After a couple of bad experiences with a competitive laptop, I decided to go for the new Microsoft Surface Laptop. I basically work over the Internet, work with Office 365 and keep absolutely nothing on my laptop.... everything is kept off the machine on an external drive. Because of that I decided to go for the i5, 4 GB, 128 Gig model. I felt it would be more than adequate for what I do... and I was right. I am by no means a "power user" that has multiple apps or programs open at the same time. If that is you, then I would recommend getting the i5, 8GB, 256 Gig SSD model. But that is just not me, so the base model works great for me.
First of all, lets get out of the way the design, quality of build and the rather unique alcantara fabric keyboard and deck covering.... it's all top drawer. This is built like a tank, yet its in a form factor that is very thin and compact. Simply put, its a beautiful laptop. The keyboard is excellent with a good amount of key travel and they are comfortable to use. The track pad is as good as any I have used on a Windows machine. No, its not the glass type that you find on an Apple MacBook Pro... but that's ok. I personally don't use the track pad anyway... so not a big deal for me. The keyboard is back-lit and easy to work with in low light conditions.
I do a lot of live streaming of content over Xfinity and this screen is as good as my MacBook Pro with Retina screen. I actually like this a bit better. The picture quality is crisp and colors are sharp and precise. It is covered in Gorilla Glass 3 so will be highly reflective if you have a light in front of it or outside in the open daylight. None -the-less, it's a beautiful screen and certainly at the top of it's class.
The only drawback for some might be the lack of connectors and SD Card slot. The machine comes with a USB 3.0, 3.5mm Headset jack, mini DisplayPort and Surface Connect. I like the Surface Connect Power plug as it is somewhat similar to the old Apple magnetic connector... if you happen to hit it, it pops out without doing damage to the connector. Sadly, Apple did away with that on the latest version of the MacBook products. That said, I can see where I am going to have to buy a couple of dongles for connecting to various peripherals.
The Surface Laptop comes loaded with Windows S... which is useless if you want to download any apps that aren't on the Microsoft Store site... like iTunes. You have the ability to upgrade to a 1 year free subscription of Windows Pro. It's $49 annually after the first year. I have no clue why Microsoft would sell their newest, higher end, laptop with Windows S. Maybe they will simply give in and allow everyone to upgrade and forget the annual fee. One can only hope. I upgraded of course and will continue to use Windows Pro.
I guess the long and short of it is that I am just a regular guy (a Consultant) that uses his laptop everyday for everyday types of tasks. I don't do complex design, art or mathematical work on the machine with numerous applications open at the same time. As I stated earlier, that is just not me. This laptop is simply put, the best laptop I have ever had. It is a beautiful, well built, technologically strong machine that will serve me well for a number of years. I can't recommend this enough. It is a real winner and Microsoft has hit a home run without question.
| Standing screen display size | 13.5 Inches |
|---|---|
| Screen Resolution | 1366 x 768 pixels |
| Processor | 8032 |
| RAM | 4 GB DDR4 |
| Hard Drive | 128 GB |
| Graphics Coprocessor | Intel HD Graphics 620 |
| Chipset Brand | Intel |
| Card Description | Integrated |
| Wireless Type | 802.11b, 802.11a, 802.11g |
| Average Battery Life (in hours) | 14.5 Hours |
