Update: After publication, Microsoft provided us with the following statement: “Microsoft Surface Laptop Ultra is not targeting a 110w sustained TDP. Final power will be disclosed closer to availability.” [Emphasis ours]. The original article continues below.

The consumer tech industry is still absorbing the aftershocks of Nvidia's seismic RTX Spark announcements this week at Computex 2026, and there are still many questions around the platform regarding performance, power, and battery life.

One of those questions is the thermal design power (TDP) of the RTX Spark Superchip that's powering the high-end laptops revealed this week. That power budget is everything in a thermally constrained chassis that has to dynamically share power between the CPU and GPU.

A higher power budget in such a system generally translates into higher performance (albeit not necessarily linearly). And if you know the power budget of one platform, you can better reason about its performance compared to other chips with a similar TDP.

Tom's Hardware's Paul Alcorn and I attended a series of lightning-round hands-on sessions with Nvidia's core laptop partners this week, and among other standard questions, we asked representatives from those companies what the power and thermal budgets of their systems were. Unsurprisingly, those partners generally declined to answer.

But Microsoft's reps freely shared that the Surface Laptop Ultra, at least, is designed around a TDP of 110 W for the RTX Spark Superchip.

That figure makes sense, given our experience with the compact DGX Spark mini-PC. That system has an SoC TDP of 140 W, so it's no huge surprise that even the relatively large and well-ventilated Surface Laptop Ultra is designed to dissipate around 80% of that power at peak load.

As a laptop, the Surface also has other components it needs to power, including a screen and any peripherals connected to its USB ports, so extra headroom is required for that purpose. (Other OEMs did disclose that they were including 140W chargers with their devices, so consider that an interesting data point to this end.)

In any event, the enterprising reader might be tempted to extrapolate from our past DGX Spark performance testing and conclude that 20% lower power equals 20% lower performance. But we'd caution against that reasoning.

Chip power and delivered performance generally have a nonlinear relationship past a certain point, and we have no idea what the behavior of the voltage-and-frequency-scaling curve is for the RTX Spark Superchip in the range we're discussing.

We also don't know the full power and thermal management behavior of the RTX Spark Superchip. Modern laptop SoCs (and all chips, really) opportunistically take full advantage of all available thermal and power headroom at the start of a task, so they'll boost up close to the limits of their TDPs while the system is cool before dialing back clock speeds and power to achieve a steady state that avoids overwhelming the system's heatsink and fans. It's not clear how quickly and to what extent the RTX Spark has to clock down to operate within those limits for long-running tasks.

And in a mobile device that has to share power between the CPU and GPU, performance is also going to be highly dependent on the character of the workload. A game, for example, is going to heavily stress the GPU but might not fully occupy the CPU at the same time, while a highly parallel CPU-dependent task like code compilation might fully load the CPU cores without involving the GPU much at all. If you have a (rare) workload that loads down both of those functional units at once, overall performance is likely to fall further than with one that only demands one type of processing resource or the other.

It's also worth remembering that every laptop is different, and power envelopes are carefully tuned for each chassis to best balance design constraints between SoC temperatures, skin temperatures, and noise, among other factors.

All that said, from what we've seen, Microsoft's 110W target seems likely to be typical of the 15"-16" laptops that other OEMs plan to introduce. Logically, it's also likely that we might see lower power budgets for thinner or smaller systems.

But the short version of all this is that there's a lot we still don't know about the RTX Spark platform, and we're still a long way from the launch of the laptops with this chip inside. We expect to learn more about this platform, its design targets, and its behavior in the coming months as we lead up to Nvidia's projected fall launch. Stay tuned.

Microsoft has just unveiled its latest generation of Surface devices for businesses. The new Panther Lake-powered lineup includes two refreshed machines along with a new entry-level Surface Laptop that somehow costs more than the MacBook Air but features only 8GB of RAM amid the AI gold rush. Let's see what these machines have to offer.

Surface Laptop 13-inch

First, there's the new Surface Laptop 13-inch (1st Edition). This seems to be the same device Microsoft launched last year on the Snapdragon X Elite platform, now incorporating Intel's Panther Lake chips instead. It's a new chassis for the Surface for Business lineup, and it starts at $1,499 with 16GB of RAM and a Core Ultra 5 325 CPU.

There's also an 8GB model planned for later this year that'll cost $1,299 instead. For reference, Microsoft determines that at least 16GB of RAM is required for a PC to be Copilot+ compatible, so the 8GB model of the 13-inch Surface Laptop is not ready for local AI tasks according to the company's own guidelines.

RAMpocalypse or not, it's worth remembering just how limiting 8GB of RAM is in 2026 — even flagship phones get more than that now. Apple's otherwise excellent $600 MacBook Neo was criticized for only featuring 8GB of memory despite its entry-level ambitions, so you can imagine just how risible that spec is for a system at more than double the price.

Anyhow, you get 2x USB-C and 1x USB-A ports, both running at USB 3.2 speeds, and a 3.5mm headphone jack on this laptop. The same Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.4 wireless connectivity, a 1080p webcam, and up to 22 hours of local video playback. The 13-inch screen is still branded as "PixelSense" but it's only 1080p 60 Hz and has no HDR support. But the laptop is still made out of aluminum, which is to be expected for a device that costs this much.

When do you buy an upgrade for your PC setup?

Surface Laptop 8

The higher-end Surface Laptop 8 comes in two different variants: 13.8-inch and 15-inch. The base 13.8-inch model starts at $1,949, featuring a Core Ultra 5 335 with 16GB of LPDDR5x RAM and 256GB of PCIe 4.0 storage that's user-replaceable. The 15-inch model starts at $2,149 instead and upgrades the display resolution to 3270x2180, which comes out to 262 PPI versus the 201 PPI you'll get on the 13.8-inch machine.

You can spec out either variant with up to a Core Ultra X7 368H with Arc B390 graphics, a 1TB SSD and 64GB of RAM. The absolute maxed-out model will cost $4,499. For context, you can get the latest 16-inch MacBook Pro with a M5 Max (upgraded to 40-core GPU), 64GB memory, and 2TB of significantly faster PCIe 5.0 storage for $4,599.

The Surface Laptop 8 offers up to 23 hours of "local video playback" on the 13.8-inch model and up to 21 hours on the 15-incher. Apart from the size, both variants have identical displays specs — 120 Hz, 3:2 aspect ratio "PixelSense" IPS touchscreens with a maximum brightness of 600 nits across SDR and HDR content. The 13.8-inch model also gets a software-driven "integrated privacy screen" that can obfuscate content on your screen at an angle, similar to what Samsung has done with its Galaxy S26 Ultra.

Lastly, as mentioned before, the Surface Laptop 8 shares the same design as its predecessor, the Surface Laptop 7, but there's one upgrade under the hood that Microsoft is calling "advanced haptics." The trackpad will now intelligently simulate clicks with tactile feedback, such as steps in a volume slider or snapping windows to corners. Beyond Windows 11, third-party apps can also take advantage of this feature.

Surface Pro 12

Last up is the Surface Pro 12, and it comes in the same 13-inch configuration as the previous Surface Pro 11. It's a 2-in-1 tablet that comes with a detachable keyboard that works with Surface Connect magnets, so you can use your old accessories with it. It also starts at $1,949 and features the same Core Ultra 5 335 CPU and 16GB of memory, along with the removable 256GB SSD.

The specs page says you can upgrade it to a Core Ultra 7 366H, but we didn't see that option in Microsoft's device configurator, nor could we find the 1TB storage or 64GB RAM models. There's an option for an OLED display listed, too, but once again, it's not actually available when you go to buy the device. Instead, the Surface Pro 12 gets a 13-inch version of the same "PixelSense" display you see on the Surface Laptop.

For connectivity, there are 2x Thunderbolt 4 ports and that's it, but there's also Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 support. The Surface Pro has two cameras — a 10-megapixel 4K shooter on the back and a 1440p webcam up front. The battery life is rated at up to 17 hours.

Microsoft is targeting the business and enterprise segment with these new Surface products, so they cost a bit more than their consumer counterparts. These business devices come with extra security features, more thorough remote management, and generally better stability since professionals are supposed to rely on them for critical work. The consumer devices stripped of these extras should be a bit cheaper.

Microsoft has new flagship AI PCs. The company today announced a 13-inch Surface Laptop and a 12-inch Surface Pro with Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Plus 8-core processors. These new Copilot+ PCs will be available starting May 20, while business versions will ship on July 22.

Both systems share similar specs, including 16GB of RAM and up to 512GB of SSD storage, though the Pro has a faster, higher-resolution display than the Laptop and also comes with Windows Hello support in the webcam, which the laptop relegates to a fingerprint reader.

The Surface Pro 11th Edition and Surface Laptop 7th Edition, which debuted last year with Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus (10 Core) processors, each starting at $799.99 as of this writing. Unless the prices for those more powerful models go up, potential buyers may want to consider one of those more powerful systems if they don't care about having the thinnest, lightest designs. It's possible that these Snapdragon X Plus (8 Core) models are priced higher due to tariffs, but Microsoft hasn't commented.

Update: May 6, 10:04 a.m. ET: Microsoft's Surface Laptop 13.8 now starts at $999. The Surface Pro 11th Edition still starts at $799.99. The story continues below.

Surface Pro, 12-inch

This new Surface Pro is a smaller size than the existing 13-inch device and offers a fanless design. Microsoft claims it's the "thinnest and lightest Copilot+ PC yet," and it seems to fill in the gap left by the Surface Go (the Surface Go 4 was only released for businesses).

This tablet is 1.5 pounds before adding the optional 0.27-pound keyboard. That keyboard, which will be a must-have accessory for many, will start at $149. The $129 Surface Slim pen is also sold separately. Microsoft says that the new keyboard lies flat "for a grounded and quiet typing experience," and that it folds back flat against the Surface Pro for when you want to write or draw.

The new Pro will come in three colors: the default platinum seen on so many Surface devices, a bold new violet, and a dark, blue-green color called "ocean."

Perhaps the other biggest physical distinction is that this system won't have Microsoft's proprietary Surface Connect port, instead relying entirely on USB Type-C for charging. In fact, the two USB Type-C 3.2 ports are the only I/O on the entire system.

The system will come with a USB Type-C cable for charging, but it won't include a wall charger in the box. It's possible this is a result of European Union rulings requiring USB-C charging on tablets, meaning that a charger isn't strictly required, like with phones. You'll need at least a 45W charger in order to fast charge the new Surface Pro.

The Surface Pro has two cameras: a 1080p webcam with support for Windows Hello facial recognition, and a 10MP rear shooter for people who like to take pictures with tablets.

The Surface Pro starts at $799 in platinum with the Snapdragon X Plus (8 core), 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. For $899, you bump up to 512GB of storage and can also get the violent or ocean color options.

Surface Laptop, 13-inch

The new Surface Laptop, which Microsoft claims is the thinnest and lightest Surface Laptop to date, is a more straightforward update. It's smaller than the existing Surface Laptop, which comes in 13.8-inch and 15-inch screen sizes.

Like the Surface Pro, the new Laptop cuts the Surface Connect port and charges over USB-C. The Surface Laptop has a pair of USB-C 3.2 ports, a USB-A 3.1 port, and a 3.5 mm headphone jack. Unlike the tablet, the Surface Laptop will come with a 45W USB-C wall charger in the box (though you need a 60W charger for fast charging).

The laptop's anodized aluminum casing will come in the same violet, ocean, and platinum colorways as the new Surface Pro.

The Surface Laptop has a 1080p webcam like the Pro, but it doesn't support facial recognition. Instead, the Laptop has a fingerprint reader in the power button, similar to the MacBook Air.

Microsoft claims that the Surface Laptop and its Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus (8 core) processor is "50% faster than Surface Laptop 5 and even outpaces the MacBook Air M3." While that might be what some users are upgrading from, the Surface Laptop 5 launched in 2022 with 12th Gen Intel processors, while the MacBook Air is now on its next iteration with the M4 chip.

Unlike the Surface Pro, Microsoft is using a fan here for improved sustained performance.

Like the Surface Pro, the $899 base model has the 8-core Snapdragon X Plus, 16GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and only comes in platinum. The $999 configuration that jumps to 512GB of storage also comes in violet or ocean.

Copilot+ and new feature

Alongside the new Surfaces, Microsoft is announcing a series of new Copilot+ features that will show up in Windows Insider builds over the next month.

These include an update to settings to let you use natural language to search for and change settings on your PC. There will also be a new AI-based Snipping Tool to perfectly crop screenshots, a sticker generator in Paint for chats or documents, and more updates to Narrator for better image descriptions.

A tool in photos called Relight will let you adjust light sources in photos. This will debut on Snapdragon X Series PCs and come to AMD and Intel later on.

Additionally, there will be a redesigned Start Menu that adds a sidebar showing recent activity from your phone, as well as AI actions in File Explorer.

Microsoft is continuing to push the Copilot+ as the future of the PC, especially with support for Windows 10 ending on Oct. 14, 2025.

The company has been slowly expanding Copilot+ features that run on the NPU, including launching Recall to find what you previously looked for and an improved Windows Search. AI PCs haven't been a huge boon for upgrades, and despite being called Copilot+, Microsoft's Copilot chatbot doesn't actually run on device. But the clock running out on Windows 10 may drive more sales as potential buyers look for the latest updates, features, and security patches.

At its Surface event scheduled for May 6th next week, Microsoft is expected to unveil two new compact offerings under its Surface Pro and Surface Laptop families, according to WinFuture. It's important to note that these smaller variants are not a new generation, but rather expand the existing Surface Pro 11 and Surface Laptop 7 product lines. Information about technical details, pricing, and availability remains in the dark, but Microsoft is expected to reveal more on Tuesday.

Microsoft offers a range of Surface devices, designed for various use cases. The Surface Pro family features 2-in-1 tablets that can function both as a tablet and a laptop with the detachable keyboard (purchased separately). The Surface Laptop series, on the other hand, sticks to the basics with a traditional clamshell laptop form factor.

Starting in June 2024, Microsoft revealed the Surface Laptop 7 (15-inch and 13.8-inch) and Surface Pro 11 (13-inch) families, initially equipped with Qualcomm's Arm-based Snapdragon X chips, for the mainstream. Variants with Intel's Lunar Lake followed, targeted towards business users.

12-inch version of the Surface Pro 11

Microsoft is reportedly extending these product lines with compact offerings, starting with a 12-inch version of the Surface Pro 11. In terms of display, we're looking at a PixelSense Flow LCD panel (likely IPS), though the refresh rate has not been specified. Under the hood, it reportedly features the Snapdragon X Plus X1P-42-100 SoC with 8 Oryon cores, along with a 45 TOPS capable Hexagon-based NPU.

The SoC is connected with 16GB of LPDDR5x memory (likely 8448 MT/s), which is non-expandable. The laptop is expected to be available in 256GB and 512GB storage capacities, supplied by a UFS-based solution, which, unlike SSDs, is not upgradable. Microsoft claims 16 hours of local video playback, but real-world usage will vary. The leaked press slides only mention two USB Type-C ports for data transfer, charging, and hooking up external displays.

13-inch version of the Surface Laptop 7

Microsoft is releasing two new Surface Copilot+ PCs designed for business use this coming month. According to the Microsoft Devices Blog, the company will launch the Surface Pro and Surface Laptop on February 18, and both devices will have a starting MSRP of $1,499.99. Aside from sporting an Intel Core Ultra 200V (Lunar Lake) chip, these will also have 5G connectivity, allowing you to connect to the internet even if there’s no nearby Wi-Fi access point.

The Surface Laptop for Business is available with either a 13.8-inch or 15-inch display, giving users the ability to pick a screen that will better suit their workflow. But whatever screen size you choose, you will get a sleek and compact laptop as the 13.8-inch laptop is just 0.69 inches thick, while the larger 15-inch model is just 0.72 inches. Microsoft also boasts a battery life of up to 22 hours for local video playback and 14 hours of active web usage, although this will definitely vary depending on your environment and situation.

If you want a more versatile device, the Surface Pro for Business might be a more suitable option. It’s only available as a 13-inch tablet, although you can choose between an OLED and LCD display. Microsoft added a 1440p ultrawide front-facing camera to make video meetings much easier, and it also installed a 10-megapixel Ultra HD rear-facing camera to capture other people in the room. Also, since this device is smaller than the Surface Laptop, it has a shorter but still respectable 14-hour battery life of local video playback and up to 10 hours of active web usage.

Note that the Surface Pro for Business doesn’t come with any accessories. If you want the Surface Pro Keyboard and the Surface Slim Pen, you have to buy them separately.

However, what makes these “for Business” devices more expensive and stand out from consumer-grade laptops are their security features. Both the Surface Laptop and Surface Pro are equipped with Windows 11 Secured-core PC and Microsoft Pluton technology. You’ll also get an integrated smart card reader on the Surface Laptop for Business, while the smaller Surface Pro for Business would have to settle for NFC authentication.

These two new devices will give enterprise customers more options if they want a Surface device. Previously, if they wanted the latest model of one of these, they’d have to settle for a Snapdragon X processor. While these are great chips, they have some compatibility limitations, especially for some older legacy software that some businesses still use to this day.

Microsoft is reportedly working on a new Surface Laptop powered by Intel's Lunar Lake processors, following leaks from Chinese marketplace Goofish discovered by Windows Central. The recently launched Core Ultra 200V processors are expected to bring improved power efficiency and better graphics performance compared to the Qualcomm Snapdragon X chipsets currently used in Microsoft’s consumer Surface Laptop lineup.

The leaked prototype suggests that the new Surface Laptop, potentially the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7, will feature the Core Ultra 7 268V, 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD, offering notable enhancements for power users. The launch is speculated to happen in 2025, possibly around CES or later in spring.

While the leaks are not highly credible, they echo a similar situation from previous years, when a Surface Pro 7 Plus prototype was leaked before its release. Additionally, the prototype’s "NOT FOR SALE" engraving further indicates that the device could be a legitimate early sample unit.

Notably, the design of the leaked device appears to retain the same aesthetics as the Surface Laptop 7, meaning that the refresh will mainly focus on internal upgrades. The possibility of a 2025 release aligns with Microsoft’s typical product update schedule, and many speculate that CES 2025 could be the platform for the official unveiling.

Microsoft partnered with Qualcomm's Snapdragon X chipsets earlier this year, receiving exclusive access to its new consumer Surface Laptop and Surface Pro releases. As the company continues to refine its Surface line, including Lunar Lake processors, it may offer users more powerful and versatile hardware options, addressing the growing demand for efficient and performance-oriented laptops.

Intel’s Lunar Lake processors prioritize power efficiency while delivering robust performance, especially in GPU-intensive tasks like gaming. Initial impressions of Intel’s Lunar Lake architecture on laptops like the Asus ZenBook S 14 have been primarily positive. The new Core Ultra 200V outperforms Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite by a good margin, especially in games offering playable frame rates at 1080p resolution, a feat beyond the capabilities of current Snapdragon-powered Surface devices.

As with all leaks, the final specifications and design are subject to change until Microsoft provides official confirmation.

Microsoft’s new Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 7 are shipping, and the folks at iFixit have already started examining the repairability of the devices. Surprisingly, the team has almost nothing but praise for how Microsoft enables technicians to service the latest Surface tablet and laptop.

Releasing its typical walkthrough of disassembling both devices on YouTube, Shahram Mokhtari from the iFixit crew goes through the process of removing just about every component to demonstrate how easily someone could repair their new Surface device at home. In the end, iFixit gives both the Surface Pro 11 and the Surface Laptop 7 a repairability rating of 8 out of 10, almost the highest possible score.

Once you get into the case of either device, you can see several labels and QR codes with wrench symbols above them. Microsoft calls them “Wayfinder Markings,” and they detail how many and what kind of screws are used to secure components, making it easy to know exactly which Torx driver bit to reach for. Not only that, but the QR codes take you straight to Microsoft’s download page for the official service guides. 

Yes, Microsoft has already published the service guides for both the Surface Pro 11 and Surface Laptop 7. As Mokhtari demonstrates, common tasks like removing the battery and SSD are relatively simple tasks on both tablet and laptop.

In the case of the laptop, battery removal can be accomplished without removing anything else from the computer other than the bottom feet and back cover. Previous Surface Laptop models buried the battery, making it necessary to remove several components just to replace the only consumable part inside the case.

The video proceeds to remove every component from the laptop, down to and including the motherboard. While replacing the SSD is easy, Mokhtari points out that the memory is soldered to the motherboard and is, therefore, not easily user-replaceable.

The Surface Pro 11 is also easy to work on. Mokhtari shows that the SSD can be replaced without disassembling the tablet. Tearing down the tablet for battery replacement or other repairs is slightly more involved than working on the laptop. The adhesive securing the screen could cause some frustration for a PC DIY enthusiast replacing the battery. That said, iFixit says the display removal is easy compared to other tablets.

Microsoft has taken great pains to make the tablet and laptop easier to repair. In the video, Mokhtari notes that when it comes to serviceability and modularity, “the Surface laptop line of devices started as some of the worst devices we’ve ever seen.” This new generation of devices shows that Microsoft is embracing the consumers’ right to repair by not only providing helpful labels and information inside the case but by publishing the service guides for them on launch day.

Microsoft is confident that the Snapdragon X Elite-powered computers will challenge Apple’s offering, and a third-party benchmark just proved this. The company recently launched several Snapdragon X-powered AI laptops, including its Surface Laptop 7. Many are saying that the Snapdragon X processors are a game-changer for Windows laptops, which Microsoft needs to counter Apple’s recent domination of the laptop market with its Apple-silicon-powered MacBooks.

Hardware detective HXL shared the results of a CPU-Z (ARM64) benchmark run on a Surface Laptop 7 with a Snapdragon X Elite X1E-78-100 SoC on May 25. CPU-Z’s internal benchmark tool was used to compare the X1E-78-100 to the Apple M2. Since CPU-Z isn’t available for macOS, the reviewer created a virtual machine running Windows 11 to run the benchmark. Therefore, there may be some performance loss along the way. Unlike Cinebench, CPU-Z isn’t considered a reliable benchmark, so take the results with a pinch of salt.

The X1E-78-100 exhibited a single-thread result of 686.0 points and a multi-threaded result of 7,923.5 points. HXL then compared this with a previous benchmark test of an Apple M2 device running a Windows 11 virtual machine. Although the Apple computer had a higher single-thread result at 749.5 points, the Surface Laptop 7 obliterated it in the multi-thread test after reaching only 3,822.3 points — less than half of what the Surface Laptop 7 achieved.

While several benchmarks have shown that the Snapdragon X Elite could beat Intel and AMD’s top laptop offerings, we haven’t seen any real-world tests comparing it to Apple-silicon MacBooks until now. This result shows that the new Qualcomm-powered laptops could hold their own, allowing users who want extended battery life in a thin-and-light platform to choose between Windows and macOS instead of just relying on Apple for their needs. Qualcomm is reportedly preparing to officially support Linux on the Snapdragon X Elite, giving users an open-source operating system option.

The Snapdragon X Elite and X Plus chips are significant developments for the consumer laptop market. Their introduction led to more options for buyers who prefer powerful Arm chips for their efficiency, as they could now get these laptops from other makers like Samsung, HP, Lenovo, and Acer instead of just waiting for Apple to release its latest Apple-silicon MacBook. These new offerings will encourage competition, leading to better products and prices for end users.

So far, this is the only benchmark we have of the Snapdragon X Elite that compares it directly to Apple silicon. We’re looking forward to test results from other manufacturers, allowing us to see which layouts and systems deliver the most power from Qualcomm’s chips. But we don’t want to rely just on leaks and official results; instead, we want to see full-blown reviews from trusted publications and channels. That way, we know what we’re getting when we purchase a Snapdragon X-powered laptop.

Microsoft's Surface Laptop 5 looks familiar in a lot of ways. It comes in 13.5-inch and 15-inch sizes, has Alcantara and metal options, a 3:2 display and a classic, clean design. What it doesn't have, however, are AMD Ryzen CPU options. The Surface Laptop 5 is all Intel, all the time.

This is also the first time the Surface Laptop (outside the Surface Laptop Studio) is getting Thunderbolt 4. Every single Surface Laptop this year, both business and consumer, are Intel Evo certified.

Microsoft started offering AMD Ryzen processors on the Surface Laptop 3 in 2019, and did so again on the Surface Laptop 4 in 2021, though they were typically on older silicon. Last year's Surface Laptop 4 used Ryzen 4000 chips and still managed to make our list of the best ultrabooks, for awhile.

"With every product and with the goal of delighting customers, we select the right components for the form, scenarios, and customer we envision," A Microsoft spokesperson told Tom's Hardware in a statement. "It is a deliberate process whereby we work closely with our partners to tune and perfect the overall experience. For this product, we are excited about the 12th Gen processors from Intel. Built on the Intel Evo platform, this chipset will help Surface Laptop 5 to achieve the perfect balance of style and power. This balance has consistently led to Surface Laptop being our most loved Surface device."

The 12th Gen Intel chips should still be a nice upgrade for the Surface Laptop lineup, which are a step up in performance over both those AMD chips and also the 11th Gen Intel CPUs. Both the 13.5 and 15-inch Laptop 5 variants use the Core i7-1255U, while the smaller laptop also can use a Core i5-1235U. Commercial versions ship with a Core i5-1245U or Core i7-1265U.

The Laptop will continue to come in platinum and matte black at both the 13.5 and 15 inch sizes, while the smaller model will also get sage and sandstone color optoins. Only the 13.5-inch platinum version will come with an Alcantara wrist rest.

Both laptops will have 3:2 displays with Dolby Vision IQ (on the speaker side, you get Dolby Atmos). Notably, neither of them are getting the bump to 120 Hz that we've seen on the Surface Pro or Surface Laptop Studio, which would have been a nice touch, even if you are less likely to use a stylus with a clamshell notebook. The Surface Laptop is also still on a 720p webcam, unlike the Surface Pro and Laptop Studio.

Storage on the Surface Laptop 5 starts at 256GB and goes up to 1TB. Microsoft suggests the SSDs are removable, though for previous Surface Laptops, that has meant removing the feet and taking off the keyboard. That's likely why the company recommends only having authorized technicians take care of replacements.

Neither model has a ton of ports, but they're a decent mix. You get a single USB Type-C port with Thunderbolt 4, a USB Type-A 3.1 port, a 3.5 mm headphone jack and, of course, the proprietary Surface Connect port.

We'll have to test Microsoft's performance and battery claims ourselves, but otherwise, it seems like not too much changed here. I suppose I can live with that, especially if Microsoft kept its keyboards to the same quality as previous versions.

The new Surface Laptop 5 lineup will launch on Oct. 25, starting at $999 for the 13.5-inch model with a Core i5, 8GB of RAM and 256B of storage and $1,299.99 for the 15-incher with an i7 and 8GB of RAM.

Asus' 2022 gaming lineup is comprehensive, covering almost its entire existing product stack with updates to the latest from Intel, AMD and Nvidia. But perhaps the most interesting among them is a gaming tablet, the Asus ROG Flow Z13. That comes amid other updates, including a 16-inch ROG Zephyrus Duo and revamps of the TUF line of budget notebooks.

The ROG Flow Z13 is a 13.4-inch tablet that kind of resembles a Surface device for gamers. In fact, it even looks like a slightly more reasonable version of the ROG Mothership from 2019, which also had a detachable keyboard (but was huge and far more powerful for its time).

Asus is using 12th Gen Intel processors in the ROG Flow Z13, ranging from a Core i5 up to an Intel Core i9-12900H with either an RTX 3050 or RTX 3050 Ti on board. But like last year's ROG Flow X13, it can use the XG Mobile dock with up to an RTX 3080 laptop GPU over a proprietary connection for faster gaming. This new graphics dock is slightly bigger and heavier than the original. 

