Microsoft’s latest generation of Surface devices is available to buy starting today, alongside the recent launch of Windows 11. The new devices available today include the Surface Laptop Studio, Surface Pro 8, Surface Go 3, and the Wi-Fi-only version of the Surface Pro X. Additionally, the Surface Slim Pen 2 and the new Surface Pro Signature Keyboard are also available today.
The Surface Laptop Studio is arguably the most exciting of the devices, seeing as it’s a brand-new form factor for Surface. It’s a powerful laptop with Intel’s H35-series processors, NVIDIA GeForce RTX graphics, Thunderbolt 4 support, and a unique convertible form factor. You can use it like a laptop, but you can move the display ti bring it closer to you or use it for drawing and writing. It also supports the new Surface Slim Pen 2 with haptic feedback in some apps, which makes it feel like you’re writing on paper. Check out our review of the Surface Laptop Studio if you’d like to learn more, or buy it using the link below starting at $1,599. You can also buy the Surface Slim Pen 2, if you’re interested in digital art or handwriting.
The Surface Laptop Studio comes with an all-new design, more powerful internals, a 120Hz display, and Thunderbolt support, making it one of the most versatile Surface devices yet.
The Surface Pro 8 is also a major release, upgrading the Surface Pro line in ways we had asked for. It comes with a larger 13-inch display, smaller bezels, and it has a 120Hz refresh rate now, just like the Surface Laptop Studio. Also like the Surface Laptop Studio, the Pro 8 supports haptic feedback in the Surface Slim Pen 2, plus there’s a new Surface Pro Signature Keyboard that includes a pen garage to hold the Surface Slim Pen 2. Of course, it also comes with the latest Intel processors and other high-end specs, including Thunderbolt 4 support. You can read our review of the Surface Pro 8, or buy it using the link below starting at $1,099. You can also buy the Surface Pro Signature Keyboard to get a more laptop-like experience.
If you want something more affordable, the Surface Go 3 is another device available today. It’s packing more powerful processors that its predecessor, but it’s otherwise the same lightweight and ultra-portable tablet. It has a Full HD+ display, a high-quality webcam, and solid performance for basic tasks. It starts at $399.
Also available today is the new Wi-Fi-only version of the Surface Pro X, Microsoft’s ARM-based Surface tablet. There isn’t much that’s new aside from removing LTE support and lowering the base price by $100, meaning it now starts at $899. However, you do get a high-resolution screen, solid performance, an ultra-thin form factor, and great battery life. You can check it out below.
The Surface Pro X is a premium ARM-based tablet, offering great performance and battery life in a thin and lightweight design. It now comes in a Wi-Fi-only model.
As a reminder, all of these Surface devices come with Windows 11, which is also available now. If you want to learn more about the new OS, check out our Windows 11 review, where we argue that this is an upgrade almost every Windows 10 user will appreciate.
Samsung launched the One UI 4 Beta program last month to give Galaxy S21 users a chance to experience Android 12 on their devices before the stable rollout. The first One UI 4 beta release for Samsung’s flagships included several new features, including redesigned home screen widgets, new lock screen features, animated stickers for the Always-on Display feature, new charging animations, and so much more. Samsung is now rolling out the second One UI 4 beta update to the Galaxy S21 series, and it brings a few additional changes.
According to recent reports on our forums, the second One UI 4 beta update for the Galaxy S21 series has already started rolling out to users. The update (software version ZUJ1) brings a couple of new features, along with several bug fixes and performance improvements. Its changelog is as follows:
Bugs that have been fixed
Apply color theme
Add Mic mode (Standard, Voice emphasis, All sounds) during video call
Apply RAM Plus (virtual RAM)
Improved typing accuracy of Samsung keyboard
Fixed an issue that Secure folder was closed when running
Performance improvement
Apply other many improvements
The color theme feature mentioned in the changelog refers to a feature that lets you set up a system-wide theme based on the dominant colors from your phone’s wallpaper. While the feature sounds pretty much like Android 12’s dynamic theming, it puts the controls in the user’s hands. As you can see in the following screenshot, the feature generates a couple of color themes based on your current wallpaper and lets you choose the accent color.
As mentioned earlier, the second One UI 4 beta update is already rolling out to Galaxy S21 users in several regions. If you’re already enrolled in the beta program, you should receive the OTA notification on your device sometime soon.
The new Surface Pro 8 is the biggest change to the product since the Surface Pro 3. Indeed, the Pro 3 gave us Surface as we know it today. It was the first time we saw the modern Surface Connect port, the first time the pen used N-Trig, and the first time it came with a 3:2 display. Aside from a minor bump up to 12.3 inches with the Surface Pro 4, and the addition of USB Type-C with the Surface Pro 7, not much has changed since 2014.
Now, the product has been redesigned. It has a bigger 13-inch screen with narrow bezels, and it uses a new Slim Pen 2 that’s stored in the keyboard. It’s also made out of aluminum, rather than the more traditional magnesium. Finally, it feels like the Intel-powered Surface Pro is a modern product.
