microsoft surface book review 2022

To revisit this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories .

• Backchannel
• Newsletters
• WIRED Insider
• WIRED Consulting

Brenda Stolyar Scott Gilbertson

Which Microsoft Surface Is Best for You?

For some of the best Windows hardware on the market, look no further than Microsoft’s Surface brand. Best known for innovative, tablet-like designs, Microsoft has expanded its Surface line over the years and now offers a full family of computers, from a standard laptop to a giant desktop.

It’s hard to find a PC maker today that doesn’t ape the Surface’s kickstand-packing, detachable-keyboard-rocking design. It’s also hard to find a nicer Windows experience than that offered by the Surface. The problem is one of choice. With such a diverse family of premium computers, which is best for your needs? We’ve sorted through the options and found the best Surface for everyone.

Be sure to read our other buying guides for more, including the Best Laptops , Best Cheap Laptops , Best MacBooks , and our tips on how to choose a laptop .

Updated November 2023: We added the Surface Laptop Go 3 and Surface Laptop Studio 2. We also updated prices and links throughout.

• Should You Wait to Buy?
• Best for Most People: Surface Laptop 4
• The Awkward Choice: Surface Laptop 5
• Best 2-in-1: Surface Pro 9
• Best for Students: Surface Go 3
• Best for Power Users: Surface Laptop Studio
• A Good Smaller Laptop: Surface Laptop Go 2
• Best All-in-One Desktop: Surface Studio 2+
• For the Right Price: Surface Laptop Go 3
• Surface Devices to Avoid: Surface Laptop Studio 2
• What About Older Models?
• Things That May Annoy You
• Great Surface Accessories
• Look Into Surface All Access and Microsoft Complete

Special offer for Gear readers: Get WIRED for just $5 ($25 off) . This includes unlimited access to WIRED. com, full Gear coverage, and subscriber-only newsletters. Subscriptions help fund the work we do every day.

If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. This helps support our journalism. Learn more .

It depends. Back in September, Microsoft announced a new Surface Laptop Studio 2 and Surface Laptop Go 3 . So, if you're in the market for a 2-in-1 laptop for graphics-intensive tasks, the second-generation model is now available. Looking for a lightweight touchscreen laptop? The Laptop Go 3 is also available. We recommend reading our thoughts on both of those devices before making your final decision, though. There's also a new Surface Go 4, but the refresh is strictly for enterprise consumers.

We are, however, still waiting on a new Surface Pro 10, Surface Laptop 6, and Surface Studio 3 (all-in-one desktop). The latest versions of these devices were released in October 2022. While there's no guarantee we'll see these early next year, we do recommend waiting until at least then if you can.

Photograph: Microsoft 

It isn't as smart or stylish as the transforming, flexible models that made the Surface brand famous, but most of the time what you really need is a laptop. Tablets, kickstands, and clicky magnetic keyboard covers don't work well in every situation, which is why the Surface Laptop 4 ( 7/10, WIRED Recommends ) is the best pick for most people.

It has a gorgeous, 13.5-inch high-resolution display, a lovely keyboard, a stellar glass trackpad, and a slim case. Ports are one place where Surfaces skimp (like MacBooks ), but you do get a USB-C port along with your good old-fashioned USB-A port. It also has a magnetic charging port. If you tend to trip over your power cord all the time, this can be a lifesaver. It severs the connection between the wall plug and the computer before the laptop goes flying across the room like a Frisbee.

Boone Ashworth

Gabrielle Caplan

Alistair Charlton

Adrienne So

It's available with either an AMD Ryzen chip or an Intel processor. We've tested both, and while each has its strengths and weaknesses, the difference isn't great enough that you'll probably notice the difference. Whether you pick an AMD Ryzen 5 or Intel Core i5 model, your Surface Laptop 4 will easily handle most workloads and applications. For more details on the differences between AMD and Intel, read through our laptop buying guide .

Microsoft gives you some great tech standards, like a Windows Hello IR camera that lets you log in to Windows with your face lickety-split. Once you get used to that, it's hard to go back to typing in a password. Even fingerprint sensors feel like a chore after this.

If you want a larger screen, you can upgrade to the 15-inch Surface Laptop 4, which also comes with the more powerful Ryzen 7 or Intel Core i7 processors.

Specs to look for: 13-inch, Ryzen 5/Intel Core i5, 8 GB RAM, 256/512 GB SSD

Photograph: Microsoft

Microsoft made incremental changes with the Surface Laptop 5. As usual, you'll have the choice between a 13.5-inch and a 15-inch model. Both come with the same port selection as its predecessor: a USB-A port, a 3.5-mm headphone jack, a Surface Connect Port, and a USB-C port. This time around, the USB-C port does come with support for Thunderbolt 4 though, so you can connect it to a 4K monitor and transfer large files at faster speeds.

On the inside, both sizes come with a 12th-generation Intel processor—you can choose between an i5 or i7 for the 13-inch model while the 15-inch version only comes with the i7. However, new processor aside, the Surface Laptop 5 feels outdated as a whole (especially when compared to other laptops on the market). There’s no fingerprint scanner, the bezels are distractingly thick, and Microsoft no longer offers the option of an AMD processor.

After spending some time with it, we gave the Surface Laptop 5 an honorable mention in our Best Laptops buying guide . Even though it has a nice keyboard and stylish outer design, it feels stale as a whole—making it tough to justify the price. You’re better off saving your money and opting for the Surface Laptop 4, which now starts at $700 from Microsoft and as low as $647 from Amazon (depending on the model).

Specs to look for: 13-inch Intel Core i7, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD

The original Surface design, with its kickstand and keyboard cover, is still a joy all these years later. The Surface Pro 9 bridges the gap between laptop and tablet pretty well. The new version doesn’t differ much from the Surface Pro 8 ( 7/10, WIRED Recommends ), apart from an updated processor and a new 5G option.

No matter which configuration you land on, each Pro has 12th-generation Intel chips (the 5G model is powered by a Microsoft SQ 3 chip from Qualcomm) and the 2880 x 1920-pixel resolution screen with a document-friendly 3:2 aspect ratio. The screen can be set with a 120-Hz refresh rate (120 frames per second), but this will significantly impact battery life. You also get two USB-C ports, a magnetic charging port, and a Windows Hello–compatible 1080p webcam. As with last year’s model, there is no longer a microSD slot. If you want your Pro to be a true hybrid tablet-laptop, you’ll also need to buy the essential Microsoft Type Cover keyboard (it’s not included).

Our only complaint with the Surface Pro 9 (aside from the nixed microSD slot) was shorter battery life, in our testing, than the previous Surface Pro. Microsoft claims the same 15.5 hours of battery with the Wi-Fi model, while the 5G version will last 19 hours. However, when testing the latter we hit only 7.5 hours before the low-battery notification popped up. This still got us through the entire workday, powering apps like Chrome, Slack, and Zoom simultaneously, but it's nowhere near the 19 hours Microsoft claims. It's worth noting I did keep brightness at 100 percent for a couple of hours before switching between 50 and 60 percent for the rest of the day, so you might be able to squeeze a few more hours out of it at lower brightness.

Specs to look for: Intel Core i5, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD

The most affordable, smallest member of the Surface lineup is the 10.5-inch Surface Go 3 ( 6/10, WIRED Review ). If your needs are minimal, or you prefer tiny computers, this is what you should buy. Despite its slower Intel chips, it gets the job done. This third-generation model lacks the all-day battery life of its predecessor, but Windows 11 is a more pleasant touchscreen experience.

Because of its excellent Surface Pen compatibility, the Go is awesome for note-taking. With a Type Cover attached, it's a surprisingly good, if tiny, tablet and laptop hybrid. It might not be able to combat the iPad Pro in terms of sheer computing power, but the Go 3 is well-priced and good enough for most college students, or anyone who has the budget for a second, portable computer.

The $400 version has an appealing price, but it's not a great pick if you need the Surface Go 3 to serve as your main computer. Its smaller, slower storage drive and limited RAM could make multitasking and demanding apps feel slower. If you can, get the $630 configuration instead.

Like the Surface Pro, the Go 3 does not include a Type Cover keyboard or Surface Pen , so remember to pick those up with your tablet purchase.

Specs to look for: Intel Core i3, 8 GB RAM, 128 GB SSD

The Surface Laptop Studio ( 8/10, WIRED Recommends ) is the powerhouse transformer of the Surface line. We also prefer it to the newer Surface Laptop Studio 2 ( 6/10, WIRED Review ). Thanks to its clever hinge, you get a 2-in-1 laptop and a tablet, and , if you spring for it, a graphics card. That's a rare combination of power and flexibility that makes it a compelling choice for creative pros.

The Laptop Studio makes the most sense with an Intel i7 chip, which adds Nvidia's GeForce RTX discrete graphics card—especially if you're planning to edit video or play games. The extra graphics power is worth the investment. Every version has a beautiful 14-inch touch display screen with a 120-Hz refresh rate for buttery-smooth scrolling. The haptic trackpad is also one of the best touchpads we've ever tested.

The one compromise the Surface Laptop Studio makes is weight. While tablet mode is great for taking notes and making sketches, a 4-pound tablet isn't something you want to hold for long. It works best a tablet on a tabletop or in your lap.

Specs to look for: Intel Core i7, 16 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD, Nvidia GeForce RTX

This is a stripped-down, and dare I say, cute little laptop that is to the Surface Laptop as the Surface Go 2 is to the Surface Pro. That is, the "Go" moniker means the emphasis is on portability and price, not power. The Surface Laptop Go 2 ( 8/10, WIRED Review ) won't wow you by acing benchmark tests, but it is very portable and stylish. And it's a lot of fun to use.

It's small and svelte, with clean lines and a nice solid feel—something that's rare at this price. The top is aluminum, and the bottom is polycarbonate resin, which is stiffer and stronger than your typical laptop plastic. It feels like a $1,000 laptop, but it does make some compromises to keep the price so low, like the lack of a keyboard backlight. Battery life could be better too. Microsoft claims the Surface Go 2 can last up to 13.5 hours, but we reached closer to 7 hours on average. The biggest is the subpar screen, which is not even HD (1080p) resolution. That means text can appear slightly pixelated.

Still, if you like the portability of the Surface Go hybrid but want the more traditional clamshell design, the Surface Laptop Go 2 is an excellent option. It's also a great alternative to consider if, like us, you're not impressed by the upgrades on the Laptop 5 but are looking to get a clamshell Surface device. You'll also save some money, too. There are three configurations available, all using the same Intel Core i5 chip, but varying in RAM and SSD size. The middle option is the best value, offering 8 gigabytes of RAM and a 128-gigabyte SSD.

Since the Surface Laptop Go 3 is now available (our thoughts on that, below), the 8-gigabytes of RAM and 128-gigabyte SSD are out of stock on Microsoft's site. But the 16-gigabyte/256-gigabyte configuration is still available. You can still find both versions on Amazon, where they're on sale often.

Specs to look for: Intel Core i5, 8 GB RAM, 128 GB SSD

The all-in-one PC for graphic designers, the Studio 2+ doesn’t differ all that much from its predecessor , which launched four years ago. It packs a 28-inch touchscreen display (4500 x 3000 pixel resolution) with a flexible hinge and stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos. You’ll also get three USB-C/Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB-A ports, a 3.5-mm headphone jack, and a 1-gigabit Ethernet connector. With external display support, you can also connect the Surface Studio 2+ to three 4K UHD monitors with up to a 60-Hz refresh rate.

Under the hood is the 11th-gen Intel Core i7 11370H processor running Windows 11. It’s not the latest chipset on the market, but Microsoft says it offers 50 percent faster CPU performance than the Surface Studio 2. There’s also a Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 graphics card, which the company claims offers double the graphics performance. Of course, we’ll have to put it through its paces to see whether these numbers hold up. And while it’s a pricey machine, it does also come with a Surface Pen, Surface Keyboard, and Surface Mouse. We’ll share our thoughts on the Studio 2+ soon.

We had high hopes for the Surface Laptop Go 3 ( 5/10, WIRED Review ), whose predecessors received positive reviews. As with the first- and second-generation versions, the Laptop Go 3 features the same top-tier design, complete with an aluminum and lightweight chassis, and has a super satisfying full-size keyboard. The only difference is the updated 12th-generation Intel chip with a Core i5 processor. But that's it in terms of upgrades.

Typically, that'd be fine! But because Microsoft got rid of the 4-GB RAM and 128-SSD option, you'll only have the choice between 8 GB of RAM for $800 and 16 GB for $1,000—both of which come with a 256-GB SSD. That makes the new starting price $100 more than previous versions. But with no new incentives for the extra cost, the latest version falls short.

In addition to a grainy 720p webcam and finicky fingerprint sensor, it still lacks a keyboard backlight. The 12.4-inch display (with 1,536 x 1,024 resolution) looks vivid and bright, but the low resolution is noticeable when reading text, where everything looks a bit fuzzy. Then there's the anxiety-inducing battery life—Microsoft claims you can squeeze 15 hours on a full charge, but I'd hit about six hours before reaching for a charger. On days when I had Zoom calls, I'd plug it in after about four hours.

All of these issues are why we recommend waiting to buy this laptop until there's a really good sale on it. Even then, the only valid reason to purchase it is if you're worried about future-proofing, since the Laptop Go 2 has an older, 11th-gen chip. The 12th-gen chip is two years old, but it delivers plenty of power to get me through day-to-day tasks like word processing, web browsing, and emails. It's the better choice if you want a more recent processor. Otherwise, we still consider the Surface Laptop Go 2 ( 8/10, WIRED Review ) the best small Surface laptop.

Specs to look for: Intel Core i5, 16 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD

We had a great experience with the first-generation Laptop Studio ( 8/10, WIRED Recommends ), but we can't say the same for the Laptop Studio 2 ( 6/10, WIRED Review ). The versions share an excellent display, great performance, and stellar touchpad—the second-gen has a new haptic version with adjustable click sensitivity, a right-click area, and an Adaptive Touch mode that makes it easier for those with limited mobility in their hands. It's clear Microsoft kept all the features that made its original version great.

But the Laptop Studio 2 comes with a few more issues than its predecessor. For starters, it has worse battery life. While the Laptop Studio clocked in at 12 hours on a looped-video battery drain test, we only squeezed 4 hours and 12 minutes out of the Studio 2. There's also the fact that it runs very hot. According to Microsoft, the latest version is twice as powerful, thanks to a 2.9-GHz Core i7-13700H processor, a giant 64 GB of RAM, and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 graphics processor. It performed great on graphics tasks, but this increase in performance is what causes the laptop to get so hot. Despite its new heat-dissipation system and new “thermal capacity performance,” the device reached a whopping 109 degrees at one point. This can be super uncomfortable when using it on your lap.

Our last major issue with the laptop is the price. The base model will set you back $2,000, while the high-end version will cost $3,700. Considering all of its red flags, we think that's way too expensive even if you're the target demographic for this gadget. We still think the Surface Laptop Studio is the best option for power users.

Surface Pro 7

• Surface Pro 8 for $700 (With Type Cover): The 2021 Pro 8 packs a majority of the same features as the Pro 9. It's still an excellent choice if you don't need the latest processor (the 11th-gen Intel is still plenty powerful) or 5G connectivity. There's a high chance it will go on sale this holiday season.
• Surface Pro 7 for $616 (With Type Cover) : The 2019 Pro 7 is a solid 2-in-1 choice. It's less powerful, but it does have better life than the Pro 8 and will likely also be on sale this holiday season. If you can score a good deal (for example, under $800), this one is worth considering.
• Surface Go 2 for $459 (Intel Core m3) : The Go 2 was a fun little machine and, like the Pro 7, got better battery life than its successor. That said, the battery life is about the only thing it has going for it versus the newer model. Wait to find it on sale.
• Surface Book 3: There may still be a few of these out there, but Microsoft has discontinued the Surface Book. The Surface Laptop Studio covers the same ground.
• Older Surfaces: We do not recommend paying much of anything for Surface laptops or 2-in-1s older than these.

Microsoft has made Surface devices for nearly a decade now, but there are still imperfections that may impact your enjoyment. You may start to get annoyed from the moment you add a device to your cart and order it. If you're grabbing a Surface hoping to use the famous, fabulous Surface Pen with it, you'll need to buy it separately. In years past, the Surface Pro and the Surface Book included the Pen, but that's no longer the case.

Ports are another mixed bag for Surface devices. You'll find USB-C ports throughout the Surface line, and the newest versions support Thunderbolt 4. Despite the USB-C ports, Microsoft stuck with its magnetic Surface Connect charger. (Confusingly, you can charge with USB-C too.) This may not be a bad thing, but it feels strange with the Thunderbolt support there as well.

We briefly mention a few Surface accessories above. But as we said before, you’ll have to purchase these separately (unless they’re available as a bundle )—on top of shelling out money for the device itself. Below, we break down some of those aforementioned add-ons from Microsoft, as well as more affordable third-party options.