The tablet itself weighs about 2.42 pounds and is just 12 mm thick. It can be separated from the keyboard cover, which has RGB lighting because how else would you know it's for gaming? Asus claims the cover offers 1.7 millimeters of travel.

Unlike Microsoft, which uses a 3:2 aspect ratio in it's (decidedly non-gaming) tablets, Asus is using 16:10. There will be a 120 Hz pane option, which Asus is saying is "FHD," but is likely higher than the standard 1920 x 1080 due to the extra height. The same goes for the "4K" panel, which will run at 60 Hz. Additionally, there are both front- and rear-facing cameras on this device.

Asus is cooling the tablet with the help of a vapor chamber over both the processor and graphics, as well as liquid metal on the CPU. With the kickstand opened for more airflow, Asus claims that the Flow Z13 can run under 32 decibels, even under intense workloads.

There's a door behind the kickstand for an m.2 2230 SSD, which is similar to what Microsoft has done on the Surface Pro. 

If you're looking for something bigger and more powerful, Asus has kicked the ROG Zephyrus Duo up to 16-inches. The dual-screen laptop will use processors up to AMD’s Ryzen 9 6900HX and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti, including a MUX switch to ensure you get the performance you expect on the main display. The GPU will offer up to 150W of TGP, with dynamic boost.

That main screen is now 16-inches, and Asus is debuting what it calls "Nebula HDR," with Mini LEDs in 512 zones and 1,200 nits of peak brightness. That's on a QHD display at 165 Hz, though again, the resolution should be slightly higher than 2560 x 1440 due to the 16:10 aspect ratio. The half-height secondary panel goes up to 3820 x 1100 and measures 14.09 inches diagonally.

The new design minimizes the gap between the two displays, making the transition between the two panels appear more seamless, and Asus is promising better viewing angles on that ScreenPad Plus–which is good given that was an issue with previous iterations of the Zephyrus Duo.

The cooling system has been upgraded again, too. The ScreenPad Plus actually slides backwards now, to show off a part of the motherboard (with, of course, RGB lighting for good measure). It has fans that are 0.7 mm higher, which the company claims offers 11% more airflow than the previous Zephyrus Duo, and the CPU is being cooled with Conductonaut Extreme thermal compound, which Asus says drops temperatures up to 14 degrees Celsius lower than typical thermal grease.

Other features include an IR camera to log in with Windows Hello, a six-speaker audio system (four speakers and two tweeters) and up to 64GB of DDR5 RAM.

For traditionalists, the AMD ROG Zephyrus G14 is getting a refresh with a 16:10 display and, thank heavens, a webcam (and an IR webcam, for Windows Hello). We’re eager to see if the new model will also earn a spot on our best gaming laptops list.

The G14 is still an all-AMD machine with up to AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS CPU and Radeon RX 6800S GPU (Asus is claiming up to 105W of GPU power with AMD's SmartShift technology). Both the CPU and GPU will be cooled with liquid metal and a vapor chamber.

But the G14 has been redesigned on the outside, too: The display has 50% slimmer bezels on the sides and bottom, and the touchpad is twice as big as the previous model.

And yes, the Anime Matrix display on the lid is back, now with smaller perforations, more holes, higher brightness and better contrast. Asus is also adding minigames that you play on the lid using a mouse, though I would imagine the games you play on the real screen will be far more interesting.

The G15 is seeing less of a shift. It's getting a bump to the Ryzen 9 6900HS and RTX 3080 Ti, and it too will now have a webcam. But it's maintaining a 16:19 display.

Other laptops being updated to the latest silicon include the Asus ROG Strix G15 and G17, the Strix Scar 15 and 17, Asus TUF Dash 15 and the TUF Gaming A15, A17, F15 and F17.

Pricing and availability were not immediately made available.

Microsoft has grown its Surface portfolio to a slew of devices, including the Surface Pro, Surface Laptop, Surface Go, Surface Laptop Studio and Surface Laptop Go. Some of those may find themselves discounted and among the best deals. 

Some of the newest devices, like the Surface Pro 8 and Surface Laptop Studio are unlikely to see deep cuts. But some older Pros and Surface Laptops may see some discounts, if you're willing to go for an older device. For the 2-in-1, there's a chance you might find bundles that include a keyboard or stylus.

For the laptops, you may find a mix of older models of the Surface Go, and, if you're lucky, the Surface Laptops that launched earlier this year.

Here are some of the deals we've found so far:

Microsoft Surface Pro 8 Deals

Beyond these deals, Microsoft is offering an $100 Microsoft Store gift card to those who purchase a Surface Pro 8 directly through its store.

Microsoft Surface Pro 7 Deals

Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 Deals

Microsoft Surface Laptop Go Deals

Microsoft Surface Book 3 Deals

The Surface Book 3 is being supplanted by the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio. It's likely that once it goes out of stock, you may not be able to get this detachable design again.

Microsoft Surface Go 2 Deals

Microsoft Surface Accessory Deals

You can check in on deals on Surfaces in real time with the widgets below:

More Surface Pro 7 Deals

More Surface Pro 8 deals 

More Surface Laptop 4 Deals

More Surface Laptop Go Deals

More Surface Laptop Studio Deals

You can find even more savings at our best Cyber Monday PC gaming deals page. We're also tracking the best Cyber Monday monitor deals, best Cyber Monday CPU deals, best Cyber Monday SSD deals, best Cyber Monday gaming laptop deals, best Cyber Monday keyboard deals, best Cyber Monday gaming mouse deals and the best Cyber Monday PC hardware deals overall. Makers and hobbyists will find sales by checking out the best Cyber Monday 3D printer deals, best Cyber Monday Raspberry Pi deals and best Cyber Monday robot deals. If you're shopping for a graphics card, we even have advice on how to find the best RTX 3080 deals, best RTX 3070 deals and best RTX 3060 deals you can find in this challenging market.

The Microsoft Surface Pro 8 is finally here, introducing Windows 11 to the Surface line, plus a 120 Hz display and a bunch of refreshed internals that put the Surface Pro’s power back on par with the market’s best ultrabooks, even if it’s a little late to the Intel 11th Gen party.

While you won’t find too much added functionality here, what you will find is a refinement of everything that makes Surface Pro tablets great, which when combined with the added touch friendliness of Windows 11, easily makes this the best Surface Pro yet.

Specifications

Design of Microsoft Surface Pro 8

The Surface Pro 8 looks roughly the same as the Surface Pro 7 on first blush, in that it’s a mostly plain looking tablet with a kickstand that can attach to an optional type cover for expanded usability. But when you look past the, well, surface, you’ll see just how many changes the Pro 8 brings to the Surface Pro line.

First up, the 3:2 display has significantly thinner bezels, which many Surface devotees have been asking for for years. It’s also 120 Hz now, which makes for smoother writing and drawing. The right hand side of the tablet also no longer has a USB Type-A port, as Microsoft opted to replace it with a Thunderbolt 4 port. The optional Surface Pro Signature type cover now has a magnetic charging slot for a Surface Slim Pen 2, and you can actually remove the device’s SSD by lifting up the kickstand and using a SIM card removal tool.

Aesthetically, it's the biggest change since the Surface Pro 3, with rounded corners and anodized aluminum. It's refreshing to see the Pro get a makeover.

Note that the SSD removal is meant for technicians to be able to recover data more than anything else, and that swapping out the SSD on your own will void your warranty.

Still, it’s a nice bit of internal accessibility for a tablet. Unfortunately, there’s also some losses here that haven’t made it over from the Surface Pro 7 yet. LTE models of the Surface Pro 8 won’t be available until 2022, and while you can technically get the Surface Pro 8 in black, several configurations are currently only available in silver. 

As a general tablet, the Surface Pro 8 is a fairly small device when compared to 13 inch laptops and convertibles with comparable specs. Its 11.3 x 8.2 x 0.37 inch footprint is compact when compared to the 11.6 x 7.8 x 0.6 inch footprint on the Dell XPS 13 laptop and the 11.75 x 8.67 x 0.67 inch footprint on the HP Spectre x360 14 convertible. Even the ThinkPad X1 Nano, which makes size a top consideration, is still generally larger than it at 11.75 x 8.67 x 0.67 inches. Of course, those all have built in keyboards.

At 1.96 pounds, The Surface Pro 8 is also lightweight. The ThinkPad X1 Nano is close to it at 1.99 pounds, but the Dell XPS 13 and HP Spectre x360 14 are much heavier than it at 2.8 pounds and 2.95 pounds respectively.

Unfortunately, as a tablet, the Surface Pro 8 doesn’t have many options when it comes to ports. You’ll only have access to two Thunderbolt 4 ports, a 3.5mm headphone jack and a proprietary Surface Connect port for either charging or connecting your device to a dock.

Productivity Performance of Microsoft Surface Pro 8

Aside from its move to Windows 11, you won’t find any major changes to the Surface Pro 8’s components except for a generation refresh. Apple may have iPads with its proprietary M1 chip now, but the Surface lineup is sticking with Intel. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, though. In testing with our Core i7-1185G7 review model with 16GB of memory, the Surface Pro 8 generally outperformed other 13-inch computing options.

In Geekbench 5, a synthetic benchmark for testing general PC performance, the Surface Pro 8 had the highest multi-core score among all of the 13-inch laptops we tested, though it had the lowest single-core score. Meanwhile, the Dell XPS 13 was right on the Surface’s tail on multi-core performance, plus it boasted the highest single core score.

The Surface Pro 8 assumed a hefty lead in our Handbrake video encoding test, where we track how long it takes a computer to transcode a video down from 4K to FHD. In this test, it finished the transcode at least 3 minutes faster than rivals, with the ThinkPad X1 Nano being the next quickest machine. 

Our file transfer test, where we measure how quickly a machine can move files, is the only place where the Surface Pro 8 and its 256GB SSD definitively stumbled. With a file transfer rate of 415.17 MBps, it was the slowest of the devices we tested. By comparison, the Dell XPS 13 was able to reach transfer speeds of 806.2 MBps.

We also ran the Surface Pro 8 through Cinebench R23 for 20 simultaneous runs, in order to simulate a long work session. During this test, the Surface Pro 8’s CPU clock speed averaged 2,576.58 MHz, while its CPU temperature sat at an average of 55.41 degrees Celsius. Scores began in the 5000s and eventually fell off to wind up mostly in the high 3000s, with a short-lived spike happening on run 17.

Display of Microsoft Surface Pro 8

The Surface Pro 8 comes with a 2880 x 1920 3:2 display that’s bright and vivid in both light and dark environments, but most importantly, it’s also got a 120 Hz refresh rate now. I tested it first by watching the trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home on it, and found that I could accurately make out the picture regardless of the viewing angle. Glare was also virtually nonexistent, and the bright colors on Spider-Man’s suit stood out as rich and vibrant. Blacks were a little shallow, but not enough to be distracting against the vivid colors.

I also used the Surface Pro 8 to take notes, write, and browse the web. Here, the display’s aspect ratio helped it feel almost as natural to work with as paper, especially in portrait mode. Meanwhile, that new 120 Hz refresh rate made the pen feel way less laggy and contributed to the feeling of working with a real notebook.

Still, the 13-inch laptop space is full of great screens. The Surface Pro 8 only took second place in both color and brightness among the devices we tested, with the HP Spectre x360 14 being more colorful and the Dell XPS 13 being brighter. But for a great balance across both color and brightness, the Surface Pro 8 was the clear leader.

Keyboard, Touchpad and Surface Slim Pen 2 with Microsoft Surface Pro 8

If there’s one thing the Microsoft Surface Pro 8 has over more traditional laptops, it's a wide variety of input methods. The device comes with touchscreen controls by default, which are now easier to handle thanks to the larger icons and more tap friendly UX in Windows 11, but buying a type cover will also give you a full-sized tenkeyless keyboard complete with an Fn row, touchpad and media keys. And, of course, the Alcantara fabric is soft on the wrists. Plus, you can get the Type Cover now in a bundle with the Surface Slim Pen 2 stylus, complete with a magnetic charging cradle that can be hidden away while you type. This is similar to what we first saw on the Surface Pro X's type cover.

The Signature Type Cover bundled with the Surface Slim Pen 2 costs $279.99 on top of the Surface Pro 8, while a Signature Type Cover on its own is $179.99. 

The Type Cover itself has pleasant to use chiclet style keys with surprisingly generous feeling travel for how thin it is. In my time with the Surface, these keys didn’t leave any marks on the tablet screen when I closed the type cover, but it’s possible that this could change over the course of long-term ownership. I was also impressed with how fast I could comfortably type on the type cover, reaching up to 85 words-per-minute on 10fastfingers.com. I’m a conscientious typer, so that’s a fairly high score for me.

That said, the Type Cover does feel unstable and bendy in its default, angled position. You can sit it flat against your desk if you prefer, although I found this was less comfortable and cut my wpm down to 78.

The precision touchpad that comes with the Surface Pro 8 is surprisingly large at 4 x 3.25 inches and is arguably smoother than the touch screen. I had no issues using it to input two-finger multi-touch gestures like scrolling. Unfortunately, I couldn’t reliably input three-finger gestures like switching apps, usually having to perform the gesture multiple times to get the tablet to do what I wanted.

The Surface Slim Pen 2 provides a smooth and tactile writing experience with plenty of programmable buttons. I didn’t notice its new haptic feedback feature, which uses rumble to help simulate the feeling of writing on paper as well as let you know how much pressure you’re exerting, at first. But after I adjusted the rumble to 75% intensity, I had a comfortable level of haptics that made writing feel just a little more natural. Setting the effect to 100% intensity made it a little too overbearing to actually tell how much pressure I was using, plus a little too distracting to be useful. But once you find a level that you’re comfortable with, it is a nice if not entirely life-changing bonus. Writing by hand became more satisfying, at the very least, although I’m not sure my doodles got any better.

If you don't get the Slim Pen 2 with the Type Cover, it costs $129.99 on its own.

The new magnetic charging cradle for the Slim Pen 2 that’s built into the Surface Pro 8 Type Cover makes storing the stylus a breeze, and to be honest, I don’t know if I would bother using the stylus much without it.

Audio of Microsoft Surface Pro 8

The Surface Pro 8 has better speakers than any 13 inch device has a right to have. Sound comes out of the side of the laptop with the webcam on it (top-firing if resting on its kickstand), and presents clear vocals and deep bass with very little lost information.

In fact, when I listened to Montero (Call Me By Your Name) on the Surface Pro 8, I had an easier time making out some lyrics than I do on my Sennheiser headphones. Audio can also get loud, with the speakers easily filling my entire 2-bedroom apartment with music at 100%. My comfortable listening volume was around 35%.

The only downside here is there’s no included audio software, so you’ll have to go to third-party solutions if you want to play with an equalizer.

Battery Life of Microsoft Surface Pro 8

As a tablet that’s designed to serve as a daily sidekick for both work and play, battery life is important for the Surface Pro 8. Unfortunately, it had only decent results in our in-home battery life benchmark, which continually streams video, browses the web, and runs OpenGL tests over Wi-Fi at 150 nits of average brightness. While it lasted for just over 9 hours under these conditions, competing devices were able to reach up to 12 hours. 

Heat on Microsoft Surface Pro 8

Since the Surface Pro 8 is a tablet with a detachable keyboard, I only measured the heat on the tablet part of the device. I did this during the 15th of 20 consecutive Cinebench R23 runs, to get a feel for how hot this device gets during heavy workloads.

At the center of the tablet, I read a temperature of 42.6 degrees Celsius (108.68 degrees Fahrenheit), although there was a hotspot slightly above it that came in at 44.9 degrees Celsius (112.82 degrees Fahrenheit). While these temperatures aren’t hot enough to damage your device, I would recommend propping the Surface Pro 8 up on its kickstand for heavy workloads. Unless, of course, you need to warm up your hands.

On that note, we didn’t notice any change in the Surface Pro 8’s temperature based on whether it was propped up on its kickstand or not.

Microsoft Surface Pro 8 Webcam

With rear cameras and the ability to remove the Microsoft Surface Pro 8 from its keyboard and hold it like a phone, having a good built-in webcam is more important for this device than the average 13-inch laptop. Luckily, the Surface Pro 8’s 1080p front camera and 4k rear camera deliver on this use case, although not without the occasional artifact or oversaturated color.

The first issue I noticed with this webcam is that bright colors tended to be oversaturated in photos I took with the front camera. I normally picture myself as a dirty blonde, but my hair hardly looks faded at all in photos taken with the front camera. That’s not necessarily a problem, and can be flattering in a way. But if you’re looking for accurate colors, it’s something to keep in mind. On the plus side, this issue became less noticeable in photos I took under dimmer lighting.

The rear camera fidelity is perhaps the bigger problem here. Despite featuring a technically more advanced sensor, I found photos I took with this camera appeared far dimmer and more full of artifacts than photos I took with the front camera. If you’re just planning to make video calls with the Surface Pro 8, this won’t be a problem. Just don’t expect to shoot your next 4K masterpiece on it.

Front Camera Pics

Rear Camera Pics

Software and Warranty Included With Microsoft Surface Pro 8 

A benefit to buying a device straight from Microsoft is that you don’t have to deal with much bloatware. Most of the time, at least. Our Surface Pro 8 only came pre-installed with Surface-based utility apps and the default Windows 11 programs. This is roughly the same assortment of apps the Windows 10 ships with by default, although there is a new, free, browser-based video editor called Clipchamp hidden away in the new Start menu. Microsoft acquired Clipchamp in September of this year, so be prepared to see it more often across the company’s devices.

Of course, Windows 11 is here. You can read more about Windows 11 over in my colleague Andrew E. Freedman’s launch day impressions, but it makes the Surface Pro 8 feel far more usable. While we’ve expressed complaints about the Windows 11 UX refresh before, it’s plenty at home in a touch environment. That’s thanks to larger icons, a Start menu that’s organized like a phone’s app tray and the ability to quickly snap where apps show up on your screen to match preset layouts.

As far as utility apps go, there is an app simply named Surface that shows you your warranty and serial number, plus lets you adjust your Surface Slim Pen 2 settings if you own one. Microsoft Whiteboard also gets some more prominence here, as while it’s been around for a while, there’s now a dedicated (but reprogrammable) button on the Surface Slim Pen 2 to open it.

The Microsoft Surface Pro 8 comes with a 1-year limited warranty.

Configurations of Microsoft Surface Pro 8

The Surface Pro 8 currently has 8 configurations up for order, with the one we reviewed having an Intel Core i7-1185G7 CPU, 16GB of LPDDR4x RAM and a 256GB SSD. This model costs $1,599 for just the tablet. 

On Microsoft's site, it is promoting the Surface Pro Signature Keyboard with Slim Pen 2, a bundle with both peripherals for an extra $279.99. That Type Cover by itself is $199.99 (and still has the slot for the pen), while the Slim Pen on its own is $129.99.  A version of this keyboard with a built-in fingerprint reader is $199.99.

If you need to save some money, you can lower your specs down to a Core i5 model with 8GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD. This costs $1,099 (without the type cover). Other i5 permutations with varying RAM and SSD capacities exist up to $1,399 (again, without the type cover), but you can also go more expensive than our review configuration if money is not an issue. 

The most decked out configuration of the Surface Pro 8 you can get right now costs $2,599 (for just the tablet) and comes with the same CPU as our review configuration but has 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD.

Microsoft did confirm to us that you can continue to use Type Covers from some older Surface models on the Surface Pro 8, which might make upgrading more approachable than buying this as your first Surface. Unfortunately, the company did not give us details on which covers are backwards compatible.

Bottom Line

Much of what makes the Surface Pro 8 unique compared to previous models comes more with the move to Windows 11 and an upgrade to its accessories than in any changes to the device itself. The thin-bezeled, 120 

Hz, 3:2 screen is brilliant and convenient for both play and productivity, and the refreshed internals make this tablet powerful for a 13-inch device, but you won’t find too much has changed in terms of functionality.

The Surface Slim Pen 2’s new haptic feedback feature is also a nice touch, although it isn’t worth upgrading for on its own. It's also helpful to have a place to store it and charge it in the Type Cover. It's nice to see this come over from the Surface Pro X.

But aside from these changes, you’ll probably continue to use the Surface Pro 8 as you used previous Surface devices. You’ll just be doing so with a new 120 Hz display that’s more suited for productivity, surprisingly high fidelity audio, better webcams, a more touch friendly operating system and more powerful processing.

If you want a device that has most of those benefits but is also cheaper, you might want to opt for the Dell XPS 13, which offers a more traditional laptop experience. True, it’s actually more expensive than the Surface model we reviewed, but that’s no longer the case once you add on a type cover.

Meanwhile, the ThinkPad X1 Nano mostly keeps up with the Surface Pro 8 on power, but has a longer battery life and is still fairly thin despite being a laptop as opposed to a tablet. Unfortunately, it’s also about the same price as the Surface Pro 8 (with a type cover) if you buy it with comparable specs.

Finally, the HP Spectre x360 14 is generally weaker than the Surface Pro 8, but will give you a similar experience for cheaper (assuming you buy a type cover for your Surface) thanks to being a convertible.

In releasing its most powerful, flexible Surface ever, Microsoft has built a device that’s a celebration of Windows 11. The Surface Laptop Studio ($1,599.99 to start, $2,699.99 as tested) switches between a laptop and a drawing tablet, with a display mode in between.

The Surface Book, with its detachable screen, is no more. The Laptop Studio puts its non-detachable screen on a hinge that lets the 14.4-inch display pitch forward or lean back, depending on if you're typing, watching video or sketching. The 120 Hz screen is smooth, fast and works with Microsoft's new Surface Slim Pen 2 ($129.99).

The move away from the detachable Book design means that Microsoft can use more powerful processors. And for the first time, we're seeing an H-series Intel processor in a Microsoft device, in the form of a "Tiger Lake H35" Intel Core i7-11370H. However, some of the best ultrabooks still offer more power in both clamshell and convertible form factors. 

Design of the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio

At first glance, the Surface Laptop Studio looks to be an ordinary laptop. Microsoft uses a magnesium and aluminum enclosure with a reflective Microsoft logo on the lid. The big giveaway that anything is special here is that the logo is on the lower third, beneath a line that’s actually the hinge that lets the Surface move into a few different positions. It's not beautiful, but it's not offensive, and I'll take function over form.

With the lid lifted, the Surface Laptop Studio is, well, still a traditional laptop--at first. It has moderately thick bezels surrounding a 14.4-inch screen, which features rounded corners to match the hardware (and the software that is Windows 11). The keyboard is a darker gray than the rest of the "platinum" colored body, which is a lighter tone. There's a decently sized touchpad here. If you've seen Microsoft's Surface Laptop 4, the design language hasn't changed much, not that we’re complaining.

But that's where the hinge comes into play. The Surface Laptop Studio is Microsoft's replacement for the Surface Book, which let you detach the screen and use it as a tablet while keeping extra batteries and discrete graphics in the base. Here, all of the components are in the bottom of the laptop, rather than behind the screen. This allows for more powerful parts for creative professionals, but it also means the screen can't detach. Microsoft calls the adjustable articulation the "dynamic woven hinge," and there is what seems to be some fabric beneath the screen. 

Instead of popping off, the screen can be used in three different stances. There's the default laptop stance, which needs no explanation. Then, you can pull the screen forward and place it at the end of the keyboard, leaving the touchpad open for use. I could see this being used for giving presentations, watching video or gaming, though ultimately I think it's the least useful. Finally, you can pull the screen down further, into a near-flat tablet mode. This echoes Microsoft's Surface Studio desktop, and similar designs have been used in laptops from Acer, HP and even Sony/Vaio before. 

There's one other unofficial stance, which is that you can also turn the laptop around and simply flip the screen over on itself to see only the display. This might be a good option for watching movies or if you're using it with an external keyboard and mouse. The screen will rotate to match this position.

There will be debates among Surface users as to whether this design is an improvement. The Surface Book was effectively one-of-a-kind in the market. Those who loved it were diehards. This design allows for H-series processors that wouldn't work behind a screen, but I suspect some will miss their detachable tablets.

One interesting design choice Microsoft made is on the bottom of the notebook. Curiously, the base of the laptop, where most of the components are held, has a smaller footprint than the rest of the device. Effectively, this design puts the Surface Laptop Studio on a literal pedestal. Leaving room on the sides provides a space for the Surface Slim Pen 2 to magnetically attach (more on that later), but I can't help but feel that letting the components take up the full base of the laptop could provide room for a larger battery, better cooling or other benefits. While the Slim Pen does fit great in that little nook and slides in magnetically, getting it out typically means lifting the laptop up.

The pedestal also has the effect of making the laptop appear thinner than it is. You can't see that part when it's on a desk, so the device appears to float.And the slides, which stick out, look really slim.

This design choice also seems to affect port selection. On the left side, there are two USB Type-C 4.0 ports, with support for Thunderbolt 4. (Finally!) On the right is Microsoft's proprietary Surface Connect port for charging and docking, as well as a single 3.5mm headphone jack. And that's it. The Surface Laptop Studio, despite its size, offers  the same port selection asthe far smaller Surface Pro 8. I can't help but wonder if by extending the base to full width, Microsoft couldn't have fit a USB Type-A port (yes, we still use those), Ethernet, or even an HDMI port for external monitors. Yes, Thunderbolt does these things, but many creative professionals have existing equipment and don’t want to deal with dongles.

The unorthodox shape might make some think the Laptop Studio is extra thick, but that's not the case. At 12.72 x 8.98 x 0.75 inches and 4 pounds (3.8 pounds for the Core i5 models without Nvidia graphics), it’s actually fairly svelte for its class. The clamshell Dell XPS 15 is 13.57 x 9.07 x 0.71 inches and 4.31 pounds, while the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 4 is 14.14 x 9.99 x 0.70 inches and 3.99 pounds. In the convertible realms, the HP Spectre x360 14 is 11.75 x 8.67 x 0.67 inches and 2.95 pounds. But as we’ll see later in testing, the Spectre x360 is in a lesser performance league.

The only time the Surface Laptop Studio fel tbig was when using it as a tablet. You can't detach this screen, but if you fold it down, it's still a big tablet, just one that's far bigger and heavier than taking an iPad Pro off of its keyboard.

Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio Specifications

Productivity Performance on the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio

Finally, a Surface with an H-series processor. While the Surface Book couldn't handle these chips due to limited room behind the display, with the change in design, the Surface Laptop Studio boasts Intel's 11th Gen "Tiger Lake H35" processors. They're not the most powerful of Intel's H-series chips, which range from 45W to 65W, but they're still an improvement.

Ours came with a 4-core/8-thread Intel Core i7-11370H, paired with 32GB of RAM and a 1TB NVMe SSD. For all the word processing, web browsing, video streaming and even light architectural drawing I did, the laptop was up to the task.

On Geekbench 5, the Surface Laptop Studio earned a single-core score of 1,538 and a multi-core score of 5,820, surpassing the HP Spectre x360 14 and its U-series Intel Core i7-1165G7. While it held up in single-core performance against the XPS 15 and ThinkPad X1 Extreme, their 8-core Intel Core i7-11800H processors use 45W of power and provided much faster multi-core performance.

Microsoft's 1TB SSD copied 25GB of files at a rate of 1,051.2 MBPs, coming in faster than Dell's 512GB offering in the XPS 15 we tested. The ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 4's 512GB SSD was the fastest of the bunch at 1,303.58 MBps, and the HP Spectre x360 14's 1TB drive was sluggish at 533.61 MBps.

