For years, I’ve commended Microsoft for breaking new ground and refining its Surface-branded laptops. Across the many iterations, Surface is a cornerstone for the company, with its Surface Laptop centred as the linchpin of it all.
This year, Microsoft made enormous strides to refine its Surface Laptop 7 by not only launching it as a Copilot+ PC device but finally achieving what I’ve wanted from the brand––a bonafide competitor to the MacBook.
The starring attraction behind the Surface Laptop 7 is the Copilot+ PC platform. Powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite series processors, the Surface Laptop 7 offers a variety of AI features integrated across Microsoft’s apps. Adding to this, Snapdragon’s chipset delivers the power and performance that gives the device so much milage that Surface Laptop 7 has quickly become my favourite Surface product I’ve ever used––and there have been quite a few. While not pulling any punches, Surface Laptop 7 can provide reliable day-to-day use that’s on par with the M3 MacBook Air.
Surface Laptop 7 offers a truly elegant design that harkens to the attention to detail and minimalism that Apple’s MacBooks are known for. Surface has always had an identity of its own when it comes to design. Surface Laptop 7 maintains its similar minimalist vision with some stunning colour options. It’s also retaining the snappy feel and response of its keyboard, making it a great productivity machine. It also boasts a stunning display that’s optimized for work but also video playback.
In Canada, the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 starts at $1,449.99 for the 13.8-inch model with Snapdragon X Plus and Snapdragon X Elite options. The 15-inch model, which is exclusively paired with Snapdragon X Elite is available for $1,849.99.
The base Surface Laptop 7 ships with four colour options to choose from. This includes ‘Sapphire’, ‘Dune’, ‘Platinum’, and ‘Black’. However, the higher-end 15-inch model only ships with the latter two. Myself, I’ve been testing the Black model and have been impressed by its design. Its metal finish maintains a cool look that spans the case and the interior. The sleek black design covers everything from the thin-edges of the bezel to the trackpad and keyboard (which now includes the dedicated Copilot key). To my surprise, the coating on the metal chassis isn’t as prone to fingerprints and smudges as I’d expect. It’s to a similar effect as the ‘Space Black’ M3 MacBook Pro.
While maintaining the minimalist approach to design, there have been some slight cosmetic tweaks made to this year’s model. For instance, the trackpad is slightly larger. The Surface trackpad has come a long way over the years. This time around, the haptic trackpad is exceptional to use. It’s responsive and clicky. There’s also a nice texture over it making it satisfying to use while navigating. Additionally, the bottom of the Surface Laptop 7 is now slightly more angled. It’s far from a sticker-worthy change but one to point out nonetheless. This year’s model only weighs 3.67 lbs, making it a suitable on-the-go device for at home as well as the office.
The higher-end Surface Laptop 7 comes with the aforementioned Snapdragon X Elite chip. The 4nm System-on-a-Chip architecture is the centre of what powers Microsoft’s Copilot+ PC program. The 15-inch PixelSense Flow panel supports 2496 x 1664 HDR resolution with a refresh rate of 120Hz and 3:2 aspect ratio. It’s a beautiful display with an upgraded brightness of 600 nits. Understandably, I’m a little disappointed Microsoft didn’t include an OLED option as the colours would surely pop. That said, colour accuracy is fantastic with support for sRGB and P3 colour gamuts.
RAM options for the device range from 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB. Storage options also include 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capabilities are also supported. As far as ports are concerned, Surface Laptop 7 offers two USB-C ports, one USB-A, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. You’ll also find the return of the Surface Connect charging port. As much as Microsoft nails the design of the device, its variety of ports is underwhelming.
Microsoft claims the device offers 22 hours of battery life. Based on my tests over the past two weeks, I’ve seen the battery of the Surface Laptop 7 top out at around 18 hours, with 15 hours being the shortest. Ultimately, it’s very dependent on what you’re using the device for on a day-to-day basis. If you’re simply answering emails and working on documents, I imagine you’ll be tapping into a battery life of close to 20 hours. Video playback, gaming, and editing draw the battery life close to the 15-hour mark. Regardless, Microsoft’s latest device stands exceptionally close to the battery life of the M3 MacBook Air.