Surface Pro Type Cover for $130: This Type Cover is one of our favorite accessories. The cover is easy to attach, the clicky keys feel satisfying to type on, and it’s the least expensive option for the Surface Pro lineup. It’s compatible with the Surface Pro 8 and earlier. There’s a similar Type Cover for the Surface Go line that also costs $130.

Surface Pro Signature Keyboard for $180: The Pro Signature Keyboard is expensive, but it’s the best option if you’re using the Surface Pro X or Surface Pro 8 with the Slim Pen 2. It comes with built-in storage for the stylus that doubles as a charger. That way, you don’t have to worry about losing it or running low on battery.

Surface Pen for $100 : The Surface Pen is compatible with myriad Surface devices, so it’s useful if you’re always switching between Microsoft'’ laptop and tablet. It packs precision ink—with tilt for shading—along with thousands of pressure points and virtually zero lag. Unlike the Slim Pen, which supports wireless charging, the Surface Pen runs on batteries.

Surface Slim Pen 2 for $130: With the second-generation Slim Pen, Microsoft added haptic feedback and lower latency (sketching and writing should feel more responsive). We liked using it with the Surface Pro 8, but it’s also compatible with a variety of other Surface devices. It’s an ideal accessory if you rely on your tablet for taking notes or drawing.

Microsoft Presenter+ for $80: If your workdays consist of presentations in Microsoft Teams, you can use the Presenter+ to cycle through slides, direct coworkers toward content with the screen pointer, and raise to lower your hand using the dedicated Teams button. You can also use the device to join meeting rooms and mute/unmute yourself during calls.

Microsoft Audio Dock for $250: In an effort to help you declutter your desk, Microsoft’s Audio Dock comes with four ports—two USB-C, one USB-A, and an HDMI—along with a 15-watt woofer, 5-watt tweeters, and a pass-through PC charger. You can use it to plug in up to two monitors and charge your phone or laptop.

Logitech K380 Wireless Keyboard for $40: If you want a cheap Bluetooth keyboard to use with your Surface device, we like Logitech’s K380 Wireless Keyboard. It’s inexpensive, offers a nice typing experience, and is compact. It also comes in a super cute pink color.

Twelve South StayGo Mini USB-C Hub for $60: Ports can be a bit scarce on Surface devices. This hub from Twelve South comes with a USB-A port, an HDMI, a headphone jack, and a USB-C port for pass-through charging. You can either plug it into the device or extend it with the included cord.

Microsoft Adaptive Accessories ($15 to $45): Microsoft offers a range of PC hardware for people with limited mobility including a programmable button, adaptive mouse, and a hub to connect them to a PC wirelessly.

Microsoft no longer offers its Surface All Access installment plan. But if you’re short on cash, you can purchase a Surface device through Citizens Pay (a program that offers traditional lines of credit) for purchases over $900 or PayPal Pay Later (which allows you to buy a device now and pay it off later through interest-free payments). You can learn more about both options here .

If you’re rough on your gadgets, get the Microsoft Complete extended warranty . Starting at $99, it gives you additional warranty coverage, plus two accidental damage claims with a $49 deductible. Given how much a Surface costs, it’s worth the peace of mind to add this protection to your new device.

You Might Also Like …

In your inbox: Will Knight's Fast Forward explores advances in AI

He emptied a crypto exchange onto a thumb drive —then disappeared

The real-time deepfake romance scams have arrived

Boomergasms are booming

Heading outdoors? Here are the best sleeping bags for every adventure

Medea Giordano

Scott Gilbertson

Brenda Stolyar

Julian Chokkattu

Eric Ravenscraft

Parker Hall

WIRED COUPONS

Extra 20% off sitewide - Dyson Promo Code

GoPro Promo Code: 15% off Cameras & Accessories

Get Up To Extra 45% Off - May Secret Sale

10% Off Everything with Dell Coupon Code

Spend $150+ & get $20 off using this VistaPrint Coupon Code

50% off Select Products - Newegg Promo Code

• Reviews TV REVIEWS   v1.11 HEADPHONES REVIEWS   v1.7 MONITOR REVIEWS   v2.0 SOUNDBAR REVIEWS   v1.3 MOUSE REVIEWS   v1.5 KEYBOARD REVIEWS   v1.3.1 PRINTER REVIEWS   v1.2 VACUUM REVIEWS   v1.3 PROJECTOR REVIEWS   v0.8 TOASTER REVIEWS   v1.0 BLENDER REVIEWS   v1.0 KEYBOARD SWITCH REVIEWS   v1.0 SPEAKER REVIEWS   v0.8 CAMERA REVIEWS   v0.12.1 LAPTOP REVIEWS   v0.8.2
• In Progress
• Newsletters
• Surface Laptop 5 (2022)

Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 (2022) Laptop Review

The Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 is a premium Windows ultraportable available in a 13.5-inch or a 15-inch size. You can configure it with an Intel Core i5-1235U or Core i7-1255U CPU and up to 32GB of memory and 1TB of storage. It has a 3:2, touch-sensitive display, a 720p webcam, and Wi-Fi 6. Its port selection includes one USB-A, a USB-C/Thunderbolt 4, and a proprietary Surface Connect charging port. Both sizes—13.5-inch and 15-inch—have the same 46Wh battery capacity. It's available in five colors: Platinum (with Alcantara deck), Sage, Sandstone, Platinum (with metal deck), and Matte Black.

See our unit's specifications and the available configuration options in the Differences Between Variants section.

Our Verdict

The Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 is good for school use. It feels incredibly well-built and is easy to carry around. It has a sharp and bright display, a spacious and tactile keyboard, and a large and responsive touchpad. The Intel CPU can handle most student workloads like text processing and web browsing, but it isn't ideal for demanding tasks like 3D graphics. The battery lasts around eight hours of light use, so depending on your workload, you may need to plug it in for a quick charge to get through the day.

• Thin and light design.
• Exceptionally sturdy build.
• Sharp, bright display.
• Comfortable keyboard; responsive touchpad.
• Excellent webcam.
• Battery lasts only eight hours of light use.
• Poor reflection handling.

The Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 is inadequate for gaming. It's only available with low-power processors with integrated graphics, which aren't powerful enough to handle graphically intensive games. Also, the CPU's performance drops significantly when performing demanding tasks for an extended period. Its display is limited to a 60Hz refresh rate, has a slow response time, causing noticeable ghosting, and doesn't support variable refresh rate to reduce screen tearing.

• Doesn't get too hot or loud under load.
• CPU and GPU can't handle demanding workloads.
• CPU throttles significantly under load.
• 60Hz display with slow response time.
• Poor serviceability.

The Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 is good for media consumption. It's very portable, thanks to its thin and light design, and its battery life is fair at around five hours of video playback. It has a sharp and exceptionally well-calibrated display, although its taller 3:2 aspect ratio means you'll have black bars at the top and bottom in most content. The speakers sound clear but slightly muffled, and while they get reasonably loud, they sound a little harsh at max volume.

• Superb display accuracy out of the box.
• Flicker-free backlight.
• Blacks look gray in dim settings.
• Speakers sound slightly muffled and lack bass.

The Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 is okay for use as a workstation. The Intel 12th Gen. CPU and integrated graphics can only handle light productivity tasks and not demanding workloads like video editing or 3D graphics. It also has a very limited port selection, with only one USB-A and a USB-C/Thunderbolt 4 port. On the upside, it has a great keyboard, and it doesn't get hot or loud under load.

The Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 is good for business use. It's available in a 13.5-inch or 15-inch size, so you can choose the one that best suits your needs. Both models are very portable and feel incredibly well-built. The display is sharp, the keyboard feels comfortable to type on, and the touchpad is very responsive. The Intel CPU performs well and can handle most productivity tasks like text processing, spreadsheets, and presentations. The battery lasts around eight hours of light use, so you may need to plug it in for a quick charge, depending on your usage.

• 7.8 Multimedia
• 6.9 Workstation
• 7.6 Business
• Updated Mar 08, 2024: We've updated the review for clarity and readability.
• Updated Feb 01, 2024: Added mention of the Framework Laptop 13 (2023) as an alternative with better serviceability in the Serviceability section.
• Updated Dec 07, 2023: Converted to Test Bench 0.8.2 .
• Updated Nov 03, 2023: Converted to Test Bench 0.8.1 .
• Updated Sep 19, 2023: Added mention of the Dell XPS 15 (2023) as an alternative with discrete GPU options in the GPU section.
• Updated Jul 12, 2023: Added mention of the Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) as an alternative with a brighter screen in the Brightness section.
• Updated Jul 07, 2023: Added mention of the ASUS Zenbook 14 Flip OLED (2023) as an alternative with a higher refresh rate.
• Updated Jun 08, 2023: Added mention of the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 (2023) as an alternative with longer battery life in the Battery section.
• Updated May 30, 2023: Added mention of the LG gram 14 (2023) as an alternative with a wider port selection in the Ports section.
• Updated Apr 28, 2023: Added mention of the Acer Swift 3 14 (2022) as an alternative with better DCI P3 and Adobe RGB coverage in the Color Gamut section.
• Updated Apr 26, 2023: Added mention of the Acer Swift 14 (2023) in the Performance Over Time section as a better alternative.
• Updated Mar 16, 2023: Added mention of the Dell XPS 13 Plus (2022) as an alternative with an OLED display in the Contrast section.
• Updated Mar 14, 2023: Review published.
• Updated Mar 06, 2023: Early access published.
• Updated Feb 27, 2023: Our testers have started testing this product.
• Updated Feb 23, 2023: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.
• Updated Feb 22, 2023: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.

Differences Between Sizes And Variants

We tested the Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 15-inch with an Intel Core i7-1255U CPU, 16GB of memory, and 512GB of storage. You can also get this laptop in a 13.5-inch size. The CPU, memory, and storage are configurable; the available options are in the table below.

 See our unit's label here .

Compared To Other Laptops

The Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 is one of the best premium Windows ultraportables on the market. It stands out for its exceptional build quality, as well as for its sharp, well-calibrated 3:2 display. Its keyboard, touchpad, and webcam are also among the best.

For more options, check out our recommendations for the best laptops , the best laptops for college , and the best business laptops .

The Dell XPS 13 Plus (2022) and the Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 (2022) are both premium ultraportable laptops. The XPS 13 Plus is only available in a 13.5-inch size, while the Surface Laptop 5 is available in a 13.5-inch or 15-inch size. The Surface Laptop 5 is slightly better, as it has a more comfortable keyboard, a more responsive touchpad, and a much better webcam. However, the XPS 13 Plus has more display options, including a 3.5K OLED panel with full Adobe RGB and DCI P3 coverage, making it a better choice for media consumption and color work like photo and video editing.

The Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 (2022) and the Dell XPS 13 (2021) are very similar premium ultraportable laptops. However, there are some small differences. The Surface Laptop 5 has a sturdier build and a better webcam, while the XPS 13 has a brighter display, better reflection handling, and a longer battery life. The Surface Laptop 5 is a newer device and is available with faster Intel 12th Gen. CPUs, although there's a more recent version of the XPS 13 with Intel 12th Gen. processors as well.

The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) is better than the Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 (2022) for most uses. The MacBook Air has a much brighter display, a larger haptic touchpad, and better-sounding speakers. Its M2 SoC is faster than the Surface Laptop's Intel 12th Gen CPU and doesn't throttle as much under load. Also, unlike the Surface, the MacBook Air is a fanless device. The Surface Laptop has one advantage: its USB-C port supports Thunderbolt 4, allowing you to connect up to 4k displays at 60Hz with a single cable, whereas the MacBook Air can only support one external display.

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 (2023) and the Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 (2022) provide a similar premium user experience. The ThinkPad X1 is available with newer, faster CPUs, and its battery lasts longer. It also has better speakers and a much wider port selection. On the other hand, the Surface Laptop has a better touchpad, and its build feels a little more premium and sturdy. The Surface Laptop is available in a 13.5-inch or 15-inch size, whereas the ThinkPad X1 is only a 14-inch. The ThinkPad X1 is available with LTE support, unlike the Surface Laptop 5.

The Apple MacBook Air 13 (2022) is better than the Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 (2022) for most uses. The MacBook Air has a brighter display with better reflection handling, making it more suitable for use in well-lit settings or outdoors in broad daylight. While both laptops have an outstanding touchpad, the MacBook Air's is larger, and because it uses haptics to simulate mouse clicks instead of physical buttons, it makes actions like dragging and dropping much easier. If you need to connect more than one external display, the Surface Laptop would be better because the MacBook Air can only output to a single external display.

The Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 (2022) is a newer version of the Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15 (2019) . They're identical in almost every aspect; the only differences are that the Surface Laptop 5 has newer Intel 12th Gen. CPUs, longer battery life, and Thunderbolt 4 support.

The Acer Swift 14 (2023) and the Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 (2022) are both Windows ultraportable laptops. The Surface Laptop 5 feels slightly more premium than the Swift 14, and it provides a better user experience overall with a more comfortable keyboard and a better touchpad. Also, it's available in a 15-inch size, giving you more screen real estate for multitasking. On the other hand, the Swift 14 is available with significantly faster H-series CPUs, and it doesn't throttle as much under load, making it suitable for more demanding tasks like programming.

The Framework Laptop 13 (2023) is better than the Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 (2022) for most uses. The Framework is available with faster AMD Ryzen CPUs and doesn't throttle as much under load. It also has a longer battery life and a more versatile modular port system, and its design makes it much easier to upgrade and repair. However, the Surface Laptop feels sturdier and sports a better keyboard, touchpad, and webcam.

The LG gram 17 (2021) and the Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 (2022) are very similar ultraportables, but there are some differences. The gram 17 has a much better port selection and significantly longer battery life. Its larger display gives you more room for multitasking; however, its increased size makes it less portable than the Surface Laptop. On the other hand, the Surface Laptop has a more responsive touchpad and a better webcam. The Surface Laptop's display is more accurate out of the box and supports touch input.

The Acer Swift 3 14 (2022) and the Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 (2022) are both very good productivity laptops. The Surface Laptop 5 is a more premium model with a sturdier build, and it provides a better user experience with a more comfortable keyboard, a larger and more responsive touchpad, and a better webcam. On the other hand, the Swift 3 14 has a nicer 90Hz OLED display and a wider port selection. The Swift 3 14 is available with faster Intel 12th Gen. processors and doesn't throttle as much under load, but its battery life is shorter than the Surface Laptop 5's.

Test Results

The Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 has a sleek and premium design. You can get this laptop in a 13.5-inch or 15-inch size. The two models look very similar; the only difference is that the 13.5-inch model has less space on each side of the keyboard and is available with an Alcantara keyboard deck. Alcantara is a suede-like fabric often used in luxury cars. The laptop has a wedge shape, meaning it's thicker at the back than at the front. The lid only has the Microsoft logo in the middle, and nothing is on the bottom except for the rubber feet . There are no speaker grills; the sound comes through the keyboard. The bezels are a little thick compared to other recent laptops. They're more distracting on the 13.5-inch model because they're the same size but on a smaller device. Five colors are available: Platinum (with Alcantara), Sage, Sandstone, Platinum (with metal deck), and Matte Black, though the Platinum (with Alcantara), Sage, and Sandstone colors are only available on the 13.5-inch model.

The Microsoft Surface 5's build quality is outstanding. Its aluminum chassis feels very sturdy, exhibiting almost no flex in the display or keyboard deck, and the finish doesn't scratch or pick up fingerprints easily. The whole device feels hefty, with evenly distributed weight. The rubber feet stick very firmly to the bottom. They're hard to remove and will likely break if you try, making them unusable after. The build quality on the 13.5-inch Alcantara model is similar on the outside; however, there's more flex on the keyboard deck, and the Alcantara can stain over time.

The hinge is outstanding. It feels smooth when opening and closing the lid, and it's very stable. It has just the right amount of resistance, so you can make small adjustments and open the lid with one hand. The screen only wobbles a little bit when typing aggressively.

The posted measurements above are for the 15-inch model. Here are the measurements for the 13.5-inch model:

• Thickness: 0.57" (1.45 cm)
• Width: 12.1" (30.8 cm)
• Depth: 8.8" (22.3 cm)
• Alcantara: 2.8 lbs (1.27 kg)
• Metal: 2.9 lbs (1.3 kg)

The Microsoft Surface Laptop's serviceability is bad. To access the internals, you need to remove the four rubber feet and T5 Torx screws on the bottom, then lift the keyboard. The keyboard is attached magnetically, and the magnets are pretty strong, so you'll likely need a prying tool. You also need to detach the cable connecting the keyboard and touchpad to the motherboard. The entire process is relatively easy. The rubber feet break easily, so you'll likely need to replace them. Microsoft sells replacement feet on their website. Check out the Framework Laptop 13 (2023) if you want a laptop with better serviceability.

View the Surface Laptop 5's service manual here .

• Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 (15-inch)
• 65W power adapter and cord

The Microsoft Surface Laptop is available in a 13.5-inch or a 15-inch size. The 13.5-inch model has a resolution of 2256 x 1504. The two displays look the same in terms of sharpness because Microsoft targets a specific pixel density rather than a resolution. You just get more screen real estate on the 15-inch, which makes split-screen multitasking feel a little more comfortable. The 3:2 aspect ratio is great for productivity, as you can see more information at once when reading a document or website, but you'll get black bars at the top and bottom when viewing standard 16:9 videos.

The Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 is only available with a 60Hz display. It has a very slow response time, causing noticeable ghosting, so it isn't ideal for viewing fast-moving content or gaming. The 13.5-inch model's screen is identical. If you want a productivity laptop with a higher refresh display, check out the ASUS Zenbook 14 Flip OLED (2023) .

The contrast ratio is decent and within the typical range of most IPS panels. However, it's still relatively low compared to other display technologies like VA and OLED. This level of contrast makes blacks look gray in dim settings. If you want a similar laptop available with an OLED display, check out the Dell XPS 13 Plus (2022) .

The display gets bright enough for use in most indoor settings but not outdoors in broad daylight. You may also have trouble with visibility in well-lit rooms due to the display's sub-par reflection handling. It gets very dim at the lowest brightness setting, which is great for dark room viewing as it causes less eye strain. If you want a 15-inch laptop with a brighter display, check out the Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) .

The reflection handling is sub-par. The display's glossy finish struggles a lot with direct, mirror-like reflections, so it's best to avoid having bright light sources directly behind you. The reflections are visible even with the screen at maximum brightness.

The horizontal viewing angle is decent. The image looks dimmer and more washed out from the side. The picture quality is still good enough to share documents or casual content with someone else; however, you need to be close or directly in front of the screen if you want perfect accuracy.

The vertical viewing angle is okay. Like the horizontal viewing angle, the image dims and washes out from above and below. You need to look at the screen almost straight on to get an accurate image, which might be hard in tight places, like on a bus or airplane, where you don't have much space to tilt the screen.

The Microsoft Surface Laptop's display accuracy is fantastic out of the box. Most color and white balance inaccuracies are hard to spot. The color temperature is very close to the standard 6500K target, and the gamma follows the sRGB curve very closely except in very bright scenes where the image is a little too dark. We took these measurements with no color profile activated. The sRGB color profile is very similar but has a slightly higher color dE. The Enhanced color profile is also less accurate, as it oversaturates some colors to make them appear more vibrant.

The display's color gamut is great. It has full sRGB coverage, which is the color space used in most content. The Adobe RGB and DCI P3 coverage is very good, but it isn't enough for photo editing or producing HDR content. The 13.5-inch model's display is identical. If you need a similar laptop with better DCI P3 or Adobe RGB coverage, check out the Acer Swift 3 14 (2022) .

The Microsoft Surface Laptop has a great keyboard. It has high-quality keycaps and a spacious layout that's easy to get used to. The keys feel relatively stable, have a good amount of travel, and provide satisfying tactile feedback. They also don't require much force to actuate, so they don't cause fatigue over an extended period. It's worth noting that the typing experience is slightly different on the 13.5-inch model that has an Alcantara keyboard deck. The Alcantara provides a softer surface to rest your wrist; however, as mentioned in the build section, there's also more flex on the deck, making the typing feel slightly mushier. As for typing noise, it isn't the quietest keyboard, but the noise isn't loud enough to be bothersome in noise-sensitive environments. You can adjust between three backlight brightness levels or turn it off completely.

The touchpad is excellent. It could be larger, considering the amount of available space on the deck, but it's large enough to use comfortably. It feels very smooth and tracks all movements and gestures well. Palm rejection also works well, and there are no issues with actions like dragging and dropping or zooming in and out of images. The touchpad's buttons feel tactile, and you can click anywhere, although it's harder to press toward the top. The 13.5-inch model's touchpad is the same size as the 15-inch model.

The speakers are decent. They sound clear but slightly boxy and hollow, which is to be expected because there are no speaker grills, and the sound is coming through the keyboard. They're best suited for speech-heavy content and not music or movies. Unfortunately, although they get reasonably loud, the sound becomes harsh and shouty at max volume.

The Microsoft Surface Laptop's webcam is excellent. The image has a lot of fine details even though it's only 720p, and the colors look accurate and true to life. There's some noise in the background, but it's barely noticeable. Voices sound clear and natural over the microphone with little to no background noise.

The port selection is sub-par. The USB-A port supports USB 3.2 Gen. 1 data transfer speed of up to 5Gbps. The USB-C port supports Thunderbolt 4, allowing you to transfer files at up to 40Gbps and connect up to two 4k displays at 60Hz with a single cable. The proprietary Surface Connect port is similar to Apple's MagSafe. It attaches magnetically to prevent the laptop from getting pulled off a table if you trip on the cable. If you want a laptop with a wider port selection, check out the LG gram 14 (2023) .

The wireless adapter is an Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201.

The Microsoft Surface Laptop is available with the following CPUs:

• Intel Core i5-1235U (10 cores/12 threads, up to 4.4GHz, 12MB cache)
• Intel Core i7-1255U (10 cores/12 threads, up to 4.7GHz, 12MB cache)

They're both low-power processors typically found in ultraportable laptops and designed to handle general productivity tasks like text processing, spreadsheets, web browsing, presentations, and video playback. They both have two performance and eight efficiency cores; the only difference is that the Core i7 has faster clock speeds, giving it a slight performance boost. Also, the Core i5 is only available on the 13.5-inch model.

This laptop is only available with Intel Iris Xe. It's an integrated GPU that can only handle general productivity tasks, not demanding workloads like video editing or 3D graphics. You can play some causal, puzzle-like games, as well as older or extremely well-optimized titles, but even then, you might have to play at a lower resolution or with low graphics settings to achieve playable frame rates. If you want a similar laptop with a discrete GPU, check out the Dell XPS 15 (2023) .

You can configure the Microsoft Surface Laptop with 8GB, 16GB, or 32GB of memory, though the latter is only available on the 15-inch model. The memory isn't user-replaceable.

You can configure the laptop with 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB of storage. The 1TB option is only available on the 15-inch model. The SSD is user-replaceable; the slot supports M.2 2230 PCIe Gen 4 SSDs.

The Microsoft Surface Laptop has a great overall score in the Geekbench 5 benchmarks. The Intel Core i7-1255U is fast enough to provide a smooth experience in light workloads, like text processing, web browsing, and video playback. However, it'll struggle in demanding workloads like video editing or 3D graphics. The numbers are lower than expected for an Intel Core i7-1255U because the Recommended power profile throttles the CPU's performance to prolong battery life. Switching to the Best Performance mode boosts the single-thread score to 1,659 and the multi-thread score to 8,903. The jump in performance is significant, but it still doesn't make this laptop suitable for heavy, sustained workloads. If you need to perform intensive tasks, it's best to get a laptop with a faster H-series CPU and a more effective cooling system. As for the GPU, the integrated Intel Iris Xe performs poorly and isn't suitable for tasks like image processing.

The Microsoft Surface Laptop's overall score in Cinebench R23 is excellent. However, you can get far better performance on a mobile workstation or gaming laptop with an H-series CPU. The Intel CPU in this laptop is very capable; it just can't operate at full speed due to significant thermal throttling.

The performance in Blender is okay. The CPU can complete 3D renders relatively quickly; however, it's likely still too slow for professionals with tight deadlines. If you need to perform 3D renders for work, getting a laptop with a dedicated GPU is best. Most GPUs can complete the renders significantly faster, even entry-level ones.

The Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 performs poorly in the Basemark GPU benchmark. Its Intel Iris Xe isn't bad for integrated graphics but is still slower than even an entry-level discrete GPU. It can only handle simple, puzzle-like games at 1080p. You can play some older or extremely well-optimized titles; however, you'll have to play at a lower resolution or with low graphics settings to get playable frame rates.

Due to its smaller, lower-resolution screen, the 13.5-inch model will likely have a slightly longer battery life. If you want an ultraportable with a longer battery life, check out the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 (2023) .

Borderlands 3 isn't playable at 1080p on the Microsoft Surface Laptop 5, as the Intel Iris Xe integrated GPU can't handle such a graphically demanding title. The gameplay is very choppy, even at the lowest graphical settings.

Civilization VI runs poorly on the Microsoft Surface Laptop 5. The frame rates are very consistent but too low, even for a strategy game that doesn't require precise aiming. That said, it's playable if you lower a few graphical settings. The average turn time is okay but slow for this particular CPU, the Intel Core i7-1255U, and also slow compared to other laptops with an Intel 12th Gen. CPU, like the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i 14 (2022) .

The performance in CS:GO is mediocre. Although the average frame rate is above 60 fps, the game stutters a lot due to frame drops. Lowering the graphical settings helps, but it's still too choppy for an FPS game.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider runs poorly on the Microsoft Surface Laptop 5. The game is too choppy at 1080p, even with low graphical settings. You can expect a similar performance in other graphically demanding AAA titles. The large frametime spikes are scene changes and aren't representative of the laptop's performance.

The Microsoft Surface 5 has decent thermal and noise handling. In an idle state, the keyboard is only mildly warm, and the fans are completely silent. The keyboard gets hotter under load, but it isn't uncomfortable. Likewise, the fans are audible but aren't annoying or distracting.

The Microsoft Surface Laptop's performance over time is bad. Neither the CPU nor the GPU get very hot, but they still throttle, especially the CPU. The performance loss is normal for thin and light laptops like the Surface Laptop 5, as light tasks like text processing, web browsing, and video playback only require the CPU and GPU to work in bursts and not continuously over a long period at near maximum capacity. There's less throttling in the Best Performance mode—17% on the CPU and 1% on the GPU—but the temperatures are higher. The CPU reaches 77°C, while the GPU reaches 66°C. If you want an ultraportable with better performance over time, check out the Acer Swift 14 (2023) .

The Microsoft Surface Laptop has a few pre-installed applications, including:

• Clipchamp: Video editing software.
• Microsoft Office: Microsoft 365 trial. Requires subscription to continue using after the trial period ends.
• Solitaire and Casual Games: Solitaire game and other casual games.
• Surface: Contains system and warranty information.
• Surface Diagnostic Toolkit: Helps you diagnose system issues with a step-by-step guide. It also contains information on the system, battery, and warranty.
• Spotify: App for the music streaming service.

The Microsoft Surface 5 has a Windows Hello facial recognition IR camera. You can use it to log in quickly, authorize purchases in the Windows Store, and auto-fill saved passwords on supported websites. The display supports pen input, but you have to buy the stylus separately. Any Microsoft Pen Protocol stylus will work.

Microsoft Surface Book 3 (15-inch) review

The surface book 3 is a magical laptop/tablet hybrid but past shortcomings haven't been addressed.

Laptop Mag Verdict

Microsoft's Surface Book 3 isn't much of an upgrade but it remains the best solution for those who need a tablet and laptop in one device.

High-res display gets very bright

Attractive looks and premium feel

Comfortable keyboard

Long battery life (in laptop mode)

Reliable IR camera

Thick and heavy

Middling performance for its class

No Thunderbolt 3 and only one USB-C

Why you can trust Laptop Mag Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test .

Price : $2,799 CPU : Intel Core i7-1065G7 GPU : Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti RAM : 32GB Storage : 512GB Display : 15-inch, 3240 x 2160-pixel Battery : 11:10 (laptop); 3:27 (tablet) Size : 13.5 x 9.9 x 0.90 inches Weight : 4.2 pounds

I've always wanted to own a Surface Book. It has always felt to me like the best version of what so many companies have tried to create: a device that acts as both a laptop and a tablet. Even today, the Surface Book 3 is the only product where you get a full tablet and laptop in a single package. For that reason, the Surface Book 3 ($2,299 starting, reviewed at $2,799) is a compelling device, even though not much has changed in the 2.5 years since the release of the Surface Book 2. 

What prevented me from ever buying a Surface Book -- its extremely high price -- remains a problem. The 15-inch Surface Book 3 starts at $2,229 and goes well beyond $3,000 once you've configured it to your liking. On top of that, the unique form factor has its limitations; The Surface Book 3 is thick and heavy and its performance is outclassed by other systems. 

But if budget isn't an issue and you want a laptop and tablet in one, then the Surface Book 3 is unrivaled. It's a capable machine with a gorgeous display, premium design and very comfortable keyboard. Battery life is also a bright spot as long as you're in laptop mode. And while it isn't the quickest, the Surface Book 3's discrete Nvidia GPU gives a boost to content creators and gamers. That's enough to land it on our best video editing laptops page.

Microsoft Surface Book 3 price and configuration options

If you're reading this review then you're probably considering buying the Surface Book 3. My advice to you? Start saving now. The Surface Book 3 comes in 13-inch and 15-inch versions, which start at $1,599 and $2,299, respectively. 

We were sent the 15-inch model so we'll look at the cost of the larger version. The base model comes with an Intel Core i7-1065G7 CPU, 16GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q GPU. Our $2,799 review unit upped the ante with 32GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. On the high end, there is a $3,399 version with a Core i7 CPU, 32GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD. And if you want to go for broke (literally), you can get a similar config with a 1TB SSD and Nvidia Quadro RTX 3000 GPU with Max-Q for $3,699.

Microsoft Surface Book 3 design

The Surface Book 3 looks like it was cut from a slab of concrete. Matte-gray magnesium coats the chassis and has a subtle texture that feels like paper when you glide your fingers across it. 

Microsoft adopted the same mindset as Apple, opting for a simple, unassuming design. To that end, the only notable element on the Surface Book 3 is a reflective Microsoft logo centered on the lid. If you look closely, you'll notice some slight curves on the edges of the deck, and there is a notch on the front edge to help you lift the lid. Otherwise, the deck, keyboard and tablet are all smooth, plain gray surfaces while the touchpad is a silvery shade.  

I don't mind the simple appearance. The Surface Book 3 looks classy, feels premium and adheres to the design language seen across Surface products. The Surface Book 3 also does a wonderful job of resisting fingerprints, which is a rare ability for a laptop. I just wish Microsoft had modernized a few things. 

Instead, the company failed to make any meaningful changes after 2.5 years between releases. There is still an unsightly gap between the lid and deck when the laptop is closed, and the bezels surrounding the screen are thick. If those frames had been trimmed down a bit, Microsoft could also have reduced the overall size of the machine. 

As with the previous models, the standout feature of the Surface Book 3 is the detachable display. With the press of a key, you can detach the 15-inch panel and use it as a discrete tablet . This means that, unlike most laptops, the Surface Book 3's components are housed in the lid, not the bottom portion. 

The tablet detaches with a firm yank and reattaches when you line up the connectors and prongs with those on the deck. Removing the tablet is a two-handed operation -- one holds the deck down while the other pulls upward. The display has some heft to it so you'll need to flex those muscles when removing the tablet. 

Connecting the tablet and the deck is what Microsoft calls a "dynamic fulcrum hinge." This is the third generation of this laptop and the hinge still leaves an unsightly gap between the lid and the keyboard when the laptop is closed. It's ugly and it leaves the keyboard exposed to debris when you stuff the Surface Book 3 into your bag. Also, the screen wobbles when you tap on the touchscreen, undermining what is an otherwise sturdy laptop. 

Another issue with the accordion hinge is that it extends the deck of the laptop. Factor in the thick bezels and the 4.3-pound Surface Book 3 stands at 13.5 x 9.9 x 0.9 inches, which is thicker than the Dell XPS 15 (14.1 x 9.3 x 0.7 inches, 4.2 pounds), the Lenovo Yoga C940 (14 x 9.4 x 0.8 inches, 4.4 pounds), the Apple MacBook Pro (14.1 x 9.7 x 0.6 inches, 4.3 pounds) and the Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (13.4 x 9.6 x 0.6 inches, 3.4 pounds). 

Microsoft Surface Book 3 ports 

A single USB-C port isn't good enough on a 15-inch laptop designed for content creators. Worse yet, Microsoft's bizarre security fears mean this isn't even a Thunderbolt 3 input, so I couldn't connect to the 4K Dell monitor I'm reviewing. 

Moving past that disappointment, on the left side of the laptop are two USB 3.1 ports and an SD card slot. 

Look on the right side and you'll find the single USB-C port next to a Surface Connect port. There is a second Surface Connect port on the bottom of the tablet and a headphone jack on the top-right corner. It's a little thing, but using wired headphones in laptop mode is awkward because the wire travels from the top edge of the screen.

Microsoft Surface Book 3 display

This is the same 15-inch display used on the Surface Book 2 and it's a good one. The 3240 x 2160-resolution means you get a very sharp image and the 3:2 aspect ratio is great for web browsing or writing reports. 

It won't replace going to a theater, but your favorite movies and shows will look vibrant and detailed on the Surface Book 3. In the trailer for Wonder Woman 1984, the superhero's metal armor shimmered a vivacious red, like a sports car with a fresh coat of paint. 

