Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 review: Success at last

Ever since Apple’s MacBooks switched to the company’s M-series chips, Windows users have wondered when a similar revolution would happen to their machines. To Microsoft’s credit, it wasn’t for lack of trying. In 2012, the company released a processor with an Arm processor, which is the same architecture used in Apple’s silicon. Unfortunately, the small app library, slow performance, and limited software compatibility make it frustrating to use for one type of full-time job. Then in 2017, Microsoft renewed its efforts with . This led to systems like , which featured gorgeous hardware that was again marred by lackluster computing power and crappy software support.

But as the old saying goes: If you fail the first time, try, try again. And after more than a decade of starts and stumbles, Microsoft has done it. By combining Qualcomm’s powerful Oryon cores with its new , Microsoft has turned the Surface Laptop 7 (and its siblings, ) into an almost ideal productivity machine.

Design and display: Premium from top to bottom

While the Surface Laptop 7 (or 7th Edition, as Microsoft likes to call it) features new silicon inside, not much has changed on the outside. But I’m not complaining. It has a sleek all-aluminum chassis with clean, minimalist lines, but it doesn’t look like a MacBook. Microsoft has also made a few small tweaks, such as adding rounded corners to the display, a new haptic touchpad (similar to the one on the ), and a dedicated key for Copilot (more on that later).

As before, the Surface Laptop 7 is available in two sizes. The smaller one has a slightly larger 13.8-inch display than before (up from 13.5), while the larger model has remained at 15 inches. There are also two USB 4 Type-C slots, one USB-A 3.1 connector, a microSD card reader and Microsoft’s Surface Connect magnetic port. So nothing out of the ordinary, but more than enough connectivity to handle most situations. And with the 13-inch model weighing just under three pounds (2.96 lb) and the 15-inch variant weighing in at 3.6 pounds, neither version will add much extra to your bag.

As for the display itself, the 15-inch PixelSense LCD on our Surface Laptop 7 review unit is top notch. In addition to a 120Hz refresh rate, it has been color calibrated to deliver accurate hues while offering great brightness (over 600 nits on a full white screen) and 10-point touch support. There’s even a Gorilla Glass 5 cover to prevent scratches and scuffs. I wish there was an option to upgrade to an OLED panel like the Surface Pro 11.

Performance and Compatibility: New Heights for Windows on Arm

The most impressive thing about the Surface Laptop 7 is how normal it feels. It’s super responsive, has instant wake times, and generally feels extremely fast. But the best part is that you often don’t even know the difference between running native Arm software or when the laptop is using the Microsoft Prism emulator in the background to seamlessly translate applications originally designed for x86 chips. It really is that smooth.

In benchmarks, the Snapdragon X Elite chip lives up to Qualcomm’s lofty performance claims. For example, in Geekbench 6, the Surface Laptop 7 had a multi-core score of 14,400, which is higher than the similarly equipped Intel Core Ultra 7 155H chip (11,920). In fact, the Surface X Elite was even able to outperform the Core Ultra 9 CPU inside, peaking at 12,798.

However, it is important to note that the performance of the X Elite chip depends on how much juice it gets. On the 15-inch Surface Laptop 7, Microsoft allocates up to 30 watts to the processor. But the smaller 13-inch model is capped at 20 watts, so while it should still be pretty fast, you’ll get better performance on larger options. And while the Surface Laptop 7 isn’t fanless like the MacBook Air, even under load the laptop rarely rose above a whisper.

Finally, while most tools and applications just work regardless of what architecture they were designed for, with Windows PCs still relatively early in the transition (at least this way) to Arm-based systems, there are a few core applications that need a bit more time . Some of the big ones are Adobe products like Illustrator and InDesign, while updated versions of After Effects and Premier Pro may not arrive until late 2024.

A quick word about gameplay

Microsoft never said the Surface Laptop 7 was a gaming machine. But with the (Electronics Software Association) showing that 65 percent of Americans play some form of video game every week, the laptop’s ability to break is worth noting. Unfortunately, while the Snapdragon X Elite chip boasts decent benchmarks, a lot of titles that might otherwise be suitable for the Laptop 7 just don’t run. A number of them are competitive games like Fortnite and League of Legends, which contain anti-cheat protocols that have not been updated to work on Arm-based chips. It’s doubly frustrating because in case lol, the game installs normally and shows no warnings except for Riot’s Vanguard asking you to restart your system before launching the game. But no matter how many times you do this, the game never starts.

That said, it’s not a completely lost cause. I find they like casual 2D titles Until breach and Vampire Survivor it runs smoothly so you still have some options. And if you want to play more demanding titles, there are always streaming services like Xbox Cloud Gaming and NVIDIA GeForce Now, which are naturally unaffected by architecture or OS limitations.

Copilot+ AI Features: More of a bonus than a true necessity

One of the big selling points of this new breed was supposed to be Microsoft’s built-in AI capabilities. But in reality, they are rather useful bonuses from time to time. The tool with the most potential is Recall, which takes screenshots of your desktop so AI can help you find things later. Unfortunately, due to security concerns, this feature will initially only be available before its official release sometime in the future.

Meanwhile, the range of other Copilot+ AI tools seems somewhat limited. The Image Creator button in the Photos app allows you to generate images based on word prompts and pretty much provides. However, the results still aren’t as detailed or realistic as what you get from more powerful cloud services like Midjourney. But hey, it’s free. To make things even more confusing, there’s another button in Paint also labeled Image Creator, but it’s actually a completely different feature with limited uses and results that aren’t as good as the similarly named option in Photos.

Finally, the most useful AI features are Live Captions and the Restyle Image tool in Photos. The former uses AI to creatively edit or transform existing footage, allowing you to restyle an image into something that looks like anime or an impressionist painting, while the latter provides real-time translation for videos, podcasts and more. And while Microsoft’s subtitles could be a bit more accurate, they’re generally good enough to get the gist of whatever you’re watching or listening to.

Battery life: More than a full day of battery life

Although emulating apps designed for x86 processors may use a bit more juice, the Surface Laptop 7 has more than enough battery life. Even though our usual launch test hasn’t yet been updated for Arm-based chips, when I streamed 1080p video over Wi-Fi, the device lasted 17 hours and 38 minutes, which is several hours more than I usually get from some similarly equipped CPU competitors Intel and AMD. And in general, the Laptop 7 often seemed to do even better, often ending the day with around 50 percent charge.

Another advantage of the Snapdragon X chips is the almost zero battery consumption when the system is asleep, which I attribute to Qualcomm’s experience in making efficient processors for smartphones. I’ve noticed that the Surface Laptop 7 only loses one or two percent of battery overnight, giving you the confidence to leave it unplugged for days at a time.

You can use either the magnetic Surface Connect port with the included power cube for charging. But the added bonus is that the Surface Laptop 7 also supports USB-C charging, so if you want to travel light and use a universal adapter to keep this and a bunch of other gadgets charged, you can.

Pack

While the road here was plagued with bumps and potholes, the Surface Laptop 7 arrived ready to compete. And it’s not just a big rival to the MacBook Air, it’s paving a new path for Windows PCs. It’s fast, quiet, has excellent battery life, and plays well with most of your apps. Sure, a few major programs still need additional support, and you may run into problems when trying to play games or install specialized software. And when you specify it, it can also be a bit expensive. The 15-inch model starts at $1,300, but our review unit with a Snapdragon X Elite chip, 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD costs $2,100. But for general productivity, the Surface Laptop 7 and its Snapdragon X Elite chip is a revelation and a revolutionary step forward for Windows as we know it.