Surface Laptop (7th generation)

Last updated

Surface Laptop (7th generation)
Microsoft Surface logo.svg
Developer Microsoft
Product family Microsoft Surface
Type Laptop
GenerationSeventh
Release date18 June 2024;17 days ago (2024-06-18)
Introductory price15": USD $1299 - 2,499
13.8": USD $999 - 2,499
Operating system Windows 11 Home
Upgradeable to Windows 11 Pro
CPU Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus or
Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite
Qualcomm Hexagon (NPU)
Memory16 GB, 32 GB, 64 GB RAM
Storage1 TB, 512 GB, 256 GB
Removable storage Removable SSD
Display PixelSense Flow Touchscreen
3:2 Aspect Ratio
15": 2496 x 1664, 201 PPI
13.8": 2304 x 1536, (201 ppi)
Graphics Adreno
SoundOmnisonic Speakers with Dolby Audio, 3.5 mm headphone jack, dual far-field studio mics
InputBuilt in: touchscreen, ambient light sensor, keyboard,

touchpad

Sold Separately: mouse, stylus pen
Camera1080p HD front facing Studio camera
TouchpadBuilt in
Connectivity15": Bluetooth 5.4, WiFi 7, USB-C, USB-A, microSDXC, Surface Connect
13.8": Bluetooth 5.4, WiFi 7, USB-C, USB-A, Surface Connect
Power15": 65W
13.8": 39W
Online services Microsoft Store, OneDrive
Dimensions15": 329 x 239 x 18.29 mm
(12.96 x 9.41 x 0.72 in)
13.8": 301 x 220 x 17.5 mm
(11.85 x 8.67 x 0.69 in)
Mass15": 1,664 grams (3.668 lb)
13.8": 1,342 grams (2.959 lb)
Predecessor Surface Laptop 6
Related Surface
Website www.surface.com

The Surface Laptop (7th generation) (also referred to as the Surface Laptop 7th Edition) is a laptop computer developed by Microsoft. It is the seventh generation of Surface Laptop, and was unveiled alongside the Surface Pro (11th generation). It is the first Surface Laptop released for Windows on ARM. It's also the first Surface Laptop with a built-in NPU designed for generative AI, via Microsoft Copilot+ [1]

Contents

Background and reveal

Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon X line of CPUs on Oct 10, 2023. As they did with Microsoft, they partnered with several manufacturers such as HP, Dell, Lenovo, Asus, and Samsung to release Windows laptops powered by the ARM-based CPUs. [2]

Microsoft announced the Surface Laptop 7 and Surface Pro 11 at an AI-related press event on May 20, 2024. The press release touted performance, efficiency, and battery life that would rival the Macbook Air M3, and major performance gains over the Surface Pro 9. The Surface Laptop 7 was announced in two form factors and four colors: 15” and 13.8” display; and colors sapphire, dune, platinum, and black. The CPU options available are the Snapdragon X Plus with 10 cores, and the Snapdragon X Elite with 12 cores. The devices contain a Hexagon NPU for use with Microsoft Copilot+ generative AI app. [3]

While Windows on ARM has existed since Windows RT and the first generation Surface tablet in 2012, the devices and OS were met with a mixed critical reception, and failed to be widely adopted by consumers. The Nvidia Tegra 3 SoC was considered underwhelming, and Windows RT lacked a practical amount of apps. This was due to low ARM-native app availability, and no x86 emulation to run x86-based apps. [4] Subsequent ARM based Surface devices include the Surface 2 (Nvidia Tegra 4), Surface Pro X, and as an option for the Surface Pro 9 (both Microsoft SQ). The latter two devices were initially released with the ARM variants of Windows 10 and Windows 11 respectively, and included a built-in x86 emulator for app support. The performance was improved over early Surface devices, and had more impressive battery life than x86-based Surface tablets. [5]