Quad-core 11th Gen Intel Core i7-1185G7 Processor, designed on the Intel Evo platform
Graphics
Intel Iris Xe
Body
11.3 in x 8.2 in x 0.37 in (287mm x 208mm x 9.3mm), 1.96 lb (891 g)
Display
Screen: 13” PixelSense Flow Display
Resolution: 2880 x 1920 (267 PPI)
Up to 120Hz refresh rate (60Hz default)
Aspect ratio: 3:2
Touch: 10 point multi-touch
GPU Ink Acceleration
Dolby Vision support
Storage
256GB removable solid-state drive
Memory
16GB LPDDR4x RAM
Keyboard compatibility
Surface Pro Signature Keyboard
Surface Pro X Keyboard
Pen compatibility
Surface Pro 8 supports Microsoft Pen Protocol (MPP)
Surface Pro 8 supports Tactile signals with Surface Slim Pen 2
Battery life
51.5 WHr, Up to 16 hours of typical device usage
Ports
2 x USB-C with USB 4.0/Thunderbolt 4
3.5mm headphone jack
1 x Surface Connect port
Surface Type Cover port
Compatible with Surface Dial off-screen interaction
Cameras, video, and audio
Windows Hello face authentication camera (front-facing)
5.0MP front-facing camera with 1080p full HD video
10.0MP rear-facing autofocus camera with 1080p HD and 4k video
Dual far-field Studio Mics
2W stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos
Connectivity
Wi-Fi 6: 802.11ax compatible
Bluetooth Wireless 5.1 technology
Material
Signature anodized aluminum
Color
Graphite
Price
$1,599.99
These are the specs of the unit that Microsoft supplied for this review. The product starts at $1,099.99 with a Core i5, 8GB RAM, and 128GB of storage. It maxes out with a Core i7, 32GB RAM, and a 1TB SSD for $2,599.99.
There’s also a business model that’s coming in early 2022. That version will offer 4G LTE, and there will be a less expensive Core i3 configuration.
Design: The Surface Pro 8 looks a lot more like the Surface Pro X, and that’s a good thing
If you look at a Surface Pro 8 from the front, it looks like a Surface Pro X. You probably couldn’t even tell the difference. It’s interesting because compared to when the Pro X first launched, Microsoft is really starting to merge these product lines into one ‘Surface Pro’ family.
The Surface Pro 8 finally gives the Pro lineup a modern touch.
One of the big changes is that the Surface Pro 8 is the first ever Intel-powered Surface Pro to be made out of aluminum. Since the beginning of time, every Surface Pro has been made out of magnesium. In fact, that’s the trademark Surface material, which we’ve also seen in Surface Book, Surface Studio, Surface RT, and Surface Go. Laptop was the first to use aluminum, and it seems to be getting more common.
The model that Microsoft sent me is the Graphite color. Microsoft has been offering the Surface Pro in Black and Platinum since the Pro 6 (only Platinum from the Pro 3 through Pro 5, and only Black before that), but both shades look a bit different now with the aluminum material. The aluminum build definitely looks prettier.
It’s also heavier though. Magnesium is a much lighter material, which is why it was always used. The Surface Pro 8 weighs over a quarter-pound more than the Pro 7 did, or the Pro X does. Indeed, with the new design, the Pro X is still thinner and fanless. That’s why the Surface Pro 8 looks more like a combination of a Pro 7 and a Pro X, because you’ll still see the opening around the edges for a fan. It’s just 0.04 inches thicker than a Pro 7, but it’s 0.09 inches thicker than the Pro X.
If you lift up the kickstand, you’ll find a panel that you can remove to replace the storage. Removable storage is a big deal, not just because you can get cheaper upgrades. It’s a big deal for businesses with sensitive data. Some need to destroy the data when recycling the PC, and some just need to remove it in order to have it serviced. This feature was present in the Surface Pro 7+, and originated in the Surface Pro X and Surface Laptop 3.
One thing you won’t find under the kickstand is microSD expansion. In fact, Microsoft has finally cut back on ports. In the old days when Apple was looking toward the future and adopting Thunderbolt 3 before anyone else, Microsoft was bragging about including USB Type-A on its tablets, and refusing to put any kind of USB Type-C on its Surface devices. Times have changed.
The Surface Pro 8 is the biggest upgrade since the Pro 3.
Now, we’ve got two Thunderbolt 4 ports on the right side of the device, and below those is the Surface Connect port. But while the USB Type-C ports are upgraded, the Surface Connect port is not. It’s still USB 3.2 Gen 2 with 10Gbps speeds. That means that the Thunderbolt 4 ports are faster, easier for charging since they use the same cable as everything else, and they’re better in every way.
Microsoft keeps the volume rocker on the left side at the top, but that’s about it. Even the power button is on the right side.
It’s about time that the Surface Pro got a proper redesign. The Surface Pro 8 is the biggest redesign since the Surface Pro 3. Before that, we had this weird 10-inch tablet that was too small to be used as a laptop and too thick and heavy to be used as a tablet. It was the beginning of something though, and the Pro 3 is where that idea got refined. But Microsoft stuck with that design for five generations, to where the Surface Pro 7 looked antiquated when it came out. Now, the Surface Pro 8 finally gives the Pro lineup a modern touch.
Display: Finally, the Intel-powered Surface Pro has narrow bezels
Like I said, the Surface Pro 8 looks just like a Surface Pro X from the front. It’s got a 13-inch screen with a 3:2 aspect ratio, narrow size bezels, and bigger top and bottom bezels. It’s a nice look. Honestly, with previous versions of the product, it had been so long since the bezels had shrunken (2015, to be specific) that they looked so old even on day one.
The resolution is the same at 2,880×1,920, but one thing that’s different is the refresh rate, which is now 120Hz. The higher refresh rate makes for smoother motions and an overall more pleasant experience, something that we’ve been seeing from mobile phones for a few years now. Strangely, it’s turned off by default. The Surface Laptop Studio ships at 120Hz, while the Surface Pro 8 ships at 60Hz.
This is probably to preserve battery life. A small tablet like this just can’t house as big of a battery as a bigger laptop like the Surface Laptop Studio can. Obviously, by turning the refresh rate down to 60Hz, that helps. The solution to this would be Dynamic Refresh Rate, a feature that’s going to be coming in some future firmware update to the product. This would lower the refresh rate when you’re doing things that don’t need it, saving battery automatically while still giving you a boost when it’s useful.