That dense layer of pixels captures such a sharp image that I could see "Casio" written on a watch Gal Gadot gifts to Chris Pine's character. The retro hues throughout the trailer were punchy and the screen was bright enough to distract me from the reflections bouncing off its glossy finish.

I'm surprised our colorimeter only clocked the Surface Book 3's screen at 101% of the sRGB color gamut . Content creators might be disappointed by that color coverage considering the displays on the XPS 15 (115%), the Yoga C940 (105%), the Surface Laptop 3 (105%) and the 16-inch MacBook Pro (114%) are all more vivid. The average for the premium laptop category is 121%. 

The Surface Book 3's screen regained some footing when we tested for brightness . It reached an impressive 402 nits, making it more luminous than the panels on the XPS 15 (371 nits), the Surface Laptop 3 (366 nits) and the average premium laptop (368 nits). The screens on the Yoga C940 (432 nits) and MacBook Pro (429 nits) are brighter. 

Microsoft Surface Book 3 keyboard and touchpad

The keyboard looks undersized on the Surface Book 3's wide deck, but it's surprisingly comfortable to type on. 

The keys are snappy and they deliver a decent amount of travel considering how thin the deck is. There is a nice heftiness to each keystroke, which is rewarded with a satisfying tactile bump. Microsoft could have used the extra space to spread the keys out more, regardless, my fingers never felt cramped as I wrote this review.  

Microsoft chose a transparent font that doesn't contrast well against the silver keycaps. This could be problematic for hunt-and-peck typists who need visual aids. Fortunately, the keys have three levels of backlighting, the highest of which is pretty bright. There isn't a " switch displays" shortcut key on the Surface Book 3 so you'll need to use Windows key + P instead. 

I typed at 122 words per minute with a 97% accuracy on the 10FastFingers.com typing test. This is one of my best results, topping my usual 119-wmp with a 5% error rate. 

There is so much room on the deck of the Surface Book 3, and yet the 4.1 x 2.7-inch touchpad isn't any bigger than what you'd find on a 13-inch laptop. Case in point: the smallest 13-inch laptop around, the XPS 13 , has a 4.4 x 2.6-inch touchpad. I hope Microsoft expands the surface on the next model because, apart from its size, it works really well. The touchpad had no problems tracking my swift swipes or Windows 10 gestures , like pinch-to-zoom or three-finger swipe to change windows. 

 Microsoft Surface Book 3 tablet mode

As previously mentioned, you can remove the tablet section of the Surface Book 3 by pressing a key and lifting the screen up. As a tablet, the Surface Book 3 is comically large. I don't mind the size because the magnesium chassis keeps things fairly lightweight. However, Microsoft could have done more. I really wish the lid had a kickstand à la Surface Pro 7. Without it, you either have to hold the massive screen or put it on a flat surface. 

Also, the bottom portion of the Surface Book 3 doesn't connect to the tablet wirelessly, so you have to buy a separate Bluetooth keyboard to avoid using the on-screen keyboard. Yes, you can reconnect the tablet to the base and use it as a laptop, but anyone using the optional $99 Surface Pen stylus in tablet mode will lose keyboard support. 

Microsoft Surface Book 3 audio

Because the Surface Book 3 has to function as a full-blown tablet, the speakers are on the lid instead of on the deck. Fortunately, the design restriction doesn't sacrifice audio quality. The dual speakers, located on each side of the screen, produce crisp, balanced sound. 

The speakers kept up with the frenetic pacing of Jessie Reyez's debut album "Before Love Came to Kill Us" as it jumped from one genre to the next. Her delicate vocals in ballads like "Love in the Dark" were tender and smooth while the speakers captured her grittiness in explicit tracks like "Dope." In the latter, the heavy bass notes accompanying her rapping weren't thumping on the Surface Book 3, but there was enough weight to give the aggressive track the energy it needed.

Microsoft Surface Book 3 performance

The Surface Book 3 performed well in my testing but the price-to-performance ratio is a problem. That's because the Surface Book 3 relies on Intel Core U-series chips (15W) instead of the beefier 45W H-series processors found in the XPS 15 and MacBook Pro.  

For most users, the Surface Book 3's Intel Core i7-1065G7 CPU offers plenty of power, especially when paired with 32GB of RAM . There wasn't a hint of lag after I loaded 25 tabs in the new Edge browser and played four 1080p YouTube videos while streaming a pair of Twitch feeds. 

The Surface Book 3 relies on Ice Lake chips so its computing performance can't keep up with laptops that use Comet Lake processors or H-series chips. We proved as much in our benchmarks when the Surface Book 3 notched a 3,831 on the Geekbench 5.0 test. Not only is that short of what the Surface Laptop 3 (4,883), Yoga C940 (5,530), XPS 15 (6,174) and MacBook Pro (7,201) achieved, but it doesn't even hit the average (4,224). 

We then tasked the Surface Book 3 to convert a 4K video to 1080p resolution using the Handbrake app. It did so in 21 minutes and 31 seconds, which is far slower than the XPS 15 (10:15), Surface Laptop 3 (17:18), Yoga C940 (11:11) and MacBook Pro (8:00). The average is 18 minutes and 35 seconds. 

• Laptops with the best performance

We've slammed Microsoft in the past for using slow storage drives in its pricey laptops. This time, however, the 512GB PCIe SSD in the Surface Book 3 is its saving grace. The drive duplicated 5GB of multimedia data in 6 seconds for a transfer time of 862.6 megabytes per second. The XPS 15 (726 MBps), Surface Laptop 3 (508.9 MBps), Yoga C940 (463 MBps) couldn't keep the same pace. The premium laptop average is 426.6 MBps. 

Microsoft Surface Book 3 graphics

The Surface Book 3, with its Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti with Max-Q GPU (4GB of vRAM ), offers much better performance than the previous GTX 1650 graphics card, even though it doesn't have the RTX chip we were hoping for. For videographers, designers or engineers who need even more oomph, Microsoft now offers a Quadro option with a Quadro RTX 3000 GPU. 

The Surface Book 3 proved in our benchmarks that it can play demanding games at high frame rates. The GTX 1660 Ti drove the Sid Meier's Civilization VI: Gathering Storm benchmark (1080p, Very High) at 63 frames per second and hit well above our 30fps threshold when we cranked the resolution up to 4K. 

• Best gaming laptops of 2020

It did a good job on the more demanding Shadow of the Tomb Raider test, playing the action-adventure at 55fps on 1080p at the highest graphics settings. In this case, 4K was too much for the Surface Book 3, which hit its ceiling at only 20 fps. 

Microsoft's shape-shifting system narrowly topped the XPS 15 (42 fps) on the GTA V test, playing the game at a smooth 55fps on Very High at 1080p.

Microsoft Surface Book 3 battery life

The Surface Book 3 has excellent battery life . The laptop lasted for 11 hours and 10 minutes on our battery test, which involves continuous web surfing over Wi-Fi at 150 nits. It topped the Surface Laptop 3 (9:32), Yoga C940 (8:46) and MacBook Pro (10:55), and only lost out to the XPS 15 (11:53). 

Tablet mode is a different story. As a tablet, the Surface Book 3 only gets 3 hours and 27 minutes of battery life. That poor runtime isn't surprising considering the powerful components and high-resolution touchscreen.

Microsoft Surface Book 3 cameras and Windows Hello

If I didn't know better, I'd have guessed the below selfie taken with the Surface Book 3 was actually shot on an external webcam . That's how good the 5-megapixel front-facing camera is. I'd go so far as to say that the Surface Book 3 is one of few laptops I'd use for video conferences on Zoom or Teams without my trusty Logitech C920 . 

The photo I took of my face was colorful and detailed. I could see strands of hair sticking up, reminding me a haircut is due the moment this pandemic lockdown ends. The lens even caught the flush color in my face from a recent sunburn and the blue/green in my eyes.  

On the back of the tablet is a capable 8MP camera. It takes decent shots but flounders in extreme lighting conditions. This photo I took in my kitchen is sharp -- you can see the writing on the honey and balsamic labels -- but there is a lot of visual noise. A shot I took of white roses on a bright day was blown out. 

An IR camera on the top bezel makes logging in a breeze. Setting up facial recognition in Windows Hello saved me the effort of typing a password each time I turned on the laptop. The feature worked instantly and had no problems recognizing me with a hat on or in low-light conditions.

Microsoft Surface Book 3 heat 

The bottom portion of the Surface Book 3 stays cool because all of the components are in the tablet section. This works out well because the parts you touch with your fingers -- the touchpad (74 degrees Fahrenheit) and keyboard (76 degrees) -- remained well below our 95-degree comfort threshold. The tablet got warm when we played a 15-minute, 1080p video but even the hottest part, the Microsoft logo on the back, heated to only 91 degrees. 

Microsoft Surface Book 3 software and warranty

This is pure Windows 10 Home without pre-installed third-party apps taking up precious storage space. Of the apps that come loaded on Windows 10 , the new Edge is the most interesting. Now arriving in an update to all Windows 10 PCs, the browser is very similar to Chrome because it is built on the same engine. 

• How to Use Windows 10

We have guides on how to download Edge, how to import everything from Chrome , and where to download extensions . Other apps installed on the Surface Book 3 include Microsoft's Office suite, Xbox and Windows Security . Your Phone is another standout as it lets you link your phone to view and reply to texts or make and receive calls.

The Surface Book 3 comes with a one-year warranty. See how Microsoft did on our Best and Worst Brands and Tech Support Showdown special reports. 

Bottom line

I started this review by admitting the Surface Book used to be my dream laptop. That luster has faded over the years, and Microsoft hasn't done much to give this unique 2-in-1 a new polish. And while it's the only device to offer a genuine laptop and tablet in one package, there are limitations to each of its forms.

Let's get this out of the way: owning a Surface Book 3 isn't the same as owning a Surface Pro 7 and Surface Laptop 3. As a laptop, the Surface Book 3 is thicker and heavier than the clamshell Surface Laptop 3. And in tablet mode, there is no kickstand for viewing content so you're stuck holding an unwieldy 15-inch screen. 

Despite these caveats, some of which are inherent to its daring form factor, the Surface Book 3 is still a device I would love to own. It has a gorgeous display, a premium design, powerful discrete graphics, and an extremely comfortable keyboard. The battery life is also great in laptop mode and the speakers produce surprisingly good audio quality. Sure, other laptops deliver in those same areas, but none of them offer the same utility as the Surface Book 3.  

If you don't need a tablet, then you can probably find better options. The XPS 15 is more powerful, smaller and gets even better battery life. The MacBook Pro is another good choice for power users if its exorbitant price isn't a problem. You should also consider the Intel version of the Surface Laptop 3, which gets similar performance to the Surface Book 3 and has an even sleeker design.

Phillip Tracy is the assistant managing editor at Laptop Mag where he reviews laptops, phones and other gadgets while covering the latest industry news. After graduating with a journalism degree from the University of Texas at Austin, Phillip became a tech reporter at the Daily Dot. There, he wrote reviews for a range of gadgets and covered everything from social media trends to cybersecurity. Prior to that, he wrote for RCR Wireless News covering 5G and IoT. When he's not tinkering with devices, you can find Phillip playing video games, reading, traveling or watching soccer.

How to watch Apple's "Let Loose" event on Tuesday

Apple Memorial Day sale 2024: MacBook, iPad, Apple Watch, AirPods, more

How to get Paramount Plus for free to watch all 6 episodes of Knuckles

Most Popular

Microsoft Surface Book 3 review: Still relevant?

It looks familiar, because it is: Microsoft's Surface Book 3 is mostly just new under the hood

The third-generation of the Microsoft Surface Book 3 remains a stunning physical specimen with world-beating engineering and a unique feature set. However, it's very expensive compared to the conventional laptops that will be a better fit for most user's needs.

Gorgeous engineering

Unique feature set

Fully detachable tablet functionality

Discrete Nvidia graphics

Very expensive

Not especially fast

Slightly chunky

Battery life is only adequate

Why you can trust T3 Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test .

When Microsoft launched the original Surface Book back in 2015 there was nothing quite like it. Fast-forward nearly six years and you get the Microsoft Surface Book 3, which looks physically identical. And there's still nothing quite like it.

Inside, there's been significant change, however, with new processors, upgraded memory and the addition of relatively high-performance graphics too. Is it enough to make the Surface Book 3 one of the best laptops around? Has time forgotten what was once a radical and innovative portable PC with fully detachable tablet functionality and novel engineering? That's what we're here to find out.

It was actually over three years ago that the Surface Book 2 appeared. So, one thing is for sure: Microsoft's update cycle is pretty gentle. But then so is Apple 's when it comes to the design of its MacBook laptops. Indeed, the Surface Book shares more than just longevity with Apple's kit. It's also one of the few devices that can compete with Apple for pure build quality. This thing is beautifully put together and one of the best 2-in-1 laptops you can buy. 

Now that it has 10th Gen Intel processors, a huge 32GB hunk of RAM and Nvidia graphics, is it also compelling from a performance perspective? Time to find out.

Microsoft Surface Book 3 review: Design

Available in both 13.5-inch and 15-inch form factors, it's the 13.5-inch model we're reviewing here. It's the version that will probably have broader appeal thanks to its more manageable proportions in tablet mode. The 15-inch variant makes for an unusually large tablet.

Speaking of tablet mode, it carries with it all the same implication for design and ergonomics as previous Surface Books. The signature – and beautifully engineered – fulcrum hinge remains, as does the button for releasing the tablet from the keyboard section, though Microsoft has shortened the wait time between when you hit the button and the hinge ‘popping' to release the tablet.

Likewise the tablet functionality still results in fairly large bezels around the screen. Back in 2015, that wasn't a huge design disadvantage. Here in 2021 amidst a craze for ever slimmer bezels, it does rather date the Surface Book 3.

Nevertheless, this remains one of the very best built tablets, laptops or 2-in-1 devices on the market, with gorgeous magnesium casing and a very high quality overall feel. The fulcrum hinge is a design marvel, the keyboard bed is extremely solid and the glass-topped trackpad very precise, even if it's now looking a little small by modern standards.

There's also no denying that the heavy duty engineering results in quite a chunky device, something that's not helped by the fact the otherwise clever fulcrum hinge leaves a fair old gap between the tablet and the keyboard slab at the hinge end.

As a tablet, even this 13.5-inch model is likewise pretty hefty. All of which is fine, save for the fact that detachable tablet aspect forces the use of low-power CPUs, resulting in something of a mismatch between proportions and performance, more on which in a moment.

Microsoft Surface Book 3 review: Features

Like all previous Microsoft Surface Book 13.5-inch models, the Surface Book 3 13.5 is based around a capacitive IPS touchscreen with 3,000 by 2,000 pixels and thus a squarer-than-usual 3:2 aspect ratio.

What is new, or at least new for the Surface Book 3, is the 10th Gen Intel processor, in this case an Intel Core i7-1065G7. It's a quad-core chip with a 1.3GHz baseclock and 3.9GHz maximum single-core boost frequency. It's a chip primarily built for efficiency rather than peak performance, but with four proper Intel cores, on paper it should be able to cope with serious computing tasks rather than only being good for light web browsing and watching video.

The Core i7-1065G7 has also already been replaced by Intel's 11th Gen Tiger Lake chips, which reflects the Surface Book 3's May 2020 launch date and the fact that Microsoft tends to update Surface products on a pretty gentle schedule. Alongside the Intel processor is fully 32GB of system memory and a 512GB NVMe SSD from SK Hynix, so there's a solid foundation for all kinds of computing, including intensive multitasking.

Microsoft is also bigging up the gaming potential of this latest Surface Book model. The 15-inch model can be had with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti graphics chip. However, this 13.5-inch version tops out with a GTX 1650 GPU with 4GB of video memory. In both cases, the GPU is located in the keyboard slab.

Connectivity wise, like Surface Book 2 the third-gen model has a single USB-C port. It doesn't support Thunderbolt 3. But it can be used to charge the Surface Book 3 and supports DisplayPort 1.4 video output, creating a wide range of display connectivity options.

Of course, you can also optionally grab the Surface Dock 2, which supports fast charging, has four USB-C ports, two USB-A sockets, ethernet and can drive two 4K monitors at 60Hz. Be warned, it's pretty pricey at £259 or $259 RRP, though latterly it's been available for  £195 in the UK and $169 Stateside.

Rounding out the main features are a 5MP front facing webcam, an 8MP rear facing camera and upgraded far-field microphones. Oh, and the same inking support as the Surface Book 2. So, that's 4,096 levels of pressure, claimed 21 millisecond latency and support for Microsoft's Surface Pen, which is available separately.

Microsoft Surface Book 3 review: Performance

The Intel Core i7-1065G7 quad-core CPU is a known quantity and performs very much in line with expectations fitted to the Surface Book 3. It's a strong all-round performer with particularly good single-core performance, which makes for a snappy-feeling experience in Windows.

