Copilot Plus is a Microsoft initiative aimed at making “Made for AI” laptops mainstream and desirable. The Surface Laptop 7th Edition is also from Microsoft, effectively making it the first official Copilot Plus laptop.
But is it also The best laptopThe Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 is probably the cutest of all these AI laptops — of which there are so many now Snapdragon X Elite-toting options – and it has the best-feeling touchpad, a decent keyboard, and an established almost timeless design that continues to impress.
However, like other Surface lines, Microsoft charges a lot for upgrades — making it less expensive than rivals such as lenovo yoga 7x If you’re not happy with the (admittedly perfectly serviceable) base spec. Microsoft’s choice of screens, while great in their own right, doesn’t match the sharp OLED displays found elsewhere.
Surface Laptop 7th Edition: Price and availability
More than any other laptop in this category, the appeal of a Microsoft Surface laptop varies depending on the model you choose. Yes, even if they all look pretty much the same.
There are 13.8-inch and 15-inch laptops, and I’m reviewing the smaller version. It starts at £1049 ($999 / AU$1899), with the 15-inch model costing £1349 ($1299 / AU$2399). However, the price difference isn’t as big as it seems, as the 13.8-inch Surface has a lower spec floor.
This also points to the biggest problem with the Surface Laptop 7: Microsoft charges too much for upgrades. The entry-level model has a Snapdragon XPlus CPU and 256GB of storage. You’ll have to pay £200 ($200 / AU$300) just for an additional 256GB of storage, which is too much.
Microsoft Surface 7 review: Design
(Image courtesy: Future)
It might be part of a new breed of Surface Laptop, but if you’ve ever laid eyes on the Surface Laptop 7, it’ll look familiar.
Microsoft’s Surface Laptop 7 style has finally slimmed down the space around the screen this time around. It’s a slight modernization of an already great design. Microsoft likes its rounded corners, which extend to the display, making this Surface look more soft-friendly than most laptops.
It comes in gold, as seen here, or even blue if you want an unconventional color. But if you prefer a plainer look, black and silver versions are also available. And the overall build impressions are fantastic — just a little different from all the other CoPilot Plus laptops we’ve used, perhaps. Samsung Galaxy Book Edge,
(Image courtesy: Future)
The Surface Laptop 7 is incredibly sturdy – and in a very positive way. The screen part feels very sturdy, and there’s almost zero flex in the base. Microsoft aimed for a MacBook-grade feel with the Surface line, and it’s achieved it. There’s also almost zero screen wobble, even though you can open this laptop with a single finger – a paper-thin slit but still a generally good feature in even the most expensive laptops.
So, yes, unless you want something that looks new and unique, you will love the exterior design of the Surface Laptop. And the 13.8-inch model is a portability dream, weighing in at 1.34kg. Sure, it’s not the lightest model ever, but I liked that the heat-grill-free bottom means there’s no worry of cooling getting disrupted while working with the laptop on your knees or in bed.
Microsoft Surface 7 review: Display
(Image courtesy: Future)
It feels like the wrong thing to do, but I have to complain about the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7’s screen. By any standards, it’s a great display. But after reviewing the CoPilot Plus laptop over the past few months, there are a few minor issues that I’ve noticed.
First of all, sharpness is decent. Coming from the 3K-rez Lenovo Yoga 7x, the Surface Laptop looks a little pixelated in comparison. This is a 2304 x 1536 pixel screen, which means it’s closer to Full HD (1080p) than Ultra HD (4K).
This is also an LCD display, not a trendy OLED panel. Its black floor is nowhere near that of OLED rivals. Does it matter for work? Not at all, but OLED’s perfect blacks really come in handy for watching movies, especially with today’s laptops.
Nearly all high-end laptops have screens that are much taller than normal movies. They are not widescreen, and Microsoft makes the most of this with a 3:2 aspect ratio. This means big black bars when you watch movies and TV, and with LCDs they tend to glare in a dim room. That doesn’t happen with OLED.
However, it’s a poor job. The Surface Laptop 7’s display still has beautiful colors, a smooth 120Hz refresh rate, and a solid maximum brightness of 560 nits. The screen coating is also sturdy Gorilla Glass 5, although there’s no anti-reflective coating.
Microsoft Surface 7 review: Keyboard and touchpad
(Image courtesy: Future)
For the past few years, I’ve been under the impression that Microsoft has been slowly weakening its laptop keyboard experience. Maybe my standards have changed, or I was just too immersed in the idea of old glory, because the Surface Laptop 7’s keyboard is pretty great.
With travel distances as per the official specifications being a decent 1.3mm, these keys feel surprisingly solid. There’s a satisfyingly meaty flexibility to their action. It’s like Apple’s MacBook styling, but after a 6-month weight training program. I still think the Lenovo Yoga 7x has the best keyboard in this initial wave of laptops with the Qualcomm Snapdragon Xe Elite.