From my testing, it supports 100% sRGB, 77% NTSC, 92% Adobe RGB and 83% P3 color gamut. These scores are pretty good, although they’re mostly a bit lower than the results I got on the Surface Laptop Studio.
Brightness maxes out at about 450 nits with 1,120:1 contrast, both of which are also lower than the Surface Laptop Studio. Lower brightness really isn’t good on product like this because Microsoft uses these really glossy displays, making them harder to use in direct sunlight. It’s important to compensate with a bright screen.
The larger top bezel houses a 5MP webcam that can record 1080p 30fps video, along with an IR camera. It’s a really good webcam, and Microsoft should be commended for this. The company started using a 5MP webcam with the Surface Pro 3, something that very few vendors were doing back in 2014. Now, it’s way ahead of the curve in this age of working from home.
Keyboard: The first new keyboard connector for the Surface Pro, ever
When Microsoft changed the size and aspect ratio with the Surface Pro 3, you could still use the original Type Cover. It didn’t fully cover the device, but you could use it. For the first time, the Surface Pro is getting an all-new keyboard connector.
This is actually a pretty big deal. Part of the reason that there’s been so little change to the product over the years has been to maintain compatibility with peripherals. In fact, to maintain that compatibility for businesses, Microsoft is still selling the Surface Pro 7+; it’s actually why the 7+ exists.
This is actually the same Surface Keyboard (don’t call it a Type Cover) that was used on the Surface Pro X. No, it still doesn’t come with the device, but you can buy a bundle that includes the new Slim Pen 2. As you can see, the keyboard has a pen garage, so there’s no more magnetically attaching the pen to the side of the device and having it fall off in your bag. It’s a big improvement.
The keyboard itself is fine. It’s backlit, as it’s been since the Type Cover 2 that shipped alongside the Surface Pro 2. The real pain point for me is the touchpad; I just can’t stand it. I complained about this back when I reviewed the original Surface Pro X as well, but it’s just so loud. There is legitimately no way to press on this touchpad without making a noise that’s loud enough to be embarrassing in a quiet room. Seriously, I know it’s hard to believe that if you apply as little pressure as possible, it will still make a loud noise, but it’s true.
Slim Pen 2: Writing on it feels like writing on paper
The pen to use with the Surface Pro 8 is the all-new Slim Pen 2, although you can use any pen Microsoft has ever made since the Pro 3, along with a variety of third-party options. What’s cool about the Slim Pen 2, however, is that it provides haptic feedback that makes it feel like writing on actual paper.
The Slim Pen 2 is a game-changer, and this is coming from someone who has used a lot of PCs with a lot of pens. It feels a lot more natural. Another fun thing is that if you start writing in a supported app and drag the pen outside of the writing area, you’ll immediately feel the difference when the haptics stop responding.
You read that right though. You do need a supported app, and that includes things like Microsoft Whiteboard, Adobe Fresco, LiquidText, Shapr3D, and Sketchable. Unfortunately, at this time, it does not include OneNote, the app that I use for inking the most. It’s disappointing to see Microsoft not supporting with many of its own apps like this, because it’s not just OneNote. So many apps in Windows have been designed to take advantage of inking features, such as Photos, Maps, Edge, and more.
I do want to reiterate how much I love the feature though. Hopefully, we’ll see more app support as time goes on, and perhaps we’ll see third-party hardware makers adopt this technology in their own pens. Support should be coming to the Surface Duo 2 as well (not at launch), so hopefully we’ll see Android app support too.
Performance: The Surface Pro 8 comes with Intel 11th-gen processors
You might not realize this, but the Surface Pro 7 is actually two years old. There was a minor refresh with the Pro 7+, and that added Intel 11th-generation processors. But if you were a regular old consumer buying a brand-new Surface Pro 7, you’d still get 10th-gen chips.
Now, you can once again get the latest and great performance on a Surface Pro, and it’s really good. I don’t actually want to get too deep into it, because I’ve reviewed dozens of PCs with Tiger Lake U processors by now. Indeed, the Surface Pro is pretty much the last premium PC to still be using last-gen hardware. Of course, Microsoft is also the only OEM that doesn’t make it a priority to always be on the latest from Intel.
The Surface Pro 8 is Microsoft's first Intel Evo certified PC, and it makes a difference.
11th-gen processors come with Iris Xe graphics, and it’s a match made in heaven. Seriously, these chips are no joke. For a tablet like this, I had no issue doing things like photo editing, and while I did get into gaming a bit, I found that the best experience still came from Xbox Cloud Gaming.
And with Thunderbolt 4, that makes this Microsoft’s very first Intel Evo certified PC. And to be clear, while the Evo brand is exclusive to 11th-gen processors, the company never had any Athena devices either. It’s because Microsoft always refused to use modern technologies like Thunderbolt.
For benchmarks, I used PCMark 8, PCMark 10, 3DMark, Geekbench, and Cinebench.
Surface Pro 8
Core i7-1185G7
Surface Pro 7
Core i5-1035G4
Dell XPS 13 9300
Core i7-1065G7
PCMark 8: Home
4,029
3,376
3,795
PCMark 8: Creative
4,668
3,749
4,194
PCMark 8: Work
3,627
3,339
3,723
PCMark 10
4,988
4,030
4,441
3DMark: Time Spy
1,852
689
Geekbench
1,431 / 5,505
1,085 / 4,053
Cinebench
1,438 / 5,423
661 / 2,271
Like I said, this isn’t worth going too deep into. Just know that Intel’s 11th-gen processors are a big step over 10th-gen, which were also a big step up over 8th-gen.
