One Month With Microsoft's New AI-Driven Surface Laptop 7

Microsoft launched the Surface Laptop 7 last month, announcing just ahead of release that its new laptop was “58% faster” than Apple’s latest MacBook Air. The launch of the Surface Laptop 7 also marked the introduction of Microsoft’s new Copilot+ PC category, a range of AI-powered personal computers it claimed were “the fastest, most intelligent Windows PCs ever built.” Bold claims and big companies go together like white on a fresh pair of Force 1s, so how does the new Surface really shape up? We’ve been using the Surface Laptop 7 for the past month for everything from photo and video editing to general everyday use and you can read on below for our review.

The latest Surface computers mark the start of a speedy new era for Microsoft. For the very first time since the 1990s, Microsoft has opted against using Intel processors in its computers, instead choosing to partner exclusively with chipmaker Qualcomm to offer a pair of new, super-fast CPUs – the Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus – designed especially for the Copilot+ PC category. It brings to an end to (or at least marks a break in) the “Wintel” relationship, one that became so ubiquitous with modern computing – and speaks to both the brand’s ambitions as well as to what consumers have come to expect from laptops – high performance and long battery life together, without compromising one for the other.

For starters, the new chips have more than doubled the battery life compared to the previous Intel-based Surface devices and the Surface Laptop 7 achieves 15-20 hours on a single charge. This allows users to create on-the-go for longer periods of time but, crucially, the extra on-time is not at the expense of performance as Microsoft has managed to mould its Windows 11 operating system perfectly around the new Snapdragon X Elite processor. From a performance perspective, most of the programs we’ve used have ran smoothly and, thanks to the chip’s 12 cores, multi-tasking and running several CPU-heavy apps like editing software has been perfectly fine. Rendering and exporting video on this device has been a relatively fast and painless experience, without the lag we experienced on previous Surface devices.

However, it’s worth noting that due to the change in computing architecture, some applications are still not fully optimized for these new Windows computers. This is because programs for Windows running on Intel processors are built on x86 architecture, whereas the Qualcomm Snapdragon chips are both ARM-based; this means the new Surface Laptop 7 essentially has to emulate the old architecture to get some apps to work. Most major software developers have already released or are working on ARM versions for Windows, so it’s a trade-off between time (waiting for this to happen) and the benefits gained from Microsoft migrating over to ARM architecture (battery life and performance efficiency).

The display on the new Surface Laptop 7 comes in two sizes and, while it isn’t OLED, it has impressive contrast and color accuracy. There are 13.8-inch or 15-inch options, with both supporting HDR and having a 120Hz refresh rate. Microsoft has also managed to increase the size of the screen without increasing the overall size of the laptop, reducing the bezels (border dimensions) by over 50% on either side on both the 13.8-inch and 15-inch models. And, like any Surface device, the display is touchscreen, something that’s surprisingly easy to get used to and equally surprising to forget to stop using as we found moving between this laptop and other devices (scrolling away to no avail on non-responsive screens). We found the touchscreen to be helpful in various photo editing scenarios, a recurring example being that it allowed us to simply point to and tap at blemishes whilst retouching. It’s also made with Corning’s Gorilla Glass, making it incredibly durable and long-lasting. (If you’re an Apple user who’s been hoping the Cupertino-based brand will introduce something similar, keep on hoping – an Apple executive recently told the WSJ that the brand has no plans to introduce touchscreens on its Macs.)

Along with its 15-hour battery, the Surface Laptop 7 is quite lightweight and the 13.8-inch model we’ve been using weighs just 2.96 lbs (1.34 kg), measuring 0.69-inches at its thickest point and 11.85-inches by 8.67-inches in length and width. For its size and weight, the Surface Laptop 7 packs a lot of processing power into a very portable package, creating Microsoft’s best ever option for creatives whose work keeps them on the move.

As with many other laptops of this size, there are a limited number of ports available on the Surface Laptop 7. Though the 15-inch version of the device features the addition of a MicroSDXC card slot, the 13.8-inch model lacks this and has just two USB-C ports and a single USB-A port. The USB-C ports are rated for USB4, though, meaning high-bandwidth usage (such as external displays or high-speed external SSDs) is possible, but the inclusion of a USB-A port 2024 is strange and might have been better utilized as a HDMI port instead.

It’s still early in Microsoft’s Intel-free era, but its debut Snapdragon X Elite-powered laptop is an impressive machine that should appeal to a broad range of people, including those in creative fields who may have felt restricted by previous Intel-powered Microsoft devices.

The Surface Laptop 7 is available now with prices starting at $999.99 USD / £1,049.99 GBP.