On our Handbrake test, in which computers transcode a 4K video to 1080p, the Surface took 11 minutes and 25 seconds. Both the XPS 15 and ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 4 were several minutes faster, thanks to more powerful parts. But the HP system was much slower.

We stress laptops by running Cinebench R23 on a loop 20 times. The  Surface Laptop Studio’s performance under load was quite stable. It started with a score of 5,570.18 and dropped into the high 5,400's (and, in one instance, just over 5,500) for the rest of the test. The CPU ran at an average clock speed of 3.4 GHz and at an average temperature of 74.01 degrees Celsius (165.22 degrees Fahrenheit).

Gaming and Graphics on the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio

Our configuration of the Surface Laptop Studio came with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti, giving the laptop a boost over integrated options when it comes to graphics performance. In this laptop, the RTX 3050 Ti has a 50 watt max graphics power, a 1,035 MHz boost clock and uses Max-Q technology.

I used the Surface Laptop Studio to play Splitgate at the display’s native 2400 x 1600 resolution on a mix of high and epic settings. The game typically ran around 150 frames per second, minus a few slowdowns, though a couple times it ran as high as 200 fps. That's more than enough to take advantage of the 120 Hz screen.

You could use the Studio for some light gaming. It ran the benchmark Sid Meider's Civilization VI: Gathering Storm at 66 fps at 1080p, just a frame difference from the XPS 15 with the same GPU.

If you get the version with Intel's Xe graphics, it won't do as well for gaming. Microsoft has been pushing Xbox Game Pass hard on Windows 11, and yes, I could use its xCloud streaming service to play Forza Horizon 4 without much of an issue, but your results will depend heavily on your internet connection. 

Display on the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio

Microsoft equipped the Surface Laptop Studio with a 14.4-inch, 2560 x 1600 touchscreen. It's keeping the standard Surface 3:2 aspect ratio, which is great. But this is the first time Microsoft has gone with a 120 Hz display, which Microsoft is calling PixelSense Flow.

Compared to the Surface Book, this screen is a bit of a compromise. It's bigger than the 13.5-inch on the smaller models, but not as large as the bigger 15-inch options. I think that for most productivity users, this will be great, though I could see some creative types missing the larger canvas.

Let me tell you though, the screen looks good. It gets nice and bright, with solid colors. I used it to watch the trailer for The Matrix: Resurrections, and all of the subtle nods to the blue pill and red pill (like actor Neil Patrick Harris' glasses) popped off the screen. And some of the series' well-known green code was vivid over a city. At some points, the colors looked a bit warm, however.

In our lab measurements, we found the Surface Laptop Studio to cover 75.8% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, falling a bit behind the Dell XPS 15's OLED screen and the HP Spectre's absurd showing (139.7%).

The Surface Laptop Studio was the brightest of the bunch, at 487 nits. The ThinkPad X1 Extreme came closest (426 nits), while the XPS 15 and Spectre fell behind.

Despite being told earlier that the Surface Laptop Studio would come out of the box at 60 Hz, our review unit was at 120 Hz as soon as I finished setting it up. A Microsoft spokesperson told me that all Surface Laptop Studios will be shipping this way.

My only concern about the screen came with the laptop in tablet mode. While many touch screens have a bit of flex, I noticed the screen here had a bit more than I’d like while using the Surface Slim Pen 2. It only occurred when I put pressure straight down on the screen to draw thicker lines — it's far less noticeable holding it at an angle — and while I don't think it will cause the screen to break, I was surprised.

Keyboard and Touchpad

It's no secret that I really like Microsoft's keyboards. In my opinion, they're the most consistently good part of Microsoft's devices (even when you take into consideration Type Covers). And Microsoft has nailed it again here.

I hit 115 words per minute on the 10fastfingers.com typing test, with an error rate of less than 2%. That's about as good as I get. The keys are firm enough that they keep me from bottoming out, but still feel clicky and responsive. You can control the white backlighting with a function key.

Because the wrist rests overhang the pedestal, it may seem that your arms would hang in the air while you type. But really, it's just like resting your wrists and typing on any thick laptop. The deck is little high up, but if you've used a gaming laptop or workstation, it won't be a new feeling.

The touchpad has some new tricks. Microsoft has moved to haptic feedback, so there's no physical button to press. Instead, you can click anywhere on the touchpad, whether at the bottom or even in a top corner. If no one told me, I may have been fooled by the effect — it’s quite good.

In settings, under Bluetooth & devices > Touchpad, you can change the intensity of the feedback, though I really did like the medium option out of the box. You can also adjust how sensitive it is to taps, though I didn't find a ton of difference there.

The new trackpad also worked great with Windows 11's most complicated three and four-finger gestures, like swiping to switch apps or change desktops. I think this is the best touchpad Microsoft has ever made, and, dare I say it, as good as on Apple's MacBooks.

Surface Slim Pen 2

The stylus, in this case, is the Surface Slim Pen 2, a $129.99 add-on. The original Surface Slim Pen should and older Surface Pens should also work here, but this new one has some tricks.

The Slim Pen 2 can fit right under the lip of the laptop, where it charges wirelessly while you use it. You have to lift the laptop a bit to get it out, however. Undocking it also brings up a quick bar with tools you might want to use with the stylus, like the Whiteboard app or Snip & Sketch. (The magnets also love to stick to the palm wrests, but the pen won't charge there.)

But the real trick is that this pen, like the touchpad, uses haptic feedback. It works in concert with Microsoft's custom G6 processor in the laptop to inform very slight rumbles. I find it to be a neat trick, but I'm not sure that it's going to make or break this. I got more feedback when I pressed down hard for thicker brushstrokes, while on lighter strokes I felt nothing at all. Selecting new tools in compatible applications can also provide a satisfying, acknowledging thump.  

Tactile signals, as it's described as in Settings, is an on/off switch. You can't make it more or less powerful.

What was noticeable to me was how the stylus works with the 120 Hz display. Whether I drew or wrote, the digital ink flowed more seamlessly on the more responsive screen. It's subtle, but you don't have that split second of lag between inking and having the result show on the screen.

You can also get the pen feedback in Office 365. Adding to a list of numbers in Excel or marking up a Word document still felt smooth (and they automatically switch to the draw ribbon when the pen is removed), but the haptics, while they work, just don't feel as useful here.

Audio

The Surface Laptop Studio's quad speakers, with Dolby Atmos support, are pretty solid. They produce loud, quality sound. In Paramore's Misery Business, a record sound effect at the beginning was more clear than on some headphones, while the vocals, guitars, and drums were well-balanced.

That said, if you tunr the volume up too high, sound can get a bit tinny. I was personally enjoying the sound at around 75%, and you can go higher, but hitting 100% definitely made the quality noticeably worse.

Also, the different screen postures can have some effect on the volume, some of which seems to come up from the keyboard. There's not a huge difference between laptop and the display mode, but moving it down into a tablet muffles the sound a bit, so artists might want to use external speakers or headphones while they work.

There is no preinstalled software to adjust the audio.

Upgradeability

Technically, the Surface Laptop Studio has an upgradeable SSD. In practice, that's only the case for those with access to authorized technicians or who are willing to void their warranties.

While Microsoft mentions the removable SSD in the device's spec sheet, there's a footnote that reads "Hard drive is not user removable. Hard drive is only removable by skilled technician [sic] following Microsoft provided instructions."

And while the Surface Pro has an easy access door, the Surface Laptop Studio doesn't have that. Since the device has a unibody chassis, it's also unlikely the keyboard lifts up like the regular Surface Laptop does. There are no obvious screws on the device — they're under the two strips on the bottom of the notebook. Microsoft didn't respond to queries regarding how the laptop opens up.

That said, it’s great that, over the past few years, Microsoft has been adding at least some upgradeability and repairability to its Surface line. Previously, there had been none at all. But constantly telling users not to do it themselves and making it more difficult than other laptop companies do is a shame, especially on a professional-grade device. 

If a user has a problem under warranty, they could get it replaced, assuming there is an "authorized technician" nearby. But if you need a new SSD outside of warranty? You may need to get a whole new laptop. This comes from the same company that announced a mouse with recycled ocean plastic alongside this laptop.

Battery Life

The Surface Laptop Studio should give you all-day battery life for simple tasks. It ran for 10 hours and 42 minutes on our test, which continuously browses the web, streams videos and runs OpenGL tests in the browser, all while connected to Wi-Fi with the screen at 150 nits of brightness.

I imagine that some of the longevity has to do with Windows 11's support for dynamic refresh rates.

Either way, battery life was hours ahead of the ThinkPad X1 Extreme, which utilizes more powerful discrete graphics (7:50) as well as the XPS 15 and Spectre x360 with OLED displays.

Heat

If you really stress the Surface Laptop Studio, it can get a bit toasty.

We take heat temperatures when running our Cinebench R23 stress test, in which we run that benchmark 20 times in a row to simulate intensive work.

Between the G and H keys at the center of the keyboard the Surface Laptop Studio hit 38.1 degrees Celsius (100.58 degrees Fahrenheit), while on the bottom, it reached 34.4 degrees Celsius (93.92 degrees Fahrenheit).

It's not impossible to use, but it's also not the most comfortable. On the plus side, the laptop was surprisingly quiet during the test. I checked several times to make sure it was still running. But I would rather the fans run a bit louder and make the device entirely cooler as a result.

This is one spot where there's a huge benefit over the Surface Book design. The screen stays cool, because the components aren't below the display. So if you're using it to draw while on a desk, heat won't be an issue.

Webcam

The Surface Laptop Studio has a 1080p webcam in the top bezel, as any laptop should in an age where people are working in remote or hybrid situations.

Is it as good as the best webcams that you buy separately? No. And higher resolution doesn't inherently mean better image quality. But I found that the Surface Laptop Studio's camera was color accurate and fairly sharp, which is good enough for most people.

The Laptop Studio also has an IR camera to use facial recognition to log in with Windows Hello. It worked consistently and quickly every time, starting from when I first set the PC up. 

Software and Warranty

Perhaps the obvious statement here is that Microsoft has included Windows 11 on the Surface Laptop Studio. Check out our impressions of Windows 11 at launch for more information on the new operating system.

Otherwise, there are two major apps. One is Get Started, which guides you to the File Explorer, recommends you back up with OneDrive and suggests a handful of apps from the Microsoft Store. This feels like something that should run once at startup rather than being a full app.

But the Surface app is useful. It provides device and driver information, connectors you to basic support and provides warranty status for your hardware. It's also where you can adjust the pen pressure for the Surface Slim Pen 2 and see it's battery level.

Sadly, Windows 11 didn't kill the grand Microsoft tradition of filling the start menu with links that download (or run preinstalled) software you may not have wanted. On the Surface Laptop Studio, these include Clipchamp, Whatsapp, PicsArt, Amazon Prime Video, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook.

Microsoft sells the Surface Laptop Studio with a one-year warranty, which you can extend (and add accidental damage coverage to) for an additional fee.

 Configurations

We tested the Surface Laptop Studio in a $2,699.99 configuration with an Intel Core i7-11370H, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti, 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. The Surface Slim Pen 2 we used alongside it is an additional $129.99.

The base model is $1,599.99, which uses a 35W Intel Core i5-11370H, 16GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD and integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics. You can bump that up to 512GB of storage for $1,799.99.

If you require discrete graphics, you'll need to pay at least $2,099.99, and get the Core i7, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. The top-of-the-line is identical to our review unit, except it has 2TB of storage and costs $3,099.99.

Bottom Line

The Surface Laptop Studio is the most powerful laptop that Microsoft has ever built, but it's design is sure to divide, at least for this first generation.

In most ways, the Surface Laptop Studio is a more balanced device than the previous Surface Book ever was. And not just because the Surface Book was top heavy! The Surface Laptop Studio's design ensures that whether you're in laptop mode, tablet mode or in between, you get the full amount of compute power and battery life that Microsoft intended.

But Intel's H35 processors hold it back from being as powerful as the creator laptops from other companies. The Dell XPS 15 and Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme (Gen 4) have far better multi-core performance. In some configurations, they're also quite a bit cheaper.

But Microsoft's form factor is rare. If the Studio setup will help with your workflow, this is one to consider. Microsoft has made it an excellent laptop, and a fine drawing device. But you have to be willing to pay for both and give up some power to get it. 

If you thought the Surface Pro was getting stale, it's time to check it out again. The Microsoft Surface Pro 8 sports a full redesign, making it the biggest change to the device since the Surface Pro 3 put the lineup on the map.

The Surface Pro 8 is far and away a more beautiful device than its predecessors. The 13-inch screen has thinner bezels than ever before, and the chassis is no longer magnesium, but rather a sleek anodized aluminum that comes in either platinum or graphite colors. Frankly, it looks like the ARM-based Surface Pro X, just with ventilation. It's thinner than before, with rounded corners, and it just looks so much nicer than the previous chunky versions. The Pro 8 measures 11.3 x 8.2 x 0.37 inches and weighs 1.96 pounds. 

There's still a kickstand, this one going to 165-degrees, and you still attach the keyboard magnetically. Yes, it's still sold separately -- some things don't change. But in almost all senses, the Surface Pro 8 has caught up the Surface Pro X in design. The big difference is that the Pro X, which runs on an ARM-based processor, is fanless.

Microsoft brings big changes internally, too. A representative told me that while the previous Surface Pro was developed with a 15-watt thermal envelope, this Surface Pro 8 moves that up to 23W. So sustained performance should get a solid boost.

Like the new Surface Pro Studio, the Surface Pro 8's display goes up to 120 Hz (though it's set to 60 Hz by default) for a smoother experience. The 13-inch panel has a resolution of 2880 x 1920 and a 3:2 aspect ratio. Microsoft's screen uses a custom G6 chip, which works with the company's $129.99 Surface Slim Pen 2, to provide haptic feedback using a motor in the stylus. Microsoft claims that the new display is 12.5% brighter, 11% larger and has a 10.8% higher resolution. 

The consumer version of the Pro 8 uses 11th Gen Intel Core i5-1135G7 or i7-1185G7 processors, while the commercial version offers up three options: the dual-core i3-1115G4, or quad-core Core i5-1145G7 or Core i7-1185G7. The business model will also have LTE options on the Core i5 and Core i7 versions. Microsoft is promising up to 50% higher sustained CPU performance and 74% faster graphics.

The removable SSD ranges from 128 GB to 1TB, though Microsoft continues to caveat that users aren't supposed to replace these themselves, but instead take them to Microsoft-authorized repair technicians. 128GB and 256GB drives will be in both Wi-Fi and LTE models, while 512GB and 1TB drives are restricted to the Wi-Fi version.

This is also the first Surface Pro that supports Thunderbolt 4. There are two USB 4.0 Type-C ports on the left side, with Thunderbolt 4, while the right side has proprietary Surface Connect for charging and docking, as well as a headphone jack. This version of the Pro has ditched USB Type-A entirely, unless you get an external dock. 

Microsoft's new type covers for the Surface Pro 8 are different in that they can house and charge the Surface Slim Pen, like the Surface Pro X's covers do. In fact, the covers are interchangeable between the two devices.

Microsoft will sell consumer models of the Surface Pro 8 with Windows 11 Home. Commercial customers will be able to pick between Windows 11 Pro and Windows 10 Pro.

Microsoft's other announcements today include the Surface Laptop Studio, Surface Go 3, Surface Duo 2 and a Wi-Fi version of the Surface Pro X.

The Surface Pro 8 will start at $1,099.99 and is available for pre-order today. We hope to be able to get a more extended look soon and get a chance to benchmark and test the machine. But what do we know from our limited time with the device so far? It sure is pretty.

Microsoft is taking a second swing at its dual-screen smartphone with the Surface Duo 2. The newAndroid device is meant to provide a massive update in performance, functionality and camera quality over the original Duo, which launched just over a year ago.

The new Surface Duo bumps up to the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G chipset, 8GB of RAM and a new triple-camera system, making up for two of the original's biggest weaknesses.

The two new displays are also larger, with smaller bezels. Together, they're 8.3 inches diagonally, up from 8.1 inches on the original, and they're both 5.8-inches individually (up from 5.6-inches). Interestingly, both are listed at slightly lower resolutions than the predecessor. That being said, they have the same pixels-per-inch at 401 PPI.

Microsoft claims other updates to the screens, however, that may make up for that, including 800 nits max brightness and a 90 Hz adaptive refresh rate, as well as support for HDR. . The displays are covered in Corning Gorilla Glass Victus.

Additionally, the screens are slightly more curved toward the hinge than the original. That makes them slightly visible when the device is closed, letting you know if you missed a call or a text as soon as you take it out of your pocket (though you can still peek by slightly opening the screens, as well). This is a neat trick that Microsoft calls the Glance Bar, but considering the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 has a full outer display and the Galaxy Z Flip 3 has a small screen on the exterior that shows slightly more information, this just doesn't seem as helpful.

The new camera system includes a 12MP wide camera, a 12MP telephoto camera and a 16MP ultra-wide lens. That's far more impressive, at least on paper, than the single 11MP camera on the original Duo.

Microsoft will offer the Duo in two colors: glacier and a new obsidian black, the latter of which looked nice but got covered in fingerprints in my limited time with it. The phone feels far more substantial than the original, perhaps due to the extra weight. At 284 grams, it’s 0.07 pounds (34 grams) heavier than the original. I don't think it's heavy -- it just feels like a premium device.

It will come with Android 11, the latest release of Google's operating system. Microsoft is promising three years of updates and security fixes.

At 5.5 mm thick when it's open, Microsoft says this is the thinnest 5G phone, though it's 11 mm thick when it's closed. And now the cameras jut out, though that's not as big a deal as I expected. They're at a small angle, and yes, there’s a gap when you have the covers back to back. The lenses have a small rubber gasket protecting from damage, and it still felt decent, albeit a bit awkward, in the hand without them flush. 

There are also some serious quality of life improvements, including NFC for payments, Wi-Fi 6, better audio, and the fingerprint reader has moved onto the power button. There's also dual batteries adding up to 4,449 mAH and 23W fast charging.

Microsoft is also pushing this as, effectively, a gaming phone. The boost to 90 Hz displays makes games, whether local mobile games like Asphalt 9, which uses both screens at synced frame rates, or when using xCloud to stream console-grade games to a single display. The company is pushing 5G as a great way to stream movies and games to the Duo 2, though I could see that leading to some serious data overage charges. Microsoft is also listing the device as unlocked for all carriers.

There's also a new case you can use to magnetically attach the Surface Slim Pen or Slim Pen 2. The case also transfers power from the phone to the stylus, keeping it powered (There is no wireless charging for the phone, however.)

Otherwise, you'll still get a ton of Office 365 apps preinstalled, making it an ideal environment for Microsoft power users on the go.

We only had a short amount of time with the Duo 2, but it feels more premium than ever — far more like a premium device than the original did. The question, now, will be how it performs in the long term, and if more apps support a two-screen phone to make it a more useful device. The Surface Duo 2 is available for pre-order today, starting at $1,499.99, and will shop on October 21.

Microsoft's other announcements today include the Surface Laptop Studio, Surface Pro 8, Surface Go 3 and a Wi-Fi only version of the Surface Pro X.

In its fourth iteration, Microsoft's clamshell notebook has been polished to a sheen. The 15-inch Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 ($1,299.99 to start, $1,699.99 as tested), with a custom processor from AMD, is more powerful and lasts longer than its predecessors, while retaining a sleek (if aging) design. Microsoft is making one of the best ultrabooks with this laptop.

Sure, the Ryzen 7 4980U isn't using the latest tech from AMD, but it proves to be pretty darn fast, though that's not the case for the SSD. The whole experience largely puts the focus on your work, on Windows 10, and sometimes you might forget the laptop is there at all. That is, except for when you're thinking about how great the keyboard is.

Design of the Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 (15-inch, AMD)

If you follow the Microsoft Surface Lineup, you won't notice any changes to the Laptop 4. On the outside, it's effectively identical to the prior Laptop 3, with a clean, slick aluminum design (ours came in black, but the 15-inch variant also comes in platinum), with a reflective Surface Logo on the back. It has rounded corners, but is otherwise just a rectangular slab.

The 15-inch touchscreen display is still 3:2 with a 2496 x 1664 resolution, and, unfortunately, thick bezels. The black deck and wrist rest is also spartan, with the exception of a backlit keyboard. The 15-inch version doesn't offer the Alcantara fabric that the Surface Laptop is known for (though it made optional on the Laptop 3). For that, you'll have to go to the 13.5-inch version, which also includes more colors, like the ice blue that first debuted on the Surface Laptop Go in 2020.

It's a plain design, which I happen to like. But in the years since the Surface Laptop first debuted, Microsoft's partners, like Lenovo, Dell and HP have continued to make strides in sleek and portable laptops, so Microsoft isn't necessarily leading when it comes to style.

Most of the ports are on the left side of the laptop, including USB Type-A, USB Type-C and a 3.5 mm headphone jack. It's not surprising that on this AMD-based model, Microsoft hasn't opted for Thunderbolt 4, but it's also not on the Intel versions, either. And instead of the latest USB 4, the USB-C port is  USB Type-C 3.1 Gen 2. 

There's only one port on the right side of the notebook: the proprietary Surface Connect port. Its benefit continues to be three-fold: it's magnetic, so it will fall out if you trip over the charging cable; it has a light so you can tell that it's charging from the hardware; and it offers fast charging. Some of Microsoft's docks also use the connector, and there's an extra USB port on the included charger's brick. If you want, you can charge over the USB Type-C port if you have a different charger.

The chassis measures 13.4 x 9.6 x 0.58 inches and weighs 3.4 pounds. The closest competitor we chose in size is the Dell XPS 15, which is 13.6 x 9.1 x 0.7 inches and 4.5 pounds, though it also includes a discrete GPU, which the Surface doesn't.

The HP Spectre x360 14, a 2-in-1, also has a 3:2 display but is smaller at 11.75 x 8.67 x 0.67 inches and 2.96 pounds. The MSI Prestige 14 Evo, another slightly smaller competitor, is 12.6 x 8.6 x 0.6 inches and 2.8 pounds.

Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 (15-inch, AMD) Specifications

Productivity Performance on the Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 (15-inch, AMD)

We reviewed the Surface Laptop 4 with an AMD chip, the AMD Ryzen 7 4980U, or, as Microsoft calls it, the Microsoft Surface Edition.

Yes, this is Zen 2, not Zen 3. It's Ryzen 4000, not the latest Ryzen 5000. AMD and Microsoft worked on a custom processor for the Surface, and it seems that the time it took to make means that it's not based on the latest technology. That isn't to say it doesn't offer impressive performance. This chip has 8 cores and 16 threads, 8 GPU cores, a 2.0-GHz base clock and a 4.4-GHz boost clock. That offers higher frequencies than the standard Ryzen 7 4800U (and in fact are closer to the Ryzen 7 5800U). Microsoft also claims it worked with AMD to squeeze as much battery life as possible out of the laptop by tuning the bespoke silicon.

In our configuration, that chip was matched with 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD.

On Geekbench 5, a synthetic benchmark that measures overall performance, the Surface Laptop 4 achieved a single-core score of 1,173 and a multi-core score of 6,748. The Dell XPS 15, with a Core i7-10750H "Comet Lake" chip and 32GB of RAM, had a higher single-core score (1,232)  but a lower multi-core score (6,179). 

The MSI Prestige 14, with an Intel Core i7-1185G7 "Tiger Lake" part followed a similar pattern, with a higher single-core result and a lower multi-core score. The HP Spectre x360 14, with a more mainstream i7-1165G7 had the lowest multi-core score of the bunch.

The Surface Laptop didn't fare particularly well on our file transfer test, in which it reads and writes 25GB worth of files. Microsoft's clamshell hit a transfer rate of 372.49 MBps, which is not particularly speedy, though it was faster than the Dell’s 298 MBps. The Spectre x360 was faster at 533.61 MBps, while the Prestige blew the rest of them out of the water at 999.29 MBps.

Notably, our system claimed in settings that the 512GB drive measured 951GB, with 514GB in use and 437GB free. A spokesperson for Microsoft told Tom's Hardware that this is "a known bug with the way disk size is reported in the Storage UI in Windows Settings. Performance and available storage on the device are not impacted. The team is aware of the issue and working on a fix."

We use Handbrake to have laptops transcode a 4K video to 1080p. The Surface Laptop 4 really showed off with its Radeon graphics and multi-core performance. It took 8:21 to finish the task, several minutes faster than all of the Intel machines.

Of course, our laptop reviews aren't complete without the Cinebench R23 stress test. We run that 20 times on a loop to simulate a prolonged, heavy workload. It started with a score of 8,800, gently curving through the 8,600 and 8,500's before settling slightly above 8,000 for the duration of the test. The CPU ran at an average of 2.58 GHz and an average temperature of 71.39 degrees Celsius (160.5 degrees Fahrenheit).

Display on the Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 (15-inch, AMD) 

The bigger Surface Laptop 4 has a 15-inch touchscreen display with a 3:2 aspect ratio and a resolution of 2496 x 1664. The 3:2 aspect ratio means the screen is taller than your usual 16:9, allowing you to see more of whatever you're reading, writing, drawing or the spreadsheets you're filling out. For work, it's absolutely the way to go.

Video, of course, will have some letterboxing, though that's not a dealbreaker. A 1080p trailer for Black Widow showed off decent color reproduction with blazing orange fires on a highway and bright green trees behind a flashback to a young Natasha Romanoff. At high brightness, however, the screen temperature appeared on the warm side. The display sure is reflective, though viewing angles were good.

The screen on the Surface Laptop 4 covers 77.8% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, similar to the MSI Prestige 14 Evo. The XPS 15 was higher at 93.7%, and the Spectre x360 14, boasting an OLED display, was the outlier at 139.7%.

Microsoft's display is in the middle of the pack on brightness. It measured an average of 334 nits, just under the Spectre (339 nits) and below the XPS 15 (434 nits).

Keyboard and Touchpad on the Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 (15-inch, AMD) 

I've long been a fan off the keyboard on Microsoft's Surface Laptops, so that's one thing I'm glad has gone untouched. The keys are clicky and comfortable to type on, even if another millimeter or two of travel would be beneficial. On the10fastfingres.com typing test, I reached 118 words per minute with a 3% error rate. I would prefer if Microsoft moved the half-sized up and down arrows into an inverted-T shape, but that's not a deal breaker.

The 4,5 x 3-inch touchpad is sensitive and serviceable. Unsurprisingly, it uses Windows precision drivers, and it was responsive to multi-finger gestures and simple navigation. My only qualm is that with so much room on the 15-inch deck, It could have been even slightly larger.

Audio on the Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 (15-inch, AMD) 

The speakers on the Surface Laptop 4 get loud. Once you adjust the volume to a comfortable setting, (I found that to be between 60 and 70%), you'll appreciate some of the detail in the sound. For instance, I blasted the "Techno Syndrome 2021" from the upcoming Mortal Kombat movie, and the EDM-inspired banger's bass drums thumped, some drums really snapped, and there was significant depth between the highs and lows (the lows are particularly good for something this thin).

Many Windows laptop manufacturers include software from third parties like Dolby or Bang & Olufsen to further tune the sound. Microsoft hasn't done that here, but luckily the default sound is pretty darn good. This time around, the speakers support Dolby Atmos for select content that works with it.

Upgradeability of the Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 (15-inch, AMD) 

As with the Surface Laptop 3 before it, Microsoft says that the Surface Laptop 4 has a removable SSD. This is true, but it's with an asterisk, as the teardown is a bit more complicated than usual for the average person, and the company says that only authorized technicians should make the swap.

