Microsoft’s prototype Surface Laptop included two USB-C ports

Microsoft launched its Surface Laptop yesterday, but it surprisingly omitted the use of USB Type-C ports. Microsoft has opted for a mini DisplayPort and its traditional Surface connector instead. Codenamed Lynx, Microsoft’s Surface Laptop went through a number of final prototype iterations, including models with two USB-C ports. Microsoft accidentally revealed one of these prototypes during a promotional Surface marketing video on YouTube.

At Microsoft’s event in New York yesterday, I asked designers why there was no USB-C ports on the Surface Laptop. The responses all pointed to a lack of maturity in USB-C with power and cable issues, and just a broad lack of market adoption. Microsoft felt its target audience for the Surface Laptop would be more likely to make use of a mini DisplayPort and traditional USB port than the new USB-C connections.

While we’ll have to wait a little longer for Microsoft to make the USB-C switch, the company is sticking faithfully to a promise it made nearly three years ago. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said that the company was fully committed to Surface and providing the same power connector and accessory support across the Surface Pro 3 and Surface Pro 4 devices. That commitment to the Surface power connector continues today.