Microsoft has become the latest victim of the ongoing RAM crisis, quietly hiking the prices on its consumer-facing Surface laptops by as much as $300. This shouldn't come as a surprise — after all, we've just seen the PlayStation 5 get even more expensive for the same reason.

First picked up by the team at Windows Central, the price increases took effect at the Microsoft Store, with other retailers expected to follow suit. Just about every model is affected, and Windows Central notes that flagships like the Surface Pro 11 and Surface Laptop 7 are now $500 more expensive than their initial launch price in 2024.

"Due to recent increases in memory and component costs, Surface is updating pricing on Microsoft.com for its current‑generation hardware portfolio," a Microsoft spokesperson told the site.

Here's how the new pricing breaks down across the Surface line-up.

These price increases make Microsoft's offerings even harder to recommend against the competition. If you were choosing between an entry-level 13-inch Surface Laptop or an entry-level 13-inch MacBook Air M5, you would have saved $200 by opting for Microsoft. Now, Apple's computer comes in $100 cheaper. And that's not even taking into account the $599 MacBook Neo.

Finally, there have been some signs that costs of RAM have started to fall in recent weeks. Which makes Microsoft's decision not to try and weather the storm even more interesting. Trendforce reported that U.S. DDR5 RAM prices fell by over 20% in the last month.

It could be the case that Microsoft is attempting to set a new pricing benchmark with an eye on the upcoming Snapdragon X2 Plus-powered laptops coming in the future. Either way, the company says it remains "committed to delivering value to customers and partners while upholding our standards for quality and innovation.”

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A new rumor claims that Microsoft is working on shipping new Surface PCs powered by an AMD Arm-based chip in 2026.

The leak comes from regular tipster Kepler2 in a NeoGaf post (via our colleagues at Windows Central) saying that the upcoming AMD chip, codenamed Sound Wave, is "made for the 2026 [Microsoft] Surface lineup."

The main thread is about PlayStation 6 getting an AMD 3D stacked chip, and Kepler2 doesn't provide more information about Sound Wave or next year's Surface PCs.

Get ready for AMD Sound Wave

Thanks to previous rumors there is some information about AMD's Sound Wave chip, which should hint at what 2026 Surface could look like.

According to Windows Central, the AMD chip is rumored to be an Accelerated Processing Unit (APU), which joins a CPU and an integrated GPU on the same die.

It should have 6 CPU cores (2 performance and 4 efficiency) with the integrated GPU with four compute units built on RDNA 3.5. Reportedly, this new chip is designed for low-powered devices that have a 5-10W thermal envelope.

AMD vs Qualcomm vs Nvidia

All of this hints at a chip that is less powerful than the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite, which could mean that Microsoft is looking at refresh of the Surface Go, which was last released in 2023.

Next year is going to be ARM heavy as Qualcomm will likely reveal a next generation X chip later this year and Nvidia is reportedly teaming up with MediaTek for its own Arm-based laptop chip.

Microsoft just released a cheaper Surface Pro and Surface laptop as alternatives to the Surface Pro 11 and Surface Laptop 7. Both of the Surface PCs run on Snapdragon X Plus, which is also allegedly more powerful than the rumored AMD Sound Wave.

Assuming Kepler2 is correct, the low-powered Surface PCs featuring AMD's new chip will likely launch around this time next year as Microsoft tends to release its new PCs in the spring after its annual Build conference.

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• Microsoft Build 2025 preview — new Surface laptops, Copilot AI and more

Microsoft's annual Build conference kicks off later this month, and alongside that event, the company will start selling a new Surface Pro tablet that's smaller, lighter and cheaper than last year's model.

This is kind of a big deal for me as someone who reviews tablets for a living, because last year's Surface Pro 11 is, for my money, the best tablet Microsoft's ever sold.

in our Surface Pro 11 review, my colleague Tony Polanco called that model "the best Surface in years" for good reason. Qualcomm's Snapdragon X chips power this thin slate, giving it remarkable speed and battery life that outpaces some of the best Windows laptops.

Plus, paying for the optional OLED upgrade makes the Surface Pro 11 feel like a premium slate to rival the iPad Pro — and unlike the iPad, Microsoft's tablet runs a full (Arm-based) version of Windows 11.

On May 20, Microsoft will begin selling a slightly thinner, lighter version of the Surface Pro 11 with a 12-inch screen that's smaller than the 13-inch panel on last year's model. This new Surface Pro 11 (12-inch) also has a starting price that's $100 cheaper than the Surface Pro 11 (13-inch), though this model is less capable and less upgradable than its predecessor.

And frankly, after digging into the specs and the state of the tablet market, I have a hard time recommending you rush out and buy this new 12-inch Surface Pro, because you can get the older (yet more powerful) Surface Pro 11 (13-inch) for the same price or cheaper.

Of course, if speed and screen refresh rate aren't that important to you, the new 2025 Surface Pro 11 (12-inch) might be better for your needs since it's lighter, thinner and advertises better battery life than its predecessor.

To show you what I mean, I've compared the key details of the 12-inch Surface Pro 11 against the older 13-inch model in the chart below so you can easily see the major differences between these two models.

But while I can see that the 2025 Surface Pro 11 (12-inch) might be a very compelling slate for folks wanting a more affordable Surface tablet for working on the go, the number one thing I'm most excited about isn't the price or the potential battery life of this thin and lightweight slate: it's the new color.

Don't shrink from violet

Specifically, I love that Microsoft is offering the new 12-inch Surface Pro in a gorgeous shade of purple. It caught my eye immediately, and it's exactly the splash of color I'd like to enjoy every time I pull out a tablet to get some work done (or watch a video) on a long plane ride.

Admittedly, that's the only interesting color you can get this slate in. If you don't go for Violet you can only get the new 12-inch Surface Pro 11 in Ocean (blue gray) or Platinum (dark gray). That's disappointing since last year's Surface Pro 11 came in four colors: Black, Dune (a sandy bronze), Sapphire (blue) and Platinum (silver).

At the time I was excited about the debut of the Dune color scheme, which should give you some sense of how starved we tablet reviewers are for a bit of color in our lives. Nearly every laptop and tablet on the market comes in some variation of black, gray or silver, to the point that if you got everyone in your office to pile their gadgets together I think you'd have a hard time knowing which was yours at a glance.

Apple is one of the rare companies to break this trend, and it's one of the few things I unabashedly love about the company's products. Whether you're buying a new Apple iMac M4 or a new iPad, you can get it in at least three to five different bright, primary colors.

That's why I'm so happy to see Microsoft taking a page from Apple's playbook and offering its new tablet in a bright, eye-catching color scheme. I'm not even the biggest fan of purple — I'm more partial to a deep emerald green, personally — and I'm sorely tempted to consider the Violet 12-inch Surface Pro 11 the next time I need to buy a tablet.

Of course, I won't know for sure how good this lavender-shaded slate is until we get one in to test and review for ourselves. I'm hoping that will happen later this month when I attend Microsoft Build 2025 at the company's headquarters, but we'll have to wait to see. And who knows—maybe the company will have more new Surface devices to show off later on,

If that's true, I sure hope they come in more than black and silv... sorry, Platinum!

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Microsoft just unveiled two new additions to its Surface PC lineup today (May 6) that are fundamentally the same Surface Pro and Surface Laptop we met last year. But these latest versions arrive in a slightly smaller size — and a slightly cheaper price.

This is pretty much exactly what we expected to see after key details of the new Microsoft Surface Pro and Surface Laptop leaked yesterday (May 5), and it looks like those reports were basically correct.

These new Surface PCs are slightly smaller, lighter and less powerful than last year's models, but they're also advertised to last a bit longer on a charge thanks to their lowered specs. They're also less upgradable than last year's models and have slower screens. But they come in two new colors: Violet and Ocean (a pale silvery blue).

But perhaps most importantly of all, they're each $100 cheaper than the starting price of last year's models.

Both of these new Surface machines will become available for you to buy on May 20; Microsoft says Surface for Business models with Windows 11 Pro and other business-focused features will arrive in select markets July 22. Let's dig into the specs to see what's changed!

Microsoft Surface Pro (12-inch)

When the Microsoft Surface Pro 11 launched in 2024, I thought it was easily the best Windows tablet the company had made in years, thanks to the one-two punch of great battery life powered by its Snapdragon chipset and a lovely OLED display option.

Now, nearly a year later, Microsoft is rolling out a slightly smaller, lighter and less powerful model that starts $100 cheaper than the $999 11th Gen Surface Pro from last year.

Microsoft is calling this new Surface Pro simply the Surface Pro (12-inch), but since it's functionally a 12-inch version of the existing Surface Pro 11 we'll refer to it as the Surface Pro 11 (12-inch) from here on out.

I've charted the key specs of this new Surface Pro 11 against its larger predecessor above so you can see there are just a few noteworthy changes.

First and foremost, the 12-inch Surface Pro 11 features an 8-core Snapdragon X Plus CPU that's slightly weaker than the 10-core model that came standard on last year's model. It also has a slightly smaller, lower-resolution LCD display with a slower refresh rate than last year's model (90Hz vs 120Hz).

But this newer, cheaper Surface Pro 11 (12-inch) is also smaller and nearly half a pound lighter than last year's model, and it comes in two new color schemes: Ocean and Violet (pictured above). Of course, it also has a redesigned detachable keyboard that you can buy for an additional fee that's also available in Ocean and Violet colors to match the new hardware.

The new Surface Pro 11 (12-inch) is slated to become available later this month (May 20) at a starting price of $899.

Microsoft Surface Laptop (13-inch)

Microsoft's Surface Laptops have been solid workhorses for years, and while I wish the company would do more to make this Windows 11 laptop a little more exciting and useful, I understand why so many people use them as productivity devices.

Now, Microsoft is rolling out a slightly newer model of the Surface Laptop 7 that's just a smidge smaller and cheaper than last year's model.

This makes things slightly confusing, because the original Surface Laptop 7 came in two screen sizes: 13.8 and 15 inches. For simplicity's sake we referred to them as the 13-inch and 15-inch models, but now that the newer, smaller 2025 Surface Laptop 7 sports an LCD screen that's actually 13 inches across (diagonally speaking), we're going to have to be a little more specific.

As you can see from the spec charts above, the new 2025 Surface Laptop 7 (13-inch) starts at $100 cheaper than the least expensive Surface Laptop 7 (13.8-inch). The new model is powered by a slightly weaker 8-core Snapdragon X Plus CPU.

The new Surface Laptop 7 (13-inch) comes with a touchscreen that's not just smaller than its predecessor, it's also slower — 60Hz instead of the 120Hz touchscreens available on last year's models. That's still perfectly fine for day-to-day use, but it does mean you won't enjoy the slightly smoother scrolling you get on a screen with a higher refresh rate.

But on the plus side, the new Surface Laptop 7 is smaller and lighter than last year's model as well as being cheaper, and it promises slightly better battery life to boot. Like the Surface Pro 11 (12-inch) the Surface Laptop 7 (13-inch) also comes in new Ocean and Violet colors.

Bottom line

Microsoft's Surface PCs are rarely exciting, for better or worse, and the new models we met this week are no exception.

While I'm not surprised that Microsoft announced these smaller, cheaper Surface devices while ongoing U.S. tariff drama is playing havoc with electronics pricing, it feels like there must be more to the company's plans for the Surface lineup in 2025 than these two new PCs.

Perhaps that's why the company announced them now, two weeks before the big Microsoft Build 2025 event at its Redmond HQ.

We've been reading reports and rumors for months now that Microsoft's 2025 Surface lineup includes at least one surprise new model, and if that's true, Build would be the place to unveil it. So if the company wanted to focus only on new, exciting hardware during its big conference, it makes sense to launch the less exciting new Surface PCs a few weeks beforehand.

We'll just have to wait and see. I expect to be at Build in person bringing you interviews and hands-on reports live from the event, so I should have a chance to go hands-on with these new Surface PCs (and hopefully more) when Build kicks off May 19. Stay tuned!

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Microsoft celebrates its 50th anniversary this week, and to mark the occasion the company hosted a special Copilot-focused event at its headquarters in Redmond.

It's notable that Microsoft marked its 50th by talking up Copilot, the AI-enhanced assistant now built into Windows, Word, PowerPoint and other Microsoft products.

The company got its start in the '70s selling BASIC interpreters for the Altair 8800 that let owners program in BASIC instead of the 8800's native machine code; now, 50 years later, it's still selling software aimed at making it easier to use your PC.

The difference is, nowadays, nobody needs to know how to code in order to buy a PC and use it at home. Microsoft and its flagship Windows operating system have been at the vanguard of the home computing revolution, for better and for worse, and much of our modern tech industry owes its shape to Microsoft's 50 years of triumph and tribulations.

With that in mind, we thought it would be fun to take this opportunity to look back at the best and worst moments of Microsoft's 50-year run.

The best moments of Microsoft's first 50 years

Windows 95

I don't know about you, but I loved Windows 95. I was maybe ten years old when it shipped in the summer of 1995, and back then the arrival of the Start button was a revelation.

It's hard to remember now, but there was a time when Windows didn't have a taskbar, a Start button or any desktop shortcuts. These innovations were all popularized by Windows 95, and if they were a bit too reminiscent of Apple's macOS, well, that controversy was put to bed in '97 when Microsoft bailed Apple out of financial trouble.

Love it or hate it, Windows 95 set the tone for the 30 years of Windows to come. Microsoft may move the taskbar and Start menu around a bit, but it has yet to surpass the fundamental design elements it established 30 years ago.

Microsoft invests $150 million in Apple

The August 1997 issue of TIME Magazine looks a lot different than what you see on newsstands today because it shows something that feels rare these days: the leader of a powerful company expressing gratitude and humbly asking for help.

However the photographers staged it, though the cover was based on a true story: Steve Jobs reached out to Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates in 1997 to ask for help. Apple had been on a losing run and needed money bad, or it was in danger of shuttering.

Apple was also engaged in a lawsuit against Microsoft at the time for (among other things) allegedly ripping off macOS with the look and feel of Windows. So when Jobs got in touch with Gates, he was able to negotiate a $150 million investment for Apple (along with the promise of Microsoft supporting Office for Mac for at least a few years) in return for non-voting shares in Apple and an agreement that the company would drop its lawsuit against Microsoft.

Nearly 30 years later, it's remarkable to think Apple (and the iPhone, the iPad and the best MacBooks yet) might not exist today if not for Microsoft and Gates' investment in the '90s.

Halo

Now, Microsoft didn't invent Halo—Bungie did.

But in 1999 Microsoft swooped in to buy Bungie just in time to lock down Halo as an exclusive launch game for its first game console, the Xbox. That must have really peeved the folks at Apple, since Bungie had first unveiled Halo at Macworld Expo 1999 as a game for Mac and Windows PCs.

