The Microsoft Surface Laptop might be the most important laptop of the decade with a host of significant changes
This week at the Microsoft Copilot+ PC Showcase, Microsoft unveiled the Surface Laptop, which may be one of the decade’s most significant devices, if not more so than the original M1-powered Apple MacBook Air, which debuted in 2020.
Despite being nearly four years old, that MacBook Air model, which I’ve long argued is still the finest laptop for most users, sparked a revolution in interest regarding incorporating Arm processors into personal computers.
Long utilized in mobile devices due to their remarkable energy efficiency, Arm chips have lacked the processing capacity necessary for a complete desktop or laptop operating system.
Microsoft, which has labored to make Windows-on-Arm a viable product but has largely failed to do so competitively, even with its more restrictive Windows S-Mode devices, is the last company to know this, let alone a current-generation MacBook powered by Apple Silicon.
Microsoft, on the other hand, has collaborated with Apple on the development of the new Qualcomm Snapdragon X SoC, which will serve as the Windows PC’s response to the M-series and finally bring the best Windows laptops’ battery life, compatibility and performance to par with the best MacBooks — all while preserving the qualities that make Windows the most popular PC operating system in the world.
The culmination of this will occur within the Microsoft Surface Laptop. There are numerous reasons why Microsoft’s attempt to dethrone the MacBook Air and even the 14-inch MacBook Pro with Apple M3 or M3 Pro could very well prevail is successful. If this occurs, it will have far-reaching consequences that affect subsequent generations of laptops for many years.
Pre-orders for the Microsoft Surface Laptop are being accepted, with shipments commencing on June 18, 2024.
MICROSOFT SURFACE LAPTOP: PRICE & AVAILABILITY
The 13.8-inch model is available for a starting price of $999.99/£1,049.99/AU$1,899, which includes a Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus processor, 16GB RAM, and 256GB SSD storage.
The 15-inch model features a Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite processor, 16GB RAM, and 256GB SSD and costs a minimum of $1,299.99.
The 13.8-inch model is available in various configurations, but for $2,399.99/£2,049, it is equipped with a Snapdragon X Elite processor, 64GB RAM, and 1TB SSD storage. In Australia, the 13.8-inch variant is limited to 32GB RAM and 1TB SSD for AU$3,399.
In the United States, the 15-inch model is limited to 64GB and 1TB for $2,499.99, while in the United Kingdom and Australia, it is priced at £2,149/AU$3,699 for 32GB RAM and 1TB SSD.
This places it on par with the MacBook Air 15-inch in terms of entry-level affordability, surpassing the MacBook Air 13-inch with M3.
At maximum specifications, the price of the new Surface Laptop will either surpass or approximate that of the most expensive MacBook Air.
MICROSOFT SURFACE LAPTOP: DESIGN
Many of the finest Ultrabooks on the market have attempted, with varying degrees of success, to replicate the MacBook Air’s refined design in various ways.
After extensively benchmarking the latest MacBook models, including the 13-inch MacBook Air, 15-inch MacBook Air, and 14-inch MacBook Pro, I have regarded that laptop with the most contemplation of any device.
Consequently, the new Surface Laptop is a sight to behold because while the similarities are notable, the distinctions are equally so.
To commence, it was the most aesthetically pleasing laptop displayed by Microsoft.
Furthermore, upon observing the Sapphire iteration of the 13.8-inch Surface Laptop (and Surface Pro), it becomes abundantly clear how miserably Apple handled the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro in the past few years.
A few years ago, I went through a hot take tailspin from which I have yet to recover due to Apple’s insistence on maintaining its agonizingly dull Silver and Space Gray after nearly a decade while desaturating its Rose Gold into ‘Starlight’ and introducing an off-black ‘Midnight’ that is essentially Space Gray with the brightness slider pushed far to the dark side.
The 13.8-inch Surface Laptop resembles what the current design of the MacBook Air ought to be, but it is not.
You can select colors other than Sapphire, such as Dune, Platinum, or Black. Unfortunately, the 15-inch Surface Laptop is only available in those two hues, which are reasonably standard for Windows laptops.
Nevertheless, while the Dune colorway imparts a distinct and appealing warm-peach aesthetic to the device, it is less eye-catching than the Sapphire.
However, there are other factors to consider as well.
The touchscreen display, available in 13.8- or 15-inch sizes, is visually stunning and provides vivid colors due to its extensive RGB color gamut.
The extent to which the Surface Laptop captures the sRGB gamut remains unknown until we conduct exhaustive testing; therefore, we will have to wait until we obtain one to determine this for ourselves.
With two USB 4 Type-C ports that provide power and display output for up to three 4K monitors, one USB 3.1 Type-A port for legacy devices, a headphone jack, and a microSD card slot if you opt for the 15-inch Surface laptop, this thin and lightweight laptop does a respectable job in terms of ports.