When asked for more information, a Microsoft spokesperson told Tom's Hardware:

"The SSD is not removable by users. SSD is only removable by skilled technicians following Microsoft instructions.  Please do not attempt to remove it yourself as you may cause injury to yourself or others or you may cause damage to your device. Microsoft is not liable for any damages or injuries sustained. Further, any resulting damage will not be covered under the Hardware warranty. Additionally, all repairs must be serviced by a Microsoft authorized service provider. Users can contact Surface support for more information."

The process for opening the Surface Laptop 4 is the same as it was for the Surface Laptop 3 it includes removing the laptop's non-skid feet and the Torx screws under them, which provides access to the area beneath the keyboard. The keyboard is connected with a cable that you have to be careful with, but you should then have access to the SSD.

Microsoft uses M.2 2230 disks, signifying a shorter drive than in many other computers, which typically use an M.2 2280. The smaller drive is becoming more popular, though, and isn't terribly difficult to find online.

I hope that in the future, Microsoft redesigns the Surface Laptop to be more like the Surface Pro X, which allows you access to the SSD with a SIM card tool or bent paperclip, rather than making you take the device apart.

Battery Life on the Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 (15-inch, AMD)

The Surface Laptop 4's battery life doesn't quite meet Microsoft's lofty claims, but still, it's very impressive, and you won't need to worry about charging throughout the day. On our test, which includes web browsing, video streaming and OpenGL tests with the display set at 150 nits and the laptop connected to Wi-Fi, it lasted for 12 hours and 4 minutes.

That time was beaten only by the MSI Prestige Evo 14, at 12:25. The XPS 15 ran for 8:01 while the Spectre lasted for 7:14.

Heat on the Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 (15-inch, AMD)

We took skin temperature measures on the Surface Laptop 4 while running our Cinebench R23 gauntlet.

The hotspot was right at the center of the keyboard, between the G and H keys, which measured 41 degrees Celsius (105.8 degrees Fahrenheit), so not too hot to touch.  The touchpad was cooler at 30.4 degrees Celsius (86.72 degrees Fahrenheit).

On the bottom of the laptop, the hottest point measured 43.5 degrees Celsius (110.3 degrees Fahrenheit).

Webcam on the Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 (15-inch, AMD) 

There's a 720p camera with infrared sensors embedded in the Surface Laptop 4's top bezel. It's serviceable, with accurate colors, like the bright yellow in the shirt I was wearing when I tested it at my desk. It made out some, but not all details. I caught a hair sticking up in my head, even though my beard looked blurry. As with most laptops, you’ll benefit from buying one of the best webcams and plugging it in via USB.

The IR sensors are fast. This may be anecdotal, but logging in with Windows Hello felt almost instant. I've always enjoyed the feature, and it works really well on the Laptop 4.

Software and Warranty on the Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 (15-inch, AMD) 

Microsoft continues to include very little software on its laptops, choosing to let Windows 10 shine.

The big addition is the Surface app, which lets you make customizations to the Surface Pen, if you have one, check specs and warranty status. Otherwise, there is the same bloat built into most Windows machines, like Roblox, Spotify and Facebook Messenger.

Microsoft sells the Surface Laptop 4 with a one-year warranty.

Configurations of the Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 (15-inch, AMD)

We tested the 15-inch version of Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 in black with an AMD Ryzen 7 4980U (Microsoft Surface Edition), 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD, which sells for $1,699.99.

The 15-inch lineup starts at $1,299.99 with the same processor, but 8GB of RAM, 256GB of storage and a platinum chassis. For $1,499.99, you can get the Ryzen 7 with 8GB of memory and 512GB of storage. The Intel versions, with 11th Gen Core i7's, start at $1,799 with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage and go up to a maxed out version with 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage for an eye-watering $2,399.99.

Microsoft also has a 13.5-inch valiant, which starts at $999 with an AMD Ryzen 5 4680U, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD, with prices increasing to the same maxed out specs as the 15-incher for $2,299.99. The 13.5-inch Surface Laptop 4 doesn't have Ryzen 7 options, but includes both 11th Gen Intel Core i5 and Core i7.

Bottom Line

If you're going to iterate, not renovate on your product line, those little changes need to add up to be a real success. And while the Surface Laptop 4 doesn't look like it has changed much, the small adjustments and the custom AMD processor add a lot of power and squeeze out extra battery life, making this a notable system. In fact, for the configuration in this review, AMD really shines almost as much as Microsoft does.

For those who often work with big files, it's a shame that the SSD isn't faster. But the keyboard is comfortable, the 3:2 display is still great for productivity and the 12+ hours of battery life is nothing to sneeze at.

If you want a discrete GPU, the Dell XPS 15 is probably the option for you, and that comes with a 10th Gen Intel Comet Lake CPU. It's also a bit less sleek, but you'll get more graphics power. Those who want a 2-in-1 and still want the 3:2 display will be well served by the HP Spectre x360 14, our favorite 2-in-1, but it's less powerful.

Microsoft has refined the Surface Laptop 4, especially on the AMD processor side, to be truly impressive in many aspects. Sure, the design could use an update (and the bezels could use a trim), and the latest Ryzen processors would be desirable. But this is a significant update over the Surface Laptop 3. Now if only we could see the configurations.

Microsoft today announced the next iteration of its Surface laptop, the Surface Laptop 4. It will start at $999 when it goes on sale on April 15. Perhaps its biggest selling point is choice, with options for both 11th Gen Intel Core processors or an 8-core AMD Ryzen (again called the Microsoft Surface Edition).

Both the 13.5-inch and 15-inch version of the Surface Laptop 4 will offer Intel and AMD options. This is a change from the Surface Laptop 3, which offered Intel in the 13.5-incher and AMD in the 15-incher (with the exception of business models). 

The design of the Surface Laptop 4 is largely unchanged, with a 3:2 touchscreen display with 201 pixels per inch, options for Alcantara fabric or a metal deck. There is, however, one new color, ice blue, which debuted on the Surface Laptop Go last year. 

Many of the biggest changes can't be seen. For the first time, Microsoft is offering a 32GB RAM option on the Surface Laptop (with an Intel Core i7 at 1TB of RAM on both sizes). The company is claiming up to 19 hours of battery life on the smaller device with an AMD Ryzen 5 or 17 hours with a Core i7. On the bigger size, it's suggesting up to 17.5 hours with an AMD Ryzen 7 and 16.5 hours with Intel Core i7. Microsoft is also claiming a 70% performance increase, though it doesn't say with which processor.

The new AMD Ryzen Microsoft Surface Edition chips are based on Ryzen 4000 and Zen 2, rather than Ryzen 5000 and Zen 3, which is just rolling onto the market. We understand Microsoft's chips are somewhat customized, including frequencies similar to the newer chips. But these new processors should, in theory, lead to increased stability and battery life.

While Microsoft is being more flexible on allowing both Intel and AMD options on both size machines, you won't find them with identical specs when it comes to RAM and storage. The 13.5-inch laptop will offer Ryzen 5 with 8GB or 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, while the Intel 11th Gen Core process range will include a Core i5/8GB RAM/512GB SSD option to start, as well as both Core i5 and Core i7 models with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage and a maxxed out version with a Core i7, 32GB of RAM and 1TB storage drive. The Ryzzen versions only come in platinum, while all but the top-end Intel model also include ice blue, sandstone and black. 

On the 15-inch model, you can get a Ryzen 7 with 8GB of RAM and either 256GB or 512GB of storage, or an R7 with 16GB of memory and a 512GB SSD. For intel, You can choose between an Intel Core i7  with either 16GB of memory and 512GB of storage or 32GB of memory and 1TB of storage. These only come in platinum and black.

Commercial models will add more configurations for businesses, including a 13.5-inch model with 512GB of storage and a Ryzen processor. Overall, there are a lot of configurations, so hopefully people are able to find what they want. But there are definitely more options on the Intel side of the Surface fence.

The port situation is largely the same as last year, including USB Type-A, USB Type-C, a headphone jack and the Surface Connect port. Microsoft still isn't going with Thunderbolt, and will be using USB-C 3.1 Gen 2 on both the Intel and AMD models. The replaceable SSD is back, though Microsoft continues to state that it isn't user serviceable, and that it should only be removed by authorized technicians.

It's been a long wait for the Surface Laptop 4. The Surface Laptop 3 was introduced at an event in October 2019 and went on sale that November. Last year, Microsoft revealed the cheaper, smaller Surface Laptop Go but didn't update the flagship clamshell. We'll go hands on with the Surface Laptop 4, so let's hope the wait was worth it.

Microsoft is also revealing a slew of accessories designed for virtual work. They include the $299.99 Surface Headphones 2+ for Business, which is certified for Microsoft Teams with a dongle, shipping this month; Microsoft Modern USB and wireless headsets ($49.99 and $99.99, respectively, releasing in June); the Microsoft Modern USB-C Speaker ($99.99, releasing in June); and the Microsoft Modern webcam, a $69.99 camera with 1080p video, HDR and a 78-degree field of view that will go on sale in June. 

Microsoft has unveiled the Surface Pro 7 Plus, an upgraded version of the Surface Pro 7 intended for business customers (and perhaps education). The tablet has been upgraded to 11th Gen Intel Core processors, has a larger battery and, perhaps most surprisingly, a removable SSD. The design is otherwise largely the same on the outside.

It will start at $899 with an Intel Core i3-1115G4 CPU, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB SSD for $899.99. If you want LTE, the entry option is with a Core i5-1135G7, 8GB of RAM and 128GB SSD. Bumping up to a Core i5, 16GB of RAM and 256GB SSD brings you to $1,649.99, while the top-end version with a Core i7-1165G7, 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD is $2.799.99. Of course, the Type Cover is sold separately no matter which option you pick. It will begin shipping by the end of the week.

The SSD, however, is removable, like it is on the Surface Pro X and Surface Laptop 3, which should be a boon for IT departments looking to replace drives for repairs or simply to add more storage for users that need it (the Surface 7 Pro Plus is using an m.2 2230 SSD, which is slowly becoming more popular).

But much of it is the same, including the 12.3-inch, 2736 x 1824 display (and the thick bezels around it) as well as the port selection. On the Wi-Fi model, there is still a microSD card beneath the kickstand, though on LTE versions that is replaced with a nano SIM slot.

One difference is in weight, however, as Microsoft claims it's 23% lighter than the previous generation of machines.

The battery appears to be larger, with Microsoft rating it at 15 hours on Wi-Fi or 13.5 hours on LTE, up from 10.5 hours on Wi-Fi on the regular Surface Pro 7.

It's unclear if the Surface 7 Pro Plus will become available for non-business or education users, as LTE and 11th Gen will likely tempt some people

This is a announcement from Microsoft, which doesn't announce its own hardware around the CES 2021 timeframe. Additionally, Microsoft announced that its 85-inch Surface Hub 2S will begin shipping out in select markets later this month.

Black Friday is almost here, and there are plenty of deals to pick through already on some of our favorite hardware. We know it's not always easy to tell which discounts and offers are genuine, so we're sharing the best deals on tech we can find to make the shopping process a little easier.

Today we're sharing a deal we found on the Microsoft Surface Pro 7 tablet. We've got more deals on laptops and tablets you can explore, as well as a list of best laptops for 2020 if you want to see what specs are leading the market.

This tablet features a 12.3-inch touchscreen display with a resolution of 2736 x 1824. It's designed for portability and has a battery with an expected life of 10.5 hours, according to the specs.

This tablet comes with a 10th Gen Intel Core i5 processor. It has 16GB of memory and an internal SSD with 256 GB of storage space. 

Visit the Microsoft Surface Pro 7 product page on Amazon for more spec details, reviews and checkout options.      

As we get closer to Black Friday, vendors are ramping up their offers and deals to provide discounts on some of our favorite hardware. We're working around the clock to bring you the best deals on tech, including the best laptops.

Today we're showcasing a $400 discount on the Microsoft Surface Pro X. We reviewed the Surface Pro X 128GB model in the past, but this offer is for the 256GB edition, which is going for just $899 at Amazon.

The Surface Pro X has a 13-inch touchscreen display with a resolution of 2592 x 1458. It features a Microsoft SQ1 processor and an SQ1 Adreno 685 integrated graphics processor.

This edition includes 8GB of RAM and a maximum internal storage capacity of 256GB. This surface is easy to take on the go as it not only comes with built-in Wi-Fi support but can also use 4G LTE.

This offer is for the tablet only, so you won't get any keyboard or pen accessories. Visit the Surface Pro X product page on Amazon for more details and checkout options.

If you’re like me, you’ve been working (or learning) at home since March. And for many, that has meant that a computer like one of the best ultrabooks has become an increasingly important tool. In that regard, the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go ($549.99 to start; $899.99 as tested) is here at a good time. People need affordable devices, and being the lightest Surface Laptop ever doesn’t hurt. 

Microsoft made some sacrifice to get to that $549.99 price. It cut biometrics (there is a fingerprint reader on more expensive configurations) and the machine’s partially plastic with a lower resolution screen. There’s also a last gen Intel Core i5-1035G1 CPU across the lineup. But with premium construction, it could still win some people over in the budget department.

However, the Surface  Laptop Go also scales up to $899.99, and when you get there, some of those cuts seriously stop making sense. 

Design of the Surface Laptop Go 

I was enamored with the Surface Laptop Go from the first glance. It truly is a smaller Surface Laptop, and that’s fine with me. Our review unit came in “ice blue,” a grayish blue that provides just a hint of whimsy. The lid is made of aluminum and entirely plain except for curved edges and a reflective Microsoft logo.

There are a few small changes once you unfold the machine. The 12.45-inch display has curved edges, just like bezels, which is new for the Surface lineup. Those edges are thin, except on the bottom.

You won’t find a Windows Hello IR camera for facial recognition log-ins alongside the regular webcam here. Instead, you can login with your fingerprint via a sensor inside the power button. A ring around the power button lights up when the computer is locked to indicate where to place your finger once you’ve set up Windows Hello.

Unlike the lid, the keyboard deck is also made of aluminum, but the bottom of the laptop is made of plastic. It has a mylar touchpad, rather than glass, and the keyboard isn’t backlit. These aren’t necessarily deal killers, just the types of sacrifices you make to get to a $549 starting price.

The left side of the laptop is where you’ll find most of the ports: USB Type-A and USB Type-C, as well as a 3.5 mm headphone jack. On the right there is only the proprietary Surface Connect port, which you use with the charger. I would’ve much preferred to see Microsoft put another USB Type-C port here for charging, but the company shows no signs of getting rid of it.

At just 2.5 pounds and 11 x 8.1 x 0.6 inches, the Surface Laptop Go is plenty portable, whether you’re carrying it from room to room or actually taking it to work or school in person. Of course, it’s not as light as the Surface Go 2, a tablet (1.2 pounds, 9.7 x 6.9 x 0.3 inches),  but the MacBook Air (2.8 pounds, 12 x 8.4 x 0.6 inches) and Acer Swift 3 (2.7 pounds, 12.7 x 8.6 x 0.6 inches) are both larger and slightly heavier with 14-inch and 13-inch screens, respectively. 

Microsoft Surface Laptop Go Specifications 

Productivity Performance 

The Surface Laptop Go is powered by an Intel Core i5-1035G1, no matter which configuration you choose. Our review unit paired that with 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD.

For our productivity tests, we’re comparing it to Microsoft’s other latest Go product, the Surface Laptop Go 2, released earlier this year with an older Intel Core m3-8100Y, the Acer Swift 3 with AMD’s Ryzen 7 4700U, and the Apple MacBook Air, with another 10th Gen Intel processor, the Core i5-1030NG7.

On Geekbench 5.0, the Surface Laptop Go notched a multi-core score of 3,117. The fact that it beat the Surface Go 2 (1,563), with its older processor meant for fanless designs wasn’t surprising. The Swift 3 with Ryzen 7 did better (4,862), but the MacBook Air fared worse (2,738).

Microsoft’s petite laptop transferred 5GB of files at a rate of 278.4 MBps. That’s faster than the Surface Go 2 (181.8 MBps) but far slower than both the Swift (462.7 MBps) and MacBook Air (508.9 MBps).

It took 25 minutes and 55 seconds for the Surface Laptop Go to transcode a 4K resolution video to 1080p resolution with Handbrake. That’s a bit faster than the MacBook Air (27:10) and far faster than the Surface Go 2 (48:14).

As a stress test, we run Cinebench R20 30 times on a loop and check for heat and stability. The Surface Laptop Go had an expected drop after its first run of 1,005.2, down into the 700’s. By run 4, the CPU had stabilized in the mid 800s.

During the Cinebench test, the CPU hit an average clock speed of just under 1.5 GHz and an average temperature of 66.7 degrees Celsius (152.1 degrees Fahrenheit).

While the Intel Core i5-1035G1 is built on Intel’s 10th Gen “Ice Lake” architecture, it doesn’t get the graphics benefits that the higher-end chips offer. Instead, it uses Intel UHD graphics. The Surface Laptop Go 2 earned a score of 1,229 on 3DMark Fire Strike. While that beat the Surface Go 2, the Acer Swift 3, with AMD’s most recent Radeon graphics, was far better (2,848).

Display on the Surface Laptop Go 

The 12.45-inch display is likely to be the most controversial aspect of the device. It’s a touchscreen in the 3:2 aspect ratio, just like all of the other Surfaces before it. But this screen has a resolution of 1536 x 1024. On this small diagonal, that’s 148 pixels per inch (PPI).

It’s definitely usable. When I watched the trailer for Wonder Woman 1984, it got bright enough, and while colors weren’t amazing, the heroine’s red and blue outfit still stood out among the white walls enduring a battle against the Cheetah. The 3:2 aspect ratio is good for seeing more of your work, thanks to the extra height. But when you get close at this low resolution? Yeah, you can make out some pixels. 

While something sub-1080p is, (unfortunately), still considered acceptable on budget machines, this system goes up to $900. And that display doesn’t change. If Surface is supposed to be leading on Windows, I wish Microsoft would have gone with a 1080p equivalent to show other companies what can and should be done.

The Surface Laptop Go’s screen covers 76.8% of the sRGB color gamut, in line with the Surface Go 2 (76.1%). close to the MacBook Air (80%) and way better than the Acer Swift 3 (44.2%).

Microsoft’s panel measured an average of 319.4 nits of max brightness. That’s better than the Swift 3 (251 nits) but below the MacBook Air (386 nits) and Surface Go 2 (408 nits).

Keyboard and Touchpad on the Surface Laptop Go 

One continuous strength on the Surface Laptop line (and its sibling, the Surface Book), has been its keyboards. That is still the case on the Surface Laptop Go. It’s big omission is that the keyboard isn’t backlit.

It feels a tad less clicky than the keys on its more expensive cousins, but ultimately there is still a tactile feel, even if it’s slightly more bouncy. I hit 110 words per minute on the 10fastfingers.com typing test with my usual error rate. 

The 3.9 x 2.6-inch touchpad is a decent size considering how small the laptop is. It’s mylar, not glass, but still feels smooth to the touch, just with slightly more friction. Of course, it has Windows Precision drivers, and I didn’t have any issues with navigation or gestures.

Audio on the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 

When I listened to The Ataris’ “The Boys of Summer,” the music was plenty loud but kind of flat. The vocals and guitars were clear enough, but the drumline wasn’t particularly powerful, and I could barely make out the bass at all. That type of performance is pretty average for a budget machine, but this configuration is out of budget territory.

For uses that don’t have that level of audio detail, like video conferencing, the Surface Laptop Go is fine, though that’s where I’m most likely to use headphones anyway.

Upgradeability of the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 

Unlike Microsoft’s more recent efforts in the Surface Laptop 3 and Surface Pro X, the Surface Laptop Go isn’t user upgradeable. There are no exposed screws on the bottom of the chassis. Be sure to get a configuration that will last you in the long term (see the Configurations section below).

Battery Life on the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 

The Surface Laptop Go may be incredibly portable, but you’ll need to top it off if you’re using it for long periods of time. On our battery test, which continuously browses the web, streams video and runs OpenGL tests all over Wi-Fi with the screen at 150 nits brightness, it ran for just 7 hours and 42 minutes. Good thing the charger is small, too.

The Surface Go 2 lasted the longest out of the comparison group, at 11:38, while the AMD Ryzen-based Acer Swift 3 ran for 11:09. The Apple MacBook Air also offered more endurance at 9:31. 

Heat on the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 

We took skin temperatures while running our Cinebench R20 loop (see th ePerformance section above) to test the laptop under a heavy load. The laptop fans definitely whirred throughout (with a bit of an occasional whistle), but the laptop wasn’t untouchably hot.

The center of the keyboard, between the G and H keys, measured 43.8 degrees Celsius (110.8 Fahrenheit). This wasn’t exactly comfortable but not usable either. The touchpad was cooler, hitting 32 degrees Celsius (89.6 degrees Fahrenheit).

The hottest spot was on the bottom of the laptop, by the hinge. It reached 49.5 degrees Celsius (121.1 degrees Fahrenheit). Could I stand this heat on my lap? Yes. Would I prefer it on a desk? Also yes.

Webcam on the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 

Microsoft put a 720p resolution webcam in the bezel above the Surface Laptop Go’s display. Like the majority of laptop webcams out there, it’s not very special. In a still from my desk, there was some graininess. The colors were accurate – my bright red shirt was just the right shade – and there was more detail than in some other webcams, but it’s nothing amazing.

But it's more disappointing to see this on the Surface Laptop Go than on other laptops because with the Surface Go 2, released earlier this year, Microsoft used a 5 megapixel front-facing camera that was capable of video chatting at 1080p. Right now, where so many people are working or studying from home, I wish that carried over to the Surface Laptop Go. 

Software and Warranty on the Surface Laptop Go 

Perhaps one of the best, albeit lesser hyped, parts of the Surface line is just how little included software there is. 

The big app that comes with it is Microsoft’s Surface software, a place to check your Surface serial number, drivers and warranty coverage and connect accessories. There are also trails of the Office 365 suite.

Otherwise, the bloat only consists of what you would get on any Windows 10 machine, including Hulu, Spotify, Facebook Messenger and Hidden City: Hidden Object Adventure.

The laptop comes in Windows 10 Home in S Mode, which Microsoft claims is more secure and keeps the laptop fast. This, however, limits you to software from the Microsoft Store. If you’re only using a web browser and software in that store, you may be OK. But to test it, we needed to make the free change to regular Windows 10 Home, which lets you install anything you want. 

Microsoft sells the Surface Laptop Go with a 1-year warranty. 

Configurations of the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 

We tested the top-end, $899.99 configuration of the Surface Laptop Go, with an Intel Core i5-1035G1 CPU, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. This version also includes Microsoft’s One Touch fingerprint reader in the power button.

You can get our model with 16GB of RAM, but you have to buy it through Microsoft’s business program. That costs $1,199.99.

The base model is $549.99, and while it has the same processor, it offers just 4GB of RAM and 64GB of slower eMMC storage. This version also doesn’t include the fingerprint reader. It’s hard to recommend this model unless you prefer the Surface aesthetic above all else.

In the middle, there’s a $699.99 option with the same chip and 8GB of RAM but just 128GB of SSD storage. This configuration also has a fingerprint reader.
 

Bottom Line 

The Surface Laptop Go fills a huge need in Microsoft’s hardware lineup, providing a somewhat affordable entry into the company’s ecosystem and showcase for Windows 10. Right now, as so many people work and learn from home, the standard laptop form factor is more useful than ever, so that fills a need.

Microsoft’s $549.99 starting point may attract many who want something that looks and feels premium. Some cuts, like the backlit keyboard and IR camera and use of a partially plastic chassis, aren’t big deals. But a sub-1080p display (or in this 3:2 case sub-1920 x 1280), feels cheap, especially for Surface, especially in 2020.

The Core i5 Ice Lake chip in there, while not the latest, will give people with largely browser-based workloads enough headroom. But 4GB of RAM doesn’t really cut it beyond a few browser tabs, and just 64GB of eMMC storage isn’t an enticing proposition, which could effectively force a jump up to the mid-range $699.99 configuration with 8GB of memory and a real SSD, albeit it a 128GB one.

Which brings me to hesitations I had about my $899.99 review unit. It has the sacrifices expected of a $549.99 laptop, especially when it comes to display resolution and storage space.

Perhaps the best comparison is the Acer Swift 3. It’s $649, which is $100 more than the Surface Laptop Go, and I understand that’s a lot. But you also get a 1080p screen (albeit a lackluster one), a much more powerful AMD Ryzen 7 4700U, far more battery life and a larger 512GB SSD. 

Part of what you’re paying for with the Surface Laptop Go is the premium name and feel. How much is that worth to you? If you opt for the low-end specs, it’s questionable. At the high end, it isn’t really worth it, as you’re getting into entry-level Surface Laptop 3 territory.

One other suggestion: the Surface Go 2. If you need small, that tablet starts at $549.99 with less power and the same lackluster RAM and storage, though it has dropped in price so that you can get it, as of this writing, with an M3, 8GB of RAM and 128GB for the same cost on Amazon. You’ll have to pay more for the keyboard, of course, but you’ll also get a 1920 x 1280 display, 1080p webcam and facial recognition.

The Surface Laptop Go is built with purpose, but at this price it has a ton of competition from the greater Windows 10 ecosystem, not to mention premium Chromebooks. The 3:2 screen here is rare, and so is the premium construction. Some will rightfully want this. But as you get higher up the configuration stack, you can find better deals. While I was generally happy while using the Surface Laptop Go, if I were to actually buy a new laptop, I know I could get more. 

Microsoft has finally pulled the wraps off of the Surface Duo, its Android-based foldable (that it won't call a phone). It will start at $1,399 for a 128GB model when it launches on September 10. Microsoft made the announcement in a blog post this morning.

That price puts it among the most expensive phones on the market (it's $1,499 for the 256GB model). Some of that is due to the Surface name, as well as the fact that you're getting two screens that total 8.1-inches when the device is open. But with a last-gen Snapdragon 855 processor, it's a bit behind on compute.

The Surface Duo's two 5.6-inch displays are both 1800 x 1350 resolution AMOLED screens that Microsoft has dubbed "PixelSense Fusion." They should work with any Surface Pen (not included).

The not-a-phone is also coming with an 11MP camera, 6GB of RAM and a 3,577 mAh battery.

At 4.8mm (0.2 inch) when opened, Microsoft is calling this the thinnest Surface Device ever.

Microsoft's Surface Duo will support LTE on AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon in the United States, but availability and carriers have not yet been announced worldwide. The Duo will be available for pre-order at  Microsoft's online store, AT&T and Best Buy.

This is also the first piece of Surface hardware to run something other than Windows. It's full-on Android, including Google Search, Google Calendar and the Play Store. But Microsoft has also included a bunch of its own software, including Office apps, OneDrive, Edge, Teams and LinkedIn. That's where we're most interested: to see how this portable device fits into our daily lives and integrates with our workflow when we get back to our computers.

The Surface Duo is Microsoft's first foldable. It was announced alongside the Surface Neo, a Windows foldable at an event in October, but the Neo has seemingly been shelved while the company continues to work on Windows 10X.

For a long time, a project called Andromeda, thought to be a Windows-based, pocketable foldable, was rumored, seemingly taking up the mantle of the canceled Courier.

Editor's Note, July 9: This review has been updated with a comment from a Microsoft spokesperson about throttling issues we experienced in our stress test. The score and test results are unchanged.

Microsoft’s detachable Surface Book has always been in its own category. It’s a laptop with gaming-grade graphics, but also a tablet for simple tasks. They detach. And in its third iteration, the Surface Book 3 (15-inch), ($2,299.99 to start, $2,799.99 as tested) hasn’t changed much on the outside. The inside, however, has been refreshed with an Intel Core i7 Ice Lake processor and Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q graphics.