Whatever you think of Microsoft's business strategies, it's hard to argue this purchase didn't define Microsoft's game business for decades. Halo and its Master Chief protagonist were treated like the de facto mascot of the Xbox business, and while the games haven't been as popular lately as they were in their heyday, they remain one of Microsoft's most popular and enduring franchises.

Of course, Bungie bought its freedom from Microsoft in 2007 and has been deeply focused on its Destiny games for years now. But after Sony acquired Bungie for $6.3 billion in 2022 it remains unclear what the company will work on next.

Xbox 360 launch party

Remember console launch events?

If you're old enough you might remember the fervor that surrounded the Xbox 360's launch in late 2005. Microsoft threw two separate parties in November to hype up the console launch: a small, posh gathering for celebrities in Beverly Hills and a big launch event in the Palmdale desert for the rest of us.

A cavalcade of fans descended on the desert hangar for the Xbox 360 Zero Hour launch event, and lots of photos were shared of a huge dusty hangar filled with TV screens ringed by bean bag chairs.

I think what most of us remember from this shindig now though is all the photos of celebrities like Bow Wow, Justin Timberlake and Snoop Dogg playing launch games on the Xbox 360. It was an extravagant event of the type we rarely see any more, and one of the most memorable moments in Microsoft's history.

Clippy

Clippy is a good thing, right?

I'm still on the fence, I suppose, but I can't argue with the cultural staying power of this anthropomorphic paperclip. We first met Clippy back in 1997 as Clippet, the animated assistant for Microsoft Office.

The little animated paperclip was one of many assistants you could enable when using Microsoft Office products, but he proved to be the one that most people grew to love to hate for constantly nagging you with suggestions like "it looks like you're writing a letter. Would you like help?"

People grew so fond of hating on Clippit/Clippy that four years later Microsoft integrated the death of Clippy into its marketing for Office XP 2001. The company made a point of saying its new productivity software was so easy to use you wouldn't need to be bothered by Clippy, and the character faded into the realm of myth and memes.

Fast forward to today though and Microsoft continues to bring Clippy back to promote its other services. A few years ago a Clippy sticker pack was added to Microsoft Teams, and Microsoft released a commemorative wallpaper (above) featuring Clippy.

Could the little paperclip that won't die return one day as an actually useful AI-powered assistant? We'll have to wait and see!

Metro Design language

If you're not familiar with Metro, I forgive you—it's the sort of thing only tech nerds cared about when Microsoft debuted new interfaces sporting the Metro design language on the Zune and the Windows Phone 7.

If you missed experiencing the tile-centric Metro design language on Windows Phone, you might remember it better from the interface of the Xbox 360 and Windows 8.

I first encountered it with Windows 8, and I have to admit I kind of loved the colorful, tile-based design language. It almost convinced me to ditch my iPhone for a Windows phone, and maybe if I had we'd still have Windows phones today. C'est la vie!

Internet Explorer

It's hard to remember these days, but there was a time when Microsoft's Internet Explorer web browser was a big deal.

Admittedly, for me that time was the late '90s, but what a time they were! I was a kid and it felt like if you opened a web browser, you could find all sorts of novel and interesting things—you just had to know where to look.

It also felt like Internet Explorer was everywhere, too, which makes sense since Microsoft edged out Netscape in the browser market by making Internet Explorer the de facto browser that came with Windows. The rest is history, and nowadays so is Internet Explorer—Microsoft ended support for it in 2022 in favor of its new browser, Microsoft Edge.

Windows Hello

If you're not familiar, Windows Hello is Microsoft's branding for the suite of biometric authentication features built into Windows. And while I totally understand if you're not a fan of Microsoft logging your fingerprint or a scan of your face, I can't pretend it hasn't been a game-changer for Windows users.

I know because I've been using Windows PCs for over thirty years, and I've been reviewing them professionally for over a decade. And while I regularly disable Windows Hello when reviewing laptops for convenience reasons, for machines I own, I value the option to be able to log in with just a look or a finger press.

Zune

If you don't remember the Zune, you weren't paying much attention to Microsoft in the early 2000s. And maybe that's a good thing, because a lot of customers were underwhelmed by the portable music player meant to be Microsoft's iPod competitor.

While it started as a line of portable media players (designed in conjunction with Toshiba), Microsoft eventually expanded the brand with a Zune music subscription service, a video distribution service and Zune software and services for Windows and the Xbox 360.

It was quite a time to be alive and listening to music, and I'm sure I saw a Zune or two on my college campus. But by 2011 the writing was on the wall, and by 2012 Microsoft shut down all things Zune and rebranded its media distribution services with Xbox branding.

"Developers! Developers! Developers!"

Former Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer went viral '90s style for his sweaty paean to developers onstage at a Microsoft event, and decades later it's still one of the most memorable moments in the company's history.

Ballmer was well-known for his passion and energy on the job, and a cursory Google search will turn up at least a few videos of him strutting, bouncing and shouting during company presentations. But this clip of him (captured during a 1999 NET Conference) screaming about the importance of third-party developers remains The Clip people share the most about Ballmer and Microsoft, over 25 years later.

3D Pinball

If you were using Windows 95 back in the day you might remember the Microsoft Plus! pack, a $49 add-on pack for Windows 95 that came with new software and utilities, new features for Windows (like themes!) and, most importantly, a specially licensed version of the Space Cadet digital pinball table from Cinematronics' Full Tilt! Pinball.

Technically Full Tilt! Pinball included 3 different pinball tables, but you could be forgiven for not knowing that because so many of us only ever played this game as "3D Pinball for Windows - Space Cadet", so we only ever played the Space Cadet table.

And you know what, it was great! Here at Tom's Guide some of us immediately remembered "3D Pinball for Windows" with remarkable fondness, so imagine my surprise when I did some digging and found that not only did Full Tilt include the Space Cadet table, it also offered Dragon's Keep and Skulduggery tables!

These games are no longer easily available to purchase, but with some digging you can find free recreations online or on mobile app stores if you want to indulge in a bit of nostalgic fun.

Forza Horizon 5

Look, some of us just really love Forza.

Personally I think I enjoyed Turn 10 Studios' Forza Horizon 4 more simply for its countryside setting, but I've played a ton of Forza Horizon 5 and I think it's easily one of the best things coming out of Microsoft right now.

If you haven't played it yet, what sets Forza Horizon 5 apart from most other racing games is its open-ended design. You choose your car and race around a fictionalized digital Mexico exploring the terrain, finding upgrades and entering races at your own pace.

Personally, Forza Horizon reignited my love of driving a manual car such that when it was time for me to buy a new ride after 10+ years of going car-free, I started test-driving cars in Forza before I booked appointments at used car lots. It probably wasn't the most accurate way to get a feel for a car, but the steering and shifting feel so good in Forza that I genuinely felt like I was getting a feel for the real thing. What a game.

The worst moments of Microsoft's 50 years

Microsoft Kin One and Kin Two smartphones

Microsoft has tried and failed several times to launch a successful phone business, but the Kin One and Kin Two were perhaps the worst examples.

Way back in April 2010 the company unveiled these two Kin smartphones simultaneously and promoted them as "social phones" that were focused on social networking. Their home screen was the "Loop", which aggregated your social media feeds, and the phones also automatically backed up your messages, photos and videos to a Kin Studio online platform where you could review them on other platforms.

The Kin Two (pictured) was a bigger and more capable version of the Kin One, with a better camera and more storage, but neither phone sold well and Microsoft discontinued them both within two months of launch.

Gone too soon? Maybe not—because Verizon brought them back on the market with slightly different names, less features and a lower price. But within a year these new models (branded Kin OneM and Kin TwoM) were also off the market, and we've not seen the company touch the Kin brand since.

Windows Vista

Microsoft dropped Vista on us in 2007 as the sequel to Windows XP, and it didn't go as well as the company hoped.

Sure, Vista introduced some useful upgrades over XP, including DirectX 10, Windows Speech Recognition and that glassy-looking Aero design language. Heck, I really liked the look of it after XP.

But the cost for many early adopters was worse game performance than XP along with a metric ton of annoying notifications from the then-new User Account Control security feature.

Microsoft eventually fixed some of the flaws in Vista by releasing Windows Vista Service Pack 1 a year later, but even that rollout was plagued by technical issues.

Microsoft Edge

I don't actually have a problem with the performance of Microsoft Edge. I think it's a completely serviceable web browser, and Microsoft makes it pretty easy to bring your bookmarks and other data into Edge from Google Chrome and other browsers.

No, I have a problem with how desperate and needy Microsoft is willing to appear in order to try and keep people from downloading other browsers—and specifically Chrome.

If you haven't noticed this, try downloading a copy of Chrome using Edge. I do this basically every week when I'm setting up a new laptop or desktop for review, and every time I have to close at least one nagging notification from Edge begging me not to stop using it. Not only do they not keep me using Edge, they actively make me want to stop using it because developers waste time coding nagging pop-ups into it instead of working to improve the browser.

Windows 8

When Windows 8 debuted in 2012 Microsoft touted it as the most touch-friendly Windows yet and honestly, it was—but so few of us enjoyed touching it that it was hard to feel excited about using Windows during this dark period.

Of course Windows 8 brought us a lot of new things we now think of as integral to the operating system, including the Microsoft Defender antivirus, OneDrive (then branded SkyDrive) and a Microsoft Store full of Windows apps.

But they were a lot less useful back then, and Microsoft reportedly sold far fewer Windows 8 licenses at launch than it expected. The company tried to make amends by releasing Windows 8.1 a year later with some much-needed improvements (including new options to customize the Start menu, which I hated), but it wasn't enough to redeem this disappointing OS.

Microsoft Surface RT

These days Microsoft's Surface laptops and tablets are pretty great for getting things done on the go. But when the original Surface launched in 2012, it was a big disappointment.

Much like the Zune, the Surface was initially pitched as a competitor to a popular Apple product: the iPad. The first Surface was designed in-house by Microsoft and arrived running Windows RT, so it became common to refer to this model as the Surface RT.

I'll hold my thoughts on Windows RT for the next entry, but even if it had arrived running a different version of Windows I doubt the first Surface would have been a success. While I and many others loved the design, the Nvidia Tegra 3 T30 chip and 2GB of RAM in the Surface RT just weren't enough to run Windows RT or many programs very well.

Microsoft eventually cut the price of the Surface RT a year after launch, but not before taking almost $1 billion in losses on the device. But the company didn't give up on the brand, and these days Surface hardware (including my favorite, the Surface Laptop Studio 2) is actually pretty capable.

Windows RT

Windows RT was originally named Windows on Arm, for good reason: it was a simplified version of Windows 8 designed to run on Arm-based chipsets.

Microsoft launched it in 2012 alongside Windows 8, and the original Surface was such a prominent flagship for the OS that we all started calling it the Surface RT. The problem is, Windows RT came with a lot of limitations that made it ideal for putting on a kid's tablet but terrible for a power user.

The UEFI Secure Boot safeguard was permanently enabled in Windows RT, for example, which makes it impossible to install other operating systems on the device. And the OS initially did not ship with support for Microsoft Outlook, though that was fixed with an update a year later.

But the biggest failure of Windows RT was that it was limited to Arm-based devices at a time when anyone shopping for a portable PC could pretty easily find a more capable Intel-based device for the same price—and those devices could run a full version of Windows 8.

Of course, these days Windows 11 not only runs on Arm, it runs great, helping the best Windows laptops enjoy the battery-sipping benefits of an Arm-based Snapdragon chipset while still taking full advantage of Windows' features. But to get here, we had to go through the dark days of Windows RT.

Xbox Kinect

When Microsoft brought Steven Spielberg onstage during its E3 2009 press conference to talk up the game-changing potential of "Project Natal", we listened.

But when the Xbox 360 peripheral debuted a year later as the Xbox Kinect, it proved to be a lot less reliable and capable than Microsoft promised. Sure, it was fun to mess around in the Kinect Adventures pack-in game, and some super-fun uses of the tech were implemented in games like Fruit Ninja and Gunslinger.

And of course, who can forget Kinect Star Wars' cover of Jason Derulo's "Ridin' Solo"?

But when Microsoft unveiled a better Kinect 2.0 alongside the Xbox One and first claimed, then backtracked that it would be required in order to use the console, the writing was on the wall.

A Kinect was still included in every Xbox One box, but developer support dried up, good Kinect games stopped showing up on store shelves and by 2017 the innovative peripheral was scrapped entirely.

Xbox One reveal

Speaking of the death of the Kinect, let's revisit the Xbox One launch.

At the time I thought for sure it would be Microsoft's most confusingly-named console, but that was before we met the Xbox Series S and Series X. Many of us in the press were also confused by Microsoft's big unveiling of the Xbox One in 2013, when then-Microsoft exec Don Mattrick talked it up as your all-in-one living room entertainment device.

Sure, games were part of the plan, but Mattrick leaned so heavily into talking up the console's HDMI pass-through port and functionality as a TV entertainment center that many Xbox fans thought the company had forsaken the business of making games in favor of making a set-top box with an Xbox logo.

The company responded to the negative reception of the Xbox One by talking up all the games slated to launch on the system and promising not to require the afore-mentioned Kinect pack-in in order to use the console, but the damage was done and Mattrick left the company later that year.

Game for Windows Live

Games for Windows Live was such a disappointment.

I was there when Microsoft launched it in 2007 as Windows' answer to the Xbox Live service, and while it was neat to be able to log into your Xbox Live account on your Windows PC it rarely brought much benefit.

Sure, in some Windows Live games (like Fallout 3) you could log in with your Xbox account, then use console commands to cheat your way to getting all the game's achievements (and the accompanying 1,000 Gamerscore points) in seconds. But in many games, GFWL felt like an unnecessary addition that was a hassle to deal with and an annoyance when Microsoft finally stopped supporting it.

Of course, it took the company ages to admit that it was no longer doing anything with the service and longer still to officially wind it down. But by 2018 you could no longer buy games on the Games for Windows Live Marketplace, and by 2022 it was no longer functioning at all.

Windows Phone

Microsoft has tried and failed to launch a lot of mobile products, but perhaps none are closer to my heart than Windows Phone.

This mobile operating system from Microsoft launched in 2010 as Windows Phone 7, and it brought that colorful tile-centric Metro design language to phones from the likes of HTC and LG.

There were some real issues and limitations with the OS, but Microsoft worked hard to improve it and managed to launch Windows Phone 8 and Windows Phone 10 on all sorts of phones, most notably Nokia's Lumia line.

The partnership was apparently so critical that Microsoft bought Nokia's mobile phone business in 2013 for over $7 billion. But Windows Phones failed to gain enough traction in the market to meaningfully compete with Android and Apple phones, and by 2017 Microsoft had given up on Windows Phone. Gone too soon!

Comic Sans

Microsoft is responsible for a fair few fonts, but for my money none have done more damage to society at large than Comic Sans MS.

Look, I love a funny sign as much as the next guy. But when former Microsoft staffer Vincent Connare designed Comic Sans in 1994 I can't imagine he knew what he was about to unleash.

