So it's either Thunderbolt 4 or Intel gave Microsoft a VERY GOOD discount on those CPUs in some way.
Considering the other parts were also Intel in the Surface 4, there could be a "bulk buy" thing going on. Those WiFi+BT modules are expensive on their own, so there may be something there that AMD can't do with Realtek and, to be fair, those WiFi+BT modules from Realtek are garbage.
It makes for a good headline the fact the battery lasts less, for sure. Given the use case of these machines, the performance delta doesn't matter that much? I mean, if you want to edit stuff on the go, just get a Mac with the M1Pro and call it a day, I'd say?
Ah, it could also be a timing thing. The AMD APUs with RDNA2 aren't out yet and Microsoft probably (more than likely) didn't want a rebrand/refresh of good ol' Vega8. I'm sure they didn't want to pay for a custom APU either, so on that account, it would make sense that Intel has either better timing and/or lower bulk pricing. I think the timing part may be a bigger deal for MS to sway Intel's way.
EDIT: Oh, the new Ry 6K mobile series do have RDNA2 in them:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_Ik1vgIBN4
It performs quite well even... Hm...
EDIT2: This is more apples to apples
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UK5T4SvTgeQ
Oh welp, just random thoughts on the matter.
Regards.