If you’ve been waiting for the latest specs to hit the Surface Book 3, this is for you. But for the price, other laptops with a clamshell design offer a lot more power for the money. Whether or not the Surface Book 3 is for you depends on if you value a versatile design over computing power.

Design

Microsoft launched the original Surface Book in 2015. Five years later, the Surface Book 3 doesn’t look or feel that much different. In some ways, I can’t complain; the Surface Book 3 is built solid with a spartan gray magnesium outer case. The back of the tablet has the shiny Windows logo that has come to define the line.

And in its third iteration, the Surface Book 3 is the only laptop on the market to serve as a tablet with additional battery life and discrete graphics in a detachable keyboard (Porsche Design tried something similar in 2017 with the pricey, limited-run Book One, though without a GPU). For those who want the flexibility of a device that serves as both tablet and laptop, the Surface Book 3 is really the only choice, other than some 2-in-1s with flatter, type cover-style keyboards.

Lifting the lid reveals the tablet’s 15-inch, 3240 x 2160, 3:2 aspect ratio display with Microsoft’s PixelSense touchscreen technology. The display is surrounded by a thick black bezel that I wish Microsoft would make thinner to increase the screen size in a similar chassis.

The screen is attached to the keyboard base with a fulcrum hinge and disconnects with a button on the keyboard. Microsoft sped up the disconnect process this year, but it’s still not instant. And after you reconnect, you still have to wait a second or two until you can use the keyboard and touchpad.

With previous Surface Books, there were issues with disconnecting and reconnecting the display and base and problems with the tablet recognizing the GPU in the base. Unfortunately, I was able to replicate that on this model.

The age of the Surface Book 3’s design (or at least, it’s limitations), are starting to show. For one, it’s been five years, and there’s still an unsightly gap in the middle of the fulcrum hinge when the laptop’s closed. But perhaps the bigger deal is that Microsoft can’t take advantage of more powerful processors, despite the premium price and positioning the Surface Book 3 takes in its lineup.

Because the tablet disconnects from the base, the processor, RAM and storage are all behind the screen (and why there are vents around the back edge of the tablet). That’s seemingly not enough room for Microsoft to fit Intel’s H-series processors, so the Surface Book 3 continues to use Intel’s lower power Ice Lake U-series CPUs. But more traditional laptops, like the 16-inch MacBook Pro and the Dell XPS 15 9500 do use H-series chips. While Microsoft describes the Surface Book 3 as having “next-gen, pro-grade performance,” physical limitations mean it doesn’t have the parts to match.

The magnesium base is the same color as the back of the tablet. On its left side are a pair of USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A ports and an SDXC card reader. On the right side of the base are the USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C ports and the proprietary Surface Connect port for charging and docking. There’s a 3.5mm headphone jack on the top-right hand corner of the tablet itself and another Surface Connect port on the bottom. There is no Thunderbolt 3 support on this machine; Microsoft has previously described Thunderbolt 3 as a security flaw, but it’s a convenience that most of its competitors have, particularly at this price. (The flaw Microsoft describes also involves freezing the RAM, which you can’t remove on this device.)

By nature of its two parts, the Surface Book 3 is a bit larger than clamshell laptops, though not incredibly so. Microsoft’s device is 4.2 pounds (with the keyboard included, of course) and 13.5 x 9.9 x 0.9 inches. The 16-inch MacBook Pro is 4.3 pounds and 14.1 x 9.7 x 0.6 inches. The Dell XPS 15 is 4.5 pounds and 13.6 x 9.1 x 0.7 inches. And just to get an AMD Ryzen comparison, the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 is 3.5 pounds and 12.8 x 8.7 x 0.7 inches (though it has a smaller, 14-inch screen).

Microsoft Surface Book 3 Specifications

Productivity Performance

Most laptops, especially those aimed at creatives and in this price bracket, opt for Intel’s H-series processors, which have more CPU cores and offer better performance than the more mainstream oriented U-series for ultraportables. But the Surface Book 3 has an Intel Core i7-1065G7 Ice Lake part. In our review unit, that was paired with 32GB of LPDDR4x RAM, 512GB of NVMe-based storage and, in the keyboard base, an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q.

The differences in CPUs showed in Geekbench 5.0. The Surface Book 3 earned a score of 3,831, falling far below the 16-inch MacBook Pro (7,201, Intel Core i9-9980HK), Dell XPS 15 (6,174, Intel Core i7-10750H) and Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (7,895, AMD Ryzen 4900HS).

It took 6 seconds for the Surface Book 3 to copy 4.97GB of files, a rate of 848.2 MBps. While that’s faster than the XPS 15, the MacBook Pro and Zephyrus were both faster.

On our Handbrake video editing test, we use the laptops to transcode a 4K resolution video to 1080p. The Surface Book 3 took 21 minutes and 31 seconds. The Dell XPS 15 took less than half that time, and both the MacBook and Zephyrus were even faster.

To stress the machine over time, we ran the Cinebench R20 benchmark 20 times on a loop. During that test, we saw erratic scores. We thought this may have been a one-off issue, but across three runs, we saw different, unpredictable behavior. It looks like a normal score might fall between 1,300 and 1,400. Based on our monitoring, it appears that all four cores on the Intel Core i7-1065G7 exceeded power limits and perhaps lowered performance to accommodate. 

"Surface Book 3 is the most powerful Surface built to date," a Microsoft spokesperson told Tom's Hardware. "Performance may be throttled in some scenarios of prolonged, intense usage. To optimize performance, we recommend setting the performance slider (accessed by clicking on the battery icon in the system tray) to ‘Best Performance’."

During its 20 Cinebench runs, the Surface Book 3’s CPU reached an average clock speed of 1.7 GHz and measured an average temperature of 69.6 degrees Celsius (157.3 degrees Fahrenheit).

Gaming and Graphics

While the Surface Book 3 isn’t a gaming laptop, the GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q inside does allow you to play video games. I spent time playing Borderlands 3 at 2160 x 1440 (have to take advantage of the 3:2 aspect ratio) at high settings, and the game ran between 39 and 44 frames per second (fps) in heavy combat.

The Surface Book 3 ran both the Shadow of the Tomb Raider (highest, 1080p resolution) at 42 fps and Grand Theft Auto V (very high, 1080p) at 55 fps. Don’t try upgrading the resolution to 4K, though, as the GPU just isn’t strong enough for that. Neither of those came close to what the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14, a gaming laptop that can be had for a fraction of this price with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060, offers. However, the Surface Book 3 did outperform the XPS 15 in gaming.

If you’re playing with a controller, the Surface Book 3 has a built-in Xbox wireless adapter. Microsoft alsos ships the Surface Book 3 with a 127 watt power adapter. On the Surface Book 2, some users saw the battery discharge while gaming because the power adapter wasn’t large enough, but that has been remedied here.

For a gaming stress test, we ran Metro Exodus 15 times on a loop at high settings to simulate 30 minutes of gaming. The game ran at an average of 43.7 fps and tended to be within a few tenths of a frame of that score with each run.

During the test, the CPU reached an average clock speed of 2.3 GHz and an average temperature of 74 degrees Celsius (165.2 degrees Fahrenheit). The GPU hit an average speed of 1.3 GHz and an average temperature of 66 degrees Celsius (150.8 degrees Fahrenheit).

Display

With a 3:2 aspect ratio, the Surface Book 3’s 15-inch, 3240 x 2160 display is a great size for getting work done. Unlike many 16:9 screens, the 3:2 ratio is taller, showing more text on the screen as you read, write or code. It does mean there’s letterboxing for video playback and some games, but that’s a tradeoff I’m willing to make. Additionally, the colors on the display are vivid and it gets fairly bright.

The Surface Book 3’s screen isn’t quite 4K (3840 x 2160), I used the 4K, open source short film Tears of Steel to test it. It’s a colorful movie, and some stark differences, like an orange box of mango juice next to the sniper Barley during a dark blue dawn were striking.

And while the Surface Book 3 has a vibrant screen that covers 71.2% of ths DCI-P3 color gamut, competitors did even better. The MacBook Pro measured 80.7%, the XPS 15 covered 93.7% and the Zephyrus reached 82.9%.

Microsoft’s panel measured 401 nits of max brightness, beating the gaming-oriented Zephyrus’s display, which has a 120 Hz refresh rate, but was literally outshined by the MacBook Pro and XPS.

Keyboard and Touchpad

The keyboard on the Surface Book 3 truly nails it. If Microsoft ever makes significant changes to the device, it couldn’t make the keyboard better, in my opinion, without adding mechanical switches. The keycaps feel premium, there’s proper spacing between the keys, and there’s enough travel that I never felt like I was hitting the bottom. On the 10fastfingers.com typing test, I hit 117 words per minute, which is about as fast as I usually get on a laptop keyboard, with my usual 2% error rate.

At 4.1 x 2.8 inches, the Surface Book 3 touchpad isn’t small, but there’s so much space available that there’s no reason it shouldn’t be wider. As it stands now, the touchpad’s roughly centered below the spacebar, but there’s a little bit of vertical space and plenty of horizontal space around it. Other premium devices, like Dell’s XPS line and Apple’s MacBooks, have larger touchpads. That being said, the SurfaceBook 3’s touchpad uses Windows precision drivers and works well with gestures and navigation.

Audio

The two front-facing speakers on the Surface Book 3’s tablet support Dolby Atmos and are surprisingly good, considering they’re packed in with the rest of the hardware.

When I played Deep Blue Something’s “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” it filled my living room with sound, which was enough for me in my shoebox of an apartment. The vocals, drums and guitars were all clear, though like most speakers in mobile devices, the bass lacked.

Upgradeability

Like the Surface Go 2, the Surface Book 3’s tablet is sealed shut. You should pick the specs you want and need when you configure it because there’s no changing them later.

Microsoft has made some devices, like the Surface Pro X and Surface Laptop 3, easier to upgrade, and I hope we start to see that come to the Surface Pro, Go and Book lineups.

Battery Life

With two batteries (22.3 Whr in the tablet, 59.7 Whr in the keyboard base), the Surface Book 3 lasts a long time on a charge, at least as a laptop. All together, it ran for 11 hours and 10 minutes on our battery test, which continuously browses the web, runs OpenGL benchmarks and streams video, all over Wi-Fi and at 150 nits of brightness.

Without the base, the tablet lasted for only 3:27.

The only competitor to last longer than the Surface Book 3 was the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 at 11:32. AMD’s Ryzen 4000-series mobile chips have shown incredible energy efficiency. Apple’s 16-inch Macbook Pro came close at 10:55, while the Dell XPS 15 endured for 8:01 (with a 4K screen).

Heat

 To check skin temperature on the Surface Book 3, we took measurements during two stress tests. For the tablet, where the CPU, RAM and storage is located, we checked during our Cinebench R20 gauntlet. To add the base with the GPU, we measured while running Metro Exodus on a loop.

When we ran Cinebench, the back of the tablet reached 44.6 degrees Celsius (112.3 degrees Fahrenheit) at its hottest point.

Then, we turned to Metro Exodus. The center of the keyboard, between the G and H keys, measured 43.5 degrees Celsius (110.3 degrees Fahrenheit), and the touchpad was cooler at 30.8 degrees Celsius (87.4 degrees Fahrenheit). 

The bottom of the laptop measured 47.5 degrees Celsius at its hottest point while running the game (117.5 degrees Fahrenheit).

The back of the tablet measured 41.7 degrees Celsius (107.1 degrees Fahrenheit) while running Metro Exodus.

Cameras

Just like we saw in the Surface Go 2, Microsoft invested in the camera in the Surface Book 3: a front-facing 5.0MP webcam and a 8.0MP camera on the back of the tablet, both of which shoot video at 1080p. Considering the Book was released during the COVID-19 pandemic, the webcam is appreciated.

The Surface Book 3’s webcam is sharp and color-accurate. It caught individual hairs in my beard and the exact shade or light blue in my shirt. It also supports Windows Hello with infrared facial recognition.

I found that the rear camera had a bit of a fog over it. It took fine pictures, though honestly the 15-inch Surface Book 3 is unwieldy enough that it’s a pain to use it as a camera. Digital zoom on the back camera was poor and led to pixelated images.

Software and Warranty

Microsoft’s Surface line is about as clean as Windows 10 gets on laptops. The only software the company adds is the Surface app, which provides basic support information, configures the Surface Pen (if you buy one) and helps easily connect to Bluetooth accessories.

Otherwise, there’s a bit of the same bloat that’s in every copy of Windows 10, including Spotify and Netflix.

Microsoft Sells the Surface Book 3 with a 1-year warranty.

Configurations

Our review unit, with an Intel Core i7-1065G7, Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q, 32GB of RAM and 512GB of NVMe SSD storage costs $2,799.99.Every 15-inch Surface Book 3 has the same CPU and GPU as our review model.

The $2,299.99 base model has 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.

For $2,999.99, you get 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, while the bump up to 2TB of storage will put your price tag at $3,399.99.

You can also get the Surface Book 3 with Nvidia Quadro graphics, though that’s limited to business customers. That starts at $ 3,499.99 with the same Core i7-1065G7, 32GB of RAM and 512GB of storage in our unit and increases with more RAM and storage.

There is also a 13.5-inch variant of the Surface Book 3, which starts at $1,599.99 with a Core i5-1035G7 with Iris Plus graphics, 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. For $1,999.99, you get an i7, 16GB of RAM, an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q and 256GB of storage. Prices go up from there.

Bottom Line

For better or for worse, the Surface Book 3 is still one of the most innovative PC designs on the market. If you want the versatility of having both a tablet and GPU for gaming and creative work, this is for you. Microsoft is the only one that offers something like this.

Here’s the rub: this is a device priced at a premium for that versatility. On top of that, Microsoft pushes it as its high-performance device for creatives. In making a tablet that detaches from the keyboard with an innovative hinge mechanism, Microsoft has designed itself into a box. Specifically, a 15-inch tablet-sized box that can’t fit the same, more powerful processors as its competition.

As of this writing, a 16-inch MacBook Pro that is similarly specced (9th Gen Core i7, 32GB of RAM, 512GB of storage, AMD Radeon RX 5500M) is $2,899.99. A Dell XPS 15 with a 10th Gen Core i7, 1TB of storage, Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Ti, 32GB of RAM and 4K touchscreen is $2,400. The latter is cheaper than the $2,799.99 Surface Book 3 we reviewed, and the MacBook Pro is $100 more. Both offer stronger performance and premium experiences. You can get the Surface Book 3 cheaper, but you’d have to sacrifice RAM or storage.

The Surface Book 3’s rivals are traditional clamshells. The Surface Book 3 is a clamshell, but also a tablet and even an easel. The question is if creative types want to trade raw power for that experience. The design might be aging, but nothing else does what this PC can do. For some people, that will be enough.

Microsoft’s Surface 2-in-1s, headed up by the Surface Pro line, are among the most portable computers out there in thin, light designs. The Surface Go 2 ($399.99 to start; $729.99 as tested, plus an additional $129.99 Type Cover), is the company's second shot as a device meant to, as the name hints, go with you anywhere. The company has clearly taken feedback, delivering a bigger screen and better battery life. The option of an Intel Core m3 CPU also provides more power, though not as much as other devices in this price range.

That makes the Go 2 a device for those who want a premium portable with budget performance, rather than cutting corners on screens and materials. But the Surface Go 2 was released at a time when most of us are stuck inside. Is there room for a new Go when there is nowhere, to, well, go? 

Design 

As soon as you look at the Surface Go 2, you’ll notice that something big has changed. The unsightly bezels from the original Surface Go have been shrunken down, making more room for the display. The new device has a 10.5-inch panel, half an inch larger than its predecessor. There’s still enough bezel to comfortably hold the Surface Go 2 as a tablet, but you get more screen real estate.

Otherwise, the Surface Go 2 is effectively a clone of its predecessor. It comes in platinum gray with a reflective Windows logo on the back, as well as the rear camera. There’s no ventilation -- the low-powered Intel CPUs Microsoft used allow for a fanless design. The hinge is sturdy and feels reliable, but this design, like the original Surface Go and Surface Pro for years, is better on a desk than on your lap, where it isn’t as stable as I’d like it to be.

Almost all of the Surface Go’s ports are on the right side of the tablet, including the USB Type-C port, proprietary Surface Connect port for charging, as well as the headphone jack. There’s a microSD card slot under the hinge and, on our model with LTE support, a SIM card tray on the right side. If you get a Type Cover keyboard, that attaches magnetically to the bottom of the device.

The Surface Go 2 measures 9.7 x 6.9 x 0.3 inches and weighs 1.2 pounds, far smaller than the average budget or mainstream notebook. The Acer Swift 3 we recently reviewed was 2.6 pounds and 12.7 x 8.6 x 0.6 inches in a traditional clamshell form factor that weighs 2.8 pounds. 

Microsoft Surface Go 2 Specifications 

Productivity Performance 

Our review unit of the Surface Go 2 came with a dual-core Intel Core m3-8100Y. It’s a chip that debuted in 2018 based on Intel’s Amber Lake architecture, but still offers significant gains over the Pentium chips offered in the original Go. However, that doesn’t put it in a place to match some mid-level laptops at similar prices. Our device also had 8GB of LPDDR3 RAM and a 128GB PCIe-based SSD. Note: We had to move from Windows 10 Home in S Mode (as the device ships) to Windows 10 Home in order to run our benchmarks.

To compare the Surface Go 2 to the original, we used Geekbench 4.1. The Surface Go 2 earned a score of 6,764, handily surpassing the Intel Pentium Gold 4415Y in the original model (both had 8GB of RAM).

On Geekbench 5.0, which we used to test the Acer Swift 3, the Surface Go 2 earned a score of 1,563, falling quite short of the Swift’s score of 4,862 with an eight-core AMD Ryzen 7 4700U(and 8GB RAM).

It took 28 seconds for the Surface Go 2 to copy 4.97GB of files in our file transfer test, a rate of 181.8 MBps. That’s with a 128GB SSD, and we imagine the rate would be slower with the 64GB eMMC storage option (see the configuration section below). That is faster than its predecessor (154.2 MBps), but slower than the Acer Swift 3 (462.7 MBps).

The Surface Go 2 took 48 minutes and 14 seconds to complete our Handbrake video editing test, which transcodes a 4K resolution video to 1080p. That’s ahead of the original Go (59:43) but much slower than the Swift 3 (11:00).

We stress tested the Surface Go 2 by running Cinebench R20 on a loop 20 times. It started with a score of 479.8 but then dropped into a consistent range in the 440’s from run 2 on. The CPU ran at an average clock speed of 1.8 GHz and measured an average temperature of 61.9 degrees Celsius (143.4 degrees Fahrenheit). 

Display

The Surface Go’s 10.5-inch, 1920 x 1280 resolution display uses Microsoft’s proprietary PixelSense touchscreen technology and is bright and vibrant. With thinner bezels, it has a 0.5-inch larger diagonal length than its predecessor, though we measured it to be slightly dimmer. Unlike most sub-$1,000 devices, the screen isn’t where Microsoft made sacrifices. When I watched the 1080p trailer for The King of Staten Island, the titular borough’s ferry was a bright orange, and the greenery in many shots was lush.

The Surface Go 2’s panel covers 107% of the sRGB color gamut, which is behind the 130% on the original but far better than the 62% coverage on the Swift 3.

Microsoft’s screen measured 408 nits of brightness, just a few nits brighter than the original Go and much more luminous than the Swift 3 (251 nits).

Keyboard and Touchpad (Type Cover) 

As will previous Surface tablets, the Surface Go 2 doesn’t come with a keyboard in the box. The Type Cover, which also protects the screen, is an extra expense. We tested the Signature Type Cover, which costs $129.99 and uses Alcantara fabric. For a less-luxurious option, there’s a $99.99 microfiber Type Cover as well. These are the same options as the original Surface Go, and the accessories are compatible with either device.

There’s only so much room for keys on a 10.5-inch device, so the typing experience on the Surface Go 2 isn’t ideal, but I will say it’s the best it possibly could be on a keyboard this small, and I got used to it pretty quickly. The keys are small and close together. The function keys are tiny. But it works, and I typed a large portion of this review on it without issue. On the 10fastfingers.com typing test, I reached 100 words per minute, which is good for me, with a higher-than-average 3% error rate.

The 3.8 x 2.1-inch touchpad is small, but with Windows precision drivers it responded flawlessly to all of my gestures.

Additional accessories that we did not test with the Surface Go include the $99.99 Surface Pen and the $99.99 Surface Dial. I suspect the Pen may be helpful to some, like students or field workers taking notes, but the Dial, aimed more at creatives, will probably be less helpful to the majority of Go 2 owners.

Audio 

There are a pair of 2W stereo speakers on the front of the Surface Go 2 that face you. They don’t get incredibly loud, but they’re good enough, and the sound is otherwise as detailed as competing laptops in its price range.

When I listened to Eminem and Juice WRLD’s “Godzilla,” the sound filled the living room in my New York City apartment, though it wasn’t as loud as it sounds on larger clamshell laptops. The Surface Go 2 did the job, however, and Eminem’s raps and Juice WRLD’s singing were clear over synth beats. But the bass was very weak.

Upgradeability 

Microsoft has glued the Surface Go 2 shut, so there’s no upgrading this or repairing it yourself. Make sure you get the storage and RAM options you want when you buy, because that’s what you’re going to have for the lifetime of the device. That’s similar to the Surface Book 3 and Surface Pro 7, though Microsoft made strides last fall with upgradeable storage on the Surface Laptop 3 and Surface Pro X, and I wish we could see similar improvements here. 

Battery Life 

We saw huge battery life gains over the original Surface Go with this device. (Note that our battery test won’t function in Windows 10 Home in S Mode, so we needed to move it to regular Windows 10 Home for testing.) 

The Surface Go 2 endured for 11 hours and 38 minutes on our battery test, which continuously browses the web, runs OpenGL benchmark and streams video, all at 150 nits while connected to Wi-Fi.

The original Go only lasted 6:06, and the Acer Swift 3 ran for 11:09. 

Heat

Despite the fanless design, the tablet doesn’t get too hot to touch. While running the Cinebench R20 stress test on a loop, we took surface temperatures. The hottest point, near the top of the device, measured 42.6 degrees Celsius (108.7 degrees Fahrenheit).

Cameras 

There are two cameras on the Surface Go 2: a front-facing 5MP webcam and a rear-facing 8MP lens. 

In today’s work-at-home environment, I was thankful they both support 1080p video. The day after I got the Surface Go 2, I used the front-facing camera to call into a standing meeting with my team and was told I appeared far sharper than usual. The front camera also has infrared sensors for facial recognition with Windows Hello, which worked quickly and accurately.

The same way you don’t see people taking too many pictures out and about with iPads, I couldn’t imagine doing it much with the Surface Go 2’s 8MP rear camera, either. A picture I took of a tall building down the block was nice and crisp, as were close-ups of flowers, which turned out nicely, and a picture of a street. The zoom, however, was all but useless and turned my pictures into a blurry mess. One bicyclist I zoomed in on looked as if he were in witness protection. 

Windows 10 S, Software and Warranty 

Microsoft’s Surface lineup has among the cleanest start menus that you’ll see on a Windows 10 device, and the Surface Go 2 is no exception. The only piece of software that Microsoft added is its Surface app to adjust stylus settings, check battery levels and access support.

Out of the box, the Surface Go 2 comes with Windows 10 Home in S Mode. Windows 10 S doesn’t allow you to install or run software that didn’t come from the Microsoft Store, which the company says leads to a more secure and stable experience.

Previously, I would have absolutely recommended that anyone take the free upgrade out of S Mode to regular Windows 10 Home. But this is the first device that has come into our labs with the new Chromium version of Microsoft’s Edge browser. It has enhanced privacy features and can use all of the same extensions that you can with Google Chrome. So if installing Google Chrome is all you need, I think you should give the new Edge a shot. 

But I suspect most users will still want something outside of Microsoft’s attempt at a walled garden, and the option is there.

The only other software is the bloat that comes with every copy of Windows 10, like Hotspot Shield Free VPN, Netflix, Spotify and Gardenscapes.

Microsoft sells the Surface Go 2 with a 1-year warranty.

Configurations

We tested the top-end Surface Go 2, a $729.99 tablet with a dual-core Intel Core m3-8100Y, 8GB of RAM and 128GB SSD. Our model is also the only one with LTE Advanced support, so you can use a SIM card or eSIM to get connectivity on the road. The Go 2 doesn’t come with a keyboard in the box; we tested with a $129.99 Signature Type Cover covered in Alcantara fabric. That’s a total of $859.98 without any other accessories, like a Surface Pen or a Surface Dial.

The base model is $399.99 with an Intel Pentium 4425Y, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of slower eMMC storage. You can pair the Pentium with 8GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD for $549.99. Neither of those offer LTE.

For $629.99, you bump up to the Core m3 in our review unit, along with the 8GB of RAM and 128GB SSD. That model, however, only has Wi-Fi, not LTE, for connectivity.

If $129.99 sounds like a lot for a keyboard, Microsoft does sell a version of the Type Cover without the Alcantara for $99.99.

Bottom Line

The Microsoft Surface Go 2 addresses most of the major problems with the original Go released two years ago. The Go 2 has smaller bezels, longer battery life and an option with LTE Advanced support at launch. As far as build quality and the display go, this is the most premium budget machine around.

The addition of the Core m3 in our review unit provided more power than the Pentium Gold chips, but by time you get to that price point, you’re over $600. For around that price, the Acer Swift 3 we reviewed had a far more powerful, eight-core AMD Ryzen 7 4700U. Most devices in the mid-range don’t sacrifice power; they sacrifice the display and build quality. Go for something else if you want performance. The Surface Go 2 is about quality portable hardware. For many who do everything in the browser, even a lesser model should be OK.

I still wish the tablet came with the keyboard, which adds to the expense. And the $399.99 price is attractive, but the $549.99 configuration is a better starting point (that’s all before accessories). For people with powerhouse workstations, the Surface Go 2 is a good secondary device. It’s the type of thing I wish I had to take on trips (whenever we get back to trips). I could also see the Go 2 used for education, especially from home.

Alternatively, there's the iPad Pro, although it costs more. And while iPadOS is getting more intricate all the time, Windows 10 is still more complex and intricate. For those who need or want that deep level of control and software support, the Surface Go 2 is a premium, well-built and small Windows 10 device, even if it isn’t the most powerful.

It looks like AMD may be preparing a new, and more extreme, version of one its Ryzen 4000 mobile APUs. Hardware detective @TUM_APISAK unearthed 3DMark benchmark results today for a "Ryzen 7 Extreme Edition" CPU presumed to be Renoir.

It's weird seeing the words "Extreme Edition" in an AMD processor name. That naming is more of an Intel practice that dates all the way back to the Northwood Pentium 4 days.

In terms of design, the obscure Ryzen 7 APU checks in with eight CPU cores and 16 threads. It appears to operate with a 1,800 MHz base clock and 4,291 MHz boost clock. The low base clock is a hint that the APU is probably based off one of AMD's Ryzen 4000 U-series parts that run with a 15W TDP.

There are two Ryzen 7 SKUs in the mobile Renoir lineup, but only the Ryzen 7 4800U has a eight-core, 16-thread configuration. Therefore, we suspect the leaked APU is based of the Ryzen 7 4800U. The vanilla Ryzen 7 4800U has a 1,800 MHz base clock and 4,200 MHz boost clock. The Extreme Edition seems to come with a 100 MHz, higher boost clock.