However, it's a long way off the fastest mobile CPUs, like AMD's Ryzen 5000 series chips, for multi-threaded throughput. As a content creation device, therefore, the Surface Book 3 is a bit of a mixed bag. CPU performance is only adequate, but it is augmented by a reasonable graphics chip, which comes in handy for applications that support GPU acceleration, such as certain workflows and filters in the Adobe suite.

While we're talking graphics, the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 graphics is good for a little light gaming. If, say, you're a Fortnite addict and want to keep your hand in while travelling, it'll get the job done. But don't expect to run Cyberpunk 2077 with all the graphical bells and whistles in full visual symphony. It simply doesn't have the grunt for that, not even close.

That said, the 32GB of RAM ensures that the Surface Book 3 as configured here is a true multitasking beast. You can open browser tabs with abandon without any fear of running out of memory. The 512GB NVMe SSD is good for 2GB/s read speeds and around 780MB/s writes. That's not exactly cutting edge, but again it will be plenty for most users.

But what of that 13.5-inch touchscreen? Back in 2015, it was a pretty impressive panel, with its 3,000 by 2,000 pixel resolution and accurate IPS-drive colours. Subjectively, it doesn't seem to have moved on a great deal since and is now a decent rather than remarkable panel. It's not as punchy or contrasty as the best laptop screens today.

Inking input is obviously another aspect of the Surface Book 3's screen. As before, it's slick, precise and satisfying, if subjectively a little laggier than the claimed 21 millisecond response would have you expect.

As for audio quality, the Surface Book 3's integrated speakers are above average, but won't scare a Macbook or iPad for dynamic range. The front-facing webcam, meanwhile, is likewise slightly better than the norm for a laptop, but still pretty disappointing when you consider that most smartphones offer superior selfie cams. 

Finally, thanks to dual batteries, one in the tablet section and one in the keyboard slab, Microsoft claims up to 15 and a half hours of battery life. Quite how that is achieved isn't clear. In our testing with the screen at two thirds brightness while looping high quality 1080p video, it lasts around eight hours. That's decent, but well behind what the best conventional laptops with otherwise similar specifications can achieve.

Microsoft Surface Book 3 review: Verdict

In many ways, the Surface Book 3 still defies easy categorisation and straightforward comparisons. That's true years on from its original launch and despite the fact that its design has barely changed.

It remains one of the best built portable PCs on the market and offers a unique set of features, including the combination of full tablet functionality, plus discrete graphics, an unusual form factor and compatibility with various Microsoft Surface peripherals, including the Surface Pen.

If it maps well with your workflows, especially if you value true tablet functionality and pen input highly, then there probably isn't anything that comes close. For everyone else, it's rather expensive and compromised. Prices have come down recently though, which may help your buying decision.

Apple is expected to announce new iPad Pro models, a giant iPad Air, and more – follow it all live

By Rik Henderson Published 7 May 24

A new iPad mini is in the works and it's expected to be a very significant upgrade

By Carrie Marshall Published 7 May 24

Everything you need to be in control on campus

By Andy Sansom Published 18 April 24

New Microsoft Surface devices are on the way

By Max Freeman-Mills Published 6 March 24

Lenovo set to announce a unique laptop at MWC

By Andy Sansom Published 9 February 24

Subscription plan offers the best AI tools to all Office app users

By Max Freeman-Mills Published 16 January 24

AI is changing the way computers function

By Andy Sansom Published 8 January 24

Plenty of new machines are on the way

By Andy Sansom Published 5 January 24

There's something special under the hood

By Andy Sansom Published 14 December 23

Microsoft launches a trio of new Surface devices – Laptop Studio 2, Laptop Go 3, and Go 4 2-in-1

By Rik Henderson Published 22 September 23

Useful links

• When is the next Prime Day?
• Best 5G phones
• Best VPN services
• Best laptops
• Best smartphones
• Best mattresses
• Best phone deals
• Best mattress deals
• Best TV deals
• Discount codes

Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 review

The 15-inch surface laptop 5 isn't as good as it should be.

Tom's Guide Verdict

The 15-inch Surface Laptop 5 feels like such a mixed improvement over last year's model that it's hard to recommend, though it remains a solid Windows 11 laptop for day-to-day work.

Spacious, comfy keyboard

Good speakers

3:2 display great for productivity

Finally, Thunderbolt 4 support

Outdated design

Underwhelming performance

Middling battery life

720p webcam is a letdown

Why you can trust Tom's Guide Our writers and editors spend hours analyzing and reviewing products, services, and apps to help find what's best for you. Find out more about how we test, analyze, and rate.

CPU: Intel Core i7-1255U RAM: 16GB Display: 15-inch touchscreen, 2496 x 1664 (201 PPI) Storage: 512GB SSD Ports: 1x USB-C/Thunderbolt 4, 1x USB-A, Surface Connect port, headphone jack Battery life: 9:50 (tested) | Up to 17 hours (Microsoft's claim) Wireless: Wi-Fi 6/Bluetooth 5.1 Dimensions: 13.4 x 9.6 x 0.58 inches Weight: 3.4 pounds Price: $1,799 as configured, $999 (13.5-inch) | $1,299 (15-inch) starting

The Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 ($999 to start) has arrived, and it bears a striking resemblance to last year's Surface Laptop 4.

Sadly, that semblance is more than skin-deep. While the new Surface Laptop 5 improves upon its predecessors by offering Thunderbolt 4 support, faster RAM and a more modern Intel 12th Gen CPU, little else has changed inside this sleek ultraportable. In fact, battery life and some areas of performance have actually gotten worse, according to our testing.

That's not necessarily a problem if you just need a big, spacious Windows 11 laptop to get work done, but it makes the Surface Laptop 5 hard to recommend over last year's (now discounted) model, much less the best laptops on the market. 

Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 review: Price and release date

• Starts at $999 for 13-inch, $1,299 for 15-inch
• Our 15-inch unit with Core i7/16GB/512GB is $1,799

Microsoft's Surface Laptop 5 is available for order right now via Microsoft's website at a starting price of $999 for the 13-inch model and $1,299 for the 15-inch version.

For that you get a Surface Laptop 5 in your chosen size with a 12th Gen Intel i5 CPU, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. The entry-level models are only available in the default Platinum color scheme, and only the 13.5-inch model comes with Alcantara fabric lining on the keyboard deck. All models come with Gorilla Glass 5 displays except for those with Alcantara fabric lining, which have Gorilla Glass 3.

If you want to upgrade to a model with a better CPU, more memory, more storage or a different color scheme, you can expect to pay up to $1,699 for a fully tricked-out 13.5-inch Surface Laptop 5 and up to $2,399 for the 15-inch version. 

The 13.5-inch Surface Laptop 5 can be upgraded with up to a 12th Gen Intel Core i7 CPU, up to 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD, and you can get upgraded models in your choice of Platinum, Sage (green), Black or Sandstone (brown). However, only the Platinum models come with Alcantara fabric lining. 

The larger 15-inch Surface Laptop 5 has similar upgrade potential, except it offers more potential memory and fewer color options. You can get a 15-inch Surface Laptop 5 with up to a 12th Gen Intel Core i7 CPU, 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. However, the only colors it comes in are Platinum and Black, with no Alcantara fabric lining options. 

For the purposes of this review Microsoft sent us a Platinum 15-inch Surface Laptop 5 with an Intel Core i7-1255U CPU, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. You'd pay roughly $1,799 to buy the same laptop direct from Microsoft.

Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 review: Design

• Last year's dated design looks even older on this year's model
• Minimal branding, which is still great

If the Surface Laptop 5 looks familiar, it's because it's nearly identical to the Surface Laptop 4 , and the Surface Laptop 3 , and the Surface Laptop 2, and...you get the idea. Like the Surface Laptop 4, the new 13.5-inch Surface Laptop 5 measures 12.1 x 8.8 x 0.57 inches and weighs 2.86 pounds, or a slightly lighter 2.8 pounds if you opt for a model with Alcantara fabric.

While the Surface Laptop 5 remains as sleek and professional-looking as its predecessors, the wide black bezels surrounding the 13.5-inch PixelSense display are still too thick for my liking. While this is ultimately a cosmetic concern that doesn't influence the laptop's performance or utility, I find eye-catching bezels like these tend to take me out of the experience of watching a movie or playing a game. Now that the best Windows laptops from vendors like Acer, Asus, Dell and HP commonly sport hair-thin bezels around beautiful displays (many with OLED options), the Surface Laptop's design looks more dated by the day.

That said, when you shut the lid the Surface Laptop 5 looks like a svelte, no-nonsense Windows laptop. I've always liked the minimal branding Microsoft applies to its Surface devices, and our 15-inch Laptop 5 review unit is no exception. On the top you'll find the usual reflective Windows logo, and on the bottom the Microsoft brand is embossed along the back edge near the hinge alongside some fine print. Beyond that there's little to mar the Surface Laptop 5's pristine metal finish save for the vent that runs along the hinge.

Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 review: Ports

• Still just USB-A, USB-C and a headphone jack
• Thunderbolt 4 support is a welcome new feature

The port array on the Surface Laptop 5 is nearly identical to last year's model. You get one USB-A 3.1 port, one USB-C 4.0/Thunderbolt 4 port, a 3.5mm audio jack and the Surface Connect power port. The Surface Connect port is on the righthand side of the laptop and the rest of the ports are on the left, which means it gets cable-heavy on the left when you take advantage of all the ports.

Here the dated design of the Surface Laptop offers a minor benefit in the form of that USB-A port. Despite the prevalence of USB-A accessories (my mic, keyboard and mouse all connect via USB-A), these ports are becoming increasingly rare on modern laptops. It's the price of progress, but the Surface Laptop 5 keeps one foot in the past and, in the process, lets you keep using your old accessories.

The USB-C port also now supports Thunderbolt 4, a feature I dearly missed on last year's Surface Laptop 4. Thunderbolt 4 support makes the Surface Laptop 5 a more competent laptop capable of interfacing with more powerful devices, including 4K 60Hz external displays and high-speed external storage.

While I would have liked to see Microsoft change up the design of the Surface Laptop 5 a bit more and add more ports (or at least relocate some of them off the left side), what you do get is more than enough to be productive and use both old and new peripherals. 

Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 review: Display

• 3:2 aspect ratio remains good for productivity
• Gets brighter than last year's model, which had terrible glare issues

The 15-inch (2,496 x 1,664 pixels, 201 PPI) touchscreen on our Surface Laptop 5 review unit is a great canvas on which to get things done. The tall 3:2 display ratio makes reading long documents or spreadsheets feel more comfortable than it would on a shorter, fatter 16:9 or 16:10 display. The sensors in the display do a great job of accurately detecting touch input, and I never once had trouble tapping and swiping my way through the more touch-friendly design of Windows 11.

When we pointed our testing equipment at it we found the 15-inch Surface Laptop 5 screen displayed 101.6% of the sRGB color gamut (100% is most accurate, higher tends to look more vibrant) and 72% of the DCI-P3 color gamut. Those are decent numbers, albeit a little lower than what we saw on the 15-inch Surface Laptop 4 (109.8% sRGB, 77.8% DCI-P3). As much as we love to see numbers go up here at Tom's Guide, the difference here is pretty negligible and not worth worrying about unless you plan to do a lot of photo/video editing. To my eyes, games and movies look plenty colorful on the Surface Laptop 5 display.

In terms of brightness our review unit display achieved an average maximum brightness level of 393.8 nits, maxing out around 442 nits in the upper right quadrant. That's brighter than last year's model, which offered an average brightness of 334.4 nits that peaked around 351 in the same location. 

This jump in brightness is great news because one of the big drawbacks of last year's Surface Laptop 4 was the underwhelming brightness of its display, which led to loads of reflections and glare when using it outdoors or under bright lights. This year's model is a bit better, though it's still difficult to use outdoors or in bright light without being foiled by glare.

But as nice as it is to see Microsoft improving upon the display year-over-year, the Surface Laptop 5 still falls short of some competitors. The $1,499 Acer Swift 5 (2022) , for example, sports a 14-inch (2,560 x 1,600) touchscreen with a slightly higher PPI than the Surface Laptop 5, and it can get brighter and cover more of the DCI-P3 color gamut than the display on Microsoft's latest laptop.

Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 review: Keyboard and touchpad

• Big, spacious keyboard feels comfy to type on
• Touchpad works well enough

I loved the spacious layout and satisfying 1.3mm travel of the 15-inch Surface Laptop 4's keyboard, and I'm pleased to report Microsoft didn't mess with a good thing. This time around the keyboard is still nice and big, with enough space between keys that my big mitts didn't feel cramped while typing out this review. 

The 4.6 x 3.1-inch glass touchpad beneath the keyboard is just as competent, reliably registering my taps and clicks as I used it to navigate through my work. It also had no trouble picking up my Windows 11 gesture commands, allowing me to swipe and tap through day-to-day tasks with ease.

Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 review: Audio

• Speakers get nice and loud, with little distortion
• Dolby Atmos support is key, bass is weak otherwise

I think last year's Surface Laptop 4 sounded surprisingly good for a laptop, and this year's model is no different. That may be because it appears to have essentially the same design as last year's model, packing a pair of omnisonic speakers with Dolby Atmos support beneath the keyboard which project sound up and out at you. 

Those speakers do a great job of getting loud without distorting the sound quality, as I discovered when I subjected my neighbors to the KLF's "3 AM Eternal" at maximum volume. Regrettably, they leave something to be desired in the bass department.

Whatever bass you do feel is chiefly due to the Dolby Atmos support, and if you switch it off (it's enabled by default) you'll notice the sound quality of the Surface Laptop 5's speakers gets distinctively tinny. 

But then, why would you ever want to switch off such a key feature? Certainly I enjoyed the way Dolby Atmos support seemed to add depth and heft to albums like Open Mike Eagle's "Component System with the Auto Reverse" and "Bleed Out" from The Mountain Goats.

Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 review: Performance

• 12th Gen Core i7 CPU zips past last year's model, is plenty for productivity
• But it can't compare to competitors, and forget about gaming
• Slower video encoding than last year's AMD-equipped Surface Laptop 4

Our Surface Laptop 5 review unit's 12th Gen Intel Core i7 CPU and 16GB of RAM give it more than enough speed to juggle email, spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations and other typical office tasks. But if you want to do more than that, you might want something a bit more powerful.

When we put it through our gauntlet of performance tests, I'm sad to say it actually performed a bit worse in some tests than last year's model. Not in the Geekbench 5.4 multi-core CPU benchmark, though—there, the Alder Lake i7 in our Surface Laptop 5 review unit earned a score of 8,709, speeding past the 6,748 earned by the AMD-equipped 15-inch Surface Laptop 4 we tested last year.

That said, the Surface Laptop 5 has a hard time keeping up with similarly-priced and -sized competitors like Acer's Swift 5 (2022) or the Dell XPS 15 OLED (2022), which blazed through the same multi-core CPU benchmark test with scores of 9,859 and 11,258, respectively. 

The  512GB SSD in our 15-inch Surface Laptop 5 review unit performed well enough when we tasked it with duplicating 25GB of multimedia files, achieving file transfer speeds of up to 838.5 MBps . That’s a big speed boost over the SSD in last year's 15-inch Surface Laptop 4, which managed a paltry 372.4 MBps. But if you really care about SSD speeds it's hard to compare Microsoft's latest Surface with Acer's Swift 5, which achieve a blazing-fast 1,673 MBps in the same test.

However, if you care about video editing I have bad news—our tests suggest the Surface Laptop 5 is actually a bit less capable in this department than last year's AMD-equipped model. When we tasked it with transcoding a 4K video down to 1080p in Handbrake, the 15-inch Surface Laptop 5 did it in 8 minutes and 46 seconds, 25 seconds longer than it took last year's model (8:21) to complete the same task. Acer's Swift 5 and the Dell XPS 15 both outperformed the Surface Laptops here, the former delivering the transcoded video file over a minute faster despite being $300 cheaper than our Surface Laptop 5 review unit.

Of course, if you plan to be working with video regularly I recommend you also consider Apple's beastly 16-inch MacBook Pro 2021 with M1 Max, which is more expensive than the Surface Laptop 5 but did the same task in nearly half the time (4:48).

If you have hopes of playing games on your Surface Laptop 5, I recommend you keep them modest. When we ran the graphical benchmark utility in Sid Meier's Civilization VI: Gathering Storm, a nearly four-year-old game, our review unit managed an average of 24.1 frames per second (fps) at 1080p and 19.5 fps at its native 2,496 x 1,664 resolution. 

That's playable but hardly enjoyable, especially if you prefer your games to run smoothly. It's also quite a bit worse than the performance of last year's models. The 13.5-inch Surface Laptop 4 with an older 11th Gen Intel CPU managed 30.4 fps @ 1080p in the same test, while the AMD-equipped 15-inch Surface Laptop 4 managed 35.4 fps @ 1080p. 

In short, if you want to play more than simple games buy a different laptop. I recommend the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 , one of the best gaming laptops on the market right now, but even a Dell XPS 15 would be more performant.

Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 review: Webcam

• 720p webcam is a big letdown from Microsoft in 2022
• Still supports Windows Hello face sign-in

The 720p webcam that came on last year's Surface Laptop 4 was serviceable but outdated, which is why it's pretty disappointing that Microsoft didn't improve upon it this time around.

While the Surface Laptop 5's 720p HD webcam is plenty good enough to get you through a video call, it will hardly help you look your best. If you, like me, regularly chat with friends and colleagues via apps like Google Meet and Zoom, you might want to consider investing in one of the best webcams rather than relying on the Laptop 5's front-facing camera.

That said, it does still sport a Windows Hello Face Authentication camera, which uses IR tech to scan your face and verify your identify before logging you in via Windows Hello. I tested this out myself and if you like to log into your laptop with your face, you won't have any issues here.

Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 review: Battery life

• 15-inch Surface Laptop 5 lasted under 10 hours (9:50) on a full charge
• That's worse than last year's model or many competing laptops
• Quick charging at least, gaining roughly 60% after an hour plugged in

Microsoft claims you can expect up to 17 hours of performance from a fully-charged 15-inch Surface Laptop 5 before you have to plug it in to recharge, but in my hands-on testing I found that to be laughably optimistic.

Perhaps if you were to switch off as many extraneous features as possible, kill the sound and dim the display to its lowest level you might be able to get significantly more than 10 hours of usage out of a fully-charged 15-inch Surface Laptop 5. But in my experience, if you're doing things like downloading files, listening to music, playing games and switching between apps you'll find the battery on the Laptop 5 drains at a noticeable rate.

Our lab testing backs this up. When we put our 15-inch Surface Laptop 5 review unit through our in-house battery test, which tasks the laptop with endlessly surfing the web via Wi-Fi with its display brightness set to 150 nits, the Laptop 5 lasted 9 hours and 50 minutes. 

That's pretty disappointing, especially when you consider both models of Surface Laptop 4 we tested last year (a 13.5-inch packing an 11th Gen Intel chip and a 15-inch model with an AMD CPU) lasted longer in the same test (10:46 and 12:03, respectively). It also can't match modern competitors like the Acer Swift 5 (11:24) and LG Gram 17 (12:34), and if you're open to macOS you can't beat the incredible 15+ hours of battery life delivered by the 16-inch MacBook Pro 2021 with M1 Max.

One minor but important caveat: Due to Microsoft not sending us a review unit until shortly before the review embargo lifted, we only had time to run the Surface Laptop 5 through one full battery test before publishing this review. That's slightly different than our typical testing methodology, since we usually run every laptop through our battery rundown test at least twice.

However, after reviewing dozens of laptops for Tom's Guide I can tell you that I've rarely seen a laptop's performance in this test vary by more than a few minutes across different runs. We do occasionally see variance of up to an hour or two between runs though, so if we do detect any meaningful variations in the 15-inch Surface Laptop's battery life after running it through our test a few more times we'll update this review accordingly.

I will say that the Surface Laptop 5 charges pretty quickly. I ran the battery down and after plugging it in to charge, the Windows 11 battery indicator went from 9% to 77% in an hour. 

Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 review: Heat

• Expect cool temperatures unless you're gaming
• Minimal fan noise unless you're doing demanding work

I wrote this review with the Surface Laptop 5 on my lap, and over hours of simple productivity work (web browsing, writing, editing spreadsheets) it never got noticeably warm. The only time it really started to heat up was when I tried to play 3D games like Fortnite or Battletech, which proved to be quite a challenge for the Laptop 5 and caused the fan to get noticeably loud.

In our heat test, in which we scan the laptop with a heat gun after putting it to work for 15 minutes, we found the underside hit an average temperature of 94.1 degrees. The hottest spot on the underside, just left of center, hit a peak temp of 98.2 degrees. That's plenty cool enough for sustained use, and the top stays much cooler, as we measured the touchpad at just 80.1 degrees.

Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 review: Verdict

The 15-inch Surface Laptop 5 feels like such a mixed improvement over last year's model that it's hard to recommend to anyone. 

That's not to say it's a bad laptop. I carried our review unit around all day and used it to work both at home and at a cafe, and I never felt like I was carrying anything less than a thin, competent Windows 11 ultraportable. The spacious keyboard and tall screen are great for getting work done, and the fact that Microsoft improved the brightness this time around makes the Surface Laptop 5 slightly more usable outdoors than its predecessor. The newly-added Thunderbolt 4 support is also welcome, especially if you like to use external displays, and the upgrade to faster RAM and a 12th Gen Intel CPU delivers clear improvements in performance benchmarks.

But those are the only meaningful upgrades Microsoft appears to have delivered over last year's model, and they don't do enough to keep the Surface Laptop 5 competitive with the best Windows laptops on the market. As you can see from our in-house testing, you can generally get better performance and more useful features for your money from competitors like the Acer Swift 5 and Dell XPS 15 OLED. The former is $300 cheaper than our Laptop 5 review unit yet outperforms it by most metrics, while the latter can be more expensive yet offers you upgrades like a discrete Nvidia GPU (great for gaming) and an OLED screen which makes just about anything on it look better.

So while the Surface Laptop 5 is still a very serviceable laptop, it's a disappointing step forward from Microsoft. This is the company that Windows built, and it would be great to see it take a leading role in designing the ideal Windows 11 laptop. Sadly, the Surface Laptop 5 ain't it.

Alex Wawro is a lifelong tech and games enthusiast with more than a decade of experience covering both for outlets like Game Developer, Black Hat, and PC World magazine. A lifelong PC builder, he currently serves as a senior editor at Tom's Guide covering all things computing, from laptops and desktops to keyboards and mice. 

Forget the new MacBook Air — these Surface devices are up to $540 off at Best Buy

Hurry! Microsoft is knocking up to $500 off the Surface Laptop 5 right now

Apple's under-display Face ID rumored to be delayed to 2026 — here's why

Most Popular

'ZDNET Recommends': What exactly does it mean?

ZDNET's recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing.

When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or service, we may earn affiliate commissions. This helps support our work, but does not affect what we cover or how, and it does not affect the price you pay. Neither ZDNET nor the author are compensated for these independent reviews. Indeed, we follow strict guidelines that ensure our editorial content is never influenced by advertisers.

ZDNET's editorial team writes on behalf of you, our reader. Our goal is to deliver the most accurate information and the most knowledgeable advice possible in order to help you make smarter buying decisions on tech gear and a wide array of products and services. Our editors thoroughly review and fact-check every article to ensure that our content meets the highest standards. If we have made an error or published misleading information, we will correct or clarify the article. If you see inaccuracies in our content, please report the mistake via this form .

Microsoft Surface in 2022: What do we want, and what do we expect?

Nearly 10 years ago, on a hot June afternoon, I was standing on a Los Angeles street corner waiting to be let into a top-secret Microsoft briefing. On the floor, someone had chalked a line of rectangles, leading to the door. What did they mean? 

Those rectangles were the first sign of what was to become Microsoft's line of Surface devices, at first with the familiar 16:9 aspect ratio, but soon transitioning to a more tablet- and document-friendly 3:2. That display has been the heart of Surface and is key to understanding how Microsoft thinks of its devices: a surface where we interact with applications and content. 

Top: Surface RT (2012). Above: Surface Pro (2013).

The LA launch  (which was not gremlin-free ) set the scene for Microsoft's arrival in the PC hardware market, with slim, lightweight tablets and removable keyboards, plus a built-in kickstand for use on desk and (more awkwardly) lap. The first Surfaces were touch-first Nvidia ARM-based devices , and were shortly followed by Intel-powered Pro models with pen support.

SEE:  The best Surface PC: Which Windows 11-ready Surface device is right for you?  

Over the past decade, the Surface range has evolved from these beginnings to include laptop devices like the Surface Book and the Surface Laptop Studio, and even to foldable Surface Duo phones running Android. All have excellent displays, designed to show two documents side by side. 

Today's Surface family covers everything from robust educational laptops to slim lightweight always-connected devices, to creator-focused convertibles, to an all-in-one desktop PC and huge collaboration screens. There's a device for all budgets and for most use cases, with some models supporting 4G LTE connections and offering front-facing infrared-equipped webcams for Windows Hello facial authentication. 

Here's what the current line-up looks like.

Surface Pro 8 

The latest version of the classic Surface tablet, the Surface Pro 8 has a new design that makes it thinner and lighter, building on cues from the ARM-based Surface Pro X . It's a powerful machine, with an excellent screen and long battery life. You can add the familiar Type Cover removable keyboard, as well as a Surface Pen. 

SEE: Six reasons I'm replacing my Surface Pro 7 with a Surface Pro 8  

Microsoft Surface Pro 8

Surface pro 7+ for business.

Microsoft's business-focused Surface Pro 7+ , announced in January 2021, is the workhorse of the family. The last iteration of the design introduced with the Surface Pro 3, it was the first Intel-based Surface to have removable storage, allowing you to upgrade the built-in M.2 2230 SSD. 

SEE: Surface Pro 7+ for Business: Here's what makes it different  

Microsoft Surface Pro 7+ for Business

Surface pro x .

The return of the ARM-based Surface, the Surface Pro X is a light and powerful machine that runs full Windows and supports x86 binaries as well as ARM apps on Microsoft's own SQ2 processor (a modified version of Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2 ). The versions announced in October 2020 came with built-in 4G LTE for always-on connectivity, with Microsoft adding a more affordable (-$150) Wi-Fi-only version in September 2021. 

SEE: Microsoft Surface Pro X review: Desirable but expensive hardware, work-in-progress software  

SEE: I upgraded the SSD in a Surface Pro X. This is how it went  

Microsoft Surface Pro X

Surface go 3 .

If the Surface Pro is Microsoft's pro tablet, the Surface Go is the consumer edition. The Surface Go 3, announced in September 2021, is small and light, and best thought of as a 10.5-inch version of the larger Surface Pro, with either a Pentium Gold or Core i3 processor. It's not the most powerful tablet on the market, but it is one of the cheapest and a 4G LTE option makes it a good option for a low-cost, carry-along device. 

SEE: Microsoft Surface Go 3 review: A portable and versatile 2-in-1, but battery life disappoints  

Microsoft Surface Go 3

Surface laptop studio .

The current Surface flagship, part of the wave of new hardware announced in September 2021, is the Surface Laptop Studio , which replaces the Surface Book . Instead of a removable screen, Microsoft has added a second hinge, so you can fold the display over the keyboard, turning the Laptop Studio into a 14-inch tablet. There's plenty of horsepower too, with an 11th generation Intel processor and a discrete Nvidia GPU. 

SEE: Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio review: A true convertible, with designer appeal  

Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio

Surface laptop 4 .

The workhorse of the Surface range, the Surface Laptop 4 comes in both 13.5-inch and 15-inch versions, as well as with Intel or AMD processors. It's a great everyday machine, offering both touch and pen support in a lightweight laptop form factor. The latest versions have removable storage, making them easier to repair and upgrade. 

SEE: Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 (13.5-inch, AMD) review: Sleek, stylish, speedy and sensible  

Microsoft Surface Laptop 4

Surface laptop go .

The Surface Laptop Go is the budget Surface, built around Intel's Core i5 processor. It was the first Surface to use plastic components in its case, and also removed pen support to keep the cost down. Small and light, it's ideal for many home users and for education. Launched in October 2020, the Surface Laptop Go is among the oldest members of the current line-up. 

SEE: Surface Laptop Go: Microsoft's smaller, cheaper budget PC is easy to recommend  

Microsoft Surface Laptop Go

Surface laptop se .

Unlike the rest of the Surface family, the Surface Laptop SE isn't available through traditional consumer channels. That's because it's designed for educational users, and is the Microsoft equivalent of a school-managed Chromebook. It runs the locked-down Windows 11 SE for Education operating system, which needs to be managed through Microsoft's Intune cloud-hosted management platform. The Surface Laptop SE was announced in 2021, but only became available for purchase from educational suppliers in early 2022 . 

SEE: Microsoft introduces Windows 11 SE, new $250 Surface Laptop SE for education market  

Surface Duo 2 

When Microsoft cancelled its Andromeda project , it was assumed the Surface phone would never appear. However, we're now two generations into Microsoft's folding phone experiment, with the Surface Duo 2 becoming available in October 2021. The second Android-powered Duo adds better cameras and a flagship-grade processor, as well as support for a built-in pen charger. Taking lessons from its Windows-based tablet stablemates, the Surface Duo 2 is a lot more than a phone – especially when paired with the Surface Pen.

SEE: Microsoft Surface Duo 2 review in progress: Two weeks in and I'm as confused as I am intrigued  

SEE:  The best foldable phones: Is Samsung still leading the pack?  

Microsoft Surface Duo 2

Surface studio 2 .

The only desktop PC in the Surface family, the Surface Studio 2 is getting distinctly long in the tooth, having originally launched back in October 2018. In fact, Microsoft had to make it an exception to the hardware requirements for Windows 11 . But the smoothly hinged 28-inch display makes it a desirable platform for designers and other creative users, as it can be easily adjusted from conventional orientation to drafting-board mode.

SEE: Microsoft Surface Studio 2 review: A powerful digital drawing board  

SEE:  The 6 best all-in-one computers: Efficiency and elegance on the desktop    

Microsoft Surface Studio 2

Surface hub 2s.

The Surface Hub 2S is Microsoft's interactive whiteboard, designed for collaborative work in meetings and as a conferencing tool for shared workspaces. Launched in April 2019, it runs a dedicated version of Windows 10, is focused on teams rather than individuals, and has a separate 4K video-conferencing camera. As well as working as a meeting hub, the Surface Hub 2S is available as a remote display, so you can project screens and control it from any Windows PC. 

SEE: Microsoft brings Windows 10 Pro, Enterprise to Surface Hub 2S  

Microsoft Surface Hub 2S

What's next for surface.

Surface Laptop Go 2 The most obvious next move is an update to the Surface Laptop Go. While the Surface Laptop Go 2 is rumoured to be due in May, I suspect that Microsoft may hold off in order to avoid a collision with Build (24-26 May) and tie in a launch with the 10th anniversary of the Surface's announcement (18 June).

Surface Pro 9 There won't be much change to the physical design of Surface Pro hardware in 2022, as the Surface Pro 8 was a big change and Microsoft likes to keep its basic form factors stable for long enough to allow partners to deliver cases and other accessories. However, there may be an upgrade to the Surface Dock 2 , which is more suited to older hardware as it lacks Thunderbolt 4 support. 

SEE: Best laptop docking stations: Transform your workspace  

Surface Pro X 2 (SQ3)  Qualcomm has a new generation of PC-grade ARM processors , and these are likely to form the basis of a Microsoft updated SQ3 for a new Surface Pro X, adding Microsoft's own machine-learning hardware to the SoC, which continues to improve. With Windows on ARM support now available in Azure , Microsoft is close to having an end-to-end ARM-based development environment, which should make it easier for developers to build and test ARM versions of their applications without needing Qualcomm's woefully under-powered (and US-only) ARM developer hardware. There have been recurring rumours of desktop developer hardware from Microsoft, but with Azure ARM support available, there's now little need for it. 

Surface Duo 3  On the phone side, much of Microsoft's 2022 focus on the Surface Duo will be on software. The company has shipped versions of Android 11 for both first- and second-generation hardware, with an Android 12 update waiting on the completion of Google's large- and dual-screen Android 12L update. Due later this year, Android 12L should allow Microsoft to push much more of a custom experience to its folding Surfaces, as it will be able to build on Google's APIs rather than develop its own Android extensions. With improved software, a third version of the Duo would be able to ship in 2023 with the next generation of Qualcomm's 5G hardware. 

Surface Neo  We're unlikely to see the much-delayed dual-screen Surface Neo –  announced back in October 2019 – in 2022. Originally designed for Intel's Lakefield processor family, the big.little core model it used is now part of the 12th generation chipset. The current chipset family is still a bit on the over-powered side for a small, always-connected companion device like the Neo, and so, with dual-screen Windows on the backburner after the cancellation of Windows 10X and with silicon supply chains still constrained, we're likely to have to wait for another iteration of Intel's technology before chipsets are ready for the Neo to finally make its appearance.

Surface Studio 3  A possible surprise on the horizon could be a new version of the Surface Studio. Stocks of the Studio 2 seem to be running low, which either means the end of the line or new hardware on the way. With a big anniversary around the corner, could a new Surface Studio 3 allow Microsoft to set a new direction for desktop computers and the all-in-one form factor ?  

After all, even with a tiny production run, Apple's 20th Anniversary Macintosh was an innovative desktop device that incorporated many of the features we now expect from a desktop PC. Could a 10th Anniversary Surface Studio push the envelope in a similar way? With Microsoft continuing to come up with innovative hardware like the Surface Laptop Studio, it's clear that anything could happen.