The font debuted in the same Microsoft Plus! for Windows 95 add-on pack that brought us 3D Pinball for Windows - Space Cadet, which gives you a sense of how momentous those old Windows update packs were. Worse, you had to pay $49 for the pack, so the first people to use Comic Sans were paying for the privilege.

Surface Neo

Back in 2019 Microsoft gave a full-throated presentation of the Surface Neo, a dual-screen Windows device that sported two 9-inch touchscreens married by a 360-degree hinge.

The Neo was supposedly going to ship in 2020 with a pen and keyboard that could magnetically attach to the device, but it never materialized. Instead, we heard constant rumors about it as Microsoft first backtracked on its 2020 release date, then reportedly pushed it into 2021 as the pandemic impacted industries worldwide.

The company did manage to release a dual-screen phone in 2020 in the form of the Microsoft Surface Duo, but it wasn't quite the dual-screen Windows tablet that the Neo was meant to be.

And it's too bad, because right now we're just starting to see companies like Asus and Lenovo ship dual-screen laptops (like the Asus Zenbook Duo) that actually feel usable and valuable, especially if you love using multiple monitors. Pour one out for the Surface Neo—you died too soon.

The United States v. Microsoft Corp ruling

I'm a '90s kid from the States, so when I was growing up I heard a lot about former (then current) U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno. And one of the big things that happened during her tenure kicked off in 1993, when the U.S. Department of Justice began investigating Microsoft for alleged antitrust violations.

The central complaint ties back to an earlier entry in this list: Internet Explorer was included with every copy of Windows sold, and that caused it to gain a large userbase very quickly and dominate competitors like Netscape Navigator.

When the case went to trial in 1998, the prosecution argued that Microsoft had effectively set up a monopoly by giving away a free copy of Internet Explorer with every copy of Windows. Microsoft argued that Internet Explorer was a feature of Windows rather than a separate program, but by 1999 the presiding judge ruled that Microsoft had effectively created a monopoly (illegal under the Sherman Antitrust Act) and by 2000 the Court was calling for the company to be broken up into separate units.

That never happened, of course, because Microsoft mounted a successful appeal and managed to assuage the court by paying settlement fees and making some key changes to its software and business practices.

Even if you don't remember this case you've probably heard about it or seen its impact, because it was a landmark antitrust ruling that continues to be cited in court cases even as the impact on Microsoft continues to influence the tech industry.

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Update: Microsoft responded to Tom's Guide inquiries saying the company had nothing to share at this time.

Buyer beware. The Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite-powered Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 now features a "frequently returned" label on Amazon.

The warning was spotted by our sister site, Windows Central on certain configurations of the ARM-based laptop.

It's surprising label for a product with over 400 user reviews, most of them in the 4- or 5-star range. However, Amazon is claiming the laptop is returned often. The disclaimers tells prospective buyers to "check the product details and customer reviews to learn more about this item."

Amazon doesn't specify why the laptops are being returned but we can hazard some guesses based on the user reviews.

What the Surface Laptop 7 Amazon reviews are saying

In our own 4-star Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 review, Dave LeClair said that "Microsoft got it right with the latest version of the Surface Laptop 7." Though he did ding the laptop for underbaked AI features and a lack of ports.

Amazon customers had different complaints.

We read through every review 3 stars and under and several of the 5-star ratings.

The biggest complaint we kept seeing regarded compatibility. The 5-star reviews were concerned with software compatibility but many noted that you could find replacement programs in the Microsoft Store. Though many 3-star and under reviewers were upset that the laptop refused to connect to some of the best VPN services.

3 stars and lower

The lower rating issues for the Surface Laptop 7 focus more on external peripherals, especially printers and scanners, which don't seem to connect to the Qualcomm-powered system. Some also claimed that the USB-C architecture and how it connects to the Snapdragon X Elite was limiting what products could be attached to the laptop.

As noted by some comments on our sister site, some people appear to be buying multiple versions of the Surface Laptop with either the Qualcomm chip or AMD's Ryzen AI processors and returning the one they like least, which may be the Qualcomm version. Plus, the Intel versions are starting to make their way into the wild.

What configurations have the 'Frequently returned' label?

Not every Qualcomm Surface laptop has the 'Frequently returned item' label. Here are the ones that are affected.

As far as we can tell, the Snapdragon X Plus variant, which has 10 cores, does not have this label on any of its configurations available from Amazon.

x86 vs ARM: Customers may not know the difference

There are currently three different versions of Microsoft AI PCs available to customers interested in not just the Surface but Copilot + PCs in general.

You can choose from Snapdragon X Elite (or Plus), Ryzen AI and Intel Lunar Lake laptops from 2024 or 2025. It's a wealth of options and not everyone knows the difference between x86 or ARM.

What they want is to pull the laptop out of the box and know that it works with their programs, especially for laptops that cost close to $2,000.

Reading through the Surface listing on Amazon, this isn't really mentioned beyond hyping up the power of the Qualcomm chips. There is one mention of apps with a graphic that reads, "With 87% of app usage now with native ARM versions, you're getting a top-notch, efficient and secure experience."

You can scroll that graphic to see apps like PhotoShop, Excel, Discord and more. However, nowhere does it discuss peripheral connectivity or what apps aren't available.

We reached out to Microsoft for comment about this issue and about the Amazon listings.

A Microsoft spokesperson told Tom's Guide that the company had nothing to share at this time. We asked for clarity on how Microsoft plans to educate customers about the differences between the various chips and what they can and can't do.

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After some teases and hints last week, Microsoft has officially announced the arrival of Intel-powered versions of the Surface Laptop 7 and Surface Pro 11. The new Copilot Plus PCs are coming on February 11 and targeted toward businesses.

The business-focused models are similar to the Intel-only Surface Pro 10 and Laptop 6 2-in-1s that the company released last year. The difference is that now you can choose between a Lunar Lake version or Qualcomm Snapdragon X series variant. Otherwise, the design of both laptops appears the same.

Microsoft added that a 5G version will be launching later this year with more information "in the coming months."

Surface Laptop 7

Both Intel-based Surface laptops are more expensive than the Qualcomm variants. The Surface Laptop 7 starts $1499, for example, which is about $500 more than the Snapdragon version.

There will be two screen sizes — 13.8-inch and a larger 15-inch model. The displays are the same PixelSense ones as on the Qualcomm version. Both sizes can be outfitted with either an Intel Core Ultra 5 or Ultra 7 chip with up to 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage capacity.

Microsoft claims that the battery lasts up to 22 hours in video playback testing.

Design-wise, most things will be the mostly the same. The Intel version features a USB-A 3.2 port, instead of a 3.1 port like the Snapdragon variant. Otherwise, there are two USB-C 4/Thunderbolt 4 ports, the charging port and a headphone jack. You can also get an optional smart card reader, though that varies by model and region.

Surface Pro 11

Similarly, the new Intel-powered Surface Pro 11 is largely the same as the Qualcomm versions. Again, the Intel version is more expensive starting at $1499.99 versus $999.99 for the Snapdragon.

The Pro 11 can be configured with either a 13-inch LCD or OLED panel. Like the Laptop 7 it can be configured with either a Core Ultra 7 or Ultra 7 processor with up to 32GB of RAM and up to 1TB of storage.

Here the ports are the same as the Snapdragon variant featuring two USB-C 4/Thunderbolt 4 ports and Surface Connect port for charging. Headphones require a Bluetooth connection or wired via USB-C.

The Pro 11 features a built-in NFC reader.

Microsoft noted in its press release that Windows 10 support is coming on October 14, 2025 and is pitching the new Surface laptops as a way to transition away from Windows 10 to Windows 11.

Plus it introduces Copilot+ PCs to the business sector with the attendant AI features including Recall, Live caption translations, and AI-based Studio Effects settings for video calls.

Lastly, Microsoft also announced a new USB 4 dock, also launching February 14 for $199.99. The dock is meant to work with any Surface device and supports two 4K displays at 60Hz. It also includes 65-watt passthrough charging and up to 40Gb/s data transfer.

The dock features a USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 port, USB-C 4 Gen 3 port on the front. On the rear, there is a USB-C 4 Gen 3 port, HDMI 2.1 port, ethernet and a USB-C connector for the power supply.

Preorders are available starting today.

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Microsoft is set to reveal new devices in 2025, including a Surface Pro and Surface Laptop with smaller designs and Snapdragon X power, according to a recent report. Better yet, they're expected to be cheaper than ever.

As reported by Windows Central, both the new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop models are expected to be announced over the next few weeks, with the PCs set to hit shelves in spring — sometime between April and May. Interestingly, Microsoft is holding a Surface for Business event on January 30, but it is unknown whether the company will announce its devices during this time.

Aimed to be more travel-friendly, both PCs are expected to be smaller in size, ranging from 11-12 inches, according to the report. Sources speaking of the matter claim the Surface Pro will be an 11-inch iPad Pro rival, and it may come with stylus support and a detachable keyboard.

As for the rumored Surface Laptop, the report states it may replace the Surface Laptop Go, but will include a "backlit keyboard, higher resolution touchscreen, and an all-metal chassis like its larger Surface Laptop sibling."

Both new PCs are set to be smaller, premium devices that sit alongside the Surface Pro 11 and Surface Laptop 7. However, they may be a more tempting purchase for consumers thanks to their processors.

Snapdragon X coming to Surface Pro and Surface Laptop?

Earlier this year, Qualcomm announced Snapdragon X: a new lower-end CPU for budget laptops. Now, Microsoft is tipped to equip both the new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop models with Snapdragon X or Snapdragon X Plus.

Not only does this mean these will be AI-powered Copilot+ PCs, but it also means a reduced price. The report mentions the devices will be priced around $800 to $900, making them more affordable than their premium counterparts. With the performance gains Snapdragon has over Intel CPUs that we saw, the fresh Surface Pro and Surface Laptop variants are sure to pack a bunch for less.

Microsoft is set to deliver Surface Laptop 7 and Surface Pro 11 models with Intel Lunar Lake chips aimed at business users soon, if the report is accurate, but only time will tell how these PCs will perform.

That's not all; Microsoft is reportedly developing Surface Pro 12 and Surface Laptop 8 models with rumored Snapdragon X2 CPUs. Apparently, these are expected to launch later this year. Of course, these have yet to be officially announced, so confirmation on these units is still up in the air.

We've been impressed by Microsoft's latest lineup of laptops, and judging by our tests on Intel Lunar Lake vs Snapdragon X, the company's new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop models should be PCs to keep on your radar.

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2024 has been a strong year for Microsoft’s Surface hardware, laptops and tablets designed to get the most out of the company’s Windows 11 OS.

We dubbed the Surface Pro 11 “the best Surface in years” while calling the Surface Laptop 7 “a true MacBook Air rival”. Both prominently featured Microsoft’s Copilot+ features, putting AI front and center, and generally elevating the experience further.

Now Windows Central’s Zac Bowden has given us a taste of what Microsoft is planning for 2025. According to Bowden’s sources, Microsoft isn’t just planning on the usual annual Surface Pro and Surface Laptop refreshes, but intends to release a new Surface Laptop Studio and possibly a new 11-inch device of some kind.

Tackling those in reverse order, the 11-inch model is the most mysterious. Bowden’s sources describe it as a “Surface Go-sized Laptop Go hybrid that uses premium materials and components,” which certainly sounds intriguing. If it does see the light of day, it’s expected to use the Snapdragon X Plus SoC, but that’s all we know for now.

Next up is a new Surface Laptop Studio — a follow-up to 2023’s solid Surface Laptop Studio 2, with its unique hinge design that allows the screen to move beyond the keyboard as a canvas for doodling with the pencil, or just watching a movie in style.

There’s no word of specs here, though Bowden has heard talk of a 16-inch model being considered — quite an advance on the 14.4-inch screen that the current version has.

After this year’s Qualcomm-powered Surface Laptop and Surface Pro, Microsoft is apparently set to put Intel back in the mix with the 2025 models.

Specifically, both devices are tipped to get Lunar Lake variants. And while our Lunar Lake benchmarks show somewhat weaker performance than the Apple M3 and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X on single and multi-core tests, they handle AI tasks significantly better.

Bowden isn’t expecting a design change for either, given they were updated relatively recently. But he believes Microsoft may bring the anti-reflective coating from the Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 back, after it was oddly absent from last year’s models. He also thinks the laptop might have an optional card reader, and that there may be a 5G version this time around.

The ETA for all these devices is up in the air. While Bowden believes new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop will be here in the first quarter of 2025, the other products could be as late as fall. Hopefully they’ll be good enough to shake up our list of the best laptops, whenever they arrive.

Microsoft has announced a "digital event" later this month to announce new Surface hardware, Windows 11 features, and developments with its Copilot AI. 

The "new era of work" digital-only event kicks off at 9 a.m. PST / 12 p.m. EST on March 21, according to a brief event page Microsoft posted this morning. The company promised to unveil "the latest in scaling AI in your environment with Copilot, Windows and Surface."

Microsoft hasn't shared any details about what exactly will be announced, but given that we didn't get a Surface Pro 10 announcement last year, it's among the most likely candidates to be announced. Windows Central previously reported Microsoft will unveil the Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 in the spring of 2024. 

Both machines will reportedly receive minor spec bumps, with the Surface Pro 10 upgrading to a brighter, anti-reflective OLED display and featuring a new ultrawide front-facing webcam enhanced with AI Studio Effects and a built-in NFC reader, according to sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans. The Surface Laptop 6 is rumored to get a redesign as well that includes thinner bezels, more rounded corners, a haptic touchpad, two USB-C ports and a USB-A port. 

Beyond just a simple hardware refresh, however, Microsoft is tipped to market these systems as its first AI PCs. The new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop will be some of Microsoft's first devices capable of supporting built-in Copilot functionality and other special AI features headed to Windows 11 later this year, Windows Central reports. The new hardware will purportedly be the first to pack new Intel Core Ultra or Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite processors, both of which have neural processing units (NPUs) for enhanced AI performance. 

Microsoft is also working on a new AI-focused experience for Windows 11 known internationally as "AI Explorer," the outlet reports. According to sources familiar with Microsoft's plans, it's a sort of "advanced Copilot" that can catalog everything you do on your PC so you can search for moments in a timeline using natural language. It purportedly works across apps, documents, web pages, conversations, and images, effectively turning your PC experience into an easily searchable history.

Of course, all of this should be taken with a grain of salt for now. We'll have to wait until March 21 to learn more about what Microsoft has in store for us.

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Microsoft has sent members of the media invites to a “special event” taking place in New York City on September 21. 

“Mark your calendars for Thursday, September 21, 2023, for a special Microsoft event," reads the email we received. "More details to follow.” Though the email never explicitly mentions it, it’s a sure bet this is referring to the annual Microsoft Surface event, which typically happens in September or October.