As far as battery life goes, it’s about what I expect for a Surface Pro, which is to say, it’s not great. The best I could do was five hours (four hours 56 minutes, to be specific), and that was doing regular work with the battery set to recommended settings, and screen brightness at medium. It didn’t vary much though.
Thunderbolt 4: You can attach an external GPU to your Surface Pro 8
Now, it’s time to talk about Thunderbolt 4, which has finally made its way into a Surface PC. This is a big deal, and it’s something that I always think is cool for a tablet like this. It means that you can take this sub-two-pound tablet around with you, and then bring it home and turn it into what essentially adds up to a desktop PC.
Surface Pro 8 connected to a Razer Core X with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti inside
As you can see from the image above, I totally went there. I connected an external GPU and cranked up the graphics settings on games like Forza Horizon 4. It’s pretty cool. The thing is, the CPU doesn’t really keep up when you go that high. The Surface Pro 8 gets really hot. Still, the graphics power is there. I’d just be more inclined to use this for GPU acceleration in Premiere Pro instead of gaming. Like I said earlier, I really think that the best gaming experience comes through Xbox Cloud Gaming.
Thunderbolt 4 can turn the Surface Pro 8 into a gaming powerhouse.
What makes it even better is that I can connect to a Thunderbolt dock, which has a wired internet connection. Connected to that is a pair of 4K monitors as well, along with my peripherals like a mouse and the Dell UltraSharp 4K webcam. And yes, I do use an external webcam despite the phenomenal built-in one, because each one is good for different angles.
Price: It costs a lot more than its predecessors
The Surface Pro lineup is Microsoft’s most successful line of PCs ever. When the company set out to establish this new category, this is the one that succeeded. It’s the one that entered the market at a time when people were deciding between buying a new laptop or an iPad. The tablet PC form factor is definitely the most imitated of Microsoft’s designs as well.
I remember buying the original Surface Pro from a pop-up Microsoft Store in my local mall. It was $899 for the 64GB model and $999 for the 128GB model (those were the only configurations). The price has gone down from there. For most of the Surface Pro 7’s life, you could get one starting at $699 on the Microsoft Store. Now that the Surface Pro 8 is out, it currently starts at $549.
The Surface Pro 8 starts at $1,099, the highest starting price for any Surface Pro, Intel or Qualcomm, ever. Keep in mind that it starts with a Core i5 and 8GB RAM, while the Surface Pro 7 starts with a Core i3 and 4GB RAM. While it’s nice to see the 4GB RAM option disappear, I’m a bit surprised to see no Core i3 variant, especially since the business model is going to have a Core i3 offering. That means that unless something changes, the Surface Pro 8 for Business will likely have a lower entry price point than the consumer model.
Microsoft isn’t shy about it either. I asked about the price hike on its most popular Surface, and was told that the Surface Pro does have a starting point of $899, and that’s the new Wi-Fi only model of the Surface Pro X. This is another example of bringing the two products in alignment with each other. It’s clear now that this is one Surface Pro family, rather than two separate products with similar names.
Conclusion: Should you buy the Surface Pro 8?
If you’re wondering whether or not you should buy the Surface Pro 8, just ask yourself if you want the tablet form factor with an attachable keyboard. That’s what this comes down to. It’s kind of like how with the Surface Book, the product made zero sense unless you knew you were going to use it with the display detached. The Surface Pro 8 costs $1,099, and that doesn’t include the extra few hundred dollars you’ll be spending on a keyboard and pen. When that bill adds up to over $1,500 with taxes and Microsoft Complete protection, make sure that you’re buying this product for a reason.
The Surface Pro 8 is a fresh take on an aging product lineup.
That’s not knocking the product either. Microsoft knows that the Surface Pro 8 isn’t for everyone. If it was, it would be the only PC that the company makes. If you want a laptop, take a look at something from the Surface Laptop lineup.
The Surface Pro 8 is a fresh take on an aging product lineup. It strips away legacy ports, big bezels, and old silicon for powerful features like Thunderbolt 4 and a beautiful, 120Hz display. It keeps the stellar webcam, a must when working from home, and adds the best of the Surface Pro X to the Intel model.
It’s not perfect, of course. By using aluminum instead of magnesium, it’s a quarter-pound heavier than its predecessor, and the touchpad is just so noisy. I’d also like to have seen 4G LTE in the consumer model, like we get from the Pro X, and frankly, we need better app support for the Slim Pen 2, but that should be coming.
While I just shouted out the things it’s lacking, another part of me wonders if this could be the perfect tablet. Windows 11 is going to get Android app support soon, and combined with the versatility of the Windows ecosystem, it might end up being everything that I want. I can use it like it’s a laptop, and then pull off the keyboard and read in the Kindle app. Of course, I’m getting ahead of myself now, as Android app support isn’t even available to Insiders yet.
The Surface Laptop Studio is the newest entry to Microsoft’s Surface lineup. Well, technically it takes the place of the Surface Book as Microsoft consolidates its laptop branding. But while this is called the Surface Book 4 in some other dimension, it’s absolutely a new product, coming in an all-new form factor. It fixes the mistakes of Surface Book too.
The Surface Laptop Studio comes in a form factor that’s similar to what we’ve seen from Acer’s ConceptD 3 Ezel and HP’s Elite Folio, although those two products serve very different use cases. Ultimately, it’s similar to the Surface Studio, but on the scale of a laptop, hence the name.
But before we go any further, I just want to say that I really like the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio. It’s probably my favorite Surface of all time, although to be fair, I never liked Surface Book.