The Twitter user also reportedly found a Ryzen 9 4900U a few hours prior to tweeting about the Ryzen 7 Extreme Edition. Oddly enough, the Ryzen 9 4900U seemingly has identical specifications to the Ryzen 7 Extreme Edition.

There's a strong possibility that one, or maybe both, of the mysterious APUs were designed exclusively for Microsoft. AMD has produced custom-made APUs for Microsoft's Surface devices in the past. The personalized APUs were nearly identical to the original SKUs, but Microsoft's variant had one additional Vega Compute Unit (CU). Ryzen 3000 U-series (codename Picasso) chips originally maxed out at 10 CUs, and Microsoft's tailored-made APUs bumped the count up to 11. 

Howerver, AMD labeled Microsoft's APUs as "Surface Edition," not Extreme. By removing the Surface moniker from the APUs, AMD could potentially offer them to other customers as well.

We may soon see Microsoft Surface devices with AMD Ryzen 4000 CPU options. That's based on a listing in the 3DMark 11 database spotted by hardware leaker @_rogame that shows a Surface sporting an AMD Ryzen 5 4500U APU and a AMD Radeon RX 5300M mobile graphics card. 

The listing didn't reveal if the unit tested was a Surface Laptop, Surface Book or Surface Tablet. Regardless, the device tested seemingly packs decent firepower.

The Ryzen 5 4500U (codename Renoir) is based on AMD's latest Zen 2 microarchitecture and manufactured on TSMC's 7nm FinFET process. The hexa-core processor has a 2.3 GHz base clock and a boost clock that climbs to 4 GHz. The Ryzen 5 4500U runs within the 15W envelope, so it'll be a good fit for Microsoft's slim devices.

The Ryzen 5 4500U has its own integrated graphics with six Vega Compute Units (CUs) that tick up to 1,500 MHz. However, it would appear that Microsoft might kick the graphics aspect of the Surface device up a notch by pairing it with a discrete graphics card from the AMD camp as well.

The 3DMark 11 submission doesn't specify the exact model of the device's graphics card but points to 3GB of onboard memory. AMD currently has four Navi-based mobile graphics cards, and of those four, only the Radeon RX 5300M comes with 3GB of (GDDR6) memory.

The Radeon RX 5300M is built around the Navi 14 silicon that also benefits from TSMC's 7nm node. The graphics card features 22 CUs, equivalent to 1,408 Stream Processors (SPs), and operates with a 1,181 MHz game clock and 1,445 MHz boost clock. The memory is clocked at 14 Gbps across a 96-bit memory interface, which works out to a memory bandwidth of 168 GBps.

It's refreshing to see manufacturers going all in with AMD. Nowadays, you can find a lot of laptops that either use an AMD processor or graphics card, but rarely do you see one that employs both (the MSI Alpha 15 is one example). There are still a lot of options in AMD's arsenal, such as the Ryzen 7 4800U, Ryzen 7 4700U for CPUs and RX 5500M or RX 5600M for graphics. It'll be interesting to see what combination Microsoft might come up with in future Surface products.

Microsoft is going through a reorganization that will heavily impact the company's Experiences and Devices unit, according to a ZDNet report today. It will lead to both the hardware and Windows client teams reporting to chief product officer Panos Panay.

The Windows Experience and hardware teams will be combined into one team called "Devices + Windows" and reporting to Panay (all under the umbrella of executive vice president Rajesh Jha). ZDNet's sources claim that this will begin on February 25.

Joe Belfiore, the corporate vice president under Jha, is also reportedly moving to join Ales Holecek to lead Microsoft Office under the Office Experience Group.

Panay is behind the team bringing new form factors to Microsoft's Surface PC lineup, including the Surface Duo and Surface Neo with dual screens, the latter of which will launch with Windows 10X.

Belfiore has spent the majority of his career at Microsoft on Windows, so this is a major shift for him. He won't begin his role until the fall. 

In an email obtained by ZDNet, Panay wrote that "Designing hardware and software together will enable us to do a better job on our long term Windows bets (dual screen, silicon diversity, connectivity, app platform, etc.), and having a single point of Windows Client Experience leadership driving consistent priorities and resourcing across all of Windows client will help all of us accelerate innovation and improve execution."

It's unclear how Microsoft's partners will feel about Windows and Surface being joined at the hip. Microsoft already competes with them by making its own hardware, and now the operating system and the Surfaces will be developed by the same people.

Microsoft's Surface devices, including the Surface Laptop 3, Surface Pro 7, Surface Pro X, Surface Go and a suite of peripherals, are showcases for Windows 10 on a premium device. They often command a premium price tag, but you may see some deals among the best Cyber Monday tech deals and throughout the rest of the year. 

Since Microsoft just launched the Surface Laptop 3, Pro 7 and Pro X, there could be some sweet deals on previous-gen models. Additionally, now is the time of year you often see them bundled with accessories included. We have already seen the Surface Laptop 3 on sale from both Microsoft and Amazon, while the Surface Pro 7 has gone as low as $599 with a free Type Cover keyboard. 

Microsoft may be looking to unload the Surface Laptop 2 and Surface Pro 6, so keep an eye out for discounts there. Additionally, the Surface Book 2 and Surface Go didn't receive updates this year, so they're likely to go on sale and could be a good choice if you don't need the latest hardware.

Here's a list of some Surface products that we think may go on sale this holiday season. We also have some live pricing that can let you now if the current price for that laptop, tablet or peripheral is a good deal. 

Laptops

2-in-1s / Tablets

Microsoft’s Surface Laptop 3 represents a lot of firsts. The laptop ($1,699.00 as tested; $1,199.00 to start) is the first Surface with an AMD Ryzen processor, the first 15-inch in the Surface Laptop line and the first Surface Laptop to ditch Alcantara fabric. It’s also the first that’s not glued together.

And while it may just look like a bigger Surface Laptop (compared to the 13-inch models that have been around a few years now), there are lots of other changes, including the Wi-Fi chip and the introduction of USB Type-C. But there’s also some hurdles here in terms of battery life, port selection and performance.

(If you prefer a 2-in-1, we also reviewed the Microsoft Surface Pro X with an ARM chip, the Microsoft SQ1.)

Design

At first glance, the 15-inch variant of the Surface Laptop 3 looks like the company just took the 13-inch version and stretched it. But I’ve grown to appreciate the design in different ways.

On top, yes, it looks identical. The lid is a big, black, aluminum rectangle with the Microsoft logo in the center. (You can also opt to get the 15-inch version in platinum).

When you lift the lid, the 15-inch display is surrounded by a fair bit of bezel, but not so much to be abhorrent. The display is tall (see the Display section, below) with a 3:2 aspect ratio, making the laptop deeper front to back than some others.

The deck is also plain black aluminum. Microsoft has removed the Alcantara fabric from previous 13.5-inch models of the Surface Laptop 3 on this one, making for a very spartan appearance. It’s both here and on the lid where one thing becomes obvious: The Surface Laptop 3 is a fingerprint magnet. You may not have to worry about keeping the Alcantara clean, but you’ll definitely want to wipe the deck and the lid on occasion to keep the laptop looking clean.

Perhaps the best thing about the Surface being so similar to its 13-inch siblings is that it has maintained its slenderness. The laptop is 3.4 pounds and 13.4 x 8.6 x 0.6 inches (339.5 x 244 x 14.7 mm). It’s really easy to throw in a backpack and forget about, which is very rare for a 15-inch notebook.

The Dell XPS 15 is heavier at 4.5 pounds and slightly larger overall at 14 x 9.7 x 0.7 inches. The 14-inch ThinkPad X1 Carbon is lighter at 2.4 pounds and measures 12.7 x 8.6 x 0.6 inches.

One big letdown with the design are the ports -- or lack thereof. On the left side there’s a USB Type-C port -- finally, though it’s not Thunderbolt 3. That’s joined by a USB Type-A port and a 3.5mm headphone jack. On the right side, the sole port is the proprietary Surface Connect port, which you use for charging and connecting to Microsoft’s own dock, should you choose to buy it. The good news is, if you do want to charge over USB Type-C, that will work too, provided you bring your own compatible charger.

But there’s plenty of extra room on the edges of the chassis, and it’s a shame there aren’t more ports here. At least one more USB-C or USB-A port on the right edge would have been much appreciated. 

Specifications

Productivity Performance 

The 15-inch Surface Laptop is a bit of a watershed moment for AMD. It’s a big-name, high-end productivity laptop boasting one of its Ryzen flagship processors. Specifically, our review unit has a “Microsoft Surface Edition” AMD Ryzen 5 3580U, paired with 16GB of RAM and a 256GB PCIe SSD.

On Geekbench 4.3, the Surface Laptop earned a score of 11,612, which is below the premium laptop average of 15,650. It’s also lower than the ThinkPad X1 Carbon’s Core i5 (15,649) and unsurprisingly, the XPS 15’s Core i9-9900K. That latter notebook is here to compare more for size, not specs.

It took the Surface Laptop 3 a full 18 seconds to transfer 4.97GB of files, a rate of 282.7 MBps. That’s slower than the average (504.6 MBps), as well as both the XPS 15 and ThinkPad X1 Carbon.

On our Handbrake video editing test, it took the Surface 20 minutes and 33 seconds to transcode a 4K video to 1080p. That’s ahead of the average (22:36) but behind a last-gen Intel Core i5, which completed the task in 16:52.

To stress test the Ryzen 5 3580U, we ran Cinebench R20 on a loop 20 times. During the test, the CPU ran at an average clock speed of 2.5 GHz and an average temperature of 61.5 degrees Celsius (142.7 degrees Fahrenheit). The highest score in R20 was on the first run (1480.4). This dropped slightly around run 3 and then to its lowest range at run 9, ending at its lowest score on the final run (1157.2).

Graphics Performance 

AMD processors are known for their superior integrated graphics. In this case, the integrated Radeon Vega 9 GPU showed a bit of an edge in low-level gaming.

On the Dirt 3 benchmark, the Surface Laptop 3 hit an average of 56 frames per second. While that’s lower than the premium laptop average of 61 fps, it’s important to remember that that includes some laptops with discrete GPUs. The ThinkPad X1 Carbon ran at 31 fps on a Intel Core i5 with Intel UHD 620 graphics. The XPS 15 we tested was one of those laptops that beat the Vega 9, but it has a discrete Nvidia GTX 1650.

When I played Overwatch (high settings, 1980 x 1200), the game ran between 40 and 50 fps, depending on the heat of the battle. It’s not one of the best gaming laptops, but you can squeeze by with it.

Display

In my opinion, all laptop displays that aren’t primarily for gaming should have a 3:2 aspect ratio. So the Surface Laptop 3 wins points in this reviewer’s book just for that. 3:2 displays are taller than 16:9 screens, so you can see more work vertically when you’re writing, browsing the web, working in spreadsheets or anything else you can think of. Perhaps the only downside is that when watching most videos, there are some black bars above and below them.

When I watched a 1920x1080 trailer for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Rey’s blue lightsaber reflected against her face and C-3PO’s golden body glowed against an orange and brown background. This panel isn’t the most vivid screen around, but it’s more than serviceable.

Microsoft’s display covers 101% of the sRGB gamut, a bit less than the premium laptop average of 130%. Lenovo’s FHD display measured 109% and the 4K version measured 144%. The Dell’s OLED, again, not the cleanest of comparisons, measured 239%.

The display is plenty bright at 380 nits, far ahead of the 347-nit premium laptop average. That’s brighter than the ThinkPad X1 Carbon’s FHD display but not it’s 4K option. The XPS 15’s OLED panel, which isn’t as fair of a comparison, is far brighter.

Even though the screen isn’t as lively as some competitors, the aspect ratio makes the display more appealing.

Keyboard and Touchpad

The keyboard on the Surface Laptop 3 is sure to be polarizing. It’s fairly flat, but still offers some bounce. The keycaps are comfortable and easy for my fingers to conform to, though I would have liked more of a click. Some colleagues found the keys to be too shallow. On the 10fastfingers.com typing test, I reached 111 words per minute with a 2 percent error rate, both of which are in my average range.  

Unsurprisingly, the company that makes Windows 10 added its own precision drivers to its touchpad. Every gesture, from two-finger scrolling to four-finger tapping performed as expected. And at 4.5 x 3 inches, the touchpad is spacious to the point of feeling luxurious.

Audio

Microsoft’s speakers, tuned with Dolby Audio, are serviceable. While most 15-inch laptops have a bit of extra room for some oomph, The Surface is loud enough to fill a room, but you won’t get any more detail than your average ultraportable. Case in point: I listened to Green Day’s American Idiot, and the guitars, vocals and drums were clear. It was almost impossible, though, to make out the bass.

Connectivity

We often gloss over Wi-Fi, but there are some changes here year-over-year. Namely, most previous Surface devices have used Marvell-based Wi-Fi, which many power users aren’t fans of. Our review unit has a Qualcomm Atheros QCA61x4A.

The 15-inch Surface Laptop 3 supports 802.11ac Wi-Fi (aka Wi-Fi 5), which will be fine for most people. But the Intel-powered 13-inch version supports the next gen 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) standard, making it more future proof.

Upgradeability

The Surface Pro 3 is technically upgradeable. Specifically, Microsoft made the Surface Laptop 3 easier to open up to replace the SSD. Surface head Panos Panay even made a point of showing it off at the device’s unveiling.

But the company also suggests that it’s not user upgradeable. Specifically, it wants users to leave an upgrade to Microsoft certified technicians. If you damage something, you’re very likely voiding your warranty here.

If you were to get in, by removing the feet from the laptop and removing screws below it, you would find a 2230 m.2 SSD, a shorter drive than you see in most laptops. It’s hard to come by drives of this size in retail channels right now, but that should fill out as more and more devices use these shorter storage devices.

Battery Life

Unfortunately for Microsoft, the 15-inch Surface Laptop 3’s battery life is a bit below average. It endured for an even 8 hours on our battery test, which continuously browses the web, runs OpenGL tests and streams video over Wi-Fi, all at 150 nits. That’s 15 minutes less than the premium laptop average, and a few minutes behind the Dell XPS 15, but that laptop had an OLED display. Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Carbon ran for 9:30 with a 1080p display (though a far worse 5:33 at 4K).

Heat

While running our Cinebench R15 loop, we took heat measurements for skin temperatures. The bottom of the laptop, at its hottest, reached 43.5 degrees Celsius (110.3 degrees Fahrenheit). The touchpad was cool at 28.8 degrees Celsius (83.8 degrees Fahrenheit). The center of the keyboard measured 37.8 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit).

Webcam

The 720p webcam on the Surface Laptop 3 has an eye for detail. In a shot I took at my desk, it displayed all of the colors in my green, blue gray and yellow shirt correctly, and caught the wrinkles by my eye when I smiled and the hairs on my head. 

The Surface Laptop 3 also has infrared to support login for facial recognition via Windows Hello.

Software and Warranty

Microsoft sells the Surface Laptop 3 with a pristine start menu. The only added software is the Surface app, which is a hub for adjusting settings on the Surface Pen, which Bluetooth devices are connected and getting support and warranty information. The company sells the Surface Laptop 3 (15-inch) with a one-year warranty.

Configurations

Our review unit is in a black chassis with an AMD Ryzen 5 3580U, 16GB of DDR-2400 RAM and a 256GB M.2 NVMe SSD and costs $1,699.00.

The base model costs $1,199.00 with the same processor, 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. That configuration is only available in platinum. Bumping up to 256GB brings you to $1,499.00. Those are heavy upcharges for just a bump up in SSD storage. Keep in mind that the retail price difference between a 128GB and 256GB SSD these days is often $15-$25. Granted, Microsoft may have to pay more given that they’re using a short drive with limited suppliers, but there’s no way the company isn’t walking away with the vast majority of the $300 price difference as pure profit.

The top-end 15-inch Surface Laptop 3 is $2,099.00 with an AMD Ryzen 7 3780U, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD.

Bottom Line

The Surface Laptop 3 (15-inch) is an attractive 15-inch notebook that’s thin and light enough to take anywhere. For some, getting a display of that size in something so thin and light will be perfect, and those users really don’t need to consider anything else.

If you’re looking for a laptop with more power, that’s where the Dell XPS 15 comes in. It’s just a little bulkier, but you can purchase it with discrete graphics in the form of an Nvidia GTX 1650, a 4K display and twice as much storage as our Surface Laptop 3 for just $50 more as of this writing (or $200 less with an FHD display).

But if you’re someone consuming media more than making it, who simply wants a large display (or you prefer the 3:2 aspect ratio) and the ability to take your laptop anywhere, the Surface Laptop 3 is well worth considering.

It’s a new era for the Microsoft Surface Pro. For the first time since the 2012-era Microsoft Surface RT, the company is back with an ARM design and LTE support. The Surface Pro X ($999.00 to start; $1,268.99 as tested) is a far cry from that memory, with full Windows 10 and a gorgeous slim design that's bringing a bit of the future to the Surface Pro. It’s also extremely easy to replace the SSD, which is great. But one (big) problem remains: app compatibility.

Design

The Surface Pro X is the most beautiful tablet I’ve ever held. Sure, it apes Apple’s iPads in some ways with its sleek rounded corners and thin bezels. But the matte-black anodized aluminum is sleek, the 3:2 aspect ratio is great for work and for holding the device, and the kickstand hinge, if you like a detachable 2-in-1 design, is flexible and offers just the right amount of resistance.

This is the design of Microsoft’s hardware future, and it makes the Intel's Ice Lake powered Surface Pro 7 look like a device from the past. This is the design I’d want to be seen out and about with.

But the aluminum on the Surface Pro X is a bit of a fingerprint magnet, so be sure to keep a cloth handy. On the back, besides a black-on-black Microsoft logo with a mirror sheen, there is no decoration at all.

We tested  the tablet with Microsoft’s Surface Pro X Signature Keyboard with Slim Pen ($269.99 for the bundle of the two). The new pen is flat, and is more like a carpenter pencil than a pen (more on the functionality in the Keyboard, Touchpad and Stylus section below). And the keyboard, which is black with luxurious Alcantara fabric, has a spot for it. A little indentation on the top (which is hidden if you like your keyboard at an angle) serves as a wireless charging cradle for the stylus.

And this thing is super slim. It’s 11.3 x 8.2 x 0.3 inches (287 mm x 208 mm x 7.3 mm) and it weighs just 1.7 pounds (it gets heavier at 2.4 pounds with the keyboard). The Surface Pro 7, which is hundreths of an inch thinner, does feel noticeably thicker with the old design. The Surface Pro X  is of a similar size to the Samsung Galaxy Book 2, which is 1.8 pounds and 1.3 x 7.9 x 0.3 inches. 

If there’s one letdown in the design, it's the lack of ports. Because it’s a tablet, I don’t mind the fact that there are few connections, but the selection is odd. There are two USB Type-C ports on the left side, which is a huge improvement over prior Surface tablets that didn’t have this connector. I don’t mind the lack of a Type-A port. But the only port on the right side is Microsoft’s proprietary Surface Connect port for charging and using the company’s proprietary docking station. I would have preferred another Type-C port there.

Perhaps the biggest omission is the lack of a headphone jack. Admittedly, many users may have gotten used to this as smartphones continue to ditch that port and move to Bluetooth headphones or USB Type-C dongles. Since this is a tablet I suspect that many will forgive it for lacking the port, but as a full Windows PC, it’s sorely missed.

A volume rocker lives on the left side of the machine, and the power button sits on the right.

Specifications

Windows 10 on ARM

For enthusiasts and many business users, considering the Surface Pro X will start and end with one question: Can it run the programs that I need?

The answer will depend on two factors: which programs you use, and how long you’re willing to wait.

The Microsoft SQ1 is an ARM processor, a custom chip based on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8cx. To run on this CPU right now, programs either need to be native ARM64 or ARM 32. Alternatively, it can emulate 32-bit x86 programs, but with a significant performance cost. If a developer offers an x86-32 version of your program, you’re in luck. But if only a 64-bit app is available, it won’t work.

Additionally, many third-party antivirus solutions won’t work (though Windows Security will), and many games have issues if they use certain versions of OpenGL (newer than OpenGL 1.1) or have anti-cheat drivers that don’t work with ARM.

That being said, there is development for Windows on ARM, but it’s slow going. Adobe, for example, has announced a version of its Fresco drawing and sketching app for Windows on ARM devices, but we don’t know exactly when it’s coming. Regular Dropbox doesn’t work, so if you use that for storage, you need to use the neutered “Dropbox for S mode,” which doesn’t store files on your device.

While Microsoft recently removed a number of apps from its store that don’t run on the system, a bunch of games - notably those on the company’s own Game Pass service, still remain.

Some popular programs do have native versions, like the popular media player VLC, Netflix, Twitter, Skype, and Windows Terminal. You’ll want those versions from the Microsoft Store. A new version of Edge is coming, and that will support ARM as well, but it’s a shock that Microsoft didn’t ship it alongside this flagship device. Mozilla has native ARM compatibility for Firefox in beta. Of those native apps that I tried, they were all swift. But you’ll have to see if your apps are supported or decide if there are alternatives you’re willing to use.

The emulation has improved year-over-year. In Google Chrome, for instance, I was able to run multiple tabs without much of an issue, except that it took a few seconds to switch between tabs. That happened much less in the beta version of Firefox.

Productivity Performance

The limitations of Windows 10 on ARM meant that several of our benchmarks didn’t work, but we ran what we could. We tested the base configuration of the Surface Pro X, with Microsoft’s SQ1 processor, 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. In general, the tablet worked OK with simple tasks like browsing the web and streaming video, but I did see some stuttering and occasional lockup even with light use. There were also some bugs. Occasionally, when using it on my desk, the “Autorotate on” notification would pop up in the top-right corner, despite me not attempting to rotate the device.

On Geekbench 4.1, the Surface Pro X earned a score of 6,863. That’s progress over the Snapdragon 850 in the Samsung Galaxy Book 2 (3,575), but far lower than the Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 with Intel’s Core i7-1065G7 Ice Lake chip. It should be noted here that this benchmark, like many others, is measuring performance over x86 emulation. But because so many apps rely on emulation, that’s not an entirely unfair comparison.

It took the Surface Pro X 32 seconds to copy 4.97GB of files, or 159 MBps. That’s faster than the Galaxy Book 2, but slower than the XPS 13 2-in-1.All the competing system were below the category average of 528.1 MBps.

Connectivity

Besides Wi-Fi, the Surface Pro X also supports Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X24 LTE Modem. The integration between Qualcomm’s ARM designs and its modem tech is one of the biggest advantages of using the SQ1 processor in the first place.

And considering how slim and light the Surface Pro X is, it makes sense for you to use it on the go. The tablet has a spot for SIM cards underneath the kickstand, which may be the best way for most to use it, at least in the United States. The Surface Pro X also works with eSIM, though U.S. carriers aren’t great at supporting it.

Display

I love the 13-inch, 2880 x 1920  display on the Surface Pro X. It may not outbenchmark its competitors on all tests, but it wins me over in two ways.

One: It has a 3:2 aspect ratio that’s ideal for work. I can see more of what I’m working on when I have a taller screen. Sure, there are black bars when watching video, but that doesn’t bother me too much.

Two: The thick borders from the regular Surface tablets have been greatly reduced here, which makes using the computer more immersive.

When I watched a trailer for Star Wars: The The Rise of Skywalker at 1080p, some greenery Rey runs through in the jungle didn’t pop as much against the brown soil as it did on other screens. But a yellow, powdery explosion in the desert stood out against the bright blue sky.

Microsoft’s panel covers 103 percent of the sRGB color gamut, which is lower than average (125 percent) and behind both of its competitors.

The screen is super bright, with an average rating of 448 nits. That’s higher than the premium laptop average (361 nits) and the Galaxy Book 2, though the XPS 13 2-in-1 reached an incredible 517 nits.

Keyboard, Touchpad and Stylus

The keyboard and Surface Slim Pen are sold separately. You can buy the Type Cover and Slim Pen separately, but we tested with the Signature Keyboard and Slim Pen bundle.

As with previous Surface devices, the keyboard connects magnetically to the bottom of the Surface. In the case of the Signature keyboard, there is an indentation above the keys to place the Slim Pen. The stylus is held in magnetically and charges wirelessly. (If you choose to buy the stylus separately, it comes with a USB Type-C charging cradle instead.)

The keys don’t have a lot of travel, but are comfortable enough, particularly for a type cover. There’s still a bit of bounce if you keep the keyboard at an angle, but it’s more solid when flat on a desk. I typed at a rate of 97 words per minute, which is lower than usual for me, but with a slight 2% error rate.

I really like the flat stylus, which surprised me at first. It has all of the best features of the original Surface Pen, including the ability to use the back as an eraser, pressure sensitivity, and, in certain apps, shading. And this version is rechargeable, which I feel is a huge upgrade over having to look for uncommon AAAA batteries.

Audio

Considering that this is a tablet, the front-firing speakers on the Surface Pro X do a solid job. When I listened to Lit’s “My Own Worst Enemy,” the guitars, vocals and drums were all crystal clear. But as with many laptops, the bass was lacking — in fact, in this case it was almost non-existent. There’s no preloaded audio software to help you make adjustments.

Upgradeability

This is the most easy-to-open Surface device ever. On the back of the tablet, beneath the kickstand, is a small door. That’s where the SSD and the SIM card slot are.

All you need to do to open the door is use a SIM card removal tool (or a bent paper clip) and it pops right off. There’s a single Torx screw holding the SSD down.

The Surface Pro X uses a 2230 M.2 SSD, which is shorter than most M.2 SSDs on the market right now. But that form is starting to become more popular, so there should be more options available soon.

Battery Life

You can definitely get a day’s use out of the Surface Pro X. On our battery test, which constantly browses the web, streams video and runs webGL animations over Wi-Fi at 150 nits, it endured for 9 hours and 30 minutes. That’s well over the premium laptop average of 8:20.

We also ran the test over LTE (we tested on Verizon’s LTE network), and it lasted for a similar amount of time: 9:21.

The Dell XPS 13 2-in-1, a much larger device, lasted for 10:57. The Snapdragon 850-based Galaxy Book 2 also lasted longer, at 10:41.

Heat

To test skin temperatures on the tablet, we ran a YouTube video for 15 minutes and took heat measurements on the back. The hottest point measured 42.8 degrees Celsius (109.4 degrees Fahrenheit). It’s not too hot to use as a tablet, but it would be better if it were slightly cooler when holding it. This isn’t a problem when using it with a keyboard on a desk. 

Cameras

The Surface Pro X has two cameras: a webcam and a rear-shooting camera.

The 5MP front camera is the better of the two, with a resolution of 2592 x 1458, it takes sharp, color accurate photos. At my desk, in a challenging office environment, it accurately captured the blue, white and orange in my plaid shirt and caught details down to the thread. It also picked up the different colors in my beard.

The 10MP, 4064 x 2286 rear camera was a little less impressive. I took some pictures of a plant in my office and it caught the different shades of green. But the whole image was a bit cloudy, as if there was a film over it.

Software and Warranty

The only notable extra piece of preloaded software on the Surface Pro X is the Surface app, which lets you adjust pen pressure, check the battery level for Microsoft Bluetooth accessories and get quick links to support and warranty coverage.

Of course, Windows 10 still has a share of bloatware and links to Microsoft Store apps, including Netflix, Spotify, Candy Crush Friends, Farm Heroes Saga, Hulu and Disney Magic Kingdoms.

Microsoft sells the Surface Pro X with a one-year hardware warranty.

