The Surface Laptop is the pinnacle of design

Just a few years ago, the idea that Microsoft could be one of the most exciting PC makers around would have seemed insane. The first Surface didn’t inspire much hope. (I distinctly remember wanting to throw it out of a window during my review). But, like any wise newcomer, Microsoft learned and improved with every new Surface. The year 2015 was when it all came together, with the excellent Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book. (That the upcoming Surface Pro looks almost exactly like its predecessor is a testament to great design.) And earlier this year, we got the Surface Studio, a unique attempt at reinventing the all-in-one PC.

With all of that innovation, the idea of a traditional Surface notebook seems, well, a bit boring. But the Surface Laptop is anything but. It might not have the flashy features of its siblings, but it’s far more focused on one thing: being a great notebook. Not everyone wants a hip hybrid tablet. Many people just want a portable, well-built and powerful machine with great battery life for getting all of their work done. In that respect, the Surface Laptop delivers in spades. The only problem? It’s powered by Windows 10 S, Microsoft’s more restrictive OS meant for schools, which could end up frustrating plenty of consumers.

Pricing and the competition

Price-wise, the Surface Laptop is on par with similar ultraportables. It starts at $999 with a Core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. We’d recommend bumping up to the $1,299 model with 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. But if you really want to splurge, you can get a Core i7, with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, for $2,199. For comparison, the Surface Pro starts at $799 with weaker processors, though you can easily spec it up to the same hardware in the Laptop.

As for non-Microsoft notebooks, the Surface Laptop competes directly against Dell’s XPS 13 (starting at $899), our go-to Windows ultraportable for the past few years. HP also has a solid contender with its Spectre x360, which also features a screen that can be rotated around to be used as a tablet.

Wrap-up

While the Surface Laptop might not seem special on paper, I appreciate how all of Microsoft’s design choices came together as I used it. Its metallic case and Alcantara covering beg to be touched; the keyboard didn’t slow me down; and its battery life is impressive. It’s the sort of laptop that makes you wonder, “Why can’t everyone do this?”

Microsoft set out to make the most refined notebook it could with the Surface Laptop, and for the most part it succeeded. It’s sleek and powerful and has great battery life. It might seem like a step back for Microsoft, after trying to promote new twists on notebooks over the past few years. But it’s more of a realization: There’s still a huge demand for traditional laptops. And Microsoft just showed how it’s done.