation you get with Windows 11 is actually faster in most cases than the 32 bit in Windows 10. The Android subystem is also native now on the Pro X with 11 (yes I can hear many saying and…')
Not to mention that the LTE versions are both a bit faster overall in cellular throughput AND get much better battery life than the Intel versions of the Pro 8 with a modem if you use the modem more than just once in awhile.
And I’ve yet to see a Pro X get uncomfortably warm to the touch, ever, while that’s a regular thing on my Pro 8. Not to mention, no fan noise, ever.
My biggest gripe is that on the OS and app development front, at least for us, it’s been a revolving door of engineering expertise and evangelism.
Lastly, I think short of something completely unexpected happening X86 is at best destined to small incremental performance bumps whereas ARM (the chip basis of WOA) is only getting started. With for example the Nuvia chips making their first appearance in the same time frame, allegedly.
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What’s the fun in that?
On a serious note, is the entire Office 365 suite native ARM now? How about Adobe Acrobat Pro DC?
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WOA or no WOA, I think this is true. This being the case, it’s quite probable that my SLS will be the last Windows device I own, x86 or ARM. While my experiment with the M1 Mac Mini last winter was unsatisfactory I believe the elements that were too immature then will develop satisfactorily by the time I retire the SLS. (Specifically and most importantly Linux & Steam Proton compatibility for Windows games, whether through Parallels/WOA or CrossOver.)
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Related VS is getting native ARM version https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/24/23139475/microsoft-visual-studio-2022-native-arm-vs-code
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Office is 95% ARM native with the notable exception of the visual basic macros, most commonly used in Excel And Access. And as @Bloodycape mentions below, when VS is fully native , the Visual Basic portion will be too. MS uses VS to write/maintain VB now.
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No, and no. Project and Visio are still running in full emulation, no ARM64EC. I don’t know about Access, I haven’t used that one since the 90s. Acrobat doesn’t have a native reader either. (Nor does Xbox, Whiteboard, Skype, etc.)
The Visual Studio thing is good news for some people, I’d hope that gets some devs on board. But it’s still the type of thing that maybe would inspire a gradual change, not the strong sustained push that Microsoft really needs to make.
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@jhoff80 I forgot about project and Visio as they are not mainstream so to speak compared to the rest of Office.
OTOH, I’m reasonably certain both Visio and Project are also VS based now, so possibly the same would apply?
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Another thing that hurts them are retailers like Best Buy. I’ve heard more times than I can count from customers that have gotten completely misleading and wrong information about what the Pro X and WOA are.
It’s now wonder that my Best Buy contact had told me awhile ago that about 1 in 3 come back. Even greater when it’s “on sale” relative to the Pro 7 or Pro 8
Ars reporting on it too:
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Yeah our lead developer just a got a blurb and offer invite to obtain one.
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Is it a foreshadowing of a big push for WOA desktops? Or is this just the dev kit to support WOA on preexisting fronts?
I don’t know for fact yet, but it seems like a coordinated and broader push. I’d mentioned earlier in the thread that we are aware of at least three new WOA machines on the way from the OEMS. (can’t say who due to NDA).
And the rumors of both new and revised Pro x models have increased significantly, not to mention the Nuvia chips and the partnership (no chips officially announced yet) between Samsung and AMD on RISC chips.
And BTW: we’ve heard that Samsung stands the best chance of producing a WOA device due to apparent cross licensing already in place between the two companies (apparently the 8C Gen 1 snapdragons might have some Samsung tech in them)
PS: pay special attention to what if anything QUALCOMM says in the next few weeks, we are hearing rumors of multiple processor announcements across multiple performance tiers
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Interesting. Now if Samsung just takes the technology they’ve been developing for their Android tablets and adapt it for WOA, that would be killer. OLED, kickstand and SPen in a silo please.
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What about the news that Samsung plans to come out with a brand new, from the ground up re-engineered Exynos chip? Could that be related to a push in the WOA segment. The move over to thinner and thinner portable devices and not only foldables but also “rollables” being around the corner seems to me a sign that Intel’s architecture in consumables are more DOA than WOA.
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+1 here
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