If this is indeed a Surface event, then expect to see updated models of the company’s Surface line of devices — which in this case would be the rumored Surface Pro 10, Surface Go 4, Surface Laptop Go 3 and Surface Laptop Studio 2. None of these machines have officially been announced yet, but if Microsoft is going to reveal them anywhere, it’ll be at the Surface event.

Surface devices are virtually guaranteed, but we could also hear more about the new Windows 11 AI Copilot at the event. The company announced the Microsoft Edge and Bing chat-powered AI assistant back on May 23, during its annual Build conference. Windows 11 Copilot began rolling out to folks enrolled in the Windows Insider Dev channel in July and will arrive for all Windows users later this year as part of the big Windows 11 feature update. The new virtual assistant would effectively replace Cortana, which Microsoft recently killed off.

Outlook 

Given the timing of Microsoft’s email, we’re confident in saying this is the company’s annual Surface event. With the event happening in September, we expect the new Surface devices to arrive sometime in October of this year. Rumors are somewhat thin regarding these machines, but they’ll likely be nominal refreshes with updated internal components. That said, Microsoft could surprise us with something unexpected.

It’ll also be interesting to see what if any, updates we get about Windows 11 Copilot. Again, this is a Surface event, but given Microsoft’s enthusiasm for AI-related technologies, we expect some tidbits (or more) about Copilot.

Tom’s Guide will be covering the event in New York on September 21 so stay tuned for additional details about the latest Surface devices, Windows 11 Copilot, Windows 11 and more.

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Superficially, Microsoft doesn’t appear to have made serious changes with its latest 2-in-1 tablets. Indeed, in our Surface Pro 9 review, we called it the “definition of a minor update,” but it appears that Microsoft has made massive changes on the inside. 

True, they’re the kind of changes that most users will never see, but they’re also the type that are invaluable if you ever need them. 

While past Microsoft Surface units have been incredibly tricky to repair even by experienced hardware tinkerers, the new Surface Pro 9 appears to have been built with repairs and even a modest upgrade in mind. That’s according to the latest teardown from iFixit, which gives the Surface Pro 9 a 7/10 rating for repairability. 

That may not sound too impressive on paper, but there are two things to bear in mind. Firstly the 2019 Surface Pro 7 managed a 1/10 score so this is a huge improvement in three years. Secondly, the site says this score may rise further as Microsoft has promised spare parts and repair guides by the end of the year and the first half of 2023 respectively. iFixit could then reassess the score.

In the here and now, what makes the Surface Pro 9 such a big improvement from a repairability perspective? Well first of all, you don’t have to open it up to upgrade your internal storage. Just pop the hatch on the back with your finger, remove a single screw and you can put in another 30mm SSD of your choosing.

As iFixit’s Shahram Mokhtari points out, this easy access isn’t just helpful if you decide you need more storage. It also means you can jump between operating systems without bothering with a messy dual-boot system.

But this has actually been a feature since the Surface Pro 7 Plus, so where are the new improvements? 

They start as soon as you crack it open. While the “tenacious glue” used in previous models would often result in cracked screens for something as simple as a battery replacement, the Surface Pro 9’s screen gives way easily with a little heat, and offers a bit more flex to prevent breakage.

Once the screen is out of the way, almost everything is removable via screws — including the battery, which was once glued down and incredibly hard to dislodge. 

“It’s hard to understate how big a change this is to repairability,” Mokhtari says. “No longer will people spend an hour and a half on a screen and battery replacement. By using screws, they’ve made the entire process of battery replacement both accessible to the average consumer and much safer too. A big thumbs up from us.”

Is it perfect? Not quite. The RAM is still soldered to the motherboard, but Mokhtari is forgiving on this point, thanks to the power saving and performance boost such memory can offer. “Just like with Apple’s M-series SoC’s, we can’t justify penalizing soldered RAM in cases where it’s accompanied by significant performance gains,” he wrote.

None of this changes our 3/5 rating we gave the Surface Pro 9 in our review, as the main criticisms still stand. The display is decent but falls short of some rivals, and the fact that Microsoft still sells the Pen 2 and Signature Keyboard separately continues to leave a bad taste in the mouth. 

All the same, this should be applauded, and means that if you are tempted by the Surface Pro 9, you can buy it with more confidence than ever before.

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

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

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

Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 review: Price and release date

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 review: Design

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

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

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

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

Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 review: Ports

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

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

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

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

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

Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 review: Display

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

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

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

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

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

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

Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 review: Keyboard and touchpad

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

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

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

Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 review: Audio

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

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

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

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

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

Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 review: Performance

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 review: Webcam

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

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

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

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

Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 review: Battery life

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 review: Heat

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

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

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

Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 review: Verdict

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

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

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

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

Editor's Note: Microsoft just unveiled a new Surface Pro 9 tablet and a Surface Laptop 5 alongside a new Surface Studio 2+ all-in-one desktop. Keep that in mind as you shop, because new hardware means you can probably get last year's models at a discount. If you're more interested in the new stuff, stay tuned for our full reviews!

Choosing between the Surface Pro 8 vs. Surface Laptop Studio? This guide is here to help. Microsoft has just released both devices, and we've reviewed them, and both are impressive enough to contend with the field in our rankings for the best best 2-in-1 laptops you can buy.

Now that both of the Surface Pro 8 and Surface Laptop Studio are here (alongside Windows 11), it's time to figure out which one fits your needs best. Each is designed to double as a great digital canvas, and they're the only two devices which currently support the advanced haptic feedback features of the new Microsoft Surface Slim Pen 2 stylus.

• Windows 11 — 6 ways it beats macOS
• How to install Windows 11 — a step-by-step guide
• Plus: Catch up on all the big Surface news in our Microsoft Surface event 2021 recap

So if you're having trouble deciding which to buy, read on for a thorough breakdown of the Surface Pro 8 vs Surface Laptop Studio.

Surface Pro 8 vs Surface Laptop Studio: Price and availability

Both Surface devices are currently available to order, after their October 4th release date. The Surface Pro 8 has a starting price of $1,099. You can pay an extra $179 for the detachable Surface Pro Signature Keyboard (which lets the tablet double as a decent laptop) and $129 for the new Surface Slim Pen 2 stylus.

That's a bit more affordable than the Surface Laptop Studio, which has a starting price of $1,599. It also has a few optional accessories you can shell out for. That includes the $129 Surface Slim Pen 2 with its new haptic motor that provides tactile feedback when you use it on devices which support the feature — which, for now, is just the Pro 8 and the Laptop Studio.

So you should expect to pay more for the Laptop Studio, but you also get more too: the entry-level Laptop Studio costs $500 more than the base Pro 8, but it has a slightly bigger screen and double the RAM and storage space. And if you're willing to pay up to $2,099 for the Laptop Studio, you can get a model configured with a Core i7 CPU and a discrete Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti GPU. That's enough power to serve as a decent gaming laptop, which is something the Surface Pro 8 can't do.

Surface Pro 8 vs Surface Laptop Studio: Specs

Surface Pro 8 vs Surface Laptop Studio: Design

Both the Surface Pro 8 and the Surface Laptop Studio can function as both a Windows 11 tablet and laptop, but only the Surface Laptop Studio can do that out of the box. To use the Pro 8 as a laptop, you've got to pay nearly $200 more for the detachable keyboard — and when you attach it it's a little unwieldy to use, if our time with the Surface Pro 7's keyboard is any indicator.

That said, Microsoft appears to have updated the design of the Surface Pro 8 in small but meaningful ways. It's about the same size and a bit heavier than the Pro 7, with a 13-inch display — a minor but welcome improvement over the 12.3-inch screen in the Pro 7. The Pro 8 also sports a pair of Thunderbolt 4/USB-C Type 4 that will let you hook up multiple external monitors, even 4K models.

The Surface Laptop Studio is a bit larger and heavier than the Pro 8, but it also has a larger screen, and its intriguing sliding hinge design means you can slide the screen down over the keyboard to turn it into a (thick) Windows 11 tablet. Plus, if you like the idea of using your tablet like an easel, you can slide the screen about halfway down (into what Microsoft calls "stage mode") so that it sits over the keyboard at roughly a 45-degree angle, which could be a more comfortable way to use the screen as a digital canvas.

In terms of ports, the Laptop Studio's design is little different from the Pro 8, as it also offers just a pair of Thunderbolt 4/USB4 Type-C ports for hooking up external devices. Both Surface devices also have headphone jacks and Surface Connect ports, which are used for charging.

At 11.3 x 8.2 x 0.4 inches and 1.96 pounds, the Surface Pro 8 is thinner and lighter than the 12.7 x 9.0 x 0.7-inch, 3.83-pound Surface Laptop Studio, but when one is a tablet and the other a full-fledged 2-in-1 PC, those differences are to be expected. You can either get the portability of the Surface Pro 8 or the multi-functionality and complete computing experience of the Surface Laptop Studio.

Winner: Draw

If you just need a great Windows 11 tablet, the Surface Pro 8's design offers everything you need for about $500 less than the Laptop Studio. But if you want your tablet to double as a laptop, you'll have to pay $179 to equip the Pro 8 with its detachable keyboard, and at that point you're getting close to the price of a Studio. Plus, the Studio has a larger screen and that cool sliding hinge design that we can't wait to test out for ourselves.

Surface Pro 8 vs Surface Laptop Studio: Display

When it comes to displays, the Pro 8 is no slouch. It offers a 13-inch touchscreen display with a 3:2 aspect ratio and a nearly 3K resolution (2880 x 1920 pixels) that delivers 267 pixels per inch.  You also switch the Pro 8's screen between either 60Hz or 120Hz in Windows 11. While 60 Hz is more than good enough for day-to-day tasks, bumping it up to 120Hz should make the experience of using a stylus (like Microsoft's new Surface Slim Pen 2) a little smoother and more enjoyable, since the screen can only respond to input as fast as it can display a new image.

But while the Surface Pro 8's display maxes out at 452.8 nits of brightness, the Surface Laptop Studio gets even brighter at 487.2 nits. You may not be able to see that slight a difference for yourself. Even more slight is the difference between their color outputs. The Surface Pro 8's screen produces 103.7% of the sRGB gamut, which is beaten ever-so-slightly by the Surface Laptop Studio's 105.6% panel.

The Surface Laptop Studio has a larger 14.4-inch touchscreen display with a 3:2 aspect ratio but a lower resolution (2400 x 1600 pixels) with just 201 pixels-per-inch. It also has the capacity to function at either 60 or 120Hz, and presumably if you're using it with a stylus you'll want to keep it at 120Hz. That higher refresh rate is a bit more meaningful on the Studio, as it has the muscle to run some games at framerates higher than 60fps if you configure it with a discrete Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti GPU — and with a 120Hz display, those 60-plus framerates should look real nice.

So while the Laptop Studio has a larger display than the Pro 8, it has a lower resolution and won't deliver quite the same fidelity as the Pro 8 and its 267ppi pixel density. However, while both devices can do 120Hz, that might be more valuable on the Laptop Studio if you configure it to double as a decent gaming laptop.

Winner: Draw 

Surface Pro 8 vs Surface Laptop Studio: Performance

In terms of potential performance, the Surface Laptop Studio outshines the Surface Pro 8 — if you're willing to pay for the best components. We tested a high-end Laptop Studio with an 11th Gen H-series Intel Core i7-11370H CPU, 32GB of RAM, and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Laptop GPU and the Surface Pro 8 with an 11th Gen U-series Intel Core i7-1185G7 CPU, 16GB of RAM and Intel Iris Xe Graphics.

But while the specs may make you think the Laptop Studio would run away with this in a clear victory, not all of its wins are that cleanly defined.  On the Geekbench 5 general performance benchmark's multi-core test, the Surface Laptop Studio's Pro 5,820 beat the Surface Pro 8's 5,347 score. And that's the closest the Surface Pro 8 came to its pricier counterpart.

Our in-house file copy test showed that the 1TB SSD in the Surface Laptop Studio is far faster, with a transfer rate of 1,051MBps. That's more than double the Surface Pro 8 256GB SSD's 415MBps rate.

Similarly, the 3D Mark Fire Strike graphics benchmark gave the Surface Laptop Studio a mammoth 10,356 compared to the Surface Pro 8's 4,851. This was to be expected, considering that the Pro 8 has integrated graphics and the Surface Laptop Studio we tested has discrete graphics.

Winner: Surface Laptop Studio

Surface Pro 8 vs Surface Laptop Studio: Cameras

Camera-wise, the Pro 8 offers a pair of cameras on the front and rear, as you might expect from a tablet. The Surface Laptop Studio offers a more traditional laptop camera setup, with a single 1080p webcam mounted in the display.

The Surface Pro 8 sports a 5MP front-facing camera with the capacity to capture video in up to 1080p. It also supports Windows Hello, meaning you can log into Windows 11 with your face. Mounted on the back is a more impressive 10MP camera that can capture 1080p or 4K videos. 

In comparison, the Surface Laptop Studio looks a bit weak. It has just the 1080p webcam up front, and while that's great for a laptop (far too many still ship with 720p cameras these days, despite the rise of Zoom) it's not quite as good as the Surface Pro 8's 5MP selfie camera. However, the Laptop Studio's webcam does also have IR sensors, so you can use it for facial authentication/login via Windows Hello.

So if camera quality's important to you, the Surface Pro 8 is definitely the better device. However, the 1080p webcam on the Surface Laptop Studio should be more than enough for your needs if all you plan to use it for are video calls and the occasional selfie.

In our testing, both sets of cameras provided clear video and good photos, but it's also clear which Surface has the better cameras.

Winner: Microsoft Surface Pro 8

Surface Pro 8 vs Surface Laptop Studio: Battery life

Both the Surface Pro 8 and Surface Laptop Studio delivery pretty good battery life, but one beats the other by a pretty decent amount. We tested them both out on the Tom's Guide battery test (web-surfing over Wi-Fi, at 150 nits of brightness), and found that the Surface Laptop Studio (10:42) had more endurance, lasting one hour and 35 minutes longer than the Surface Pro 8 (9:07).

Just note that Microsoft claims that the Core i5 CPU model will last longer than the Core i7 model (by 2 hours in its testing).

So if every minute matters, you've got another reason to consider spending more for the Surface Laptop Studio.

Winner: Surface Laptop Studio.

Surface Pro 8 vs Surface Laptop Studio: Scorecard and verdict

Going by our scorecard, the Surface Laptop Studio has a slight edge on the Surface Pro 8, but that's not found everywhere. And while the question of which new Surface device also factors in how much you're willing to spend, and what you plan to use your new computer for is possibly the more important question.

The Surface Pro 8 is a premium Windows 11 tablet that's got good (but not great) performance and endurance, but its internal cameras are phenomenal. And since the Surface Pro 8 is cheaper and less powerful than the Surface Laptop Studio, anyone with slightly-less demanding needs on performance could stand to shave off some of their bottom line with that model. 