NVIDIA RTX A2000 laptop GPU with 4GB GDDR6 GPU memory
Body
12.72” x 8.98” x 0.746” (323.28 mm x 228.32 mm x 18.94 mm), 4.00 lb (1,820.2 g)
Display
Screen: 14.4” PixelSense Flow Display
Refresh rate: up to 120Hz
Resolution: 2400 x 1600 (201 PPI)
Aspect ratio: 3:2
Contrast ratio: 1500:1
Touch: 10-point multi-touch
Dolby Vision support
Storage
1TB SSD
Memory
32GB LPDDR4x RAM
Battery
58WHr, Up to 18 hours of typical device usage
Ports
2 x USB 4.0 with Thunderbolt 4 technologies support
3.5mm headphone jack
1 x Surface Connect port
Security
Hardware TPM 2.0 chip for enterprise security and BitLocker support
Enterprise-grade protection with Windows Hello face sign-in
Windows enhanced hardware security
Cameras, video, and audio
Windows Hello face authentication camera (front-facing)
1080p resolution front-facing camera
Dual far-field Studio Mics
Quad Omnisonic speakers with Dolby Atmos
Connectivity
Wi-Fi 6: 802.11ax compatible
Bluetooth Wireless 5.1 technology
Keyboard
Activation: Moving (mechanical) keys
Layout: QWERTY, full row of function keys (F1-F12)
Windows key and dedicated buttons for media controls, screen brightness
Backlight
Material
Magnesium
Color
Platinum
Price
~$2,699.99
These are the specs of the unit that Microsoft provided for this review; however, the pricing is estimated based on a similar configuration with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti. This configuration is a Surface Laptop Studio for Business, and there doesn’t seem to be specific pricing for that just yet.
The Surface Laptop Studio actually starts at $1,599.99, and that comes with a Core i5-11300H, 16GB RAM, a 256GB SSD, and Iris Xe graphics. In order to get dedicated graphics, you’ll need to opt for the Core i7 model, which starts at $2,099.99 with 16GB RAM and a 512GB SSD.
Design: It fixes the Surface Book form factor
Now that the Surface Pro 8 is made out of aluminum, the Surface Laptop Studio and the Surface Go are the only Surface devices left made out of the company’s traditional material: magnesium. There are pros and cons to each material, but one of the benefits of magnesium is that it’s much lighter than aluminum. Also, Microsoft’s magnesium builds feel premium when compared to some of the plasticky laptops from competitors.
But of course, you didn’t come here to talk about whether it’s made out of magnesium or aluminum. You want to hear about the form factor, and possibly how it compares to the Surface Book. Let me tell you something about the Surface Book though. When Panos Panay unveiled it in 2015, it was magical. When he played that teaser video for a second time and the display popped off, it was an incredible feeling. In practice, however, it wasn’t so great.
The detachable form factor caused a number of compromises to be made. It was top-heavy, the thermals weren’t great, and more. All of that is solved with the new form factor.
It has three different modes
I would describe the Surface Laptop Studio as a folio form factor, because it’s something that I first saw from the HP Spectre Folio, although I’m sure others have used it over the years. We’ve also seen it in the HP Elite Folio and Acer’s ConceptD Ezel series. It’s a departure from the old 360-degree convertible design, where a display can be folded back into tablet mode.
With the folio design, you can basically pop the display out and place it in different form factors. The benefit of this over, say, a Surface Pro tablet is that when using it as a laptop, it’s just a laptop. It’s not super top-heavy where it’s falling off of your lap like the Surface Book was, and it has a solid base. But at the same time, you can fold the display down to be used as a tablet.
There are three modes. The first is laptop mode, which is obvious. The second is called stage mode, and this lets you prop up the display between the touchpad and the keyboard. This is generally better for viewing content, and in certain situations, it just works better. There’s something about viewing content on a laptop that doesn’t feel quite right. When you can move the screen in front of the keyboard, it makes more sense. You can also use the pen with it this way, if it feels comfortable.
The form factor is similar to the Surface Studio on a smaller scale; however, unlike the Surface Studio, you can’t fold the screen to any angle that you like. It’s really just the three settings.
The attention to detail is clear when you look at how the Slim Pen 2 docks with the Surface Laptop Studio.
The third one is studio mode, which any normal person would call tablet mode. Keep in mind that when the Surface Book came out with a detachable display, Microsoft firmly called the screen a ‘clipboard’, and refused to call it a tablet. Presumably, it’s just something about a four-pound tablet.
Speaking of the weight, I really think four pounds is the sweet spot for something like this. It’s a powerful machine, and it’s finally properly powerful, which we’ll talk more about in the performance section. I don’t really know of any laptops with powerful internals like this that weigh less.
The pen is stored under the device
The new Slim Pen 2 is stored on a shelf underneath the Surface Laptop Studio, and it’s a bit strange. I would have expected a cutout for it, but creating a shelf that spans the width of the laptop is a bit much. It magnetically attached, and as you can see from the image above, the Slim Pen 2 perfectly aligns with both edges of the shelf. It’s quite nice.
The vents are placed underneath the device, and since this has more powerful internals than the Surface Book 3, it generates more heat. That’s to be expected, but since the vents run along the sides like that, you can actually feel the warm air if you’re using a mouse next to it. It’s a very minor issue, but it’s something that I’ve noticed on a few occasions.
Speaking of the sides, notice that the headphone jack is in a proper location.