(Image courtesy: Future)
It also has a white key backlight, which is a good thing. What no other model can match, however, is the sheer consistency of quality in the Surface Laptop’s inputs. Along with having one of the best keyboards in this category, the Surface Laptop 7 also has possibly the best touchpad.
Of course, it’s not as massive as the Samsung Galaxy Book Edge, but it does combine a best-in-class clicker with an ultra-smooth textured glass surface. It’s also a haptic clicker, which means you can feel every square millimetre of the pad clicking.
When Microsoft first started playing around with these haptic pads, I thought they had traded in one of the best touchpad designs ever for something a little inferior. Now it’s back on track. The clicker response is much more defined than those first-generation designs, and you can make it even more snare-drum-punchy in the Windows settings.
Microsoft Surface 7 review: Performance
(Image courtesy: Future)
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 I’m reviewing has a Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite processor with 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. It’s a good all-rounder spec, but it’s not the easiest to recommend in this family because of Microsoft’s old trick: charging too much money for upgrades.
While renting a car at the airport sounds cheaper until you look at all the extra charges, the Surface Laptop’s basic features are arguably a great deal. But with this model, you pay a fair price for the extra 256GB of storage and a few extra processor cores.
The big question: can you make do with just 256GB of storage? If you can’t and want the top-tier spec, it’s easy to spend a lot more on the Lenovo Yoga 7x.
(Image courtesy: Future)
There’s another small problem. According to my tests, the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 is slightly less powerful than the Lenovo Yoga 7x I tested, despite having a slightly upgraded version of the Qualcomm Xe Elite processor.
How does this make sense? I believe the Surface Laptop is designed in such a way that no matter what you do, it makes almost no noise. Of course, it has a fan, but you’ll be hard-pressed to hear it in all but the quietest rooms.
It’s an admirable feature in a mainstream lifestyle PC, but it raises the question of how worthwhile the jump from the base Snapdragon X Plus to the Snapdragon X Elite really is.
You should also consider the compatibility issues that come with these new Qualcomm Snapdragon PCs. While their performance is solid – great, even – and they are capable of running almost everything, I encountered some incompatible applications, games that didn’t run properly (or didn’t run at all), and peripherals that weren’t recognized.
If you want the best legacy support, you should stick with Intel CPU laptops. But Qualcomm’s other benefits are quite attractive, such as battery life.
Microsoft Surface 7 review: Battery life
(Image courtesy: Future)
Streaming YouTube for five hours reduced the battery consumption by just 29%, which suggests it can handle around 17 hours of online video playback. Microsoft claims up to 20 hours, and that’s local playback, so once again, we’re assuming a fairly accurate claim.
The 54Wh capacity cell in this laptop is not the highest in its class, but it is far from the heaviest. This will also help keep the weight down, so it is a sensible deal.
One important thing to keep in mind while buying these laptops is that although they are great for light usage, they become very slow with heavy workload. It will only last for a few hours of gaming unless you play some light games.
Like other Surface PCs launched recently, the Surface Laptop 7 uses Microsoft’s proprietary magnetic connector for charging. But if you forgot to take it on a trip, you can use one of the two USB-C connectors on the side. Useful.
Apart from that we only get a classic USB-A and a headphone jack. This is better than some (like Lenovo), but you will need an adapter/cable to read the memory card or connect to a TV.
Other features? The Surface Laptop 7 has a decent Full HD (1080p) webcam, just not up to the level of the Surface Pro. And the laptop has respectable stereo speakers with decent volume and tone, just a step or two behind the best in terms of bass and projection.
Microsoft Surface 7 review: Verdict
(Image courtesy: Future)
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 is a great alternative to the MacBook Air. Its starting price is reasonable, the design is great, and its quality feel is commendable.
However, Microsoft, as usual, demands a lot of money when it comes to upgrades. And given that the Surface Laptop values quiet operation over raw peak performance, it’s not an obvious choice for power enthusiasts.
If you can make do with less storage space or can find a deal on a Surface Laptop, this could be one of the best routes into this new genre of AI-ready laptops. Just be careful when choosing the right spec for you.
Also consider this
There are a few major options for the Surface Laptop 7th Edition, and at least one comes straight from Microsoft. Microsoft Surface Pro There is a hybrid version of this model. It is probably less comfortable for working all day, but it can also be used as a graphics tablet.
The closest director could be a competitor lenovo yoga 7xIt has a slightly higher starting price, but it comes with high-end components as standard and, according to our testing, it outperforms the upgraded Surface Laptop. It also has an OLED screen with 3K resolution.
Do you want a bigger screen? If the 15-inch version of this model isn’t enough for you, check out this Samsung Galaxy Book EdgeIt comes in a 16-inch variant, and is built with equally great build quality standards. However, the keyboard feels too shallow, and while the touchpad is pretty big, it can’t match the Surface Laptop’s feel.