If you want a more traditional Windows 11 laptop that can transform into a (weighty) tablet, and you can afford the extra cost, the Surface Laptop Studio is a worthy investment. Its cameras may not be the best, but its speed and battery life are superior, though both depend on how you kit it out. With a Core i7 CPU, 32 GB of RAM and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti GPU has enough torque to possibly be considered as one of the most unique gaming laptops (if not one of the best gaming laptops) today. 

We have been anticipating new devices at the Microsoft event on October 12, but rumors had been a bit light. Luckily, when it rains it pours and we now have details on three expected Surface devices — including a new Surface Studio 3.

A report from WinFuture analyst Roland Quandt tips the Microsoft Surface Pro 9, Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 and Studio 3 (not to be confused with the Laptop Studio) to all be unveiled at the October event. Quandt suggests that consumer-grade versions for the devices will be available towards the end of October, with commercial models releasing in November. The lone exception is the Surface Studio 3, which still lacks a rumored release date.

Admittedly, we had already suspected that the Surface Pro 9 would be appearing after seeing a potential FCC filing for the rumored device. The biggest development is clearly the possible new Surface Studio 3. The Surface Studio is Microsoft’s powerful all-in-one desktop computer that retails for north of $3,000. It seems likely to remain unchanged — along with most of the device. A recent FCC filing reported on by Windows Central showed the design of the all-in-one Surface largely unchanged from its second-generation predecessor as well. 

Unfortunately, this isn’t the only rumored disappointment about the high-end desktop.

Surface Studio 3: First impressions 

First and foremost, the Surface Studio 3 looks set to remain an incredibly powerful device. It is rumored to come in just one configuration, at least in Germany (and presumably other E.U. countries). It should feature an Intel i7 System on Chip (SoC) processor with 32GB of RAM and 1TB SSD.

However, the latest rumors are suggesting that the i7 processor in question is not a 12th-generation CPU. Instead, the Surface Studio 3 is now likely to feature an 11th-generation Intel chip. While Microsoft may have reasons for this decision it seems odd not to include the latest chip in a brand new high-end PC. Especially since the 13th generation “Raptor Lake” CPUs are set to arrive on October 20. Having a two-generation old CPU is a bad look if true. 

Microsoft set to streamline Surface Pro lineup with Surface Pro 9 

The biggest news regarding the Surface Pro lineup is that the Surface Pro 9 is set to replace the Surface Pro 8 — and the Surface Pro X. We had already seen rumors that this was going to be the case, but Quandt’s reporting seems to confirm that the Surface Pro 9 will include an Intel-CPU version to replace the Surface Pro 8 and a Qualcomm-designed ARM SoC CPU version to replace the Surface Pro X. 

Regarding specs, the ARM-based tablet is suggested to come in a 5G-enabled model (no WiFi only) with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen-3 chip customized and rebranded as the Microsoft SQ3. It starts with 8GB RAM and a 128GB SSD but can be expanded to 16GB RAM and a 512GB SSD.

Unfortunately, the specs for the Intel-based CPU variant seemingly confirm that we will not see any 13th-generation chips from these new Surface devices. Both the Intel-based Surface Pro 9 and the Surface Laptop 5 are set to feature 12-generation chipsets, with consumer models tipped to feature either the Intel Core i5-1235U or the Intel Core i7-1255U chipsets. Commercial versions of the two new devices are rumored to get versions with higher base clock speeds and Intel vPro support. RAM is rumored to be expandable up to 32GB and SSD storage capacity caps out at 1TB, though Quandt suggests we could see a 2TB SSD model.

Microsoft October Surface event: Outlook 

While it is great to potentially get some clarity on the new devices we could see at Microsoft’s October event, it is a bit disappointing to see these rumored specs. They give consumers updated hardware, particularly in the case of the four-year-old Microsoft Surface Studio 2. But these are largely iterative changes. Not redesigning the Surface Studio with the Surface Studio 3 or launching these devices feels like a miss for Microsoft. Hopefully, their reveal will give us something more inspiring. 

Editor's note: Read our Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 review to see how the latest model stacks up. Below is our original review of the Surface Laptop 4.

The Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 is more evolution than revolution, packing improved components into the same slim, lightweight chassis the Surface Laptop product line is known for. Microsoft hasn’t tried to sell it as anything else, instead promising that this Surface Laptop lasts longer and packs more power under the hood than its predecessors.

After spending many hours with this laptop, it’s clear those promises are true, though our test results leave plenty of room to quibble with Microsoft’s marketing. But it’s been nearly two years since the 2019 launch of the Surface Laptop 3, and in that time, competing manufacturers like Dell and Apple have pushed the limits of how slim, beautiful and powerful an ultraportable can be.

So while the Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 is unquestionably the best Surface Laptop yet, the question of whether it’s the best laptop for you is a little trickier to answer. Read on for our full Surface Laptop 4 review, which should (hopefully) help you solve that question.

Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 review: Price and release date

• Starts at $999 for 13-inch, $1,299 for 15-inch
• Our unit with Core i7/16GB/512GB is $1,699

Available as of April 15 2021 in the US and April 27 in the UK, a Surface Laptop 4 ordered from Microsoft will cost you at least $899 for the 13.5-inch model and $1,299 for the 15-inch. Those entry-level models ship with AMD Ryzen 5/7 4000-series chips, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD.

If you need more power you can configure the Surface Laptop 4 with beefier innards, potentially paying as much as $2,299 and $2,399 (respectively) for the two models if you kit them out with the top-tier components. Unlike its predecessors, both sizes of the Surface Laptop 4 can be configured with your choice of an Intel 11th Gen Core i5/i7 CPU or an AMD Ryzen 5/7 4000-series processor, though the 15-inch model is limited to the higher-end Core i7/Ryzen 7 chips.

Our 13.5-inch Surface Laptop 4 review unit arrived decked in Microsoft’s new (to the Surface Laptop) Ice Blue color scheme with a Core i7 CPU, 16GB RAM and a 512GB SSD, a configuration that retails for $1,699.

Take a look at our Microsoft promo codes page for the latest offers and discounts. 

Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 review: Design

• New Ice Blue color is a nice touch without being too bold
• Bezels are still on the thick side
• Alcantara deck is comfy for the wrists

The latest Surface Laptop hews close to the minimalist design of its predecessors, which is both welcome and a little underwhelming; I would have liked to see Microsoft attempt a more radical change with the Surface Laptop’s design, but for now, you’ll have to look inside to see what’s new.

That said, I’ve always loved the slick, clean lines of the Surface devices, and the new Surface Laptop 4 offers more of the same. In terms of dimensions, it's identical to the Surface Laptop 3, weighing in at 2.8 pounds and measuring just 12.1 x 8.8 x 0.6 inches. That makes the Surface Laptop 4 not quite as small as the M1 MacBook Air (12 x 8.4 x 0.6 inches, 2.8 pounds) or the Dell XPS 13 (11.7 x 8.2 x 0.5 inches, 2.9 pounds), but it’s plenty slim enough to slide into a backpack or briefcase and promptly forget about.

It’s a little harder to forget about the thick bezels surrounding the Surface Laptop 4’s 3:2 display. They just aren’t very attractive, and when I wasn’t focusing on specific tasks I caught myself staring at the black bars around the screen, wishing they were smaller so I could have a bit more screen space to play with.

The Dell XPS 13’s incredibly slim bezels make it easy to see how much of a difference this kind of engineering work makes, and it would be nice to see Microsoft do the same for its flagship laptop. That said, it is nice how sturdy the screen feels under your fingers, and I felt zero qualms about briskly tapping and swiping my way through Windows without worrying I’d accidentally knock the screen back.

This is the first time Microsoft has offered a Surface Laptop in the Ice Blue color scheme previously seen on Microsoft Surface Pro tablets, and in person, it’s a very nice, understated shade of pale metallic blue. It’s so subtle that I would have been hard-pressed to tell you it was blue unless we set it down alongside a bunch of other gray and silver laptops, at which point the Surface Laptop 4 clearly stands out from the crowd. I also appreciate the relative subtlety of the reflective Microsoft logo on the lid; it’s eye-catching but less garish than a lot of the manufacturer logos emblazoned on contemporary laptops.

The Alcantara lining the keyboard of the Ice Blue and Platinum 13.5-inch models is a nice touch that makes resting your wrists on the deck of the laptop feel a bit more comfortable. It’s a small difference, but one that I noticed every time I switched back to typing on an all-metal laptop. The feel of fabric beneath my wrists was just nicer, though the thought of trying to get a stain out of it heightened my already significant fear of eating or drinking while working.

Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 review: Ports

• USB-A, USB-C and headphone jack
• Sorry, no Thunderbolt 4

The port selection on Microsoft’s Surface Laptop 4 is pretty simple, for better and for worse. The right side sports a Surface Connector for charging purposes, while on the left you’ll find a USB-A port, a USB-C port, and a headphone jack.

It’s nice to see a classic USB-A on a modern machine like this, and combining it with a USB-C gives this laptop a nice bit of flexibility when it comes to external devices. But this USB-C port doesn’t support Thunderbolt 4, which is a bummer for anyone investing in heavy-duty external accessories like GPUs or high-capacity drives. And while a part of me likes a slim, simple chassis without a lot of funky holes in it, I also really love it when a laptop manufacturer works a little SD card reader or a stylus cubby into the sides of their device.

Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 review: Display

• 3:2 aspect ratio good for productivity
• Could be brighter and more reflective than we'd like

The 13.5-inch, 2256 x 1504-pixel screen of the Surface Laptop 4 has its charms, especially if you’re doing a lot of reading, editing, or anything that benefits from having the extra vertical space afforded by its 3:2 display ratio.

But when I switched out of productivity mode and started streaming some TV and movies on the laptop, I was a little disappointed by how dull and washed-out some scenes looked. Sometimes bright colors were vibrant enough to pop off the screen, as was the case with the bright orange explosions of Bad Boys 2 or Stormfront’s brilliant purple lightning discharges in The Boys. But in dark scenes or settings with lots of muted blues and greens the colors seemed to fade and blend into each other, making it difficult to pick out detail. 

I also noticed my reflection a lot more often than I’m used to when working on a laptop, even with the screen’s brightness cranked all the way up. In the absence of hard testing data, I’m leery of telling you that the Surface Laptop 4’s screen is definitely more reflective than most, but it sure seems that way. This didn’t cause any problems for me (other than stoking that unique form of self-loathing invoked by catching sight of yourself staring slack-jawed at a screen) but it’s worth noting if you plan to regularly use the device under bright lights or direct sunlight.

Under testing with our colorimeter, the Surface Laptop 4’s screen produced 108.3% of the sRGB spectrum, which is a bit better than the 104.5% its 15-inch predecessor produced in the same test. That's right in line with the cheaper Thinkpad 14s Yoga (at 108%) and better than competitors like the Dell XPS 13 (97.9%), though it still can’t match the screens on the M1 MacBook Air (114.3%) and MacBook Pro (110.6%).

The screen gets reasonably bright, hitting an average of 348.6 nits of brightness when tested with our light gun. That’s decent, ahead of the Lenovo Thinkpad 14s Yoga (313 nits) but just a bit behind both the Intel and AMD variants of the 15-inch Surface Laptop 3 (which achieved 366 and 380 nits, respectively), and way behind the Dell XPS 13 (469 nits).

Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 review: Keyboard and touchpad

• Plenty of travel for comfy typing
• Smooth and accurate touchpad, and there's a touchscreen, too

Typing on the Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 feels more comfortable than most laptops I’ve worked on, thanks in large part to the nicely-sized keys and the Alcantara material around the keyboard. The keys feel satisfying to type on, with 1.3mm of travel and a nice click to them which helped me avoid bottoming out while typing quickly.

The 4.5 x 3-inch glass touchpad beneath the keys is also quite nice to use, feeling comfortably close to the keyboard while still affording my big dumb sausage fingers plenty of room to move. Both it and the laptop’s touchscreen felt very responsive to the touch, and I had no trouble using gesture commands on either surface.

Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 review: Audio

• Loud and clean sound from a compact laptop
• Dolby Atmos support adds depth

The big talking point around the Surface Laptop 4’s speakers is the addition of Dolby Atmos technology, which Microsoft claims helps the laptop deliver richer, more spatially accurate sound by pumping it out from beneath the keyboard and bouncing it off the screen.

I’m no audiophile, but even I can tell you that the speakers on the Surface Laptop 4 make music and movies sound very nice. Bass-heavy tracks like Massive Attack’s “Angel” still have a kick to them, and while watching the trailer for Godzilla vs. Kong I caught myself glancing down to make sure the laptop wasn’t actually vibrating in time with the bass drops.

But the Surface Laptop 4’s speakers really shine with more well-balanced tracks, and when I threw on Muddy Waters’ “Folk Singer” I was delighted by how clearly the vocals rang out across the room without losing any of their warmth. When I walked down the hall or into an adjoining room I could still hear Waters’ beautiful voice perfectly, and if I didn’t already know I’d never have guessed the music was being piped out of someone’s laptop.

Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 review: Performance

• 11th-gen Intel Core i7 and 16GB of RAM combine for solid performance
• Benchmarks scores trail behind Dell XPS 13 and MacBook Air and Pro
• Graphics good enough for 30 fps on less demanding games

Unless your job involves playing Cyberpunk 2077 with the settings cranked up, Microsoft’s Surface Laptop 4 can handle pretty much anything you’d throw at it in the course of an average workday. Our review unit’s 16GB of RAM and 11th Gen Intel i7 CPU gave it enough pep to handily tackle as many basic tasks as I could subject it to, including 20+ tabs spread across four Chrome windows arrayed in such a way that I could watch two 4K YouTube videos, a Twitch stream, and keep an eye on my Spotify playlist while writing this review.

The Surface Laptop 4 we reviewed put up a decent score of 4,829 in our Geekbench 5 performance test, which is good but not great when stacked up against similarly-priced competitors like the Dell XPS 13 (which earned 5,254 in the same test) or even cheaper Windows notebooks like Lenovo’s convertible ThinkBook 14s Yoga (4,885).

Our review unit’s 512GB SSD performed well enough when we tasked it with duplicating 25GB of multimedia files, transferring them at a decent clip of 562.73 MBps. That’s faster than the 508.9 MBps that the 15-inch Intel-powered Surface Laptop 3 delivered in our testing last year, but still slower than contemporary competitors like the Dell XPS 13 (806 MBps) or the Thinkbook 14s Yoga (886.35 MBps).

If you’re looking to do some video editing, the Surface Laptop 4 is up to the task (especially when kitted out with 16GB of RAM) but far from the fastest laptop on the block. In our Handbrake video editing test our review unit took about 17 minutes to convert a 4K video to 1080p, which is faster than the 17 minutes 18 seconds it took the 15-inch Intel-equipped Surface Laptop 3 to do the same test last year. It’s also a bit better than the Dell XPS 13 (which took about 18 minutes), though of course, it falls far short of the sub-10-minute marks delivered by Apple’s M1-equipped MacBook Air (which took 9 minutes and 15 seconds) and MacBook Pro (7 minutes 44 seconds) models.