Indeed, the right side of the device has a Surface Connect port and a 3.5mm audio jack. If you’ve never used a Surface, then this all seems totally unexceptional. If you have used a Surface Book, then you’ve experienced the pain point of the terrible headphone jack placement, which was on the side, but at the top of the screen. In other words, to use wired headphones with a Surface Book 3, the wire would be dangling from the top of your screen. It was a real pain.
Also, while that Surface Connect may look like an SD card slot at first glance, it’s not. The full-size SD card slot that was on the Surface Book 3 is gone now. In fact, microSD expansion on the Surface Pro 8 is gone too.
On the other side, there are two Thunderbolt 4 ports. Weird fact: Microsoft put the two Thunderbolt 4 ports on the left side of the Surface Laptop Studio, but on the right side of the Surface Pro 8. Anyway, Thunderbolt is another one of those things that Surface fans have been waiting for for a long, long time. It’s finally here.
The Surface Laptop Studio fixes everything that was wrong with the Surface Book 3.
To sum it up, this new design is a winner. It fixes everything that was wrong with the Surface Book. It’s just not unique, and I think it’s important to remember that Surface doesn’t have to be unique anymore. In the early days, it was all about defining new form factors in the PC space. The thing is, the tablet with attachable keyboard form factor is the only one that really took off. There haven’t been any OEM clones of the Surface Book or Surface Studio, and it remains to be seen if the Surface Studio even has a future.
Ever since the firm introduced the Surface Laptop, the brand has seen something of a pivot. Not everything in the Surface lineup had to redefine a category. Some of it can just be great hardware. That’s what the Surface Laptop Studio is. It’s great hardware, in a rarely-used form factor.
Display: The Surface Laptop Studio has a 14.4-inch 3:2 screen
The Surface Laptop Studio has neither a 13.5- or a 15-inch display like its predecessors did, and like the Surface Laptop 4 does. It’s got a 14.4-inch 3:2 display, and the size really feels like the sweet spot. The resolution is 2,400×1,600, which feels low.
Here are some examples. The 13.5-inch Surface Book 3 had a 3,000×2,000 screen, and the Surface Pro 8 has a 2,880×1,920 screen, both of which offer 267ppi pixel densities. The 13.5-inch Surface Laptop 4, on the other hand, is 2,256×1,504 for the same 201ppi pixel density that the Surface Laptop Studio has. I don’t miss the extra pixels; it’s just a strange downgrade to make, although it’s possible that the lower resolution is to make up battery life for the higher refresh rate.
And yes, the screen is 120Hz, which is a big deal. The higher refresh rate means that motion is just smoother, and it’s more pleasant on the eyes. High refresh rates on laptops have traditionally been considered to be a gaming feature, a way to gain that extra millisecond edge over your opponent. But really, it makes for a better experience for everyone, something that we’ve seen with mobile phones for a few years now.
The 120Hz screen on the Surface Laptop Studio is easy on the eyes.
Sadly, it does not come with Dynamic Refresh Rate, a new feature in Windows 11 that adjusts the refresh rate depending on what you’re doing. That can really save battery life. For example, if your screen is on and you’re not doing anything, it can refresh the screen at 30Hz instead of 120Hz, saving power. Microsoft did tell me that this feature is coming later, but it didn’t say when. It ships at 120Hz by default, although you can set it to 60Hz if you want the extra battery.
There are a few other things to note about the screen. Once again, it’s super-glossy. This is the case with every Surface device ever made. If you’re using it outdoors in the sunlight, it’s going to be a pain point.
From my testing, it supports 100% sRGB, 80% NTSC, 83% Adobe RGB, and 87% P3 color gamut, which is pretty great. This is the kind of thing that you want to look for if you’re doing creative work. I do have to point out, however, that Dell’s XPS laptops beat this.
Brightness maxes out at 500.2 nits, and contrast is almost on the quoted point with 1,480:1. If you don’t understand what any of this means, just know that it’s a pretty great display. That’s the important thing.
It’s got narrow bezels around the display, yet still makes room for an IR camera and a solid webcam. However, the webcam isn’t 5MP like we’ve seen from the Surface Pro since 2014. It’s actually 2.1MP, which is enough for 1080p video and nothing more. It’s an improvement over the rest of the Surface Laptop lineup though, as they all have 720p webcams. It’s interesting, because the webcam downgrade and the lower screen resolution make this feel more like a Surface Laptop than a Surface Book, so while this is the successor to the Surface Book 3, it’s definitely a merger of the lineups.
Along with the solid webcam is a great audio experience. It has quad omnisonic speakers with Dolby Atmos that sound fantastic. Combined with the dual far-field microphones, it makes for a great meeting experience.
Keyboard: The Surface Laptop Studio has a haptic touchpad
The keyboard is another one of those things that’s borrowed from the Surface Laptop. It’s got the plastic, backlit keys that’s familiar to that brand, as opposed to the more premium-feeling keys that we’ve seen on Surface Book. It’s a pretty great keyboard though, and probably one of the best ones that you’ll find on a consumer laptop. I didn’t get any accidental double-clicks or anything like that.
Everything about the keyboard just feels right. The depth is exactly where it should be, with proper resistance. It’s not just about comfort either, as it’s accurate.
The Surface Laptop Studio keyboard is one of the best in a consumer laptop.
The real star of the show, however, is that it has a haptic touchpad. Just like Apple has been doing with its MacBooks for years, the touchpad doesn’t actually move when you press it. It uses haptic feedback to feel like it moves. If you power down the device, you’ll see that there’s no feedback at all.
