Microsoft’s conventional laptop, the Surface Laptop, is in its fifth generation. The newly announced Surface Laptop 5 provides mostly iterative updates to the Surface Laptop 4, with the biggest change being what it no longer offers. The update to Intel’s 12th-gen CPUs is welcome, while the move away from AMD’s Ryzen lineup reduces potential performance and the usefulness of the laptop to creators.
Even so, the Surface Laptop 5 is an attractive, well-built laptop that is likely to be excellent for productivity workers. I went hands-on with the laptop at Microsoft’s Surface launch event in Los Angeles, and here are some initial impressions.
Specs
Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 | |
Dimensions | 13.5-inch: 12.1 inches x 8.8 inches x 0.57 inches 15-inch: 13.4 inches x 9.6 inches x 0.58 inches |
Weight | 13.5-inch: 2.8 pounds 15-inch: 3.44 pounds |
Processor | Intel Core i5-1235U Intel Core i7-1255U |
Graphics | Intel Iris Xe |
RAM | Up to 32GB LPDDR5x |
Display | 13.5-inch 3:2 PixelSense 2,256 x 1,504 IPS 15.0-inch 3:2 PixelSense 2,496 x 1,664 IPS |
Storage | Up to 1TB PCie SSD |
Touch | Yes |
Ports | 1 x USB-C with Thunderbolt 4 1 x USB-A 3.1 1 x 3.5mm audio jack 1 x Surface Connect port |
Wireless | Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.1 |
Webcam | 720p with infrared camera for Windows 11 Hello |
Operating system | Windows 11 |
Battery | Up to 18 hours (13.5-inch) Up to 17 hours (15-inch) |
Price | 13.5-inch: $1,000+ 15-inch: $1,300+ |
On the consumer side, the
The 15-inch model has an entry level price of $1,100 for a Core i5, 8GB of
The design works, but it’s a bit long in the tooth
It seems silly to complain too much about the
The construction remains just as solid as all Surface products, with a metal chassis that resists bending, flexing, and twisting. The hinge can be opened with one hand and avoids screen wobble, giving it a quality feel that’s reminiscent of Apple’s MacBooks. The chassis is deeper than most due to the taller 3:2 display (which is great for productivity) and large bezels, but otherwise, it’s a nicely sized laptop whether in the 13-inch or 15-inch class.
While the 13.5-inch iption is relatively thin at 0.57 inches and light at 2.8 pounds, the 15-inch model is among the thinnest laptops currently on the market at 0.58 inches (and the thinnest 15-inch machine) while being reasonably light at 3.44 pounds.
The
Connectivity is mixed. The single USB-C port with
A significant switch in CPUs
The most significant update to the
The switch away from AMD, which negates a possible upgrade to Ryzen 5000 or 6000 CPUs, means that the Surface Laptop 15 is now intended specifically for productivity workers and not so much for creators.
For the 13.5-inch model, that’s not a significant potential downgrade. For the 15-inch model, though, it means the
Microsoft predicts up to 18 hours of battery life with the 13.5-inch model and 17 hours with the 15-inch. Microsoft doesn’t list the battery size in its specs, but the Surface Laptop 4 had 45.8 watt-hours. We’ll confirm battery life when we review the
Minor multimedia upticks
The
The 13.5-inch and 15-inch 3:2 PixelSense IPS displays are just as sharp as always with 201 pixels-per-inch (PPI) resolution.
The display quality is likely unchanged from the Surface Laptop 4, which provided solid brightness, average color width with good accuracy, and just under our 1,000:1 contrast ratio threshold. That would make it a good but not spectacular display, which we’ll confirm once we can apply our colorimeter.
Audio remains the same with dual stereo Omnisonic speakers with Dolby Atmos support located under the keyboard rather than on the sides or bottom of the chassis. We were impressed with the audio in the Surface Laptop 4 and expect the same here, although the Dell XPS 15 is the leader in 15-inch laptop sound quality.
It loses a lot and gains a little
Dropping AMD’s Ryzen processors limits the
There are many great alternatives, including the Dell XPS 13, HP Spectre x360 13.5, and Dell XPS 15. Still, the
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