With Apple’s transition to Apple Silicon in 2020, ARM was seen as an increasingly viable option for laptop and desktop PCs, no longer being tied largely to just mobile phones and tablets. The Snapdragon X family of CPUs sought to provide the best performance, improved battery life, and lower heat output as compared to x86 Surface devices (the latter two still considered pain points of x86 Windows mobile devices), as well as integrate generative AI features and the Hexagon NPU. ARM-native apps have also seen larger support on Windows now than ever before. Microsoft claims that 90% of total app minutes that users spend in apps now have native ARM versions. [6] Google released Chrome on ARM in 2024, and Adobe has been rolling out ARM native apps for Photoshop, Illustrator, and Premier Pro. [7] [8]

The new version of the x86 compatibility layer included in the Windows 11 24H2 update was named Prism, and was claimed to offer major performance improvements over the previous compatibility layers in Surface on ARM devices. [9]

Hardware and features

Software

Surface Laptop 7 models ship with a pre-installed 64-bit version of Windows 11 Home (which may be upgraded to Pro for a fee) and a trial of Office 365. Windows 11 24H2 includes an updated x86 emulator, now called Prism. Similar to Rosetta 2 on Apple Silicon, this is a compatibility layer which allows x86-based applications to run on the ARM instruction set, to address apps that have not yet seen ARM-native releases. [12]

Windows 11 includes Microsoft Copilot for AI features. Microsoft Recall, a controversial snapshot search history AI feature was disabled upon launch, and will be opt-in only once it launches. Recall was widely derided upon it's reveal, citing security and privacy concerns, prompting Microsoft to make it an opt-in only feature. [13]

Release and reception

The Surface Laptop 7 was released on June 18, 2024, and received generally positive reviews. Allisa James of Tech Radar cited great performance, battery life, display, and keyboard. She said that the Snapdragon X processors handle the daily workload quite well, the battery got about 15 hours off of regular usage, and 10 hours off of Tech Radar’s video playback test. While also stating that it has middling port selection, and should have an OLED option available. She gives an overall rating of 4.88/5.0. Saying to buy it if you want great performance and battery life, but to avoid if you want better port selection or want a gaming laptop. [14]

Tom Warren of The Verge considers the SL7 the best competitor to the MacBook Air, and that Microsoft has closed the gap between the two brands, and raised the bar for expectations for a Microsoft laptop. He cited great battery life, overall performance for most apps, and the default 16GB configuration as positives, but notes that gaming support is limited, AI feels gimmicky, and x86 emulation will hit the battery and performance of the laptop. He was initially skeptical of the baseline $999 model, but decided to keep it, given the impressive battery life. He also noted the improved bezels, 1080p camera, and haptic touchpad. He said that performance in ARM-native apps was comparable to any given x86 laptop, but that using x86 apps and the emulation will have a mixed reception. While apps like Discord have noticeably improved with the use of ‘’Prism’’. The device also ran pretty cool, with fans only spinning up during benchmark tests, and that “even at full speed, they’re not unbearable”. [15]

Warren also commented on Windows on ARM as a whole. He noted that the Windows on ARM experience has improved dramatically from the Surface Pro X in 2019. Noting popular apps such as Photoshop, DropBox, Spotify, Prime, Hulu, Firefox, Chrome, Vivaldi, Edge, Brave, and Opera are all ARM-native now. He says that after a week, he hasn’t seen the erratic behavior that plagued previous x86 emulation on Windows on ARM, but says it doesn’t measure up quite to Microsoft’s claimed performance. Ultimately, it depends on the complexity of the app. And that Qualcomm should engage with app developers on how to best optimize the apps for the hardware, as they cannot rely on Prism to handle everything. He also states that gaming experience is lacking: Some games won’t even run, others run at a particularly mid performance, and many anti-cheat softwares use kernel drivers that aren’t yet supported by ARM. He ultimately feels that ARM-native app accessibility will only improve within the coming years, and that Windows on ARM finally feels poised to succeed. [16]

