Microsoft Surface Laptop review
A carpeted Chromebook lookalike that impresses in almost every way
Microsoft Surface Laptop review – in pictures
Microsoft’s Surface Laptop is a brilliant creation. A traditional style laptop with the looks and performance to rival Apple’s MacBook, it’s also the world’s first device powered by the new Windows 10 S – which means it can only run apps you’ve downloaded from the Windows Store. But while that might make it sound like a jazzed-up Chromebook with a high pound price tag, the Surface Laptop is actually one of the standout computers you can buy right now. Oh, and it’s partly made of carpet.
SURFACE LAPTOP DESIGN: CARPETED CLASS
Perhaps the most preposterous aspect of the Surface Laptop is its design. Laid flat and stripped of its mirrored Microsoft logo, it could pretty much pass for a MacBook Air: it’s got that same all-metal shell, is a slimline 14.48mm and weighs a nimble 1.2kg. What’s strange about the Surface Laptop is the carpet-like material that runs around its trackpad and keyboard – and it makes for a surprisingly classy finish.
SURFACE LAPTOP DISPLAY: SHARP AND BRIGHT
Whether you’re slaving away on a dissertation deadline or dossing about with a new Netflix season, this device has your back: a bountiful 2256 x 1504 resolution ensures that text and images are pin-sharp on the Surface Laptop’s display, while colours are both bright and accurate. Contrast could be a little sharper in dark scenes, but this is still an awesome screen for a sub-£1000 device.
SURFACE LAPTOP KEYBOARD: TYPIST’S DREAM
The keyboard you do get is really quite something. Its keys are lovely and chunky, and they have the same deliciously long travel as those on the Surface Book, which has one of the best keyboards around. If you love the clickety-clack sound you get when cranking out a wild spew of words to a deadline then the Surface Laptop has that it spades.
SURFACE LAPTOP OS: STREAMLINED
As a streamlined version of Windows 10, Windows 10 S remains the same slick and easy-to-use OS that first launched almost two years ago. Thanks to the Start menu’s return, the speedy Edge browser and a slew of more minor improvements, Windows 10 machines might be lacking in ‘wow factor’ but they’re miles ahead of their Windows 8-powered predecessors.
SURFACE LAPTOP OS: PLENTY OF APPS
More importantly for the Surface Laptop, the Microsoft Store actually has a decent selection of apps to download now. The likes of BT Sport, Instagram and Fitbit are all available, while owners of the Laptop also get a year’s free subscription to Office 365 as standard. Can’t find the app you want? Many widely used services such as Slack, Amazon Prime Video and Spotify can be accessed through the Edge browser.
SURFACE LAPTOP POWER & BATTERY: ULTRA-EFFICIENT
Although the Surface Laptop isn’t built with power users in mind, it is available with Intel’s latest 7th Generation Core i5 and i7 processors i.e. the Kaby Lake chips you’ll find in Apple’s latest MacBooks. The real reason why this Surface Laptop uses those latest chips? Efficiency. You should be able to be leave the Laptop’s charging kit at home and tour your hometown’s coffee shops for the day before needing a battery top-up.
SURFACE LAPTOP VERDICT: HITS THE SWEET SPOT
From its classy carpeted aesthetic to its new Windows 10 S operating system, there’s a lot that’s different about this Surface – but this is all to its credit. Want to get your work done? You’ve got both the apps for that and ample battery life to be getting on with. Want to unwind? For a simple spot of Netflix, the Laptop’s screen is a beaut. Whether you need to spend such so much to flit between those two uses is worth considering, but few other premium laptops hit this sweet spot quite so well.