Microsoft rolled out the red carpet for Snapdragon X Elite as it transitioned away from Intel in exchange for ARM-based chips. The new processor is complemented by Qualcomm’s Adreno GPU and a dedicated Neural Processing Unit (NPU). It’s proven to be a successful investment as Surface Laptop 7 is the best-performing Surface device I’ve tested. Running my independent benchmarks via Geekbench 6, the Surace Laptop 7 received a score of 2,742. This resulted in a score comparable to the M3 MacBook Air’s 3,065. Even if compared to the latest Intel Core Ultra 9-185H, the Surface Laptop 7 rose to the occasion.
Microsoft’s ability to leverage its ARM chip comes at a cost. Any app that doesn’t natively support ARM will either not function at all or run with hitches. To get ahead of it, your typical productivity apps will run smoothly. That includes many of the Adobe suite apps. However, for apps that don’t run via ARM, users can attempt to run them via x86 emulation. That said, I’m not convinced many everyday users are keen to go down that route. However, for apps that run off ARM, they run flawlessly. My workflow was snappy through the days and I never felt inhibited by having apps running in the background as I moved over to another project.
Understandably, Microsoft now has a ways to go in making its ARM-based Surface Laptop a gaming machine. I attempted to launch several games with some very mixed results. One of which was Minecraft, which felt like it should have been a slamdunk considering its heritage under Microsoft. Unfortunately, it was riddled with stability issues, running lower than 60fps. Another game that I typically like to use as a benchmark is Helldivers 2. The game simply doesn’t launch as the CPU is deemed “incompatible.” Shadow of the Tomb Raider is another go-to for benchmarking and it averaged 25fps while running at 1080p. I was able to play Baldur’s Gate 3, a game touted on Copilot+ PCs, but had to drop setting and resolution down significantly. None of this is overtly surprising considering Microsoft isn’t positioning its Copilot+ PC platform for players. Instead, I’ve found way more success in leveraging Xbox Cloud Gaming for my gaming. Keep in mind, that the catalogue is more limited than the PC Game Pass library.
At Microsoft Build, the company announced its new Copilot+ PC platform. The next big era for Microsoft and its Surface laptops now hinges on the use of Snapdragon X chips to deliver generative AI features. The importance of AI is emphasized purely by the introduction of the dedicated Copilot button. At the time of writing, Microsoft’s AI initiatives have fewer hits than misses. For instance, the Copilot button doesn’t always work on command. There’s also the elephant in the room which is the widely controversial Recall feature. Recall was designed to take screenshots every few seconds of your activity. It would preserve these actions to use as contextual key points to return to using natural language queries without using the CPU or GPU. What was intended to be its main stage launch feature, Recall was ultimately delayed due to privacy concerns.
Instead, Microsoft’s Copilot+ PC features offer more gimmicky distractions than practical uses. This includes the ‘Image Creator’ tool. Built into Microsoft Paint and Photos, Image Creator is powered by DALL-E. Like many other similar AI platforms, you can use text prompts to create images and tweak them using available styles. In the Photos app, you can use the Restyle tool on your existing photo library to retouch them. There’s also a Creativity tool to add AI effects to existing photos. Windows Studio Effects leverages AI to add background blurring and eye contact correction. Both are serviceable and work well. Finally, Live Captions offers real-time captions to audio playing on the device. 44 languages are available at launch. I genuinely believe this is the most practical AI tool Copilot+ PCs offer as based on my tests, it was accurate and responsive.
Microsoft’s Surface Laptop 7 finally has me asking, “MacBook who?” The transition over to ARM and how Microsoft has leveraged the Snapdragon X Elite has helped achieve the performance boost I’ve been waiting for. This year’s model checks off all of the boxes I have for a device I can use at my office desk or take with me on trips or to the park. Pound for pound, the Surface Laptop 7 offers exceptional power and a battery life that competes with Apple’s M3 MacBook Air, all at an attractive price point as well. Plus, with a stunning design and great colour options, the Surface Laptop 7 is within reach of its true potential.
With limited ports and a lack of true gaming support, the Surface Laptop 7 may not be the device for everyone. However, if you can take those concessions, you likely won’t be disappointed. Moreover, it’s strange approaching a device that was initially positioned as a great AI-powered laptop and walked away thinking that the Copilot+ PC platform wasn’t quite complete. That aside, the Surface Laptop 7 is a worthy investment for any Windows user in the market for an upgrade.
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It’s a bit strange to have a review of a competing product on an Apple-centric site that can be summed up with “MacBook who?”, and to ask that finally after years of wanting to say it. I don’t have a problem with fair review of a product that is capable of eclipsing the equivalent Apple device, but is the iPhone in Canada the right place for it?