Matthew S. Smith of PC World likewise cited the great battery life, performance in every day use, and overall form factor as positives for the Surface Laptop 7. He said that gaming performance isn’t very good (gamers should generally steer clear), wasn’t impressed with the keyboard compared to other laptops, and also cited the lack of an OLED option. He too cited improved bezels, great touchpad, and great 1080p webcam. [17]

Serviceability and repairability

Microsoft has released service guides for Surface Laptop 7 and Surface Pro 11. [18]

iFixit has given both the Surface Laptop 7 and Surface Pro 11 an overall rating of 8/10 on the repairability scale. Noting the improvements over previous Surface devices, the user-removable SSD, and ease of removing the bottom cover and access of the battery, but lamented on the soldered-on RAM. [19]

Timeline

Timeline of Surface devices
Surface Duo 2Surface DuoSurface Hub 3Surface Hub 2SSurface HubSurface Studio 2Surface Studio 2Surface StudioSurface Laptop SESurface Laptop Studio 2Surface Laptop StudioSurface Laptop Go 3Surface Laptop Go 2Surface Laptop GoSurface Laptop (7th generation)Surface Laptop 6Surface Laptop 5Surface Laptop 4Surface Laptop 3Surface Laptop 2Surface LaptopSurface Book 3Surface Book 2Surface BookSurface Pro XSurface Pro XSurface Go 4Surface Go 3Surface Go 2Surface GoSurface Pro (11th generation)Surface Pro 10Surface Pro 9Surface Pro 8Surface Pro 7Surface Pro 7Surface Pro 6Surface Pro (2017)Surface Pro 4Surface Pro 3Surface Pro 2Surface ProSurface 3Surface 2Surface (2012 tablet)Surface Laptop (7th generation)

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References

  1. ↑ "Surface Laptop Fact Sheet" (PDF). Microsoft News. May 2024. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  2. ↑ "Introducing Our Next Gen Intelligent PC Platforms: The Snapdragon X Series". www.qualcomm.com. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  3. ↑ "Microsoft announces new Surface lineup with Qualcomm Snapdragon X chips". www.techradar.com. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  4. ↑ "Review: The Microsoft Surface Tablet". www.businessinsider.com. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  5. ↑ "Microsoft Surface Pro X (2020) review: ARM gets more muscle". www.theverge.com. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  6. ↑ "Accelerating innovation: A new era of AI at work begins". www.blog.windows.com. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  7. ↑ "Google just launched a faster, more efficient Chrome browser for Windows, but there's a catch". ZDNet . Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  8. ↑ "Adobe finally takes Windows on Arm seriously with native versions of Premiere Pro and Illustrator coming next month". www.xda-developers.com. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  9. ↑ "Microsoft says "Prism" translation layer does for Arm PCs what Rosetta did for Macs". www.arstechnica.com. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  10. ↑ "Meet the New Surface Laptop 7th Edition, a Copilot+ PC". www.microsoft.com. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  11. ↑ "Surface Laptop Fact Sheet" (PDF). Microsoft News. May 2024. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  12. ↑ "MMicrosoft says "Prism" translation layer does for Arm PCs what Rosetta did for Macs". Ars Technica. 20 May 2024. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  13. ↑ "Microsoft's all-knowing Recall AI feature is being delayed". The Verge. 13 June 2024. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  14. ↑ "Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 review: Makes me want to believe in the Surface series again". www.techradar.com. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  15. ↑ "Surface Laptop review: Microsoft's best MacBook Air competitor yet". www.theverge.com. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  16. ↑ "Windows on Arm finally has legs". www.theverge.com. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  17. ↑ "Surface Laptop 7 review: A new era for Windows laptops". www.pcworld.com. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  18. ↑ "Download Surface Service Guides from Official Microsoft Download Center". Microsoft.com. 19 June 2024. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  19. ↑ "From 0/10 to 8/10: Microsoft Puts Repair Front and Center". www.ifixit.com. 22 June 2024. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
Preceded by Surface Laptop
7th generation
With: Surface Pro (11th generation) 		Succeeded by


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