The 13.8-inch Surface Laptop is constructed from anodized aluminum and weighs just under 3 pounds (1.4 kilograms).
Its dimensions are 0.69 inches at its widest point along the rear and just under one foot in length.
The dimensions of the 15-inch model are as follows: it weighs 3.67 pounds (1.66 kilograms), is 12.96 inches (329 mm) in size, and has a thickness of 0.72 inches.
(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)
Despite being Full HD, the webcam does not have a tangible privacy shutter. Honestly, this could be the only criticism I have regarding the design of this laptop.
This is not a minor issue; this should be a standard laptop feature by 2024. Nevertheless, the image quality is excellent.
It would be highly intriguing to compare the Surface Laptop and the MacBook Air in person, as they might be sold in some retailers to determine which device is superior.
Microsoft Surface Laptop: Specifications
Microsoft Surface Laptop: Performance
I cannot provide a comprehensive evaluation of the Surface Laptop’s performance due to the prohibition on benchmark execution and application installation.
Nevertheless, I had the opportunity to experiment in areas where I could, and the system felt exceptionally responsive, unlike previous Windows on Arm notebooks.
I also had the opportunity to experiment with the Cocreator tool in Microsoft Paint, which involved sketching an image in response to text prompts.
The iterative process is executed exceptionally efficiently for a laptop lacking a dedicated GPU, and the result was reasonable.
Individuals seeking to create mockups of graphic designs or illustrate documents will undoubtedly find this function beneficial.
The purported 45 trillion operations per second (TOPS) performance of the Hexagon NPU is approximately 20% faster on paper than the brand-new Apple M4 chip and 2.5 times faster than the Apple M3 Max’s NPU.
However, I was unable to test any of this personally.
Based on the limited information I could gather from the demonstrations, on-device AI operations are significantly quicker; however, I cannot confirm this until we receive the Surface Laptop for testing purposes.
One aspect that captured my interest was Recall, a novel feature introduced by Copilot that generates a record of your device usage.
While experimenting with Cocreator in Paint to create a space illustration inspired by the given text prompt “black hole sucking in a space station within a nebula” (accompanied by a very rough sketch), Cocreator performed admirably.
It approached my vision reasonably accurately (though it also introduced some liberties).
A notification-like window appears when you select the recently added Recall icon from the taskbar in Windows 11, providing direct access to Microsoft’s most recent utility for retracing your computing activities.
This interface allows users to ascertain their actions, views, and referrals, similar to how the history of a web browser records the websites they visit to revisit them at a later time.
Upon selecting that icon, the Recall panel containing the sketch I had imported into Paint earlier in the afternoon was displayed.
Recall initially contained limited content because these were all brand-new devices with fresh installations.
However, as you utilize your computer, snapshots of your past actions will accumulate, allowing you to navigate through the past like your browser history currently operates, albeit on a much larger scale.
Although I am generally an AI skeptic because numerous contemporary AI tools and systems are profoundly flawed and immoral, Recall does not bother me.
While indeed monitoring your activities, this feature remains confined to your device. In many respects, it functions as an organic progression from the web history, File Explorer history, or any other comparable application.
This feature will be heavily utilized once individuals become accustomed to it. This will not be as problematic of a situation as many critics portray it.
MICROSOFT SURFACE LAPTOP: EARLY VERDICT
Recently, I have been less enthusiastic about a laptop. I inquired as much as possible regarding the efficacy of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Plus and X Elite chips, but I received no response. I asked each of them.
However, a Microsoft representative at the showcase expressed that the company is not merely specific about these processors’ performance; they encouraged me to test them by throwing everything I could at them.
I’ve previously encountered PR representatives uttering similar statements, and they typically do so with an almost transparent display of arrogance.
Everyone says that, even though we know it is empty rhetoric. I did not get that impression when they discussed the Surface Laptop. Not in the least.
I regarded it as a challenge or daring to demonstrate that the Surface Laptop was superior and equal to the M3 and M4 from Apple.
Beyond the iMac, the Surface Laptop is the most fashionable and intriguing product that Apple is currently developing.
It possesses the same level of user comfort, portability, and lightweight as a MacBook, and it is constructed from the ground up with industry-leading accessibility features that Apple has wholly disregarded in its hardware.
It is premature to pass judgment once I learn whether Microsoft has accomplished all of this, as much will depend on whether it has genuinely resolved all of the Windows on Arm issues that have hindered it from maintaining pace with Apple over the past four years.
It will be several weeks before I know whether Microsoft has succeeded.
On Monday, however, as I made my way toward the showcase area after the press announcement, I encountered two Microsoft employees jubilating over this announcement.
One dynamically exclaimed to the other, “We finally arrived!” While contemplating the exchange I overheard, I cannot pinpoint the precise location of “here,” but I cannot shake the sensation that a significant transformation is imminent.