Configurations

We reviewed the base model of the Surface Pro X, which is $999 with a Microsoft SQ1 CPU, 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. But we also used the Surface Pro X Signature Keyboard with Slim Pen bundle, which costs $269.99. That brought the total to $1,268.99.

If we just wanted a keyboard, that would be $139.99 (or a total of $1,138.99), though that doesn’t have a wireless charging cradle for a pen and isn’t made of Alcantara. If you just want the slim pen, it’s sold separately for $144.99, so the total would be $1,1,43.99 with the base model with a USB Type-C cradle to charge the pen.

If you want both the Slim Pen and a keyboard, the bundle is the best bet, as it’s cheaper than buying the two separately and allows for wireless charging. Either way, note that you can’t get a full experience for the price it says you’re paying without accessories, unless you only want to use it as a tablet.

There are a few other configurations. For $1,299.00, a $300 markup, you can get the 8GB configuration with 256GB of storage. At $1,499 you get 16GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. For $1,799, you get get 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage (another $300 bump). Every configuration has the same display and Microsoft SQ1 processor. Whichever you get, calculate the price accordingly by adding the peripherals you plan on using.

Bottom Line

Using the Microsoft Surface Pro X is euphoric at first, but followed by a splash of cold water. You’re greeted with a bright, beautiful display on a lovely chassis, and, finally, USB Type-C. It has an ARM CPU, LTE support and runs full-on Windows 10.

But the app compatibility problem quickly becomes obvious. For casual users, this may never be a massive problem. But this isn’t just any Surface. It’s a Surface Pro, and it’s one that is priced like premium laptops and tablets that don’t have these issues. And using a half-assed version of Dropbox or a sluggish emulation of Chrome browser sure is an issue.

Support is on the way for more apps, but they’re not here yet, and it’s not clear how long users will be waiting, or if the developer community will pick it up in force. I can get over the lack of a headphone jack, but the Windows ecosystem of programs is wide, and the offerings for professionals and creators, who this is marketed to, aren’t all ready. 

If you’re looking for a beautiful tablet, the pique of Microsoft’s hardware design, and you don’t want an iPad, this is for you. It works great as a solid portable computer, especially for browser and Office-based activities, with few hiccups, if you’re willing to go the extra mile and get the peripherals. For those, I could recommend it if money is no object. Otherwise, Intel or AMD alternatives, like the Surface Pro 7 with Intel’s Ice Lake processors, are better bets. The Surface Pro 7 is $899 ($100 less) when configured as closely as possible to the Pro X, before keyboard and stylus.

Microsoft and Qualcomm need more developer support, period. When that day comes, the Pro X could be special. But we're far from that point, and given the history of Windows on ARM, it's unclear if we'll get there during this latest round of devices, or if we still have years to wait before native app support is no longer spotty.

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When Microsoft unveiled the Surface Laptop 3, it made a claim that it was easy to upgrade. At its unveiling, Surface head Panos Panay made it look as easy as pulling the deck and keyboard off the laptop. It ends up, thanks to a teardown from iFixit, that it's not quite that easy, but it's close.

The repair site gave the Surface Laptop 3 a repairability score of 5 out of 10, a massive jump from the first two Surface Laptops, which each received 0 points.

The basics are that you remove four Torx Plus screws located under the laptop's feet and then you can pry off the top cover, which is held to the rest of the chassis with magnets and a flex cable.

Unsurprisingly, the RAM is soldered down, but as Microsoft has previously explained, the SSD is replaceable. It's a 2230 M.2 NVMe drive, which is shorter than most M.2 SSDs currently on the market. But it's held down with a single Torx screw, so that's easy enough to swap.

But Microsoft has warned that the SSD is not user replaceable, and that only a "skilled technician" should swap out an SSD. That suggests that you may void your warranty by opening up the machine. But if you're handy and have the tools, it looks like adding a larger SSD wouldn't be too difficult.

For more, including detailed photos of the motherboard and information on removing more parts like the display, check out iFixit's full teardown.

Microsoft has finally patched an issue that some Surface Book 2 users have been facing over the last few months in which the processor would throttle at 0.4 GHz.

The company has released firmware updates for that issue, as well as a problem in which the GPU disappeared from the device manager.

The full changelog is available here, and you can download the firmware here. The firmware updates are for Surface Book 2 with Windows 10 1803.

An additional firmware update has been released to improve battery stability.

In theory, the GPU issue being solved should allow Surface Book 2 owners to finally upgrade to the latest version of Windows 10, version 1903, though we'll see what happens once a critical mass of Surface Book 2 owners get the new firmware.

As soon as we learned from The Verge last week that at least one of Microsoft’s new Surface devices sports a super-tiny 2230 SSD (that’s just 30mm or 1.2 inches long), we suspected that the drive in question came from Toshiba. Why? Because Toshiba (which is currently rebranding as Kioxia), is the only company we knew of that currently makes drives that small.

In fact, we recently reviewed the company’s BG4 M.2 SSD, a 2230 M.2 SSD that fits Microsoft’s description exactly, and was designed to be an OEM solution for devices like the Surface. The 1TB unit we tested had strong performance for its size, offering up to 4 times the speed of a SATA drive, but high-end M.2 NVMe drives like the Samsung 970 PRO had transfer rates that were up to 1,000 MBps quicker.

Now, after checking out display units of some of Microsoft’s latest devices at a local Best Buy, we can confirm that the 13-inch version of the Surface Laptop 3 indeed uses the Toshiba BG4 drive (specifically KGB40ZNS128G in the unit we looked at), but not exclusively.

Interestingly, the AMD-powered 15-inch model of the Surface Laptop that we saw at the same Best Buy uses an SK Hynix drive (HFM256GDGTNG-97A0A), which doesn’t appear to have been officially announced. But based on a similar model that shows up on Ebay, the SK Hynix drive in the 15-inch Surface Laptop 3 is also an NVMe 2230 drive.

Furthering the complications, we checked out a few more new Surface models at a nearby Microsoft store. And a 13-inch Surface Laptop 3 that I looked at did not have a Toshiba drive in it, but the same SK Hynix SSD model as the 15-inch Surface Laptop we spotted at Best Buy.

To round out the new Surface devices that you can currently find in a store, we also checked out what SSD’s inside the Surface Pro 7 and Surface Pro X at a Microsoft Store. The Pro 7 also sports a version of Toshiba/Kioxia’s BG4 SSD (KBG40ZPZ256G), but the previous-generation Surface Pro 6 had a soldered-down SSD, so it’s unlikely you’ll be upgrading the Surface Pro 7’s storage.

The Surface Pro X we saw in the Microsoft store had a drive with the model name HFB1M8MO331C0MR, which doesn’t show up in search results at all. It’s not even clear who the manufacturer is. But given that device isn’t slated to launch until next month, and Microsoft had the tablet encased in a big hunk of plastic so that all you could see was the screen, there’s a good chance it wasn’t a final unit, and may contain a different drive than what we saw in the store.

What does all this tell us? Well, it seems that you can expect either a Toshiba or an SK Hynix drive on most of the new single-display Surface devices (save for the Pro X, which is still up in the air). But it’s unclear whether Microsoft is sourcing multiple drives for the same laptops (we saw both a Toshiba and an SK Hynix drive in different models of the 13-inch Surface Laptop 3 in different stores), or if the display units we saw weren’t representative of the final shipping products.

Whether the drives are made by SK Hynix or or Toshiba, it doesn’t look like end users will be able to find replacement models on the aftermarket any time soon. That matters because Microsoft is charging a ridiculous $300 to move up from a 128GB to a 256GB model so, if you can do your own upgrade, there’s plenty of incentive to do so. Of course, Microsoft doesn't advise doing so and recommends using its technicians. And trying could void your warranty.

Perhaps, after launch, another vendor will step in to fill this void in the market and sell M.2 2230 SSDs. Given that Microsoft’s Surface devices are some of the highest-profile products in the PC industry, we wouldn’t be surprised to see multiple tiny 2230 M.2 drives pop up in the coming months.

Microsoft unveiled the Surface Laptop 3 in two flavors here at an event in New York: a 13.5-inch Intel Ice Lake model and a 15-inch version with custom AMD silicon. The former will start at $999 and the latter at $1,199 when they release on October 22.

The 15-inch is new to the family, as previously the Surface Laptop only came in a 13.5-inch size. This model on display at Microsoft's press event had an AMD Ryzen 5 3850U with Vega 9 graphics, though there's also a Ryzen 7 3780U.

The new display will please holdouts who went for the heftier Surface Book but didn't require a graphics card. It's still quite light, but the display feels much larger, especially with the 3:2 ratio. 

Perhaps my favorite part of both devices is the keyboard, with 1.3mm of travel. In my short time with both models, I found the keys clicky and extremely satisfying to type on. The touchpad is now 20% larger, and it feels more in line with what you see on other high-end notebooks.

The 15-inch version ditches Alcantara for a new all aluminum design, as do professional versions of the 13-inch model. I was always fond of how Alcantara looks, but this feels much better and you don't have to worry about staining it.

Oh, and both models finally have USB Type-C. Neither have Thunderbolt 3, including the Intel model, which is slightly disappointing.

The colors, including cobalt and the new sandstone design, look beautiful as ever, though I suspect many will still get the Surface Laptop 3 in an ever popular black.

We hope to review these when they release later this month.

Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 Specs

At its launch event, Microsoft showed off two Surface Pros: the Surface Pro 7, an iteration on existing devices, and the Pro X, an ARM-based version with 4G connectivity and a sleek design.

Surface Pro X

The Surface Pro X will go on sale starting at $999 on November 4. It nets you an ultra thin 11.3 x 8.2 x 0.3-inch (287 x 208 x 7.3 mm) 2-in-1 with Microsoft's new SQ1 processor, a collaboration with Qualcomm's Snapdragon technology that also boasts an AI accelerator. It has a Qualcomm Adreno 685 integrated GPU, up to 16GB of RAM and a removable SSD that's up to 512GB. Oh, and there are two USB Type-C ports.

The bezels are far thinner than on older Surface Pros, and it looks so much nicer for it. The 13-inch, 2880 x 1920 display looked gorgeous with so little surrounding it. I could lose myself in that.

The keyboard feels nice and snappy, just like the Type Covers on older models, but what's cool here is that there's a slot for the new slim Surface Pen. That pen felt great in the hand when I drew and wrote on screen. As soon as you take the pen, which wirelessly charges, out of the keyboard, it opens up a surface for you to draw or write on.

I do worry slightly about Windows app compatibility, which has been slow for Window on ARM. But with Microsoft's own devices supporting it, we may see a larger ecosystem soon.

Surface Pro 7

In contrast, the Surface Pro 7 (starting at $749 on October 22) looks much like the Surface of yesteryear. The biggest noticeable change is the USB Type-C port that replaces the mini DisplayPort.

It's getting fast charging, as well as Intel's Ice Lake processors (if you're looking for app compatibility, this will have it). It will go up to a quad-core Intel Core i7-1065G7 with Iris Plus graphics, as well as 16GB of RAM and up to 1TB of storage. Microsoft is claiming up to 10.5 hours of battery life.

So if you're looking for more power, this is where to go. But it doesn't feel much different from previous models.

Microsoft is holding an event in New York City on October 2, which is rumored to be a Surface-focused event. That could mean we see refreshes to the Surface lineup, including a Surface Pro 7, Surface Book 3 and Surface Laptop 3. It's also possible that the company could finally reveal Centaurus, its dual-screen device that has been making the rounds within the company.

The Surface Book 2 and Surface Go have USB Type-C, but the Surface Laptop and Surface Pro haven't seen it yet, so those could be obvious points for an upgrade. Additionally, updates to Intel's 10th Gen Comet Lake or Ice Lake processors could be in the cards. There have also been persistent rumors that the Surface Laptop could get an AMD chip, while the Surface Pro could have a Snapdragon 8cx option.

Windows Core OS, a lighter, more modular system has also been in the works for a long time. We haven't heard anything about it for this event, but there's always the possibility it could debut on Microsoft's own hardware.

We'll be at Microsoft's event in October to let you know what happens. 

For a few years now, Microsoft’s Surface Pro line has has held its own as the best detachable 2-in-1. The Surface Pro 6 continues that trend but without much fanfare. The tablet ($899 / £879 to start, $1,428.98 / £1,373.98 as tested) has a new black color that makes it look sleeker than ever, but other than that, nothing has changed externally. That means, primarily, a lack of modern ports. But it has, finally, quad-core performance, and its display continues to be a showstopper.

Specifications

Design

The Surface Pro 6 is back in black, but that’s really the only thing new about its design. If you look at the alternative color, the standard platinum, it looks identical to last year’s model.

Granted, it’s still a pretty great design. It has an aluminum unibody case, and if you get the black version like I did, it looks pretty damn sleek. It’s spartan except for the reflective Microsoft logo on the kickstand. That stand, by the way, is still one of the best, most flexible and sturdiest among detachable 2-in-1s out there.

The 12.3-inch, 2736 x 1824 display has a 3:2 aspect ratio, which I find to be ideal for productivity (seriously, why don’t all non-gaming laptops have a 3:2 screen?), but is surrounded by thick bezels. Those house Windows Hello cameras for facial recognition and provide a place to put your hands while using it as a tablet, but they’re still a little unsightly.

There’s just one port on the left side: the headphone jack. Below that is where the optional Surface Pen attaches with magnets. On the right side there’s a single USB 3.0 Type-A port, a Mini DisplayPort and the proprietary Surface Connect port. Like Microsoft’s Surface Laptop 2, these ports are questionable. It’s weird to see Microsoft making the vision other 2-in-1 vendors should strive for and not include either USB Type-C, or, for this price, Thunderbolt 3. I’m glad to have full-size USB, but I'd readily swap out Mini DisplayPort for USB-C instead. The proprietary port works with Microsoft’s Surface Connect dock, but there are plenty of Type-C and Thunderbolt 3 docks out there that could provide similar functionality.

At 11.5 x 7.9 x 0.3 inches (292 x 201 x 8.5 mm) at 1.7 pounds, the Surface is extremely portable. The 2-pound Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Tablet is a larger 12 x 8.9 x 0.4 inches, and Samsung’s Notebook 9 Pen is 2.2 pounds and 12.2 x 8.1 x 0.7 inches.

Performance

With a Intel Core i5-8250U CPU, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD, the Surface Pro 6 is a competent ultraportable. The move to quad-core is a nice jump over the last generation of Surface Pros.

On Geekbench 4, the Surface Pro 6 earned a score of 13,025, beating the ultraportable average (12,945) and ThinkPad X1 Tablet (12,772, Core i5-8250U), but not the Notebook 9 Pen (Core i7-8550U).

The Surface Pro 6 took 22 seconds to copy 4.97GB of files, a rate of 231MBps. That’s slower than all of its competitors, as well as the 397.5Mbps average.

Microsoft’s tablet paired 65,000 names and addresses in our Excel test in 1 minute and 12 seconds, beating the 1:27 average and both of its competitors.

On our Handbrake test, it took 23 minutes and 22 seconds for the Surface to transcode a 4K video to 1080p, which is slower than the average (20:34) but speedier than both the ThinkPad X1 Tablet and Notebook 9 Pen.

To stress test the tablet, I ran Cinebench R15 on a loop 10 times. It ran smoothly until run 5, when it took a dip, boosted up until run 8 and began to start the pattern again.The CPU ran at an average clock speed of 2.6GHz; it typically ran around 2.7GHz but had many dips to 2.4GHz and 2.5GHz that brought the average down. The CPU measured an average of 66.1 degrees Celsius (151 degrees Fahrenheit) during the stress test.

Display

The 12.3-inch, 2736 x 1824 PixelSense display is bright and vivid, making it great for content creation or consumption. When I watched an FHD trailer for Aquaman on the Surface Pro, a sunset behind the titular hero emerging from the ocean was a beautiful series of pink, blue and orange.

Microsoft’s tablet covers 136 percent of the sRGB color gamut. That’s higher than the 130-percent ultraportable average and both the ThinkPad and Notebook 9 Pen.

It measured an average of 408 nits of brightness, just below the ThinkPad X1 (415 nits), but above the Notebook 9 Pen and the average.

Keyboard, Touchpad and Surface Pen

The Surface Pro’s longest-lasting sin has been that you have to buy the Type Cover keyboard and Surface Pen stylus separately. That’s still the case here, where the Type Cover will run you an extra $129.99 (£124.99) and the Surface Pen costs $99.99 (£99.99).

Even with just 0.6 mm of key travel, I hit 110 words per minute on the 10fastfingers.com, which is about average for me, including my usual 2 percent error rate. The Type Cover buckled a bit while I typed but not bad enough to disturb me.

Unsurprisingly, the glass touchpad uses Microsoft’s Windows precision drivers, so all of my navigation and gestures were smooth sailing.

The Surface Pen also comes in black now but is otherwise unchanged. The stylus has 4,096 pressure points and reacts to tilting for shading. Its flat edge, which is also the location of a barrel button, connects to the side of the tablet for storage. The Surface Pen is one of the few styli that uses the back of the pen as an eraser.

Audio

The stereo speakers on the Surface Pro 6 are decent. They were loud enough to fill our lab with sound when I listened to Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky.” The vocals and guitars were clear, and the drums were snappy. But I could only just make out the bass’ lowest points, and a bassline that iconic deserves to come through loud and clear.

Upgradeability

You can’t update the Surface Pro 6. It’s glued, not screwed, together. So if you think you might want extra RAM or more storage make sure you get the proper configuration (more on that below). Based on teardowns, those parts are soldered down too.

Battery Life

The Surface endured for a long-lasting 9 hours and 20 minutes on our battery test, which continuously browses the web, streams video and runs through OpenGL tests at 150 nits. That’s just below the ultraportable average of 9:28 but longer-lasting than both the ThinkPad X1 Tablet and Notebook 9 Pen.

Heat

After streaming 15 minutes of HD video from YouTube, the back of the Surface measured 32.4 degrees Celsius (90.3 degrees Fahrenheit) at its hottest point. Most of it stayed closer to 30, and a lot was even cooler. That’s certainly not too hot to hold while using it as a tablet.

Webcam

The 2560 x 1440 webcam on the Surface Pro is sharp and color-accurate. My burgundy shirt appeared perfectly, and every strand of my hair slipping out from under my headphones was visible enough to make me feel the need to brush my hair. I would be happy to use this for video conferencing.

Software and Warranty

Microsoft is light with its preinstalled software. The only addition it makes to Windows is the Surface program, where you can adjust settings for the Pen, check the battery level for peripherals and get other information about your PC.

But even Microsoft’s Surface devices are plagued with the bloat that comes with every copy of Windows 10, like Drawboard PDF, Sketchable, Facebook and Netflix.

Microsoft sells the Surface Pro 6 with a one-year warranty.

Configurations

The Surface Pro 6 I reviewed came in black with a 256GB SSD, 8GB of RAM and Intel Core i5-8250U CPU. That costs $1,199.00 (£1,149). But once you add in the Surface Pen and the Type Cover, you get to $1,428.98 (£1,373.98).

Another model, with a 512GB SSD, 16GB of RAM and a Core i7 costs $1,899 (£1,599) before adding the stylus and keyboard. The maxxed out version jumps to $2,299 (£1,949) and moves to 16GB of storage, but only comes in platinum.

The base model, at $899 (£879) is the same as the one we reviewed but with 128GB of storage and also eschews black for platinum.

Bottom Line

If you’re getting a detachable 2-in-1, it’s hard to recommend anything over the Surface Pro 6. Sure, we saw a little bit of throttling on our tests, but the battery life outclasses other detachables, and the display is excellent. Using it is just a great experience. The biggest hangups are that the keyboard doesn’t come in the box, and there’s no USB Type-C or Thunderbolt 3.

The best alternative is the $1,395 Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Tablet, which comes with a keyboard and a stylus in the box. It, however, goes to the other port extreme, with two Thunderbolt 3 ports and a microSD card slot but no USB Type-A.

But Microsoft outclasses the ThinkPad X1 Tablet in design, display and battery life, which overall makes it nicer to use. If you’re looking for a detachable 2-in-1 that can handle today’s accessories, there’s no nicer better choice out there than the Surface Pro 6.

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Photo Credit: Tom's Hardware

Microsoft announced the Surface Go tablet in July to appeal to people looking for something a little smaller--and cheaper--than its existing Surface and Surface Pro offerings. Now the company has announced a new Surface Go model with LTE compatibility for those who need constant connectivity.

We reviewed the Surface Go back in August. Our takeaway was mostly positive--it's a svelte tablet with a compelling display hindered mostly by the lack of a bundled keyboard and its short battery life. It makes sense, then, for Microsoft to continue to invest in the new product. That's especially true when it comes to internet connectivity; a 10-inch tablet is more likely to be used outside of a Wi-Fi network's range than its larger brethren.

Microsoft is positioning the Surface Go with LTE Advanced (the model name it used in its announcement, but not on the Surface Go's page on the Microsoft Store) as an enterprise product. Microsoft said having a cellular connection allows business users to take the Surface Go anywhere without having to worry about Wi-Fi, and that this bolsters security by letting companies avoid unfamiliar Wi-Fi networks, while otherwise enabling people in the field.

The company didn't offer specific information about the Surface Go with LTE Advanced's cellular access--it merely stated "service availability and performance subject to service provider’s network," and that potential buyers should contact their service provider for "details, compatibility, pricing, SIM card, and activation." That's much less informative than Apple's page about iPad connectivity, for example, and likely to frustrate some shoppers.

Microsoft said the Surface Go with LTE Advanced is available for pre-order now in the U.S. and "select markets," with availability expanding to a total of 23 markets by November 22. It costs $679 for consumers (£619.00 including VAT) and $729 for commercial buyers. The company didn't say when pre-orders would ship; the model is merely listed as "out of stock" on Microsoft's store and the company didn't elaborate in its announcement.

Microsoft’s Surface Laptop 2 oozes elegance. With its newly available black finish, Alcantara deck and a vivid touchscreen display, the machine ($999 / £979 to start, $1,299 / £1,249 as tested) looks and feels like a luxury device. And with a Whiskey Lake processor, it acts like one too. But a lack of the latest ports (it’s missing both USB Type-C and Thunderbolt 3) leaves it with one foot in the past. And while the new black hue makes it look like the laptop showed up in its finest tuxedo, the chassis is impossible to open for repairs or upgrading.

Specifications

Design

It’s like the Surface Laptop came home in its finest suit. The Surface we reviewed is in Microsoft’s new black finish, and it looks slick. But that’s also the only noticeable change over the original Surface Laptop, at least from the outside. There’s still the same aluminum casing, including a lid that is sparse save for a reflective Microsoft logo that looks incredibly classy among the dark hue.

Open up the laptop and you’ll find a 3:2, 13.5-inch PixelSense display with a resolution of 2256 x 1504. The bezel is a little big, but it fits in some IR cameras for Windows Hello, so I can forgive it. The keyboard deck is covered in black Alcantara, which I hope means that it will stay clean for a while. It’s soft to the touch and is comfortable while typing.

If you’re not into the blackout look, three of the original colors are still available: burgundy, cobalt blue and platinum (the latter is the only option available for the cheapest and most expensive configurations. See the configuration section below for more). In China, there’s an exclusive blush pink color.

In terms of ports, it’s definitely a bit dated. The left side has a USB 3.0 Type-A port, Mini DisplayPort and a headphone jack, while the right side features only Microsoft’s proprietary Surface Connect port. 

Just a few years ago, this would have been a minimal but acceptable solution for an ultraportable, especially because Microsoft’s $199 Surface Connect dock can add several more ports for power users. But in 2018, when almost all of Microsoft’s partners use USB Type-C, or, at this price level, Thunderbolt 3, the Surface Laptop 2 feels behind the times. It would have been an easy switch to replace the Mini DisplayPort with Type-C (it would allow for display and output as well as charging) and made the device more future-proof.

At 12.1 x 8.8 x 0.6 inches (308.1 x 223.3 x 14.5 mm) and 2.7 pounds (1.2kg), the Surface has a comparable footprint to other premium, 13-inch 2-in-1s, including the Dell XPS 13 (2.7 pounds, 12 x 7.9 x 0.5 inches), Huawei MateBook X Pro (2.9 pounds, 12 x 8.5 x 0.6 inches) and 13-inch Apple MacBook Pro (3 pounds, 12 x 8.4 x 0.6 inches).

Performance

With an Intel Core i5-8250U CPU, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD, our review configuration of the Surface Laptop 2 will satisfy most users on the go. My usual workload of about 30 Chrome tabs with some videos or music playing in the background didn’t make it sweat.

On the Geekbench 4 test, the Surface earned a score of 12,676, beating the premium laptop average of 12,230 as well as the Core i5-equipped XPS 13 (13,254), but the Core i7-based MateBook X Pro (12,913) and MacBook Pro (17,348) both outperformed.

The Surface’s flash SSD storage took 25 seconds to copy 4.97GB of files for a rate of 203MBps. That’s not just slower than average (479.2 MBps) but also each of its competitors by a decent margin. This was the one real weak point for the laptop's performance.

On our Excel macro test, which pairs 65,000 names and addresses, the Surface Laptop 2 needed 1 minute and 15 seconds. While that beat the category average (1:34), the MacBook Pro (by 1 second) and the MateBook, the XPS had it beat by a few seconds.

It took the Surface 17:30 to complete our Handbrake test, in which a PC transcodes a 4K video to 1080p. The average is a slower 21:08, and both the MateBook and XPS were slower. Apple’s MacBook Pro was the fastest of the bunch at 14:47.

To stress test the Surface Laptop 2, we ran Cinebench R15 10 times on a loop. During that test, the CPU ran at an average of 2.3GHz with an average temperature of 65 degrees Celsius (149 Fahrenheit).

Display

If it were up to me, every non-gaming laptop would have a 3:2 display. I love the extra height, which shows more of documents, spreadsheets and web pages. The 13.5-inch, 2256 x 1504 display on the Surface Laptop 2 offers that excellent aspect ratio and is incredibly vivid, though some competitors are a little brighter. When I watched the trailer for X-Men: Dark Phoenix, colors were beautiful. Everything was vibrant, including Beast’s blue fur, Cyclops’ ruby quartz visor and, of course, the orange flames of the Phoenix engulfing Professor Xavier.

The Surface covers 176 percent of the sRGB color gamut, better than anything else in the field by far, including the premium laptop category average of 116 percent.

While the Surface is easily bright enough to use at 321 nits (which is higher than the 317-nit average), the XPS 13, MacBook Pro and MateBook X Pro were far brighter (the latter two noticeably so).

Keyboard and Touchpad

I really like the feeling of the keyboard on the Surface Laptop 2. Despite just 1.3mm of travel and 69 grams of required force to actuate, the keyboard is the right combination of clicky and bouncy. On the 10fastfingers.com typing test, I reached 108 words per minute with a 2 percent error rate, all of which is pretty average for me.

Of course, the 4.1 x 2.7-inch touchpad uses Microsoft’s Windows 10 precision drivers, and even three and four-finger gestures worked without a hitch.

Audio

The speakers on the Surface Laptop 2 get the job done, though they suffer from the same issues as those on most laptops: not enough power on the low end. When I listened to Ellie Goulding’s “On My Mind,” the synths and vocals were clear, and the drums were loud. However, the bass was weak, even as the speakers filled our lab with sound.

Upgradeability

Buy the Surface Laptop 2 as you want it configured forever because there’s no upgrading it. There’s not a single exposed screw on the computer because it’s all held together with adhesive. And if you look for teardowns, like this excellent video from iFixit, you’ll see that all of the components are soldered to the motherboard.