As far as games go, our testing suggests you should calibrate your expectations to the level of a nice work laptop: you should be able to play many games at acceptable frame rates, especially if they’re older or less graphically demanding, but don’t expect to enjoy running any game with minimum required specs that include a discrete GPU.

In our performance tests our Surface Laptop 4 review unit delivered an average of 30.46 frames per second playing Sid Meier’s Civilization VI: Gathering Storm at 1080p, though that dropped down to a 27.9 fps average when we boosted the resolution up to the native 1504p. 

Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 review: Webcam

• Decent images for 720p webcam but 1080p would be better
• Fast Windows Hello face logins

There’s not much to say about the 720p webcam built into the top of the Surface Laptop 4’s screen, save that I wish it was a little more exciting. A bump up to 1080p would have been a welcome change (especially amidst our current pandemic-provoked preponderance of Zoom meetings) that really helped set this latest Surface Laptop apart from its predecessors, all of which have sported 720p webcams above the display.

That said, the Surface Laptop 4’s webcam is completely adequate for all your video chatting needs, and the image quality is decent if you’re looking to take some laptop selfies.

As far as the much-touted Windows Hello biometric authentication goes, logging in via your face seems speedier than ever. I had some trouble getting the camera array to recognize me while setting the laptop up for facial recognition (perhaps it’s my fault for leaving my glasses on) but once I got it squared away, the Windows Hello login proved so speedy that if I was allowed to blink during the process, I’d have missed it.

Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 review: Battery life

• The Surface Laptop 4 lasted nearly 11 hours on our web surfing test
• That's very good, but we didn't get anywhere near Microsoft's 17-hour claim

Battery life is one of the big selling points for this latest Surface Laptop, and with good reason; its predecessors have impressed us with their elegant designs and beautiful screens, but they’ve often fallen short of the competition when it comes to how long they last on a single charge.

This time around Microsoft claims the AMD-equipped 13.5 Surface Laptop 4 can last up to 19 hours on a charge, while the Intel variant we reviewed is advertised as lasting up to 17 hours.

Dear reader, we wanted to believe. The Surface Laptop 4 is a beautiful machine, and it truly does last quite a while on a single charge; I was able to unplug and get through a 9-hour workday of intermittent writing and editing while listening to music, watching videos, and never once worrying that the battery would give out on me. 

But as good as it is, the Surface Laptop 4’s battery life doesn’t quite live up to the hype. In our lab tests -- which are based on active, continuous web browsing -- the Intel-based 13.5-inch Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 lasted a little less than 11 hours (10:46:23, to be specific). 

That’s a nice improvement over the 9 hours 32 minutes the Intel-based Surface Laptop 3 lasted in our tests, but it still falls short of the competition. The latest Dell XPS 13 was able to last longer (11:07) in our tests than the Surface Laptop 4 with a similar hardware configuration, for example, and of course, if you’re willing to walk on the macOS side the MacBook Air M1 delivered an unbeatable 14 hours and 41 minutes in our battery tests. 

Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 review: Heat

• Expect cool temperatures unless you're gaming
• The Surface Laptop 4 was quiet for the most part

In the course of this review, our Surface Laptop 4 review unit rarely got noticeably warm, no matter how many tabs I had open or how many videos I tried to stream. The only time it got hot enough to cause discomfort was when I tried to play graphically demanding games like IO Interactive’s Hitman 2; on medium to low settings the 2018 game pushed the laptop hard, and as it stuttered between 15 to 40 frames per second the fans kicked in and I felt the bottom of the laptop get noticeably warm in my lap.

In our heat tests (which involve streaming 15 minutes of HD video) our heat gun found the underside hit an average temperature of 90 degrees, topping out at 92.5 near the center (roughly straight down from where the F5 key sits). The deck of the laptop proved much cooler, measuring just 80 degrees on the touchpad.

Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 review: Verdict

The Surface Laptop 4 improves on the Surface Laptop 3 in many ways, offering Windows fans a bloatware-free ultraportable with premium components packed inside a beautiful, lightweight chassis.

While I’d have liked to see Microsoft attempt some more significant changes to the Surface Laptop formula, the excellent speakers, improved battery life, and under-the-hood upgrades make the Surface Laptop 4 one of the best Windows laptops you can buy — and a serious contender for a spot among the best laptops on the market.

We already have a laundry list of changes we’d like to see in a sequel (thinner bezels, a better webcam, Thunderbolt 4 support and more ports in general), but the Surface Laptop 4’s tall screen, comfortable keyboard and svelte, sturdy design make it a great choice for anyone looking to get work done around the house or out at the coffee shop.

Next: Here's everything we know about the upcoming Microsoft Surface Laptop 5.

What's going on with the Microsoft Surface Studio 3? The Redmond-based tech giant was expected to release the Surface Studio 3 (according to Windows Central) in 2022. However, due to the pandemic and global chip shortage, plans to release the device were postponed. Considering we're a quarter of the way into 2023, it's unclear if or when this device will ever release.

The Surface Studio line has been a regular favorite on our list of the best all-in-one computers ever since our first Microsoft Surface Studio review in 2016, and we loved the follow-up in our Microsoft Surface Studio 2 review in 2018. But four years is a long time to wait for a new model with current hardware and capabilities. We hope a new version of the Surface Studio is right around the corner, but we can't be sure.

It has been a long time since we've heard any rumblings about the Surface Studio 3. Here are all of the current rumors and a few educated guesses about when the device will be released, what it might cost, and what changes could be coming with the as-yet-unannounced model.

The 28-inch Surface Studio is the biggest member of Microsoft's Surface family of tablets, 2-in-1s and laptops, boasting an impressive look that marries the all-in-one design with the most comfortable touchscreen for drawing we've ever seen.

With an impressive display that supports touch, pen and even the Surface Dial, along with a solid dual-hinge design that lets the monitor adjust to a low angle for comfortable drawing, the Surface Studio has earned its place among the best computers available for serious creatives. Powerful hardware and strong performance make it a worthwhile choice for any professional users. And the whole thing is wrapped in a sleek, beautiful design that is at once simple and sophisticated, both technically and in its stylings.

Read on to find out all we know about the Microsoft Surface Studio 3.

Microsoft Surface Studio 3 release date

Microsoft has not announced the Surface Studio 3.

The first version of the Surface Studio launched in late 2016, and the follow-up Surface Studio 2 launched in November 2018. Going by that 2-year cadence, the Surface Studio 3 should have been released in 2020, but as we said up top, the global pandemic and semiconductor shortage put a damper on that.

There's no telling when the Surface Studio 3 might be announced, let alone released.

Microsoft Surface Studio 3 price

With no firm news of a new product or specifications, it's hard to be sure what will happen with the price of a new Surface Studio model, whether it will stay consistent with the pricing of the Surface Studio 2 or whether the price will be raised or lowered.

The Surface Studio 2 starts at $1,399, which is a significant discount from its original $3,499 asking price. If Microsoft is planning any significant upgrades or design changes to a new Surface Studio desktop, the new device could demand a hefty price.

Alternatively, Microsoft could bring the price down in an attempt to make the premium all-in-one desktop more approachable to mainstream consumers. Given the heavy marketing toward creative professionals that surrounded the last two versions of the desktop, this move sounds unlikely. However, a less expensive starting price and a desktop aimed at regular consumers would go a long way to increasing the market share of the Surface brand, so it's not entirely implausible.

If a new model is announced, it's most possible that pricing will be in line with the current Surface Studio 2's original price of $3,499 -- or perhaps more. We expect the starting configuration to pack a Core i7 processor, an Nvidia graphics card and 16GB of RAM. Other configurations with a more powerful CPU, better graphics card, and larger allotments of memory and storage will be more expensive.

Take a look at our Microsoft promo codes page for the latest offers and discounts.  

Microsoft Surface Studio 3 specs

While the Microsoft Surface Studio 3 has yet to be announced, we can make some educated guesses about what sort of changes could show up in a new model this year. Any discussion of hardware and features is speculative, but there are several features we would like to see improved in a new model, and that have room for improvement.

For starters, the 2018 Surface Studio 2 launched with an Intel Core i7-7820HQ processor, a 7th-generation CPU from early 2017 that was already aging when the Surface Studio 2 hit stores in 2018. If Microsoft makes any changes to the Surface all-in-one, a processor update is guaranteed. We hope the new processor is one of the latest 13th-generation Intel Core models and not an aging CPU that's been out for more than a year.

Microsoft Surface Studio 3 ports 

Switching the existing USB Type-C ports to Thunderbolt 4 is a potential change that has been on Surface-user's wish lists for years. Thunderbolt 4 offers significantly more versatility than USB-C, thanks to faster data speeds, allowing a whole range of peripherals to connect to a machine through a single port, from high-resolution monitors to external storage.

If Thunderbolt 3 or 4 is going to happen on any Surface device, the desktop Studio 3 would be the place it shows up.

Microsoft Surface Studio 3 display 

The other upgrade that rates as highly likely is an improved display. The first and second-generation Studio all-in-ones boasted some of the best displays ever offered, with 4500 x 3000 resolution, a distinct 3:2 aspect ratio and factory color calibration that delivered fantastic color and sharpness.

But even a better-than-4K display feels a little less exciting when compared to Apple's 6K Pro XDR display, and the Surface Studio's 28-inch panels haven't yet offered HDR support, an increasingly essential feature for photographers and videographers alike.

Microsoft Surface Studio 3 redesign

On the more radical end of the spectrum, a Microsoft patent from 2016 fueled rumors that the next Surface Studio may not be an all-in-one at all, with hints of a modular design that relies upon a standalone Surface monitor with the same touch capability and zero-gravity hinge, but without the PC hardware in the base.

Such a change could move the Surface Studio away from the all-in-one design of past models and toward something closer to a high-end display paired with a compact desktop, similar to the best mini PCs.

Alternatively, this modular design could follow in the footsteps of the Surface Hub S2, Microsoft's group-oriented display for meetings and collaboration. While it retains something similar to an all-in-one design, it also offers upgradability by way of a separate module for the internal hardware, letting you slot in new hardware with a cartridge-like product that houses the PC components. 

Microsoft Surface Studio 3 microphones 

Another safe bet points to improved microphones, for easier voice interaction and improved video chat capability. A 2019 report from MSPowerUser.com suggests that Microsoft might be switching to directional micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) microphones, which can offer better noise and echo suppression than traditional mics.

Microsoft Surface Studio 3: What we want to see 

All of the rumored changes to the Surface Studio 3 sound interesting,  but what we would most like to see on a new version of Microsoft's all-in-one desktop is fairly modest: A move to more current hardware and a slightly more affordable price. The previous models have impressed us with their excellent ergonomics and still-impressive 4K+ screen, but we noted both the expense of the previous model and the behind-the-curve processor selection at the time.

Separating the display and PC would open up the benefits of the Surface Studio to a larger market, it would be a drastic departure from Microsoft's current product line, turning a single, complete package into less impressive mini PC paired with a great monitor. While I would love for Microsoft to offer a Surface monitor with the benefits of the Studio's ergonomics and input capabilities, doing so with the Surface Studio name would effectively reduce the most innovative Windows all-in-one on the market to nothing more than a nice monitor. 

With the Surface Laptop 4 Microsoft has delivered a straightforward Windows laptop that's advertised to last longer and deliver more power than its predecessors, while maintaining the Surface Laptop line's sleek — though somewhat dated — design.

In our 13-inch Surface Laptop 4 review, I found a great deal to like about Microsoft's latest laptop, though our independent testing poked some holes in the company's marketing claims. Now I've had some time to review the 15-inch model sporting one of AMD's Ryzen 7 4000 series CPUs, and while it has some notable flaws (as you'll read in the following 15-inch Surface Laptop 4 review), I think it's a solid investment if you need a productivity-focused laptop for getting work done on the go. 

Editor's Note: Microsoft unveiled a bumper crop of new Windows 11-ready Surface devices at its September 2021 Surface event, including a new device bearing the Surface Laptop name: the Surface Studio-like Surface Laptop Studio, which has a cool hinged display. Check out our full Microsoft Surface event recap for all the details.

Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 (15-inch, AMD) review: Price and availability

• Starts at $999 for 13-inch, $1,299 for 15-inch
• Our unit with AMD Ryzen 7 4980U/16GB/512GB is $1,699

The Surface Laptop 4 went on sale in the US and the UK in April, and if you order one directly from Microsoft you can expect to pay at least $999 for the 13.5-inch model and $1,299 for the 15-inch. Those entry-level models ship with AMD Ryzen 5/7 4000-series chips, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. 

Those in need of more power can beef up the Surface Laptop 4 by paying for more powerful components, potentially as much as $2,299 and $2,399 (respectively) for the two models if you kit them out with the top-tier ingredients. Unlike the preceding Surface Laptops, both sizes of the Surface Laptop 4 can be configured with your choice of an Intel 11th Gen Core i5/i7 CPU or an AMD Ryzen 5/7 4000-series processor, though the 15-inch model is limited to the higher-end Core i7/Ryzen 7 chips.

Our 15-inch Surface Laptop 4 review unit arrived packing an AMD Ryzen 7 4980U CPU, 16GB RAM and a 512GB SSD, a configuration which retails for $1,699. Our review unit came in matte black, but you can also get the 15-inch in platinum if you choose.

Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 (15-inch, AMD) review: Design

• Thick bezels are distracting
• Thinner and lighter than many 15-inch laptops

Microsoft’s latest Surface Laptop has a sleek, simple design that’s right in line with the minimalist design of earlier Surface devices. Personally I would’ve liked to see Microsoft attempt something a little more interesting with this new model, but what’s here is svelte and professional.

I’d also have loved to see a little less bezel framing my screen whenever I looked at it. On the matte black model we reviewed, the thick black bezels on all sides are nigh-invisible when the display is off, but once you power it on, it can be hard not to notice the black bars framing your screen. Perhaps we’ve been spoiled by the thin, nearly nonexistent bezels on contemporary notebooks of similar size like the Dell XPS 15 (2020) and 16-inch MacBook Pro (2019), but given that this is a flagship laptop from one of the biggest computing companies on the planet, it’d be nice to see Microsoft catch up to the competition.

The 15-inch Surface Laptop 4 clocks in at 13.4 x 9.6 x 0.58 inches and weighs 3.4 pounds, meaning it's effectively identical to (okay, it’s 0.02 inches thinner than) the 15-inch Surface Laptop 3. That also means it's lighter and thinner than a lot of laptops of comparable size, including the Dell XPS 15 (2020) and the 16-inch MacBook Pro (2019).

The matte black paint job makes the 15-inch Surface Laptop 4 somehow both subtle and imposing. From a distance it looks like a normal laptop, but when you get up close and see it next the gray and silver casings of most computers there’s a real richness and depth to the black that I didn’t expect. The Microsoft logo is embossed in reflective silver on the back of the screen, and when you look down into it you can see yourself staring back.

Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 (15-inch, AMD) review: Ports

• USB-A, USB-C and headphone jack
• No Thunderbolt 4

Like its predecessor and its smaller sibling, the 15-inch Surface Laptop 4 only sports four ports: 1 USB-C, 1 USB-A, a headphone jack and a Surface Connector port for charging. 

That’s enough to let you hook up a mouse and keyboard, plus some headphones for getting work done at the coffee shop (though please don’t be the person who breaks out a mechanical keyboard at the coffee shop), but it’s far from generous. I would have loved to see a Thunderbolt 4 option, or even a microSD card reader built into the side, but no dice.

It’s disappointing to see Microsoft unable or unwilling to find room for more ports in the Surface Laptop 4, especially on the larger 15-inch chassis; we said the same thing about the Surface Laptop 3, making Microsoft’s continued, almost Apple-like refusal to afford customers more options even more frustrating.

Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 (15-inch, AMD) review: Display

• 3:2 aspect ratio really shines on the 15-inch screen, great for productivity
• Too reflective, even at maximum brightness

Surface Laptops are known for the distinctive 3:2 aspect ratio of their displays, and on the big 15-inch Surface Laptop 4 that gives you a lot of vertical screen space to play with. The 15-inch, 2496 x 1664 screen is great for reading and working with documents, and if writing and editing was all I did on this display it would be nigh-unbeatable.

But when the work was done and it was time to relax, some flaws came into view. The 15-inch Surface Laptop 4 has a very glossy screen, just like its smaller sibling, and while using it I kept catching sight of myself and my surroundings reflected in the display. This is far from a deal-breaker but it is distracting, especially when you’re trying to get engrossed in a movie or TV show.

Whatever you’re watching should look pretty good on the larger Surface Laptop 4, and in my experience, reds and yellows pop out especially well. While watching Dredd, the reds and golds came through clear and vibrant, as did all the neon signs and yellow-green lighting filling the film’s dull grey and green interiors. However, I had a harder time picking out detail in background elements that were dark blue or green and lacked significant red/yellow tones, like the landscapes and cityscapes that commonly crop up in The Boys.

In our lab testing, the 15-inch Surface Laptop 4 display was able to achieve 109.8% of the sRGB color spectrum, better than both its predecessor (the Intel-equipped Surface Laptop 3 produced 104.5%) and the smaller 13-inch Surface Laptop 4 (108.3%). However, this Surface Laptop model pales in comparison to similarly-sized competing laptops like the XPS 15 (2020) and the 16-inch MacBook Pro (2019), which delivered 132.2% and 113.9%, respectively.

Our light gun tests revealed the screen can hit an average brightness level of 334.4 nits, which is reasonable and plenty bright enough for daily use, but far from impressive. It’s outclassed by both the smaller Surface Laptop 4 (which averaged 348.6 nits) and the 15-inch Surface Laptop 3, the Intel and AMD versions of which achieved 366 and 380 nits, respectively. Meanwhile, the gorgeous screens of the Dell XPS 15 (2020) and 16-inch MacBook Pro (2019) blow the Surface Laptop 4 out of the water in terms of brightness, delivering 434.2 nits and 429 nits of brightness (respectively).

The touchscreen on the 15-inch Surface Laptop 4 feels accurate and responsive. I never had a problem tapping and swiping my way around Windows, though fingerprints seem to show up especially well on the laptop's glossy screen.

Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 (15-inch, AMD) review: Keyboard and touchpad

• Smooth and accurate touchpad
• Keyboard is plenty comfortable enough, but it could be bigger

Typing on the 15-inch Surface Laptop 4 feels good, and I was able to reliably hit my average words per minute in typing tests using the laptop’s keyboard. The keys afford you enough travel to know you’ve activated one before you bottom out, and there’s plenty of room surrounding the keyboard for you to rest your hands and wrists on the deck.

In fact, there’s so much room that I wish Microsoft had found a way to make the keyboard a little bigger. Admittedly I have larger hands than the average person, but a larger keyboard on a laptop like this might have helped reduce cramping and hand strain for many. Instead, you’ve got a lot of clean metal flanking the keyboard and touchpad.

The touchpad itself is so reliable and easy to use that I never thought twice about it, which seems like exactly what you want out of an input device. Tapping and scrolling always felt natural, and the device reliably picked up all the Windows gestures I cared to use.

Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 (15-inch, AMD) review: Audio

• Loud, sharp sound for a laptop
• Small size belies the strong bass

This latest edition of the Surface Laptop features integrated Dolby Atmos technology and a design which is intended to deliver deeper, richer sound by emitting it from beneath the keyboard and bouncing it off the screen. 

I can’t tell you for sure how effective that design is, but I can say that music and sound effects sound great coming out of the 15-inch Surface Laptop 4. The drums and vocals of the Talking Heads’ “Burning Down the House” were crisp and clear when pumping out of the laptop’s speakers, and I could pick them out easily even when I walked down the hallway and put two rooms’ worth of distance between me and the device. 

Bill Withers’ vocals on “Ain’t No Sunshine” sounded as warm as they ought to, and the drums on Massive Attack’s “Angel” sound loud and punchy coming through the Surface Laptop 4’s speakers. Anecdotally, I think music — especially bass-heavy tracks -- sound a bit better coming out of the 15-inch Surface Laptop 4 compared to the 13-inch, which could be a matter of taste or simply a matter of the 15-inch being larger.

Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 (15-inch, AMD) review: Performance

• Very solid performance from AMD Ryzen 7 CPU and 16GB of RAM
• Respectable graphics performance can handle many mid-range games
• SSD's file transfer speed significantly behind Dell XPS 15 and 16-inch MacBook Pro

The 15-inch Surface Laptop 4 we reviewed arrived packing an AMD Ryzen 7 Microsoft Surface Edition CPU and 16GB of RAM, giving it more than enough power to tackle as many basic tasks as you can throw at it. It also delivered decent performance when gaming, running less demanding games (like Fights in Tight Spaces and Disco Elysium) with no trouble and hitting a respectable 20 to 30 frames per second in more graphically demanding games like Battletech. 

You won’t be playing Assassin’s Creed Valhalla or Cyberpunk 2077 at anything approaching a decent framerate on this laptop, but most PC games that are a few years old and/or not terribly graphically intensive should run reasonably well.

Let’s talk raw numbers: the 15-inch Surface Laptop 4 we reviewed earned a very good score of 6,748 in our Geekbench 5 performance test, outperforming the 10th Gen Intel Core i7-powered XPS 15 (6,174) but falling just a bit short of the 9th Gen Core i9-powered 16-inch MacBook Pro (7,250). That’s still some great performance out of the AMD Ryzen 7 CPU, and with 16GB of RAM, it should be more than capable of handling as many simultaneous windows, documents, browser tabs, and multimedia apps you care to run at any one time.

However, the onboard 512GB SSD wasn’t terribly speedy in our file transfer tests, which measure how quickly a drive can duplicate 25GB of multimedia files. The 15-inch Surface Laptop 4 transferred them at a rate of 372.49 MBps, which is better than the 287.2 MBps of its predecessor but still quite a bit below the 500 MBps average we usually see in premium laptops of this size. The 512GB SSD in the Dell XPS 15 (2020) put up a transfer rate of 708.9 MBps, for example, and it’s a bit disappointing to see Microsoft hasn’t been able to significantly improve the Surface Laptop’s SSD speeds.

In contrast, video editing should be reasonably efficient on the 15-inch Surface Laptop 4, given that our review unit was able to convert a 4K video to 1080p in 8 minutes 21 seconds, which is faster than the Dell XPS 15 (10:06) but slower than the 8 minutes flat it took the 16-inch MacBook Pro to complete the same task.

Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 (15-inch, AMD) review: Webcam

• Quick logins via Windows Hello facial recognition
• 720p webcam delivers decent images, but 1080p would be ideal

This latest Surface Laptop carries on the line’s tradition of sporting 720p webcams built into the bezel above the screen, and there’s not much to say about it except that it’s completely functional. 

However, at this stage in the Surface Laptop’s evolution — and at this late stage in the Zoom call smorgasbord that is the global COVID-19 pandemic — I’d really have liked to see Microsoft find a way to integrate a 1080p webcam into the device. As it stands, you’ll have to spring for one of the best webcams if you want to look your best in a video chat.

The IR sensor alongside the webcam is pretty quick and responsive when it comes time to log into your laptop with your face via Windows Hello biometric authentication. I occasionally had trouble getting it to recognize me if I had my face within 2 feet of the screen, but that’s more of a PEBCAK problem that always worked itself out once I backed a foot or so away.

Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 (15-inch, AMD) review: Battery life

• 15-inch AMD-powered Surface Laptop 4 lasted 12 hours on our web surfing test
• Though good, that's still nowhere near near Microsoft's 17.5-hour claim

Microsoft promised this new edition of the Surface Laptop would last longer on battery than its predecessors, up to 17.5 hours on a single charge for the 15-inch AMD Ryzen 7 configuration. After testing that configuration, I can say Microsoft has delivered on the first part of that promise, but fallen short on the latter half. In our battery tests, which put the laptop to work endlessly browsing web pages over Wi-Fi with the screen set to 150 nits’ brightness, the 15-inch AMD-equipped Surface Laptop 4 lasted a little more than 12 hours. 

That’s still very good battery performance, and it should give you enough juice to get through a full day of use without having to worry about carrying a charger. It’s also significantly better than the prior model, as the 15-inch AMD-equipped Surface Laptop 3 managed to last just eight hours in our battery tests.

The Surface Laptop 4 also outperformed a number of similarly-sized laptops in our battery tests, among them the Dell XPS 15 (2020), which only endured about 8 hours, and the 16-inch MacBook Pro (2019), which managed to last for 10 hours and 55 minutes. However, there are some important caveats to that comparison: the XPS 15 we tested doesn’t have the latest Tiger Lake CPUs, which are more battery-efficient, and it had a gorgeous power-draining 4K display. Meanwhile, the 16-inch MacBook Pro still hasn’t been refreshed with the latest power-sipping Apple Silicon, though that’s expected to happen in the latter half of 2021.

Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 (15-inch, AMD) review: Heat

• Laptop stays comfortably warm — unless you're playing intense games
• Quiet fans

In our heat tests (which involve streaming 15 minutes of HD video), our heat gun found the underside of the Surface Laptop 4 hit an average temperature of 94 degrees, topping out at 98 near the center (roughly opposite from the F6 key). 

But while your lap might get warm while doing heavy-duty computing on this machine, your hands should stay cool — in our testing the deck of the 15-inch Surface Laptop 4 never got hotter than 82.5 degrees.

In my experience, the 15-inch Surface Laptop 4 gets warm under heavy use — especially while trying to play graphically-demanding games — but it never gets hot enough to be uncomfortable in your lap. I never noticed much fan noise, either.

Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 (15-inch, AMD) review: Verdict

The AMD-powered 15-inch Surface Laptop 4 is a potent ultraportable for the productivity-minded, offering good performance and battery life in a slim, bloatware-free package.

The 3:2 display ratio really shines on the 15-inch screen, making it great for working through documents and browsing the web. It's a strong contender for one of the best laptops you can buy if you need to get work done, especially when you factor in the great sound quality, respectable battery life, and decent game performance.

Of course, there's still plenty of room for improvement. I'd love to see a Surface Laptop with thinner bezels, a more diverse selection of ports, and a better webcam. It would have been great to see Microsoft figure out a way to include the latest Ryzen 5000-series mobile CPUs, too. 

Still, the 15-inch Surface Laptop 4’s spacious screen, subtle design, and solid combination of performance and longevity ensure it will serve you well while you're working at home or on the go.

Windows 11 is scheduled for full release on October 5, and with two weeks to go Microsoft has a virtual press event to talk about "devices and Windows 11" planned for this Wednesday, September 22nd.

Given the timing, we expect this to be a showcase of new Surface devices that will debut alongside Windows 11, just in time for the fall shopping season. That means we could see the rumored Surface Pro 8, the reportedly redesigned Surface Book 4, the Surface Duo 2 and more unveiled during the event. 

• Surface Pro 7 gets huge $360 discount just before Microsoft Surface event
• How to watch the Microsoft Surface event 2021
• Plus: Microsoft Surface event 2021 live blog

The Surface showcase kicks off this Wednesday, September 22nd at 11 AM Eastern, 8 AM Pacific and Tom's Guide will be covering it live, so we'd love to see you in our liveblog that day. You should also be able to watch the stream in your browser via Microsoft's event page. 

As far as what to expect, we have some pretty good guesses as to what's on the agenda, but we'll have to wait until Wednesday to know for sure. Here's what we think Microsoft has in store for us at this big September event.

Microsoft Surface event 2021: Windows 11

Windows 11 is the most surefire prediction we can make because it's arguably Microsoft's biggest product launch in years. It's also mentioned directly in the event invitation, and sure to be running on every Microsoft device we see this week. 

Of course, because of that we also don't expect a lot of new Windows 11 info out of this week's event. Microsoft just did a big preview of the OS in June, and scores of early adopters have been running beta versions of Windows 11 for a while now, so we already know quite a bit about the next big thing in Windows.

Our Windows 11 guide has a full rundown of the changes we've seen thus far; highlights include a new Start menu with rounded corners, productivity boosters such as Snap Layouts for running multiple apps, new widgets and Microsoft Teams integration.

Microsoft probably won't spend a lot of time digging into Windows 11 features, though we hope it will give us more details about system requirements for the update. However, we believe the bulk of theis week's will focus on new hardware.

Microsoft Surface event 2021: Surface Book 4

Microsoft's promotion for this week's event might be a hint as to what we can expect to see unveiled. The teaser image on the event page bears a striking resemblance to a Surface laptop, which could be a hint that we're finally going to witness the debut of the Surface Book 4, which has been tipped for a radical redesign that could include a hinged screen, rather than the detachable display seen on the 2020 Surface Book 3. 

If that rumor pans out, the next Surface Book could end up being an intriguing device for artists and creators who want a 2-in-1 laptop/tablet that can be set up like an easel, a la the Surface Studio 2. 

Microsoft Surface event 2021: Surface Pro 8

The long-expected Surface Pro 8 could finally make an appearance as Microsoft's flagship Surface device for Windows 11.

Unlike the rumored Surface Book 4, we don't expect the next Surface Pro to look much different than the current version. Instead, look for Microsoft to make minor improvements like enlarging the display by thinning the bezels, bumping the CPU up to the latest 11th Gen Intel chips, and adding Thunderbolt 4 support.

We've also seen leaks which suggest the Surface Pro 8 will get a 120Hz display and a removable SSD, a la the Surface Laptop 4.

Microsoft Surface event 2021: Surface Duo 2

We've been expecting to see a Surface Duo 2 unveiled this year, and Microsoft's Surface event this week seems like a prime time for that to happen. We've already seen photos of this alleged Surface Duo 2 cropping up online that appear to reveal the same dual-screen clamshell design as the original Duo, albeit with an improved triple-camera array. 

