The Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 Is Not All It’s Cracked Up To Be
Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 delivers an experience similar to MacBook Air with its slim, solid construction and portable form factor, but has some major drawbacks, including no discrete graphics support and poor gaming performance.
On the left side of your laptop, you will find two USB-C 4.0 ports equipped with power delivery and DisplayPort 1.4a compatibility (no eGPU support), along with a 3.5mm headphone jack and magnetic proprietary Surface Connect port.
Design
One of the hallmarks of Surface Laptop series has always been its sleek, lightweight design. The Surface Laptop 7 shares this trait while offering significant enhancements in terms of visuals.
Microsoft has made several significant updates to their Surface device. Most notably are thinner bezels that meld seamlessly into its rounded display corners. Furthermore, there’s now a larger haptic touchpad which feels incredible to use and includes subtle texture elements to help users know where their fingers are as you click. In addition, the keyboard deck has been modified with more ergonomic curves, plus there are new ports such as one USB-A port, two USB-C ports, audio jack and Surface Connect support.
The 13.8-inch IPS display on the Surface Laptop 7 features the same boxy 3:2 aspect ratio found on previous Surface laptops and boasts impressive specifications. For instance, its maximum brightness can reach 600 nits while supporting up to 120 Hz refresh rate. Microsoft also included AI-powered features to give applications such as Paint more capabilities for image manipulation and creation. Unfortunately we were unable to test gaming on it due to Snapdragon X Elite chipset limitations; during a Q&A session for reviewers Microsoft downplayed this aspect of its performance during Q&A sessions for reviewers during Q&A sessions for reviewers during Q&As session with reviewers during Q&A session where reviewers voiced their concerns for reviewers about gaming on its laptop.
Performance
Microsoft went above and beyond in developing their Surface Laptop 7th Gen, and it shows. Both specs and performance speak volumes; ranking higher than Dell XPS 13 2024 and Asus Zenbook S 15 in various benchmark tests such as Geekbench and CrossMark; its CPU and GPU perform on par with that of MacBook Air while featuring an ARM-based neural processing unit that can handle 45 quadrillion operations per second is just an added perk.
These numbers speak for themselves and the NPU makes this PC one of the fastest we have tested. Additionally, it powers some AI-powered features in applications, like Paint’s Cocreator; I found it especially helpful for creating invitation cards and channeling my inner Picasso despite my less-than-stellar art skills.
The NPU also allows some emulation of Intel-compatible (x86) software, though not perfectly. This mainly applies to gaming performance compared to modern Intel Core processors – though ARM chip performance still trails behind. Overall though, the Surface Laptop 7 stands as one of the premier choices available today for creating content and handling demanding workloads, boasting an astonishing 18 hour and 35 minute battery life when looping standard definition video – something few other laptops we’ve tested can match!
Battery life
The Surface Laptop 7 is an impressive contender in an ultraportable market where portability and long battery life are crucial features for business users. Microsoft’s latest ultraportable utilizes Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite ARM processor to ensure long battery life.
TechRadar performed our looping movie test and the Surface Laptop 7 scored an outstanding 18 hours and 35 minutes run time, an extraordinary result for an ARM laptop that rivals even MacBook standards and is among the best performance we have witnessed from Windows laptops.
Surface Laptop 7’s instant-on capability makes it a valuable companion for business users on the move, unlike other ARM laptops which take longer to wake from sleep mode than smartphones and tablets.
Battery life will vary based on how you use your device, settings and network/feature configurations. To optimize battery performance, close any unused apps that drain power while disabling background tasks that drain battery resources. Also check out your battery health with the Surface app for tips on extending its lifespan over time.
The Surface Laptop 7 features multiple ports, such as two USB-C 4/Thunderbolt 3 ports that support up to 65W PD charging and DP Alt Mode video output, 5-Gbits/sec USB-A port and one of Microsoft’s magnetic Surface Connect ports. Furthermore, Wi-Fi 802.11ac and Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity is supported, along with user-replaceable lithium-ion battery that’s user-replaceable (you must take off case to access). Service documentation has also been clearly marked all components so IT teams or teams can remove easily all components as required by users or IT teams alike.
AI
Microsoft has implemented Artificial Intelligence (AI) into the Surface Laptop 7 by including Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite and Plus processors, which use Reduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC) technology to deliver up to 86% better performance per watt than Intel Core M-series chips.
Performance enhancement should help increase battery life as well. And with its speedy NPU, Windows laptops now boast AI features not previously possible – like automatically cropping selfies that contain faces. In addition, its use improves CPU and GPU performance in apps designed for the ARM architecture or running through Prism emulation; though not all x86 programs may run seamlessly.
NPU also powers Copilot, an AI feature designed to make Surface Laptop 7 even more useful for creating content. Paint now features Cocreator that uses AI to help create Picasso-inspired paintings; additionally there’s Studio Effects mode that uses AI for improving video quality by blurring backgrounds and adding other effects.
All these features combine to make the Surface Laptop 7 an excellent competitor to Mac Books, including long battery life for work and play, an attractive design, decent audio quality and multiple color choices that appeal to many buyers.
