On Monday, Microsoft launched its first consumer AI PCs— the Surface Laptop and Surface Pro –ahead of its annual developers’ conference, Microsoft Build. These devices boast a series of upgrades from their predecessors in nearly every area, with AI taking the driver’s seat. I went hands-on with both Surface releases and am impressed (and slightly envious).
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Before I even used the devices, the upgraded designs for both the Surface Laptop and Surface Pro jumped out at me. The display of the Surface Laptop has significantly improved from the previous version, with thinner bezels that allow users to get an optimal view experience while keeping a smaller, thinner, and less bulky footprint.
I was pleasantly surprised by how vibrant the pictures on the Surface Laptop looked, with crisp contrasts and dynamic colors. This display quality is due to the laptop’s blend of PixelSense touchscreen display, HDR technology, Dolby Vision IQ, and Adaptive color technology, and I’m curious to see how it fares outside of the demo environment.
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Users can choose from a 13.8-inch display, which has a larger viewing area than the traditional 14-inch laptop, or a 15-inch model. Both sizes, despite feeling solidly built, don’t feel heavy, coming in at 2.96 pounds for the 13.8-inch and 3.67 pounds for the 15-inch. To put that into perspective, compared to my nearly five-pound MacBook Pro M1 16-inch laptop, the 15-inch Surface Laptop felt significantly lighter.
The Surface Laptop is offered in Platinum, Black, Dune (a light pink color), and Sapphire (a baby blue color). I was particularly drawn to the Dune colorway, seen below, which offers users a sophisticated, fun, and unique finish. Apple, take notes.
The event also showcased how the laptop can extend to up to three 4K monitors while the device screen is active — a subtle jab at Apple’s M3 MacBook Air, which can only support one display with up to 6K resolution while open or two 4K displays with the laptop lid closed.
Much like the MacBook’s, the Surface Laptop and Surface Pro’s upgrade to a haptic trackpad adds a nice tactile touch, giving users more personalization and control when gliding and clicking.
Beyond design, as an AI reporter and aficionado, I was very interested in how the two devices handled AI applications. I was impressed by how quickly AI applications ran on the device, especially for image generation and live captions. In both cases, the PCs were quick and snappy.
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This speed is facilitated by the devices’ Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus chips, one of the biggest highlights of the new Copilot+ PCs.
How big of an upgrade is the Snapdragon X Elite chip? Microsoft says it allows for 90% faster speeds on the Surface Pro than its predecessor, especially when running AI applications. The new processor also improves the battery life of the Surface Pro with a 14-hour rating for video playback. Again, we’ll have to see how the device performs under real-world tests.
Cocreator ran at impressive speeds on the Surface Pro.
Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNET
From what I saw, the 13-inch LCD panel on the Surface Pro offers the same impressive picture as the Surface Laptop. But for $500 more, you can get the Pro model with an OLED display, which brings higher contrast levels and those inky blacks that MacBooks simply can’t match.
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Lastly, Microsoft unveiled several new AI features during yesterday’s event, including Cocreator, Recall, Live Captions with live translations, Restyle, and Windows Studio effects. After trying them all, I wish MacBooks offered similar functionalities, especially Recall, which I would take advantage of daily. Of course, Apple has the chance to land a counterpunch with WWDC looming. Until then, Microsoft has the edge when it comes to AI applications.
The Surface Laptop and Surface Pro are both available for preorder on the Microsoft website. The Surface Laptop 13.8-inch display starts at $999, and the 15-inch starts at $1,299, while the Surface Pro starts at $999 for the LCD display and $1,499 for OLED.
