We’re best placed to answer that question, as we make sure to review all of the latest Microsoft Surface devices as soon as we can get our hands on them. For the review process, we make sure to test the screen with professional equipment, while also using industry-recognised benchmark software to evaluate the performance. We also make sure to spend at least a week with each device so we can judge the quality of the design, battery life and software, as well as any special features. If you can’t find a Microsoft Surface laptop you like the look of right now, then make sure to return at a later date, as we’ll be updating this page once we publish our review for the Microsoft Surface Pro 9. Until then, it’s also worth checking out our Best Laptop, Best Ultrabook, Best Student Laptop and Best Budget Laptop pages for a more general look. Or if you haven’t got your heart entirely set on a Surface, then there’s always our list of the best Asus laptops, the best HP laptops, and the best Dell laptops so you can get a broader look from other manufacturers. It retains the dinky frame of the original Surface Laptop Go, with it being noticeably more compact than rival laptops. Just because it’s smaller and cheaper than a lot of other laptops doesn’t mean it feels flimsy, and with its aluminium and polycarbonate composite resin we found the Surface Laptop Go 2 to feel sturdy, with only ultra-hard keyboard presses causing the chassis to flex. A weight of just over 1.1kg also means this is a light laptop, and therefore an excellent choice for those who need to quickly sling it into a bag such as students, or professionals who need to dash from meeting to meeting. An Intel Core i5-1135G7 processor is packed inside, or in other words, an 11th Gen Intel Core i5 chip. While it may be a generation old, during testing, it still provided the Surface Laptop Go 2 with ample performance for the price, which allowed it to breeze through basic productivity tasks. It may not be as nippy as the Ryzen-powered Acer Swift 3, but Microsoft’s smaller candidate performs well for the price. The battery life for the new Surface Laptop Go has also been improved with its new processor. In testing, we got the laptop to last for just over 9 hours in a PC Mark 10 Modern Office simulation. This means you’ll be able to get through a working day or so with a little bit of juice to spare, although it isn’t as lengthy as the Acer Swift 3, for instance. The Surface Laptop Go 2 retains the same 1536×1024 resolution as the previous model which left images looking a little less sharp than they would if this were a Full HD panel (with a 1920×1080 resolution). With that being said, our colorimeter did measure some good contrast and brightness levels, so even if the images aren’t the sharpest, general picture quality is still decent. Reviewer: Ryan JonesFull review: Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 review You’ll find small refinements compared to the Surface Pro 7, most noticeably with a smaller bezel around the screen. It feels great with a well built frame that features no flex. There has also been noticeable upgrades to the keyboard and stylus, with the former offering more responsible keys that features much less flex with a carbon-fibre layer, while the stylus features a built-in haptic motor to mimic the real world tactility of a pencil on paper, which works, but not as well as more specialised drawing tablets. The display has been upgraded to feature a 120Hz refresh rate. This provides a better sense of motion with smoother scrolling and general navigation. Otherwise, the panel here is typical Surface with it offering great contrast for an LCD as well as some decent brightness, which we measured with our colorimeter. The only real issue here was more specialist-grade colour space coverage, as we only measured the Pro 8 to cover 73.4% of the Adobe RGB space and 75.7% DCI-P3, meaning this convertible may not be the best for more creative workflows. In terms of battery life, we managed to get between 8 and 10 hours out of the Pro 8, with and without the keyboard cover attached respectively. This will give enough juice to get through a working day, but performing any more intense tasks, such as using 120Hz refresh rate or having the screen brightness all the way up, will see stamina decline. Inside, the Surface Pro 8 is powered by an Intel Core i7-1185G7 processor, which proved to be more than powerful enough for everyday use, be it for opening dozens of Chrome tabs or basic photo editing. This was also backed up in our benchmark tests where the Surface Pro 8 provided scores in the likes of Geekbench 5 and 3DMark Time Spy that were similar to a Dell XPS 13 OLED. The Surface Pro 8 is a fine choice for those who want a Windows-style iPad equivalent that isn’t short of power, battery life and modern looks. It’s a convertible that’s definitely worth your consideration. Although it’s worth bearing in mind that the newer Surface Pro 9 is now available. Check back in a few weeks for our review. Reviewer: Alastair StevensonFull review: Microsoft Surface Pro 8 review This largely comes thanks to the fact it features a clever screen hinge, which allows the Surface Laptop Studio to be used as both a clamshell laptop and as a tablet, too. The fact you can pull the screen forward and clip it to the desk via magnets is especially clever, and means using it for drawing is a doddle. We also found the hinge itself to feel sturdy, and the general chassis of the Laptop Studio felt solid thanks to its all-metal build. The port selection proved to be a little stingy though, with only USB-Cs and a headphone jack present, alongside a Surface Connect port. During testing, the screen proved to be excellent with a 14.4-inch panel, complete with a 2400×11600 resolution. It’s a punchy panel, with vibrant colours and some brilliant contrast, as measured to be 497 nits and 1669:1 respectively by our colorimeter. While the sRGB colour space coverage is good, the 81% DCI-P3 and 74% Adobe RGB is a fair bit behind rivals such as the MacBook Pro that’ll be better placed for work such as photo or video editing. Inside, the Surface Laptop Studio features an 11th Intel Core i7 H-series processor that offers smooth performance for basic tasks, and a respectable showing with more intense workloads, too. We also found the SSD specs to be speedy with over 3000MB/s recorded for both read and writes. With that being said, the Studio lags behind the competition a little with a generation-old processor, and the lack of an especially powerful discrete GPUs does inhibit its overall power somewhat. In our battery testing, the Surface Laptop Studio lasted for nearly 11 hours (10hrs 49 minutes to be exact), meaning you’ll be able to get through a working day with plenty of juice to spare. This is practically double some of the other beefier content creation laptops we’ve tested, although it is worth remembering that to get such a good endurance, the Laptop Studio doesn’t pack as much power as some of its rivals. Reviewer: Ryan JonesFull review: Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio review Those are admittedly minor upgrades, but enough to make the Surface Laptop 5 a better purchase than the Surface Laptop 4 when priced the same. During the tests, we found the new chip to comfortably powerful enough for basic productivity workloads, while the sharp screen resolution proved to be great for watching video, You can admittedly get better value elsewhere beyond the Surface branding. The M1-powered MacBook Air offers more power at the same price, while the Dell XPS 13 OLED feels far more luxurious for just a couple hundred quid more. But if you’re committed to the Microsoft Surface brand, and want a classic 13-inch clamshell laptop, then the Surface Laptop 5 should still serve you perfectly well. Although given the minor upgrades, it’s worth checking to see whether the Surface Laptop 3 and Surface Laptop 4 are available at a discounted price beforehand. Reviewer: Ryan JonesFull review: Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 review