If everything we've heard proves true, this Duo 2 will also have much better hardware under the hood than the original (underpowered) Duo, including a Snapdragon 888 processor, 5G support, and NFC communication for wireless payments.

Microsoft Surface event 2021: Surface Pro X2?

The Surface Pro X launched in 2019 to moderate fanfare, but this ARM-powered Surface 2-in-1 has since been regularly overshadowed by its more powerful siblings in the Surface family.

However, it's been a year since the launch of the 2020 Pro X, so this week's Surface event would be the obvious place for Microsoft to unveil an upgraded Surface Pro X. But if that happens, don't expect any major redesigns: at most, we're expecting to see a revamped Surface Pro X 2021 with updated components and a better display, perhaps with the same 120Hz refresh rate we expect to see on the new Surface Pro 8.

Microsoft Surface event 2021: Surface Go 3

Last but not least, there's an outside chance we'll see a new Surface Go tablet unveiled at this week's Microsoft event. We liked the Surface Go 2 quite a bit, naming it one of the best tablets you can buy thanks to its impressive battery life, 1080p webcam, and impressive screen, so we're excited to see what a follow-up might look like.

If we do end up seeing a successor unveiled this week, we expect the Surface Go 3 to be a modest upgrade over the current model. Don't expect any flashy redesigns or new features; upgraded internals (including potentially at least an 11th Gen Intel Core i3 option) and an improved screen are likely the best we can hope for. But of course, hope springs eternal, and we'd love to see up to an 11th Gen Intel Core i5 CPU option, as well as more RAM and storage options. 

Microsoft Surface event: Outlook

Of course, We'll have to wait and see what Microsoft has planned for its September 22 Surface showcase. We expect to see some or all of the devices outlined above, but there's also the potential that we'll see something totally unexpected. To find out, stay tuned for our coverage of all things Microsoft.

• More: The best Windows 11 laptops so far

Microsoft just revealed the Surface Pro 7+ laptop, which isn't exactly the Surface Pro 8 we were hoping for — but it does offer some of what we expected. For starters, it's got 11th-Gen Intel Tiger Lake processors. Also, it's got removable storage, which has been seen in other Surface devices.

It seems that Microsoft has fixed the battery-life issue, as its claims are stronger than they were for the Surface Pro 7. So will it have a chance at making our best laptops list? Let's see how this Surface, which is meant for the education and enterprise worlds, looks on paper.

• Check out our Surface Pro 7 review
• We've found the best cheap laptop deals

Microsoft Surface Pro 7+ price and release date

Starting at $899.99, the Surface Pro 7+ — which The Verge says is coming out on January 15 — may not be sold directly by Microsoft.  The one catch about the Surface Pro 7+ being targeted at the business and education worlds is that you'll need to "contact a Microsoft authorized reseller," according to Microsoft's own product page. That could change when the Surface Pro 7+ comes out. 

That $899 price is attached to a configuration with an 11th-Gen Intel Core i3 CPU, 8GB RAM and 128GB of SSD storage. Three other configurations are listed: $1,149 bumps you to a Core i5 CPU and LTE connectivity; $1,649 doubles the i5 model's memory and storage to 16GB and 256GB; and the $2,799 model has a Core i7 processor, 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. No Type Cover keyboard is included in any configuration.

Microsoft Surface Pro 7+ specs

Microsoft Surface Pro 7+ design

With one interesting exception, the Microsoft Surface Pro 7+ looks exactly like the Pro 7. It has the same 11.5 x 7.9 x 0.3-inch chassis, the same aluminum look and the same chunky bezels. 

But because it starts at 1.7 pounds and goes to 1.8 pounds — a tad heavier than the 1.6-pound Pro 7 — there's reason to be optimistic about Microsoft giving it better battery life than the Pro 7, which we'll get to below.

The other noteworthy thing about the Surface Pro 7+ is that it's borrowed one of the cooler features from the Surface Pro X and Surface Laptop 3: you can remove the primary storage drive and replace it with another one.

Hidden on the back right corner of the tablet is a removable door for the 2.5-inch SSD. Windows Central says it can be opened with a SIM tool, and you can unscrew its Torx T3 screw swap out the drive for security reasons or upgrades. 

Microsoft's product page doesn't agree, with a footnote explaining "Hard drive is not user removable. Hard drive is only removable by skilled technician following Microsoft provided instructions."

Microsoft Surface Pro 7+ battery life

One of the biggest issues with the Surface Pro 7 was its short battery life, which lasted only 7 hours and 52 minutes on our web-surfing based test. That was notably shorter than the "up to 10.5 hours" that Microsoft claimed.

The Surface Pro 7+ looks to fix this, as Microsoft is now boasting "up to 15 hours" of life, nearly 50% more endurance than its Pro 7 claim. 

How is that being accomplished? While Microsoft doesn't note the battery size for the Surface Pro 7+ on its own site, The Verge notes that Microsoft has upgraded the battery's capacity from 46.5Wh to 50.4Wh. This was possible, Microsoft told the outlet, because it had rearranged the internal components. 

Microsoft Surface Pro 7+ outlook

The Surface Pro 7+ may have an aging look, but otherwise it sounds like what the Surface Pro 8 should be. That is annoying, because everyone — not just business and education buyers — should be able to get this notebook if they so choose. I doubt the average consumer wants to "contact a Microsoft authorized reseller," and nor should they have to.

We hope to test out the Surface Pro 7+ soon and see if it's as good as Microsoft claims it is. If so, then that raises our hopes for the Surface Pro 8.

The Microsoft Surface Pro 7 improves on one of the best 2-in-1 laptops around with strong 10th Gen Intel performance and a long-overdue USB-C port. But Microsoft's flagship detachable hasn't evolved significantly over the Surface Pro 6, and its battery life takes a step back from the previous-gen model.

The Surface Pro 7's sharp display, ample power and excellent optional Type Cover keyboard make it one of the best laptops you can buy if you want a detachable. But if you can live without USB-C and the latest Intel CPUs, you can get the Surface Pro 6 for much less or consider alternatives such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7.

Still, if you want a solid detachable with good performance and features, check out our full Microsoft Surface Pro 7 review below. 

Microsoft Surface Pro 7: Price and configurations

The Microsoft Surface Pro 7 starts at $749, which gets you an Intel Core i3 processor, 4GB of RAM, 128GB of storage and your choice of a Platinum or Black color scheme. Stepping up to the $899 config nets you a Core i5 CPU and doubles the RAM to 8GB.

There are a variety of higher-end configurations available, all the way up to a $2,299 model with a Core i7 CPU, 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. The Platinum color offers seven configuration options, while the Black version has only three: a $1,199 model (Core i5, 8GB, 256GB), a $1,499 option (Core i7, 16GB, 256GB) and a $1,899 variation (Core i7, 16GB, 512GB).

It's worth noting that the Surface Pro 7 goes on sale fairly frequently now that it's been out for a while. We've frequently seen nearly all of the configurations discounted by as much as $200 on Microsoft's own site, as well as occasional deals at major retailers. 

We reviewed the $1,119 Surface pro 7 in Platinum, which also came with a Surface Pro Signature Type Cover ($159) and a Surface Pen ($99) for a total of $1,377. The keyboard and pen are sold separately, so you'll be paying at least $1,007 to use the Surface Pro 7 at its full potential.

Microsoft Surface Pro 7: Design

Microsoft hasn't reinvented the wheel here. Like its predecessors, the Microsoft Surface Pro 7 is a somewhat chunky tablet that can transform into a laptop thanks to its rear-facing kickstand and optional Signature Type Cover keyboard. We tested the Platinum model, though I'm partial to the sleek Black variation.

My biggest design gripe with the Surface Pro 7 is that its roughly 0.5-inch-thick bezels look positively massive for a laptop or tablet in 2019, especially compared with those of the iPad Pro and the Dell XPS 13 2-in-1, the latter of which has a barely noticeable 5.2mm edge. The Surface Pro X, with its thin bezels, looks much more modern by comparison.

While the Pro 7's 0.3-inch-thin design feels top-heavy when you're using it in conjunction with a keyboard (a problem that plagues many 2-in-1 laptops), there's still a lot to like about its versatility.

The kickstand rotates from 0 to 165 degrees, so you can easily prop it up for laptop use or tilt it slightly above desk level for when you're drawing or taking notes. The Type Cover keyboard attaches seamlessly to the Pro 7's underside, and the optional Surface Pen can attach to the side of the tablet magnetically (though I wish there were a dedicated pen dock, like that of the Surface Pro X's keyboard).

I didn't have too much trouble using the Pro 7 in laptop mode on my lap, though the top-heaviness does make it a bit wobbly. Still, the latest Surface Pro makes for a solid road warrior at just 0.3 inches thin and 1.7 pounds (2.4 pounds with a keyboard attached). It's just a tiny bit thicker and heavier than the iPad Pro, and notably lighter than dedicated clamshell convertibles like the Dell XPS 2-in-1 (0.5 inches, 2.9 pounds).

Microsoft Surface Pro 7: Ports

The Microsoft Surface Pro 7 gets points for finally including a USB-C port, though the overall connections are scant on this machine. Aside from USB-C, you get a USB-A port (handy for legacy peripherals), a headphone jack, a microSD card slot and a Surface Connect port for juicing up.

While I'm glad the Surface Pro has finally adopted USB-C, I was bummed to discover that you can't charge the PC via that port should you lose the Surface Connect charger. It's also worth noting that this is a USB 3.1 port and not Thunderbolt 3, so you don't get the fast 40GB/s transfer rates of the latter.

Microsoft Surface Pro 7: Display

The Surface Pro 7's 12-inch, 2736 x 1824 display looked rich and colorful during my testing, whether I was surfing the web, crunching away at work or watching videos.

In the Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker trailer, the red and blue of Kylo Ren and Rey's lightsabers popped nicely on the Surface Pro 7's panel, and a group shot of the Resistance crew gathering in the Millennium Falcon looked sharp and colorful (if a bit oversaturated). I could make out every tiny detail on the Falcon during a space battle scene, and I could clearly see every reflection emanating from C-3PO's gold body as he delivered some heartbreaking dialogue.

The Surface Pro 7 notched 395 nits of brightness on our light meter, which is better than the average laptop but behind last year's Surface Pro 6 (408 nits) and the iPad Pro (484 nits). Our Pro 7 color tests told a similar story, as it reproduced a solid 97% of the sRGB color gamut but failed to top the Pro 6 (136%) or the Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 (113%).

Microsoft Surface Pro 7: Audio

The Surface Pro 7's speakers are fine for a short YouTube or Netflix binge, but they're too quiet to help you get immersed in your favorite music and movies. Due to their overall low volume and lack of low end, the Pro 7's speakers completely dulled the powerful metal-pop of Issues' "Tapping Out." While the guitars and vocals came through cleanly, there wasn't enough bass or drums to make me want to bang my head.

The bouncy radio pop of Taylor Swift's "Cruel Summer" fell similarly flat on the Surface Pro 7. While Swift's airy vocals were mostly audible, I could once again barely hear any bass, and the speakers' low volume didn't do justice to the normally bright string arrangement.

Microsoft Surface Pro 7: Keyboard, touchpad and pen

We tested the Microsoft Surface Pro 7 with Microsoft's $159 Surface Pro Signature Type Cover, which transforms the tablet into a bona fide laptop while doubling as a wonderfully soft fabric covering when closed up. I love the extra flair that our Burgundy model gives our Pro 7, though you can also get the Type Cover in Platinum, Black and Cobalt Blue to personalize the slate to your style.

I found the Type Cover's keys a joy to type on, thanks to their deep travel and springy feedback. I blazed through the 10fastfingers.com typing test at 103 words per minute (a bit above my usual rate) virtually error-free and felt totally comfortable no matter how fast I hammered away. 

The 4-inch-wide touchpad provided plenty of real estate for my fingers and offered a satisfying click, while the soft-touch wrist rests made it easy to type comfortably. The lack of a Ctrl key on the right side annoyed me, as I'm used to relying on that key for copying, pasting and general formatting. But otherwise, this keyboard cover is so good that I wish it came with every Surface Pro 7 by default and wasn't a separate add-on.

The optional $99 Surface Pen made it easy for me to jot down a quick to-do list in Sticky Notes. It reacted naturally to different levels of pressure when I doodled in Paint 3D using a virtual pencil. I really like the programmable shortcuts that the Pen's eraser-like button offers, such as long-pressing to pull up Sticky Notes or performing a quick click to open Microsoft Whiteboard.

Microsoft Surface Pro 7: Performance

Packing an Intel Core i5-1035G4 CPU (a mouthful of a number to let you know this is 10th gen) and 8GB of RAM, our Surface Pro 7 handled my usual multitasking crunch without a sweat. I didn't encounter any major slowdown during day-to-day use, even as I jumped between more than a dozen Chrome tabs, streamed five videos across Twitch and YouTube, and hammered away in Slack and Google Docs.

The Pro 7 performed similarly well on benchmarks, scoring a strong 17,225 on the Geekbench 4 general performance test. That's a big bump from last year's 8th Gen Core i5-powered Pro 6 (13,761) and roughly on a par with the latest 12.9-inch iPad Pro and the Dell XPS 13 2-in-1. 

The 256GB SSD in Microsoft's detachable transferred about 5GB of files at a decent 267MB per second, again trumping the Pro 6 (203) but falling behind the Dell's 512GB SSD (463).

The Surface Pro 7 isn't exactly on par with one of our best gaming laptops, but its integrated Intel Iris Plus graphics can handle non-intensive games at decent settings. The 2-in-1 ran racing game Dirt 3 at 36 frames per second, which is perfectly playable but not quite as smooth as the upward of 47 fps we saw from the XPS 13 2-in-1.

Microsoft Surface Pro 7: Battery life

While the Surface Pro 7 will get you through most of a workday on a charge, you'll want to have a portable charger handy for longer trips. Microsoft's 2-in-1 endured through 7 hours and 52 minutes of Wi-Fi web surfing on our battery test, which is down significantly from last year's Surface Pro 6 (9:20) and far behind the iPad Pro (13:14) and the Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 (10:57).

Microsoft Surface Pro 7: Verdict

The Microsoft Surface Pro 7 delivers big on performance and display quality, complete with a responsive screen for note-taking and drawing and a convertible design that really shines with the excellent Type Cover keyboard. The introduction of USB-C is a much-needed change, and the Pro 7's design remains as travel-friendly as ever.

However, with chunky bezels and minimal changes since last year's model, the Surface Pro is starting to look dated compared to the competition. If you're cool with iOS, the iPad Pro 2020 is a great alternative; same goes for the Galaxy Tab S7 for Android fans. 

The Surface Pro 7's battery life is underwhelming, and you'll actually get more juice out of the Pro 6, which is still available for decent prices at many top retailers. If you want the fastest Surface Pro currently available, the Pro 7 still delivers most of what matters. But you can get better battery life — and more-modern designs — if you're willing to consider some alternatives.