What’s cool is that Microsoft didn’t buy an off-the-shelf part for this. We’ve seen Lenovo use haptic touchpads that come from a particular supplier, but Microsoft didn’t use that one in the Surface Laptop Studio. It designed its own, and it did a great job. My biggest test is always to try and drag and drop things, because that’s the easiest way to trip these things up. You have to remember that they’re essentially touchscreens instead of a moving mechanism, so multitouch tends to throw them off. The Surface Laptop Studio passes that test. I couldn’t get it to fail.
On a side note, this is also a quiet touchpad, a first for Microsoft. The company loves its clicky noises, and I’m really pleased to say that you can use this in a quiet library without being embarrassed.
Slim Pen 2: It feels like writing on paper
Microsoft announced the Slim Pen 2 alongside its new products, and to me, it’s the star of the show. It provides haptic feedback that makes it feel like you’re writing on paper. It’s way more impressive than you’re expecting. I’ve used a lot of pens with a lot of devices, and this was a wow moment for me.
The Slim Pen 2 looks just like the Slim Pen, although that original model was pretty much only for the Surface Pro X. This one is for the Laptop Studio and the Pro 8, and in fact, those are the only two devices that currently support the haptic feedback. I was told that the Surface Duo 2 would soon support it though, but not at launch.
The Slim Pen 2 actually feels like writing on paper.
The pen charges wirelessly when it’s attached to the Surface Laptop Studio, so it’s always ready to go when you need it. Indeed, the old battery-powered Surface Pen was a pain point to me. Way too often, I’d find myself going to use the pen, only to find that the battery is drained. Wireless charging solves that.
The bad news is that the haptics only work in certain apps, such as Microsoft Whiteboard, Microsoft Journal, Adobe Fresco, Sketchable, LiquidText, Shapr3D, and some Office apps. I’m really bummed to say that OneNote doesn’t work with the haptics. Honestly, considering how much work Microsoft has put into this whole idea of inking over the past few years, you’d think that more apps would support the new pen at launch. And even if you get beyond those apps like OneNote that you’ll write a lot in, I’d love to see it in things like Photos, Edge, and any other app that has any inking features.
Performance: The Surface Laptop Studio has the CPU that you actually want for creativity
Earlier, I mentioned the benefits of the new form factor. Sure, one of them is that it’s not so top-heavy that I’m holding it down to my lap with my palms while also trying to type. But also, a big benefit is performance.
There were limitations with the old design. All of the guts – including the CPU, memory, storage, and a battery – needed to be stored in the screen, so that when the display was detached, it could still function as a full computer. In the base, there was a dedicated GPU and a second battery. But by putting everything in the screen, that meant that everything aside from the graphics could be no more powerful than a Surface Pro. Microsoft is one of very few vendors that made a premium PC with powerful graphics, but a 15W U-series CPU.
Now that everything can be in the base, the company can use proper components for a laptop that’s aimed at creators. The two processor options are from the Intel Tiger Lake H35 family. These chips aren’t the 45W octa-core chips you’d find in a gaming laptop, mobile workstation, or even creator PCs like the Dell XPS 15. These are 35W quad-core chips aimed at powerful laptops that are also meant to be thin and light.
With 11th-gen 35W processors, the Surface Laptop Studio finally has the power you deserve.
This is the first Tiger Lake H35 PC that I’ve reviewed, and I quite like the new CPUs. The CPU performance in general reminds me of the rare 28W SKUs that Intel makes of U-series chips, which are way more powerful than the 15W ones but still don’t seem to suck down power. I quite like it.
If you get the Core i5 model, that’s all you get. Microsoft did the same thing with the Surface Book 2 and 3, where there’s no dedicated graphics option on the Core i5 variant. In fact, that could be a reason that the firm went with Tiger Lake H35 instead of H45. The 35W chips have the same Iris Xe graphics as the U-series chips, while the 45W ones don’t, as they’re more likely to be used with dedicated graphics.
The Core i7 model, which Microsoft sent me, comes with either an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti or an RTX A2000, either of which comes with 4GB GDDR6 memory. The latter is exclusive to the business model, and it’s included in the one that Microsoft supplied for review. I did put this thing through its paces, editing tons of photos, playing games, and so on. It’s really impressive as a four-pound creator laptop.
For benchmarks, I used PCMark 8, PCMark 10, 3DMark, Geekbench, and Cinebench.
Surface Laptop Studio
Core i7-11370H, RTX A2000
Surface Book 3 13.5
Core i7-1065G7, GTX 1650
Surface Laptop 4 15
Ryzen 7 4980U
Dell XPS 15 9510
Core i7-11800H, RTX 3050 Ti
PCMark 8: Home
4,181
3,344
4,072
3,969
PCMark 8: Creative
4,962
2,857
4,702
5,731
PCMark 8: Work
3,843
3,289
3,405
3,571
PCMark 10
5,573
3,805
5,035
5,988
3DMark: Time Spy
5,075
3,191
1,359
4,801
Geekbench
1,546 / 5,826
1,318 / 4,775
1,165 / 7,203
1,538 / 7,514
Cinebench
1,504 / 6,283
1,167 / 3,555
1,256 / 8,173
1,491 / 9,339
You can see that the XPS 15 does better with its more powerful CPU, which also has more cores. But a key thing to look at is just how much the Surface Laptop Studio smokes the Surface Book 3.
As far as battery life goes, the worst I got was around four and a half hours. This is all with regular usage, of course, but I was really impressed that the best I got was six hours and 19 minutes. For a machine with this kind of power, that’s really good. That’s with the power set to recommended performance and the screen on medium brightness, and I do find that the brightness can affect battery life a lot. That’s also with the screen at 120Hz the whole time, so switching to 60Hz is another way that you can save battery life.