• The best Surface PC: Which Windows 11-ready Surface device is right for you?  
• The best 2-in-1 laptops: Top flexible, hybrid, and convertible notebooks  
• The 6 best all-in-one computers: Efficiency and elegance on the desktop  
• The best foldable phones: Is Samsung still leading the pack?  

7 iPad Pro features I want to see Apple announce during its May event

The 4 most exciting ipad pro 2024 features (and what they can do for you), ios 18 wishlist: 5 iphone features apple could announce at wwdc 2024.

• International edition
• Australia edition
• Europe edition

Surface Laptop Studio review: Microsoft’s top new quirky portable PC

Part laptop, part drawing tablet, part workstation, there’s nothing quite like this Windows 11 machine

The Surface Laptop Studio is Microsoft’s creative workstation that replaces the unique outgoing Surface Book line with a slightly more normal laptop-like form but is still very unusual.

The new top of Microsoft’s laptop line costs from £1,449 ($1,399.99/A$2,399) and is a chunky machine geared up as a desktop replacement, rather than a thin and light notebook you carry everywhere.

From the top it doesn’t look that unusual: a standard laptop made of magnesium and aluminium with a traditional hinge at the back. Open the lid and it has more than a passing resemblance to the Apple’s MacBook Pro from the 2010s , with a decent-sized and great-looking 14.4in LCD touchscreen with a slick 120Hz refresh rate.

It has Windows Hello face recognition for logging in, four good speakers, a great keyboard and a new “haptic touchpad” that brings Microsoft’s trackpads up to par with the best-in-class models from Apple.

But grab the display at the top and twist it backwards and things get interesting. The screen magnetically unclips at the bottom so you can position it in “ stage mode ” on magnets hidden just in front of the trackpad or fold it all the way down on to the deck in “studio mode”.

Stage mode is designed for watching video while studio mode turns the laptop into a drawing screen with Microsoft’s excellent, but optional, Slim Pen 2 stylus similar to its unique Studio desktop computer . It makes editing photos, sketching out ideas and even marking up documents a breeze.

Turn the laptop over to reveal another unusual design: a stepped back fan base that is hidden when on a desk.

The base houses the discrete Nvidia graphics chip and H-series Intel processors, both of which are more powerful and generate more heat than the typical models you find in slimmer machines. The fans weren’t needed for general browsing and light work, but kicked in after a minute or so of photo editing being audible but not distracting.

Specifications

Screen: 14.4in LCD 2,400x1,600 (201 PPI; 120Hz)

Processor: Intel Core i5 or i7 (11th generation)

Ram: 16 or 32GB

Storage: 256, 512GB, 1 or 2TB

Graphics: Intel Iris X or Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti

Operating system: Windows 11

Camera: 1080P front-facing, Windows Hello

Connectivity: wifi 6, Bluetooth 5.1, 2x Thunderbolt 4/USB 4, headphones, Surface Connect

Dimensions: 323.3 x 228.3 x 18.9mm

Weight: 1,743 or 1,820g

Performance and battery life

The performance of the Laptop Studio is a mixed bag. As tested with its highest specification, including the Core i7-11370H quad-core processor and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti graphics chip, it sails through every day work, complex image-editing and other fairly demanding general tasks, as expected.

While it can handle everything I would want to do, it is limited on raw power compared to workstation competitors of a similar price, which typically have more performant 6 or 8-core processors. For those looking to render or convert lots of video, process large 3D models or compile mountains of code the Surface comes up a bit short. It can’t manage AAA games with anything greater than low graphics settings, either.

The Laptop Studio’s battery life is surprisingly good, lasting almost nine hours of light work, including lots of browsing, note taking, document and spreadsheet-editing and a short bit of image-editing. That’s longer than the 13.5in Surface Laptop 4 , but miles behind the 14 hours of the 14in MacBook Pro .

More demanding work, such as advanced photo manipulation in studio mode, reduces the battery life to about three hours, while you could expect more than 10 hours of just watching video.

Sustainability

Microsoft does not provide an expected lifespan for the Studio Laptop’s battery. Similar batteries typically last in excess of 500 full charge cycles while maintaining at least 80% of their original capacity. The laptop is generally repairable with an out-of-warranty service fee of £551.46 including the battery.

The SSD storage is modular, but Microsoft states it should only be removed by technicians . The company operates recycling schemes for old machines, publishes a company-wide sustainability report and a breakdown of each product’s environmental impact .

The Laptop Studio runs Windows 11, which like other Surface devices is free of trials for anti-virus programs and other unwanted software that can often cause problems, except a pre-installed trial of Microsoft Office.

The new and improved touch keyboard and handwriting recognition make using the machine in studio mode easier. The haptic feedback built into the Slim Pen 2, which makes it vibrate a little as you write on the screen making it feel more like a biro on paper, is fantastic.

The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio starts at £1,449 ( $1,399.99 / A$2,399 ) with an Intel Core i5, 16GB of Ram and 256GB of storage.

Versions with Intel Core i7 processors and Nvidia graphics start at £1,899 ($1,899.99/A$3,149) with 16GB of Ram and 512GB of storage. The Slim Pen 2 costs £119.99 ( $129.99 / A$189.95 ).

For comparison, Dell’s XPS 15 with Nvidia graphics costs £1,750 , the Razer Blade 14 with Nvidia graphics costs £2,200 and Apple’s 14in MacBook Pro starts at £1,899 .

The Surface Laptop Studio is another unusual and adaptable Windows 11 laptop from Microsoft. It may not look quite as novel as the Surface Book it replaces, but it offers almost all of the same functionality in a less complicated form.

As an expensive standard laptop, it is a bit chunky but great to use on a desk. Fast, generally quiet in operation, with a great screen, keyboard and the best trackpad you can get on Windows. But unclip the screen and it transforms into a brilliant drawing tablet quite unlike any competitor, particularly when used with the excellent Slim Pen 2 stylus, which absolutely should be included in the box not sold as a £120 accessory.

However, those looking for a really powerful portable workstation may find its performance lacking in some areas compared to better-specced, but less adaptable rivals at this price. That leaves the Laptop Studio in an awkward middle ground: too expensive to be a standard laptop and with not enough power to be a developer or render’s best friend.

If you need a laptop that transforms into a drawing tablet and can pull double-duty as a desktop replacement, the Surface Laptop Studio is the quirky Windows 11 machine for you.

Pros: great keyboard and trackpad, great screen with articulating modes, Thunderbolt 4/USB 4, decent battery life, discrete Nvidia graphics card option, good as a laptop or drawing deck, Windows Hello. Cons: chunky, expensive, no 6 or 8-core processor options, very limited port selection, no SD card slot, Slim Pen 2 not included.

Other reviews

Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 review: Windows 10 as it is meant to be

Microsoft Surface Go 3 review: small Windows 11 tablet can’t keep up

Microsoft Surface Laptop Go review: missing the sweet spot

Surface Duo 2 review: Microsoft’s dual-screen Android needs work

14in MacBook Pro review: putting power back in Apple’s laptop

Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 review: flexible laptop with beautiful OLED screen

• Microsoft Surface
• Tablet computers

Most viewed

Microsoft Surface Pro 9 (Intel) review: this is the one to buy

There are two surface pro 9s. the intel model is the boring but safer buy..

By Monica Chin , a senior reviewer covering laptops and other gadgets. Monica was a writer for Tom's Guide and Business Insider before joining The Verge in 2020.

Photography by Amelia Holowaty Krales

Share this story

If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

Yep, this is the Surface Pro to buy this year. 

For those who don’t obsessively keep track of Microsoft’s internal component choices (first of all, shame on you), the new Surface Pro 9 has two distinct models, which make for two very different devices. There’s a model powered by Qualcomm’s Arm-based SQ3 chip, which I reviewed last month . I’ve since gotten my hands on the other option, the model powered by a plain old Intel Core i7. And I will spoil the surprise for you right now: the Intel model is faster. Much faster. 

• Microsoft Surface Pro 9 (SQ3) review: Windows on Arm is not ready
• The best laptop you can buy in 2022

That doesn’t mean there’s no case to be made for the Qualcomm Pro 9, which has 5G, a smart webcam, and a few fancy features that you won’t find on the Core i7 model. On the other hand, the Core i7 model works. It works quite well in a way I can’t say for the Arm device. That’s more than enough for me to recommend the Intel Pro 9 as the best Surface Pro for most people. Sometimes (often, in fact, and more often than technology critics tend to acknowledge), the boring option is the right option. 

HOW WE RATE AND REVIEW PRODUCTS

Before we get into that performance, there are a few other notable differences between the two Surface Pro 9 models you can buy. First one: color options. If you want the SQ3, you’re restricted to the boring platinum (aka “silver”) color. If you go for the Intel Core i7 model, you can also choose graphite (black), forest (green), or sapphire (blue). We got a sapphire model, and I’m a fan. It’s not only the detachable keyboard that’s blue. The tablet, including the built-in kickstand on the back, is also blue. Blue all the way down. It looks nice. 

Second notable difference: price. Technically, the cheapest Core i7 model of the Pro 9 is priced identically to an equivalently specced SQ3 ($1,599 for 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage). However, there are also Core i5 Pro 9 models available (though they’re also Platinum-only). These go as low as $999, and the cheapest SQ3 model is $300 more than the base Core i5 SKU. 

It’s all a bit confusing. The way I see it is that Microsoft sees the SQ3 and its associated benefits as equivalent in value to the power of the Core i7 and is pricing as such. For price-sensitive shoppers, the Intel version offers more options. (Remember also that the keyboard and pen aren’t included, and they add another $279 to the quoted price of a given unit. My test configuration with 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage is $1,599.99, but it’s going to cost you $1,879.98 unless you really just want the tablet, which, unless you already have a keyboard from a prior Surface Pro, you don’t.)

And the Intel Pro 9 supports Dolby Vision IQ, which the Qualcomm configuration doesn’t have. This is supposed to better optimize certain video content for different lighting. I can’t say I noticed a difference on my review unit, but it may be working subtly. I’ve asked Microsoft for more details about how this feature works on the Surface.

Elsewhere, pretty much every part of the outsides of these devices is the same. You get the same detachable keyboard (quite sturdy to type on, touchpad is a bit small) and the same 2880 x 1920 120Hz display (quite smooth, no complaints). The dimensions are the same; the Intel version is 0.01 pounds lighter, which isn’t a difference you’ll notice. 

The primary thing missing from the Intel Pro 9, which the Qualcomm model has, is the NPU chip. This chip allows the Qualcomm model to have a number of fancy camera features that the Intel model doesn’t have, including a portrait blur, automatic eye contact, and an auto-frame function similar to Apple’s Center Stage . The Intel Pro’s camera is still perfectly fine, delivering an accurate and detailed picture, but it doesn’t have quite the same video conferencing experience. (That said, these features didn’t always fully work for me on the SQ3 model, either. Check out that review for more on my experiences with them.) 

The NPU gives the Arm device some microphone features as well, including one that filters out background noise while you’re on video calls. The unit doesn’t have this, though (again) its microphones do seem to work fine. Speaking of video conferencing, both Pro 9 units have surprisingly capable speakers, with audible bass and strong percussion. Audio is not as strong as it is on the Surface Laptop 5 , but it’s not too, too far off.

Oh, and the Qualcomm model has 5G — which appears, from my testing, to be low-bandwidth 5G that gets closer to LTE speeds, at least in The Verge ’s Manhattan office. I was using an Ubigi plan on that device, which operates on T-Mobile’s network. (T-Mobile’s mmWave footprint is small, and it seems like mmWave wasn’t supported in any of the Manhattan locations where I used the device, but Ubigi told me I would see faster speeds if I could find an area that did support it.) Anyway, there’s none of this going on with the Intel model, which is Wi-Fi only. Also, 5G wrecks the laptop’s battery life, which we’ll discuss more later on.

Microsoft Surface Pro 9 (Intel) specs

• Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.2 x 0.37 inches (287 x 209 x 9.3mm)
• Weight (not including Type Cover): 1.94lbs (879g)
• Display: 13-inch touch display, 2880 x 1920, 120Hz refresh rate, 3:2
• Memory: 16GB LPDDR5
• Processor: Intel Core i7-1255U
• Removable SSD: 256GB
• Battery: 47.7 Wh
• Ports: two USB-C with USB 4.0 / Thunderbolt 4, one Surface Connect port, one Surface Type Cover port
• Cameras: Windows Hello front-facing camera with 1080p full HD video, 10MP rear-facing autofocus camera with 1080p HD and 4K video
• Wireless: Wi-Fi 6E 802.11ax, Bluetooth Wireless 5.1

But unless you’re in the niche group of users who care about camera features or 5G above all else (and I recognize that such a group does exist), the difference between these two devices of greatest consequence to you is bound to be performance. The Intel Pro 9 I’ve been testing has the Core i7-1255U, the same chip that powers the Surface Laptop 5. It has 10 cores (two performance, eight efficiency).

This chip, as the core count indicates, is designed to prioritize efficiency over raw performance. I found, however, that it’s plenty fast for productivity work. All of my work, including Google Docs, photo editing, drawing, document markup, entertainment, research in Chrome, and Zoom calling was completely fine. During my testing process, even while on video calls, I never felt any significant heat or heard the fan (which the Intel Pro 9 does have). It helps, of course, that the keyboard and touchpad are detachable and would probably remain cool even if the tablet were blazing hot. 

This is all in stark contrast to the SQ3 device. While the Windows on Arm experience has certainly improved since the days of the glitch-ridden Surface Pro X, I still had a frustrating time working on apps that were running through Microsoft’s emulation layer (which included Chrome and Slack). Apps took a while to open, videos stuttered, pen strokes lagged, and typing was delayed. I’m typing this paragraph on the SQ3 unit, and I’ve already had to fix several typos that I’ve missed because of the lag. You can check out our SQ3 review for the full rundown of my experience, but the difference between SQ3 and Intel in software like Slack, Chrome, and other programs that don’t run natively on Arm is night and day.

Agree to Continue: Microsoft Surface Pro 9

The mandatory policies, for which agreement is required to use the laptop, are:

• Microsoft Software License terms (Windows Operating System) and Manufacturer’s Limited Hardware Warranty and Agreement

In addition, there are a bunch of optional things to agree to:

• Privacy settings including location, Find My Device, diagnostic data, inking and typing, tailored experiences, advertising ID
• Sign up for a Microsoft 365 free trial
• Sign up for an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate free trial

That’s two mandatory agreements and eight optional ones.

The primary tradeoff one makes when selecting the more powerful Intel processor, of course, is battery life. The Intel model’s lifespan wasn’t bad, especially for this generation of Intel chips. I consistently saw over seven and a half hours of continuous use with the screen at 60Hz and medium brightness, averaging seven hours and 35 minutes. From the SQ3 model, I was able to eke out close to five hours longer from the same workload. That was with 5G off, however — while using 5G, I got less than seven hours, and 5G is supposed to be a major draw of the SQ3 model. (The Intel model also charged faster with the included 65W Surface Connector, reaching 60 percent in just over 51 minutes. You can also charge via USB-C.)

If the Arm-based Surface Pro is a jewel-studded high-heeled shoe, the Intel model is a sneaker. The former has innovative features that seem like they’re from The Future. The battery life is a chart-topper. 5G is neat. There’s a lot to make the people around you “ooh” and “aah.” The latter is, to throw around a phrase other reviewers love to critically use, and that I really hate, an “incremental upgrade.” It’s not the machine anyone was particularly excited about. It’s also the one you should buy. 

There is a case to be made for the Qualcomm model. For Microsoft enthusiasts who don’t have to use emulated apps (or for others who don’t mind swapping their workload around), the SQ3 may potentially offer a package that’s difficult to find elsewhere. The legitimately cool conferencing features, the uniquely portable form factor, the standout battery life, and the cellular support could make an excellent travel companion for a working professional. But the caveats there are fairly large — especially when an Intel model exists that’s much less limited in the apps it can run. 

To compare the Surface Pro’s price to those of competing laptops is to venture into somewhat dangerous territory. A Surface Pro is a Surface Pro, and those who are shopping for it may not care at all that other non-Surface Pro devices cost less money. While the detachable form factor is becoming more common across the laptop space, there are still few convertible models as tried and true as the Surface — and fewer still with an accessory ecosystem as excellent as the one Microsoft provides. 

The other big advantage the Intel line has is that it can be purchased for a cheaper price than the SQ3. You don’t have to buy the Core i7 model to get a good experience. We’d expect the Core i5 / 8GB model, available for $999 ($1,279.98 with the keyboard), to be adequate for general work use cases as well. 

Still, I would be remiss not to disclose, for any who might not be aware, that the Surface Pro — Intel- or Qualcomm-powered — is an expensive device. This test model, alongside the sapphire keyboard and pen, would come out to $1,879.98. If the Microsoft hardware and branding are largely what draw you to the Pro (and those are legitimate things to be after, to be sure), the Surface Laptop 5 will provide this same processor, same RAM, a decent color selection, and twice the storage for $179.99 less than our test model (and the base Surface Laptop 5 is $279.99 less than the cheapest Pro 9 model, also for twice the storage). If what you really want is the tablet form factor with a detachable keyboard and pen, a similarly specced 12.9-inch iPad Pro with the Apple Pencil and Magic Keyboard included still comes out to over $200 cheaper than my test unit. 