Battery Life

Microsoft’s laptop will last you a full day on a charge. On our battery test, which browses the web, runs OpenGL tests and streams video continuously over Wi-Fi at 150 nits, it endured for 9 hours and 22 minutes. That’s more than an hour over the premium laptop average (8:09), but the MateBook X Pro lasted 9:55, and the 1080p version of the XPS 13 ran for an incredible 11:59. Apple’s MacBook came in behind the Surface Pro at 8:43.

Heat

After streaming 15 minutes of HD video from YouTube, the laptop measured 31.3 degrees Celsius (88.3 degrees Fahrenheit) between the G and H keys on the keyboard, and the touchpad was closer to 27 degrees Celsius (80.6 degrees Fahrenheit). That’s quite cool.

On the bottom, the hottest point was near the hinge at 34.7 degrees Celsius (94.4 degrees Celsius), so you should be fine when relaxing with the machine on your lap.

Webcam

The Surface Laptop 2 boasts a 720p webcam that is serviceable, but not exceptional. In a photo I took with Microsoft’s camera, my red shirt was color-accurate, and I could make out small details in my face and hair. However, some of the fluorescent lights on the ceiling behind me were blown out (though that didn’t happen with some nearby windows). The laptop also has infrared cameras for Windows Hello facial recognition.

Software and Warranty

One of the most beautiful parts of the Surface is its relatively sparse Start Menu. The only software Microsoft adds to the stack is the Surface program, where you can adjust settings for the optional Surface Pen, check the battery level for Surface-branded peripherals and get information about your device.

Of course, there’s still all of the junk that comes with every copy of Windows 10, like multiple versions of Candy Crush, plus Drawboard PDF, Fitbit Coach and Hidden City: Hidden Object Adventure.

Configurations

The Surface Laptop 2 I spent time with costs $1,299 (£1,249.00) with an Intel Core i5-8250U, 8GB of RAM and 256GB of SSD storage (and, of course, it was the new shade of black).

The base model is $999 (£979.00) with a Core i5, 8GB of RAM and smaller storage at 128GB. That version only comes in platinum color.

The maxed out version is an Intel Core i7, 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage for $2,699 (£2,529.00). That, too, only comes in platinum. It’s a shame that the cheapest model doesn’t come in multiple colors, and its absurd that the most expensive model doesn’t.

Everything in between, with Core i7 CPUs and less than 1TB of storage, comes in black, platinum, cobalt or burgundy.

Bottom Line

The Surface Laptop 2 is a sleek, elegant machine (especially in its new black color) with strong performance and a great 3:2 display. But at its premium price, it really needs Thunderbolt 3 (or at least USB Type-C) to match the features of other top-tier Windows PCs. And the fact that it's all glued and soldered together means you won’t repair or upgrade this on your own.

While Surface is supposed to be the North star for Windows notebooks, others compete quite well. You should seriously consider Dell’s XPS 13, (starting at $849.99 / £1,099) with a brighter display and longer battery life. But Dell went all-in on Thunderbolt 3, so you'd need adapters for your USB Type-A accessories. Apple also brings premium design and Thunderbolt 3 along for the ride with its MacBook Pro lineup.

But the Surface Laptop 2 is among the most elegant Windows 10 PCs I’ve ever seen. Windows feels custom-made for it. If you only need USB Type-A ports and don’t care to upgrade yourself, it’s a great choice.

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Microsoft's stalwart 2-in-1, the Surface Pro, is back in black with the latest Intel processors. The Surface Pro 6 (Microsoft ditched the naming scheme last year, but it's back) uses 8th Gen Intel Core processors. It will start at $899 when it launches on Oct. 16, and will be available in both black and gray.

Specifically, those CPU options are the Core i5-8250U or i7-8650U, paired with up to 16GB of LPDDR3 RAM and up to 1TB of solid-state storage. Microsoft claims that the 2-in-1's battery will last up to 13.5 hours on video playback, so we're curious how it will last on our more stressful battery test. Surface chief Panos Panay said that the thermals were redesigned to accommodate the new quad-core processor.

Despite its name, Microsoft is shipping the Surface Pro with Windows 10 Home rather than Pro. But at least we can be thankful there was nary a mention of S Mode here or with the new Surface Laptop 2.

The 12.3-inch PixelSense display hasn't changed, and it still has the 3:2 aspect ratio I love so very much. And the whole tablet is super light at 1.7 pounds. But while there's so much of the same that's good, there's one new feature totally missing: Microsoft missed the opportunity to add USB Type-C or Thunderbolt 3 to the Surface Pro 6 (and the Surface Laptop 2), putting it behind the Surface Go and Surface Book 2, which both have the feature. A Microsoft representative said this is because demand for the port is "divided."

The keyboard is still nice and bouncy, though you still have to pay extra for the Type Cover.

If you were waiting for quad-core, you've got it in the most powerful Surface Pro yet, and we'll put it to the test in our labs. But I'm already hoping for a more significant redesign with the latest ports next year.

Microsoft's history in the budget tablet space is a bit checkered. Remember Surface RT? That was a flop. And other smaller Surfaces just never felt right. But the Surface Go ($349 to start, $549 as tested, before accessories) feels just right. The 10-inch screen isn’t a lot of real estate, but it’s just enough to plop down and get some work done before jamming it into a knapsack and getting back on the road. This makes it a solid partner device for someone who already has a powerful desktop at home and wants to get some minor work done on the go.

Intel’s Pentium Gold 4415Y CPU, paired with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage (in our review model) is powerful enough for simple tasks. For the price, it’s a good 2-in-1 for someone who can’t spend a lot but wants the build quality of a premium PC, or as a secondary device for people who are constantly moving but like to bang out some work where they can. The big issue is that it doesn’t last long enough on a charge to run the entire day, and adding a keyboard increases the cost dramatically.

Design

This thing is SO. CUTE. The Surface GO takes all of the minimalist trappings of the Surface Pro before it, with a gray magnesium design, but shrinks them down to accommodate a 10-inch display. It’s what I would expect to see in a Surface-themed version of a nesting doll, right under the Pro.

The Surface Go puts all of the focus on Windows 10 and how you work with it. The back is gray with a small, reflective Windows logo on the hinge. It’s a nice, strong hinge that never seemed to budge except when I wanted. Otherwise, the only noticeable feature on the back is the rear camera. The front has a thick, black bezel around the screen, which is particularly noticeable at this size. The design gives the screen a 3:2 aspect ratio, which feels natural when using it as a tablet, especially if you opt to grab a Surface Pen for writing or drawing.

I found myself carrying it like a paperback around the office, and it discreetly fit into my backpack in such a way that I had to double check that I remembered to bring it with me.

Perhaps most importantly, this thing feels luxurious, even if you buy it at the $349 starting price. If a rising tide lifts all boats, let’s hope the Surface Go is a sign to other laptop manufacturers that affordable devices don’t need to feel like they came out of Fisher Price boxes. This is an affordable device that you can be proud to have people look at you using.

Unfortunately, the Surface Go is not just small in size; it’s small on ports. Microsoft opted for just its proprietary Surface Connect port, a headphone jack and USB Type-C. This is the second Surface device with Type-C, after the Surface Book 2, and it’s still a welcome addition (by the way, you can even use the port for charging, though the machines comes with a magnetic Surface Connect charger). There’s also a microSD card slot beneath the hinge for expanding storage. The bottom of the tablet has a receiver for the pins on the Type Cover.

At 9.6 x 6.9 x 0.3 inches (without the Type Cover) and 1.2 pounds (1.7 with the Type Cover), it’s a tiny computer. For comparison, the 2017 Surface Pro is 1.7 pounds without the Type Cover and measures 11.5 x 7.9 x 0.3 inches. Asus’ affordable VivoBook E403NA is 3 pounds and 13.3 x 9.3 x 0.7 inches. Apple’s 9.7-inch iPad is closest in size at 9.4 x 6.6 x 0.3 inches and 1.1 pounds.

Specifications

Performance

The Intel Pentium Gold 4415Y CPU, 8GB of RAM and 128GB of SATA SSD storage in our review configuration of the Surface Go aren’t incredibly powerful, but they’re enough to do a few small tasks at once. I had 18 tabs open in Google Chrome, including one streaming a 1080p episode of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver when I started seeing slightly more lag than normal when switching between tabs. Performance should be sufficient for some simple web browsing to pass the time or banging out a brief writing assignment.

On the Geekbench 4 overall performance test, the Surface Go earned a score of 3,900. That pales in comparison to the mainstream laptop average (8,461) and Microsoft’s Surface Pro with a far more powerful Core i7-76600U. The VivoBook scored slightly higher with its Intel Pentium N400, as did the iPad with its A9X CPU.

The Surface Go took 33 seconds to transfer 4.97GB of mixed-media files, a rate of 154.22 MBps. That beats the mainstream average of 138.7MBps and the VivoBook’s eMMC storage. The Surface Pro blazes past the Surface Go at 339Mbps.

Microsoft’s 10-inch tablet took 4 minutes and 42 seconds to pair 65,000 names and addresses, falling short of the 2:11 average. And on our Handbrake video editing test, it took the Surface Go nearly an hour to transcode a 4K video to 1080p, almost twice the average time.

It isn’t exactly a surprise that the Surface Go isn’t the strongest performer. And while the price of the 8GB model puts it squarely in our mainstream laptop range, this is as close to a Microsoft budget machine as we’ve seen. For individual tasks, streaming and web browsing, the Surface Go did just what I needed.

We noticed some performance degradation during long tasks. When we had the Surface Go run Cinebench 10 times, its highest score (Run 1) was 162, and its lowest score (run 7) was 120. Its average CPU clock speed was 1.5GHz, just below the 1.6GHz promised. The CPU measured an average of 62 degrees Celsius (143.6 degrees Fahrenheit) during the test.

So no, the Surface Go is not very powerful. But in my time with it, I never felt it was meant for those kinds of long, excruciating tasks.

Display

The Surface Book’s 10-inch, IPS, 1,800 x 1,200 PixelSense display is bright and colorful. It also has a 3:2 aspect ratio, which feels far more natural as a tablet than laptops with 16:9 screens (but it also means black bars while watching video). When I watched a 1080p trailer for Aquaman, the screen produced lovely colors. An underwater scene revealed green plants that popped against the blue ocean and purple buildings. As warriors in Atlantis battled, I could see all of the bubbles produced by swinging tridents.

The screen covers 130 percent of the sRGB color gamut, surpassing the mainstream laptop average (93 percent), the iPad (119 percent) and the VivoBook (68 percent). Only the Surface Pro (140 percent) was more vivid.

Interestingly, the Surface Go, at 404 nits of average brightness, was more luminous than the Surface Pro (396 nits), as well as the 240-nit average and the VivoBook. But the iPad was the brightest of the group at 489 nits.

Type Cover and Surface Pen

If you want a true 2-in-1 experience with the Surface Go, you’ll have to pay up. Microsoft’s Type Covers start at $99.99 for black polyurethane, or $129.99 for a Signature Type Cover with Alcantara fabric in cobalt, platinum or burgundy. We splurged for the latter in platinum, and I really do like how soft it felt against my wrists when I typed. It offers 0.9 millimeters of key travel and requires 61 grams of force to press.

On the 10fastfingers.com typing test, I hit 103 words per minute (wpm), which is a bit below my usual 107wpm average, but with my standard 2 percent error rate. As I typed, I found the keys to be small and close together (I measured only about 1 millimeter between the keys), but as evidenced in the results, not enough to keep me from pecking along. I enjoyed that the keys had a nice, clicky feel despite its low travel.

The touchpad on the Type Cover is 3.8 x 2.1 inches, which I found spacious enough to navigate Windows 10. Of course, Microsoft blessed the Type Cover with precision drivers, and every gesture I threw at it worked well. Two-finger scroll? Sure. Clear my desktop with a three-finger swipe down? Absolutely. Open Action Center with a four-finger tap? No problem. 

The $99.99 Surface Pen offers 4,096 degrees of pressure and is still among the best on a PC. Unless you’re an artist, it’s hard to call it a must-own, but its eraser, button for summoning Windows Ink Workspace and easy storage with a magnet that connects to the side of the tablet make it great for anyone who likes to sketch. If you like to do work or take notes while standing, the pen can also help.

Tablet or Computer?

I looked at the Surface Go as a Windows 10 laptop. With the Type Cover attached, it’s more than ready for light work. But at 10 inches, it’s also the perfect size to be a tablet. In fact, that may be how some people use it most of the time..

Windows 10’s tablet mode is fine. If you’re just browsing the web, you’ll do OK. I don’t think that the touch keyboard is as good as what you’ll find in iOS or Android, but you don’t need the Type Cover to make the thing work. Ultimately, I found myself using desktop Windows view, not tablet mode, even without the Type Cover. It’s just more organized.

For real writing and spreadsheet work, the Type Cover is basically mandatory.

Audio

The speakers on the Surface Go aren’t powerhouses, but they get the job done. When I listened to Bon Jovi’s “Living On a Prayer,” the vocals, drums and guitars were clear, but the bass didn’t thump the way I’d like it. The song only just filled a mid-sized conference room and really worked best when I was sitting directly in front of the display.

Upgradeability

The Surface Go is sealed tight. Don’t expect to be able to upgrade it. If you want 8GB of RAM or 128GB of storage, invest in the more expensive model when you first buy the laptop. On the bright side, you do have expandable storage with the microSD card slot.

Battery Life

Unfortunately, the Surface Go’s battery life doesn’t stack up to its competitors. It lasted 6 hours and 21 minutes on our battery test, which continuously browses the web, runs OpenGL tests and streams videos at 150 nits of brightness. The mainstream laptop average is 7:26, and both the Surface Pro and VivoBook outlasted the Surface Go. The victor in the land of tablets here, the iPad endured for 10:07.

Heat

After streaming 15 minutes of HD video from YouTube, the back of the Surface Go measured 97 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s not too hot to hold as a tablet, but a few degrees cooler would be a bit more comfortable.

Webcams

The Surface has two cameras: a front-facing webcam and a rear-facing shooter.

The 2,560 x 1,440 webcam is pretty great. It’s a higher resolution than we see on much more expensive laptops, and, more importantly, it takes a solid photo. A shot I took at my desk was well lit and color accurate, catching a small bit of discoloration on my favorite blue shirt (thanks, Surface Go, for making me realize it’s time to throw this shirt away). It’s also sharp, catching my dimple and every hair in my beard. The front camera can also be used with Windows Hello to log in with facial recognition.

The 3,264 x 1,836 camera on the back of the laptop was great at capturing colors. Photos of my Iron Man and Captain America desk toys were extremely vivid. However, the sensor just didn’t produce images that were as sharp as I’d like.

Windows 10 S, Software and Warranty

The Surface Go comes in Windows 10 in S mode, which only allows you to download apps from the Microsoft Store. Microsoft suggests that this makes the laptop more secure and last longer on a charge, but I recommend updating, for free, to Windows 10 Home. That will let you download any apps you want online, including very popular programs not in the Microsoft Store, such as Google’s Chrome web browser.

Unsurprisingly, Microsoft offers a clean version of Windows 10. Its only additions are LinkedIn and the Surface App, with some pen settings, battery levels for Microsoft’s accessories and support information (the latter is the more useful of the two).

Otherwise, you just get the same bloat you’re used to with Windows 10, including Royal Revolt 2: Tower Defense and Candy Crush Soda Saga.

Microsoft sells the Surface Go with a 1-year warranty.

Configurations

The Surface Go we tested, with an Intel Pentium 4415Y CPU, 8GB of RAM and 128GB of M.2 SATA SSD storage cost $549. We also bought a $129.99 Signature Type Cover with Alcantara, bringing the total to $679.99. If you want a Surface Pen, that's another $100. With all of the accessories, you’re getting into Surface Pro territory (the Core m3 version starts at $799, though that’s, again, without the keyboard).

The cheapest model is $349, which uses the same processor but with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of eMMC storage (unlike the SSD on our more expensive unit). There’s also a cheaper, black polyurethane type cover for $99.99.

Costco has a separate model for $549, with 128GB SSD and 4GB of RAM, with the polyurethane keyboard included. If you’re pricing that out, it essentially means you’re paying $100 for 64GB of extra storage.

An LTE model is scheduled for later this year, but Microsoft hasn’t announced a release date or price.

Microsoft may see the Surface Go as a tablet, and that’s fine. But for real work in Windows, you need the keyboard, and the fact that it doesn’t come packed with this device (or the Surface Pro, for that matter), is a real limit and should be factored in when considering the full price.

Bottom Line

I didn’t expect to like the Surface Go as much as I did. Its diminutive stature may be off-putting for some, but I ultimately found myself growing used to the small screen. It doesn’t have a ton of power, so this serves best as an affordable entry for light users or as a secondary device. I could see someone having a Surface Go to travel and carry to and from the office. If you need real power, this will look like a netbook to you.

The price after buying a Type Cover and a stylus does climb, though, possibly as high as $680. At that point, it’s worth it to start looking at the Surface Pro’s base model, which starts at $799. If you find a deal with the Type Cover thrown in, it could be worth it.

The other big alternative is the 9.7-inch iPad. That starts at $329 but only nets you 32GB of storage. 128GB will run you $429. Again, that’s all without a keyboard or a stylus. And Apple doesn’t sell its own case for that, so you’ll need a keyboard case with Bluetooth connectivity. Like the Surface Pen, Apple’s Pencil also adds $99 to the cost. The iPad, however, runs iOS, not a full desktop operating system. It has made great strides in iOS 11, but it doesn’t have all of the intricacies of Windows.

And someone who needs or want those intricacies is who should get the Surface Go. It’s a tablet, but also the full Windows 10 PC you know and love. It’s not a powerful PC, but it’s enough to get some work done on the, well, go. And for its price, its well-built and even fun to use.

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I only just got my hands on Microsoft's Surface Go, but I'm already finding myself thinking that I like the little computer. We're in the middle of reviewing the $549 model of Microsoft's new, budget-priced tablet, which comes with a Pentium 4415Y CPU, 8GB of RAM and 128GB of SSD storage.

Look, its 10-inch screen is small. Really small. Netbook small. But that's a preference, and I think I could learn to love it, especially considering our early test data, in which it put out an average of 404 nits of brightness and 129 percent of the sRGB color gamut. And I'm a fan of the 3:2 aspect ratio, even if makes for a slightly abnormal 1800 x 1200 resolution. But when I watched a bit of Tears of Steel, the pink and blue holograms in a gray and dreary lab really popped.

But battery life in our testing wasn't so great. We ran our usual battery test, which continuously browses the web, runs graphics tests and streams video over Wi-Fi, and the Surface Go endured for 6:06. The mainstream laptop average is 7:26 and the 9.7-inch iPad Pro ran for 10:07.

As for design, I've always been a fan of the Surface aesthetic, which is minimalist and puts the focus on Windows and your work. The hinge on the Go is nice and sturdy, and we opted for an Alcantara keyboard, which feels really nice. The only issue is that the bezels, which are quite thick, are even more noticeable around such a small screen.

We're going to spend more time with the Surface Go before our full review, but my initial impressions are positive. The big question I still have is how its Pentium Gold 4415Y CPU will hold up to my everyday computing, nevermind some of our more strenuous benchmarks. And that can sway a lot. If it can hold up, I can see it being a neat little travel machine.

The rumored affordable, 10-inch Microsoft Surface could launch as early this week, according to a document that leaked on Reddit. MSPoweruser first reported the news.

Another user, claiming to be an insider, said the device will feature a 10-inch, 1800 x 1200 display, weigh approximately 1.2 pounds and include USB Type-C and microSD ports. The self-proclaimed inside man also said it will be "available in 4GB RAM / 64GB storage, 8/128, 8/128 LTE and 8/256 LTE SKUs, but I don't think all of them will come out in one go." The user's prediction of a Pentium processor matches previous rumors, as does their $399 pricing. But take all of that with a grain of salt, as this user didn't specify where they're getting their information.

Since the new Surface appears to have just passed through the FCC, it makes sense that it's only a matter of time until it hits shelves, especially as we approach back-to-school shopping season.

An affordable Surface could be Microsoft's way of fighting back in the classroom. Currently, it's competing with affordable Chromebooks and Apple's recent $329 iPad. There have been a number of low-cost, durable Windows notebooks from the likes of Asus, HP and other vendors targeting the education sector, but none of them quite have Microsoft's cachet.

Microsoft is reportedly getting ready to combat Chromebooks with a more affordable $400 Surface tablet. And that rumored product seems more real than ever, because there's now an FCC filing that appears to be for that device.

The filing, which was originally uncovered by WinFuture, primarily points at a low power 24W power supply. It also shows a Qualcomm Bluetooth and Wi-Fi module, suggesting that the device is using an Intel processor. Combine that with earlier reports about Microsoft preparing a new Surface tablet and it seems likely that this FCC filing has something to do with the company's latest-and-greatest addition to its Surface lineup.

Bloomberg reported in May that Microsoft was planning to release a Surface with a smaller, 10" display (the existing Surface Pro uses a 12" display) priced around $400. The new tablet is also expected to have rounded corners and USB Type-C connectivity, which the Surface tablet line has been missing. The Surface Book 2 does feature USB Type-C, though, so it was likely only a matter of time before it reached Surface tablets.

While many Microsoft OEMs have released low-cost laptops, this could be Microsoft's entry into a school market. The FCC filing could mean that testing is almost finished, and that the company will want to release this by back-to-school in September, or at least by the holiday season.

Microsoft's next big piece of hardware, Andromeda, may just fit in your pocket. According to a report from The Verge, Andromeda is an upcoming Surface-branded computer that will fold up and bridge the gap between mobile phones and laptops.

That report is based on an internal document from Microsoft, which reads in part: “It’s a new pocketable Surface device form factor that brings together innovative new hardware and software experiences to create a truly personal and versatile computing experience...”

Interestingly, the company is allegedly experimenting with ARM processors in Andromeda prototyopes (this may be for superior battery life), but has not made any final decision about whether it will work with Intel or Qualcomm. Microsoft has also reportedly been working on stylus input for the device, so that users can unfold it and write in it like a book.

According to The Verge's report, Microsoft hopes to release Andromeda in 2018 with devices from other hardware partners to come later.

Windows Phone was a flop and caused Microsoft to miss the smartphone boom, a notable hit as PCs lose market share. However, it appears that the Redmond, Wash.-based giant is eager to get on the next platform that combines the best of both.

Andromeda has been a long time coming, with plenty of leaks and reports about the device coming from patents and references in Windows 10's code.

Microsoft held an event in Shanghai today, and during the presentation, the company revealed the next iteration of the Microsoft Surface Pro tablet. The new Surface is the fastest model yet, and it purports to have a longer battery life than ever.

This is the fifth generation of the Surface Pro Tablet, but it’s not called the Surface Pro 5. In a move that mirror’s Apple’s fourth-generation iPad launch, the company dropped the numbered moniker.

The fifth-generation Surface Pro tablet is unsurprisingly the fastest Surface Tablet that Microsoft has ever produced. The new Surface features Intel’s 7^th-generation (Kaby Lake) Core processors, including a Core m3-equipped unit for the budget conscious, two Core i5 models, and three Core i7 powerhouses. Microsoft said the upcoming Surface Pro tablet offers 2.5x the computing power of the two-generations-old Surface Pro 3.

Microsoft said that it managed to passively cool the Core m3 and Core i5 processors, which means the lower end versions don’t have an internal fan. The i7-equipped Surface Pro tablet includes a cooling fan, but Microsoft said that it doesn’t exceed 18dB, so you’d be hard pressed to hear it in an office setting.

The new Surface Pro also offers the longest battery life of any Surface tablet, at 13.5 hours, which is 50% more than the previous Surface Pro tablet.

Predictably, the new Surface Tablet is smaller and lighter than previous Surface Pro models. Microsoft said it managed to squeeze the processor, memory, SSD, mainboard, and the 12.3” 267ppi TouchSense display into an 8.5mm-thick package. Microsoft joked that the bag that you would carry the Surface Pro in is likely heavier than the 1.7-pound device. Microsoft is also planning to release LTE Advanced Surface Tablets later this year, which won’t be any larger than the non-LTE versions.

Microsoft also offers a new Surface Dock, which features additional USB ports and video outputs for two 4K displays.

New Flip Covers

Microsoft also put in the effort to improve the flip cover to make it more versatile. The standard Surface Pro cover features a new stand position. Previous Surface tablet models would allow you to lay the tablet flat or prop it up to a near vertical position, but the new Surface Pro features a new stand position called “Studio Mode” (inspired by Surface Studio) that props the Surface up at a mild angle to make it comfortable to write and draw on. Microsoft said it improved the cover’s hinge to support 165-degrees of adjustment.

Microsoft didn’t stop at improving the hinge and adding a new stand position, though. The company revealed a brand-new keyboard for its portable tablet that offers what it claimed are premium materials and improved keys. The new Signature Pro Type Cover keyboards feature 1.3mm of key travel, which should improve the typing experience compared to previous Type Cover models.

Microsoft’s Signature Pro Type Cover comes in four different colors: Black, Platinum, Burgundy, and Cobalt Blue. Microsoft wrapped the Signature Pro Type Covers in stain- and spill-resistant soft-touch Alcantara material.

New Surface Pen

Microsoft said that it put a lot of effort into improving the user experience for the next Surface Pro tablet. In addition to the new Type Cover, Microsoft revealed the next version of the Surface Pen. Microsoft said the new Surface Pen is “twice as accurate as the previous version” and “sets the standard for faster, more fluid writing and drawing.”

The new Surface Pen also offers integration with Microsoft Office 365. It brings new inking features to Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, which allow you to draw and jot notes on your presentations, spreadsheets, and written work.

Microsoft said the new inking features would roll out to Office 365 subscribers in June but didn't state when the Surface Pen would hit the market. The company plans to offer the Surface Pen in the same four colors as the Type Cover when they do arrive, though. 

The new Surface Pro tablet and the Signature Pro Type Covers are available for pre-order today from the Microsoft Store, Microsoft.com, and BestBuy.com. Microsoft is also offering the Surface Pro tablet to the Chinese market through JD.com.

The models start at $800, which gets you a Core m3 chip, 4GB RAM, and 128GB of storage. At the highest end, you can get a Core i7, 16GB RAM, and 1TB of storage for $2,700. That's quite a price range, but in between there are several configuration options (see below). Also note that students, faculty, and staff at colleges and universities enjoy a slight discount on any model.

Microsoft announced the Surface Book i7, which is the company’s most powerful Surface Book to date.

The Surface Book i7 uses an Intel 6th Gen (Skylake) Core i7 processor. Microsoft didn’t disclose the exact model number of the CPU, however, but it is likely one of the low-power SKUs due to the thermal and power limitations of the system. The Surface Book i7 also has an Nvidia GeForce GTX 965M graphics processor with 2GB of GDDR5.

To help keep the internal hardware cool, Microsoft said it redesigned the original Surface Book and added a second fan to improve its cooling efficiency. Microsoft also switched to a larger battery for the Surface Book i7, which the company said should last for up to 16 hours while playing videos.

By comparison, Microsoft’s existing Surface Books with Core i5 processors are limited to Intel HD graphics and have an estimated battery life of just 12 hours. The Core i5 model does have one advantage over the Surface Book i7, though, in that it weighs 0.29 pounds less.

One aspect that doesn’t change between the Core i5 and Core i7 Surface Books is the detachable display that measures 13.5-inches diagonally and has a native resolution of 3000x2000. The storage options also remain essentially unchanged, but the Surface Book with Core i5 is available with a less expensive 128GB SSD that isn’t offered on the Surface Book i7.

The Surface Book i7 is available for pre-order today with a starting price of $2,399. The system will ship on November 11.