Thunderbolt 4: The Surface Laptop Studio finally has it
Listen, we’re over 3,000 words deep here, and I know that you’re tired of reading. I’ll keep this brief before we jump into the conclusion. The Surface Laptop Studio has two Thunderbolt 4 ports. That and the Surface Pro 8 are the first Surface devices to have Thunderbolt ever.
It was absurd. For years and years, Windows OEMs released all of their flagship laptops with Thunderbolt, and Microsoft ignored it. It even pushed back on USB Type-C for as long as it could. It’s finally here.
Many Surface fans defended Microsoft’s choice to omit Thunderbolt over the years, but it’s actually really useful. And even if it’s not useful to you right now, it has the potential to be useful to you in the future. Who wants to spend thousands of dollars on a product, only to find out later on that it can’t do the thing you you want it to do?
First of all, you can use a Thunderbolt dock with this. Any dock should do the trick, since Thunderbolt 4 really isn’t any different from Thunderbolt 3. It just raises the minimum spec so that all Thunderbolt 4 devices can do what some Thunderbolt 3 devices could do. That means that you get 40Gbps data transfer speeds, and you can connect dual 4K monitors or one 8K monitor, all on a single port. You can also connect an external GPU if you want.
And yes, I did connect an external GPU with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti in it. If you want to boost your gaming performance, there you go. It’s a single-cable solution to being an ultimate gaming powerhouse, and then you can still just unplug it and take the laptop on the go with you when you go to work.
Conclusion: Should you buy the Surface Laptop Studio?
Like I said, I never really liked the Surface Book, so replacing it with something that I can properly recommend is a big deal to me. When asking if you should buy it, the answer is a solid maybe. Frankly, it depends on your use case. If you don’t edit photos or videos, or maybe even play some games, you should probably buy something like a Surface Laptop 4. Indeed, the Laptop Studio also depends on you wanting to use the pen. If not, there are more powerful options out there like the Dell XPS 15.
The Surface Laptop Studio feels like it's perfect for every occasion.
But if you look at what this is and it sounds like it might be up your alley, you should totally buy one. I’ve fallen in love with the Surface Laptop Studio in my week with it. For me, it feels like it’s perfect for every occasion, with a phenomenal keyboard, a useful form factor, and a beautiful 120Hz display.
As far as the bad goes, my biggest complaint is that for some reason, Microsoft still doesn’t include the webcams that are on the Surface Book, Surface Pro, and even the Surface Go in anything called Surface Laptop. The webcam is FHD, which is way better than what we’ve seen from the brand, but I still want to see that 5MP sensor that I’ve praised so much over the years. My other complaints are pretty minor. I’m disappointed that the SD card slot has gone away, as that’s such a rarity in laptops these days. Also, it’s upsetting that Microsoft never puts cellular connectivity in laptops. The company has only ever made cellular tablets.
But really, I can’t tell you how smitten I’ve become with this product in the short time that I’ve been using it. It just feels like Microsoft got everything right here. I’ve been so critical of the Surface lineup over the years, and I don’t take back a single thing that I’ve said. The Surface Book was bad, the Surface Pro 7 looked dated, Microsoft should have adopted Thunderbolt earlier, etc. But when being critical, it’s so important to acknowledge when things go right, and the Surface Laptop Studio knocks it out of the park.
The performance is exactly where I want it with Tiger Lake H35 chips that are powerful but don’t suck down battery life. The design is sexy, the keyboard is phenomenal, and so on. The Surface Laptop Studio is just so good.
Fossil has launched the Michael Kors Access Gen 6 lineup of Wear OS smartwatches in the Indian market. The new smartwatches are essentially the same as the Fossil Gen 6 lineup that went on sale in the region late last month, but they offer a more premium design.
Michael Kors Access Gen 6: Specifications
Specification
Michael Kors Access Gen 6
Build
Stainless steel
Size(s)
44mm
Display
1.28-inch AMOLED
326 PPI
SoC
Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 4100+
RAM & Storage
1GB RAM
8GB storage
Battery & Charging
4-pin USB fast charger with a magnetic puck
Fast charging support (80% in just over 30 minutes)
Connectivity
Bluetooth 5.0 LE
Wi-Fi
GPS
NFC
Sensors
Accelerometer
Gyroscope
Compass
Altimeter
PPG Heart rate sensor
SpO2
Off-body IR
Ambient light
Audio
Built-in speakers and microphone for calls
Software
Wear OS by Google
Other features
Customizable watch faces and buttons
Interchangeable straps and bracelets
Swimproof
Like the Fossil Gen 6 lineup, the Michael Kors Access Gen 6 features Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Wear 4100+ SoC, a 1.28-inch display, 1GB RAM, and 8GB of onboard storage. However, it’s only available in a single 44mm size variant. The Access Gen 6 supports all the fitness tracking features that you get with the Fossil Gen 6 smartwatches, including blood-oxygen monitoring, continuous heart rate monitoring, various workout modes, and more.
As mentioned earlier, the only noteworthy difference between the Fossil Gen 6 and the Michael Kors Access Gen 6 models is the design. The latter is a more premium offering that features stainless steel bracelets, sparkling pavé accents, and more. Therefore, it commands a higher price. The Gen 6 Bradshaw starts at ₹24,995 and goes up to ₹32,495. It is available through select online and offline retail stores in India. For additional details, check out our coverage of the Fossil Gen 6 lineup.
The Michael Kors Access Gen 6 is a Wear OS smartwatch that packs Qualcomm's Snapdragon Wear 4100+ SoC, a 1.28-inch AMOLED display, and features a premium design.
The Michael Kors Access Gen 6 Bradshaw is also available for purchase in the US. If you’re interested in getting one for yourself or a loved one, you can follow the link above.