The Intel Surface Pro, while a good device, is still only the best option for your money if you’re sure that what you want is, well, a Surface Pro.

Microsoft Surface Pro 9 accessibility (as reviewed)

• The letter keys are 0.6 x 0.6 inches with 0.1 inches between them. All keys are backlit aside from the power button. Fn and Caps Lock have indicator lights. The power button is 0.6 x 0.1 inches. The volume keys are 1.6 x 0.4 inches. The keys are grayish-blue with white text and take a small amount of dedicated force to depress.
• The speakers reached an average of 75 decibels in my testing, which is a bit quieter than a standard external speaker.
• The laptop weighs 1.95 pounds without the keyboard attached. The keyboard adds an additional 0.68 pounds.
• The lid can be opened with one hand.
• There is a touchscreen with a 1200:1 contrast ratio.
• The touchpad is 4 x 2.25 inches.
• Setup involves turning the device on and clicking through several menus.
• The Pro supports facial logins but not fingerprint logins.
• Windows 11 includes a dedicated accessibility menu.
• Windows 11 includes a built-in screen reader (Narrator). It supports third-party screen readers, including NVDA from NV Access and Jaws from Freedom Scientific. A full list of compatible software can be found on Microsoft’s website .
• Windows 11 supports voice typing (accessed by Windows + H) and speech recognition (toggled with Windows + Ctrl + S).
• Color Filters, including inverted, grayscale, red-green, and blue-yellow, can be toggled with Windows + Ctrl + C. Contrast themes are toggled with Alt + Left Shift + Print Screen. Standard Dark Mode and custom colors are also available under Personalization.
• Caption color and size can be customized and appear close to the bottom of the screen.
• The keyboard can be remapped with Microsoft’s PowerToys . Sticky Keys is supported. An on-screen keyboard is available.
• The cursor’s size and speed can be adjusted, and gestures can be remapped in Touchpad Settings.
• Windows 11 supports eye control with external eye trackers.
• Windows 11 includes a Snap Layout feature, accessed by hovering over the Maximize button on any open window.

Hands-on with the new iPad Pro: yeah, it’s really thin

The 7 biggest announcements from apple’s ipad event, inside microsoft’s xbox turmoil, here’s how the latest ipad pro compares to the new ipad air (and prior models), google’s pixel 8a is a midrange phone that might actually go the distance.

More from Reviews

The OnePlus 12R is a $500 phone with flagship tendencies

Bose’s Ultra Open Earbuds are its boldest, most unique earbuds yet

JBL Authentics 300 smart speaker review: two assistants at once

This iPod-like button could be a great smart home controller

Surface Book 4: what we want to see

Will we see a Surface Book 4 at the September 22 event?

The Surface Book 3 landed in May 2020, so it's time for Microsoft to finally launch the Surface Book 4. And we're not predicting an imminent release out of nothing either: Microsoft has a big Surface event coming up on September 22. 

The Surface Book lineup usually sees a couple years in between releases (unlike the Surface Laptop 4, for example) so it's entirely possible we won't see the new ultra-premium laptop until 2022. And Microsoft may be preparing an ultra-premium device instead, something that could be called the Surface Laptop Studio .

Either way, we won't know if the Surface Book 4 is real until Microsoft itself lifts the veil. In the meantime, we'll gather up all the latest news, rumors and leaks right here so you can be ready when Microsoft finally pulls the trigger. 

Cut to the chase

• What is it? The next generation Surface Book
• When is it out? Hopefully Q2 2022
• What will it cost? Probably just as much, if not more, than the Surface Book 3

Surface Book 4 release date

If you’ve followed the Surface Book since the line initially launched in 2015, you probably already know that Microsoft rolls these 2-in-1 laptops out every two years or so. The original Surface Book debuted in late October 2015 while its successor, Surface Book 2, came out in November 2017.

2019 came and went without a Surface Book 3; Microsoft opted to release three other Surface devices instead ( Surface Pro 7 , Surface Pro X and Surface Laptop 3 ). The device finally saw the light of day in May 2020.

So it would follow that Microsoft would wait until 2022 to launch the Surface Book 4, and that's still totally possible. However, with Microsoft teasing premium Surface devices at its September 22 event , we could see the Redmond tech giant launch it a bit earlier than usual – hopefully this time with updated specs. We're crossing our fingers that we'll see the device at the event later this week. 

Surface Book 4 price

The Surface Book line has been flip flopping in terms of price tag. The original 13-inch device cost a hefty $1,499 (about £1,190, AU$2,140) when it first came out, but the 13-inch Surface Book 2 was even cheaper at $1,199 (£1,149, AU$2,199). Then, the Surface Book 3 13-inch kicked off at a hefty $1,599 (£1,599, AU$2,649).

Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox

Get the hottest deals available in your inbox plus news, reviews, opinion, analysis and more from the TechRadar team.

Bizarrely enough, while the Surface Book 2 15-inch cost $2,499 (£2,349, AU$3,649), the Surface Book 3 15-inch dropped down to $2,299 (£2,199, AU$3,699).

So, how much the Surface Book 4 13-inch and 15-inch models are going to cost is anyone’s guess at this point. If it does come out with a more generational and competitive upgrade, then a higher price tag would somehow be easier to swallow. 

Still, we’re hoping for a bit of a price drop here. After all, $1,599 (£1,599, AU$2,649) for Surface Book 3’s Intel Core i5, Intel Iris Plus, 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD is pretty steep for most people.

What we want to see in a Surface Book 4

Although the Surface Book 3 has a lot going for it – namely, beautiful design, a stunning display and a comfortable keyboard, it was pretty underwhelming considering that Microsoft had a little over two years to hone in and work on necessary improvements.

So, for the Surface Book 4, we’re hoping to see even more upgrades inside and out, starting with a more powerful processor.

More powerful processors Sadly, the Surface Book 3 was held back by the lack of H-series processors, which is even more disappointing considering that high price tag and the fact that Microsoft touts this as a gaming-ready device. Especially if Microsoft insists on that premium price tag, we’d like to see Surface Book 4 actually feature Intel’s higher-end 12th-generation chips (11th-generation Tiger Lake , if this follow up does come out sometime in 2021). 

Either this or drop the price down to something more accessible.

Bigger trackpad The current trackpad on the Surface Book 3 is smooth, responsive and gets the job done. However, it’s also tiny – like late 2000ss tiny. Again, if you’re paying a premium price for a laptop, you’d want things like a trackpad with massive surface space to work with. If the Surface Book 4 were to stay competitive with the likes of the MacBook Pro 13-inch , this is practically non-negotiable.

Better speakers For a thin, light and tiny laptop, the MacBook Pro 13-inch sure has plenty of audio power, and the sound quality isn’t bad either. Sadly, the speakers on the Surface Book 3 are only adequate. Worse, it’s lacking bass and low-end, so watching blockbusters or playing games on its otherwise gorgeous display isn’t as immersive as it should have been. If the Surface Book 4 were to stay on top of the game, it needs to have better sounding and more powerful speakers.

A floating screen, like the new iPad Pro Ryan Smalley of Modality recently shared his design concept for the next Surface Book , and frankly, we’re here for it. Inspired by the new iPad Pro, his concept gives the Surface Book 4 a similar floating screen that’s anchored to a chassis with two hinges – one for the familiar laptop form factor, the other to give it that floating effect. Both hinges in this design are height and angle adjustable for even more viewing and use versatility. 

Unlike the iPad Pro, however, there’s no removable keyboard and trackpad case here. The Surface Book 4 screen is permanently attached to the rest of the laptop, so that it’s basically a traditional laptop, only with a bit more flexibility.

Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor at IGN. Previously, she was TechRadar's US computing editor. She is fat, queer and extremely online. Computers are the devil, but she just happens to be a satanist. If you need to know anything about computing components, PC gaming or the best laptop on the market, don't be afraid to drop her a line on Twitter or through email.

LG Gram SuperSlim review: solid productivity and style, but falls short on a number of fronts

Microsoft’s Surface Pro 10 may be fitted with Qualcomm's latest chip - which should make Apple and Intel nervous

iPhone 16 Plus: latest news, rumors and everything we know so far

Most Popular

• 2 It's officially time to abandon the Oculus Quest 2, as new VR games and apps are dodging the aging headset
• 3 The Arc browser just launched and yes, it really is that good
• 4 VPNs aren't invincible—5 things a VPN can't protect you from
• 5 A researcher compared Android and iOS for app security, and there’s a clear loser
• 2 Angry Netflix UK and Canada fans threaten to close their accounts over permanent Basic tier removal in early June
• 3 VPNs aren't invincible—5 things a VPN can't protect you from
• 4 A researcher compared Android and iOS for app security, and there’s a clear loser
• 5 Samsung's archrival strikes crucial partnership with Nvidia's closest ally to deliver key next-gen memory — SK Hynix teams up with TSMC to advance HBM development but could this move encourage TSMC to become like Intel?

MacBook Air (M3, 2024) vs Surface Laptop 5: Which should you pick?

Apple macbook air (m3, 2024).

The MacBook Air continues to dominate the $1,000 laptop vertical with its new and more powerful M3 processor onboard. Even with boosted performance, battery life has stayed the same, which is incredible. It's stylish, lightweight, and built to feel very premium, thus making it one of the best in its class.

• Excellent performance
• Class-leading battery life
• Light and premium build quality
• Limited ports
• Only 35W charger by default

Microsoft Surface Laptop 5

After two years, the Surface Laptop 5 still looks good. Its premium materials, especially the Alcantara finish, feel quite luxurious. The 3:2 aspect ratio display gives you an almost square perspective, which boosts productivity. The only trouble is the dated processor, which doesn't quite hold up.

• Sleek and premium design
• Touch-enabled display
• Display aspect ratio aid productivity
• Processor is old for 2024
• Mediocre battery life

In the world of thin and light laptops, it's safe to say that Apple's MacBook Air has set the benchmark for performance and battery life. With the switch from Intel to its own silicon, that bar has been raised even higher. The MacBook Air with the M3 SoC is the latest from Apple , and it is undoubtedly one of the best laptops of 2024 . In the other camp, Microsoft also makes a pretty mean and slick-looking machine called the Surface Laptop. The Laptop 5 launched in 2022 and is still being sold, and in many ways, is a direct competitor to the MacBook Air. The question is, should you still buy one today?

Price, specs & availability

The surface laptop 5 and m3 air are roughly the same price.

The 13.5-inch variant starts at $1,000 for the Platinum color, which gets you the Alcantara finish for the laptop's bottom half. The other colors, like Sage, Black, and Sandstone, have metal finishes, starting at $1,300. The base variants of all the metal finishes come with 512GB of storage as standard, while the Alcantara one has 256GB. The 15-inch model of the Surface Laptop 5 only comes in Platinum, Black, and Sandstone finishes, and starts at $1,300.

The MacBook Air M3 13-inch model starts at $1,099, while the 15-inch model starts at $1,299. However, unlike the Surface Laptop 5, which maxes out at 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, the Air can be kitted with up to 24GB of RAM and 2TB of storage. Needless to say, maxing out the spec on the M3 Air makes it very, very expensive. You can see the rest of the spec differences in the table below.

MacBook Air (M3, 15-inch, 2024) review: The Goldilocks laptop size

Surface laptop 5 review: more power, but that's about it, the surface laptop 5 looks slick with its wedge-shape design.

Design is usually a personal preference, but I would vote for the Surface Laptop 5 here. The wedge-shaped design looks every bit as premium, especially in the Sage color. There's a 720p webcam with an IR camera for Windows Hello authentication and Omnisonic speakers with Dolby Atmos. Connectivity includes one Thunderbolt 4 USB-C port, a USB-A 3.1 port, a headphone jack, and a Surface Connect port for using optional Microsoft accessories. The 13-inch model is quite slim at 0.57 inches thick, while the 15-inch measures 0.58 inches. Both are equally light, weighing in at 2.86 pounds and 3.44 pounds, respectively.

The M3 MacBook Air is essentially the same laptop as the M2 Air, but with a new chip. It might not look like it, but the 13-inch and 15-inch models are actually a tad slimmer and lighter than the Surface. There are no Face ID biometrics here (yet), but you do get a fingerprint reader. The laptop offers two Thunderbolt/ USB 4 ports and a headphone jack. Connectivity is slightly lacking here, but this generation finally lets you output to two external displays (with the lid closed).

The MacBook Air M3 has a Liquid Retina display

The displays on both laptops are very good for what they cost, and come factory color calibrated. The Air has a slightly higher resolution display in both sizes and while the colors and brightness are more than adequate for everyday use, it can't quite reproduce the same black levels as its Pro cousins. The 13-inch model has a 2560x1664 resolution, while the 15-inch has a 2880x1864 resolution. Both have 500 nits of brightness and a 16:10 aspect ratio.

The Surface Laptop 5's Pixel Sense display has a 3:2 aspect ratio, with a 2256x1504 resolution for the smaller model and a 2496x1664 resolution for the larger one. These displays also support 10-point multi-touch, something that the Air lacks. There's Gorilla Glass 3 on the Alcantara variant, while others get Gorilla Glass 5. Even though the specs look great, the display didn't quite meet the mark as it doesn't cover a wide enough color gamut in the NTSC, Adobe RGB, and P3 spaces. We found the brightness levels lower than the Air's, and the glossy finish causes many annoying reflections.

The Surface Laptop 5 runs Windows 11 Home

If your work mainly involves accessing apps and services via a browser, then either laptop can do the job just fine. However, if you need specific apps, it's best to check if they are compatible with macOS or Windows. If you use an iPhone, getting a MacBook Air will make a lot of sense, mainly due to the excellent integration between the two operating systems.

Similarly, Windows 11 is a robust and ever-evolving OS that most users are already used to. The default Phone Link app works great in delivering similar tight-knit ecosystem benefits to your phone, similar to Apple. Most legacy apps for enterprise organizations should have better compatibility with the Surface Laptop 5. The latest build of Windows also brings you Copilot, Microsoft's generative AI assistant.

Performance

The m3 macbook air raises the bar for entry-level performance.

This is going to be no contest as the Surface Laptop 5 uses a much older Intel processor compared to the MacBook Air. In our testing of the 15-inch Air with M3, we found the performance incredible, especially when you remember it doesn't have a cooling fan. Editing videos was a breeze, and multitasking is just as easy. It's not perfect, though, as having many heavy applications running simultaneously causes some buffering. Still, for the price, the M3 Air performs well beyond its segment.

The Surface Laptop 5 uses Intel's 12th Gen U-series processors, which is fine for even basic photo editing work in Lightroom. Thankfully, this generation made the leap to a hybrid architecture with separate cores for performance and efficiency, similar to the mobile SoC. For its time, we found the performance quite good, and it's not going to be sluggish even today with light workloads. If you can hold out a bit longer, the next Surface Laptop 6 is rumored to get a complete redesign and will be made with AI as the central focus.

Battery life

The m3 macbook air sets a benchmark, yet again.

The Air has always been praised for its exemplary battery life, and with this model, Apple claims a similar battery life of 18 hours of video watching for both sizes of the Air. We were definitely impressed with real-world numbers, as even after nearly three hours of writing and photo editing, the battery dropped from 100% to just 83%. Also, Apple's SoCs have a neural engine chip right from the M1, which means that apps that use AI will benefit from this.

Microsoft makes some bold claims about battery life, claiming 18 hours of typical use for the 13.5-inch model and up to 17 hours with the larger one. In our testing of the larger model, though, the best run time we managed was a little under six hours of use. This is quite poor, especially for a 15-inch laptop.

MacBook Air (M3, 2024) vs Surface Laptop 5: Which makes more sense?

The macbook air m3 offers better specs and battery life.

I think many of you would have seen this coming, but yes, the laptop you should buy now is the MacBook Air with M3. It's simply the better laptop and will be powerful and relevant for many years to come. It's also highly customizable and could make for a great, cheaper alternative to a MacBook Pro.

Apple's new M3 MacBook Air offers improved graphical performance in a familiar form factor, keeping the great battery life the laptop is known for. 

The Surface Laptop 5 was good for its time, but you really shouldn't consider it anymore. We're definitely going to have a newer version this year at some point, but if you can't wait, then we already have some good thin and light alternatives like the HP Spectre x360 14 (2024) or the Lenovo ThinkPad Z13 Gen 2 to choose from.

The Surface Laptop 5 features a sleek design, runs Windows 11, and has a touchscreen. However, it's a little old now, so it's best to wait for the next version.

This article may contain affiliate links that Microsoft and/or the publisher may receive a commission from if you buy a product or service through those links.