Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 Review

Verdict

The Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 is a dear laptop, but it feels generic compared to its rivals with a central processing unit upgrade its only real number upgrade over the Surface Laptop 3. It looks outdated with its chunky bezel and lacks a fingerprint lector. Despite these shortcomings it placid offers reasonable rate at this price .

Pros

• Upgraded performance compared to Surface Laptop 3
• Superb screen for watching video
• Lightweight build
• Decent battery life

Cons

• Outdated design with chunky bezel
• Flex under keyboard for Alcantara model
• Lack of fingerprint reader
• No Thunderbolt support

Availability

• united kingdom RRP : £999

  Reading: Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 Review

• USA RRP : $ 999.99
• Canada RRP : CA $ 1299.99

Key Features

• Speedy productivity performance : Intel ’ s 11th Gen processors ensure a blowy performance for any basic education or office undertaking .

• high resolution screen : The 2496 adam 1664 settlement is sharper than a standard Full HD display, making it a bang-up option for video .

• touch screen : The Surface Laptop 4 screen supports 10 point multi-touch, making it easer to scroll through a web site with your finger .

Introduction

The Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 is the fourth entry in Microsoft’s premium ultra-portable laptop range. However, with no design update in sight, this feels more like a minor update than a fully-fledged successor to the Surface Laptop 3. 
Microsoft has upgraded the processor options, with both 11th Generation Intel Core and AMD Ryzen 4000 chips available for an excellent productiveness performance. The new processors besides give Microsoft ’ s laptop a far better battery life, addressing one of the major flaws of its predecessor .
Is the Surface Laptop 4 better than the Surface Laptop 3 ? absolutely. But the lack of improvements to the design – which is looking very outdated – means Microsoft lacks the edge it once had in this market, and can no longer be considered as one of the best laptop options .

Design

• Both 13-inch and 15-inch versions available
• Looks outdated with chunky bezel
• Keyboard flex is very distracting 

The Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 comes in two phase factors : 13-inch and 15-inch with Microsoft sending me the former. Both are conventional clamshell laptops, with no convertible hinge, although it does have partake patronize if you want to scroll by flicking your finger .
You besides have the option of a satiny aluminum shell, or an Alcantara application, which is like having your laptop cladded in carpet. It ’ south strange, but it looks great and is comfortable to rest your palms on .

My biggest issue with the design is that it looks fabulously outdated compared to modern competitors such as the Dell XP S 13. While most laptops have nowadays trimmed down the bezel to afford more screen distance, Microsoft is still using the lapp chunky surrounding it did in 2019. It looked okay back then, but immediately it ’ south starting to look prehistoric .
To call this laptop despicable would be unfair though, specially when you close the hat. The brilliantly colored aluminum lid looks ace, and the chassis is extremely slick. It ’ s not the lightest ultrabook about at 1.3kg, but it ’ south hush dead easy to lift up with one hand sol there ’ s no topic there. You can pick from four lovely colours excessively, with the Ice Blue mannequin ( reviewed here ) being my personal favorite .

The port site is fine. You get one USB-C ( which lacks Thunderbolt 4 confirm ), one USB-A, a earphone jack and Microsoft ’ s own Surface Connect Port. I ’ meter not a big fan of the latter, as it only supports power delivery without purchasing extra accessories, and cables can be pulled out of the laptop far excessively well despite the magnetic connection .
And then there ’ s the keyboard. I ’ ve been a long-run fan of Microsoft ’ sulfur keyboards, but I found a big offspring here. The Alcantara design here seems to have a noticeable flex when I ’ thousand hammering down on the key. This results in an annoying bouncing feel, which is extremely off-putting .

There ’ randomness unfortunately no fingerprint scanner, which is curious since it features on the majority of modern laptops these days, including the Surface Laptop Go. It does support Windows Hello however, which means you can sign in via facial recognition engineering, but I personally feel that fingerprint scanners are more seamless and less likely to incur issues .

Screen

• The 2256 x 1504 resolution ensures a sharper display than Full HD laptops
• The a 3:2 aspect ratio is ideal for viewing websites and social media.
• Isn’t recommended for highbrow content creation

The 13-inch Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 I have for review has a 2256 ten 1504 settlement, which basically means it has a sharper expose than the more distinctive Full HD that most laptop feature. The 15-inch model has an identical 201 PPI ( pixels per edge ), then should see the same acuteness despite having a larger screen .
Microsoft has opted for a 3:2 view proportion, which results in a tall, more square-shaped screen compared to older laptops. This is an increasingly popular laptop course, as it fits in extra upright space for the likes of websites and social media .

If you want a laptop for watching lots of video, then the Surface Laptop 4 is a big option, specially compared to the small Surface Laptop Go. This is backed up by fantastic benchmark results with the Surface Laptop scoring an impressive 394-nit luminosity, which is well above the average .
The 1373:1 contrast is besides good. You can find equal laptops that perform better here, but it ’ s placid easily senior high school enough to make colours appear punchy for both photos and videos .
The Surface Laptop 4 international relations and security network ’ t a full choice for creators who want accurate colours. It covers 91.3 % of the sRGB gamut, but fails to surpass 65 % for either Adobe RGB or DCI-P3. This means if you ’ ra working with color sensitive tasks with photos and videos, you ’ re best off looking elsewhere .

Performance 

• More powerful than the Surface Laptop 3
• Competitive CPU performance
• Physical drive’s read and write speeds could be faster

The Surface Laptop 4 comes in both AMD and Intel flavours. I unfortunately haven ’ thymine been able to test the AMD version, which makes up the entry-level configurations with Ryzen 4000 chips .
Microsoft sent me a recapitulation sample of an 11th Generation i5 chip, although an i7 processor is available excessively .
The new processor options are, by a long way, the biggest upgrades for the Surface Laptop 4 compared to its predecessor. I ran respective benchmark tests on the laptop, and found the newly nick ensures faster speeds compared to the Surface Laptop 3 and is competitive with the Dell XPS 13 – but the MacBook Air still leads by a comfortable margin with the Apple M1 chip .

In rehearse though, you credibly won ’ t notice a remainder when swapping between the Surface Laptop 3 and Surface Laptop 4. Both systems offer a breezy operation for productivity tasks, with no noticeable slowdown for web browse and video streaming .
The promote Intel Xe graphics will likely make a bigger impression on you, increasing the laptop capabilities for subject creation and gambling. Don ’ t expect it to run CyberPunk 2077, but it can handle the likes of Fortnite and Apex Legends with dialled back settings .
The Surface Laptop 4 besides sees adequate SSD speeds, with a read score of 2280 MB/s and a write score of 1170 MB/s. Those aren ’ t the fastest scores I ’ ve seen from an ultrabook, but should even ensure crisp write and loading times. however, I ’ thousand disappoint to see the cheapest model only has 256GB, which is absurdly meager for a laptop that costs a deluxe .

Battery

• Lasted 10 hours and 54 minutes in benchmark test
• Took 90 minutes to fully recharge

The upgrade processor options are the headline features for the Surface Laptop 4, but I think the improvements to battery efficiency are actually more beneficial than the performance gains .
After turning the brightness down to 150 nits and running the PCMark 10 Office simulation, the Surface Laptop 4 lasted 10 hours and 54 mins before shutting down. That ’ s a respectable score, but silent lags behind the likes of the Acer Swift 5 and Lenovo Yoga Slim 7, which hover around the 15-hour score .

bill that I ’ ve been using the Intel Core i5 exemplary, as you may potentially get better stamen with the AMD model .
It took approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes for the laptop ’ randomness battery tank to wholly replenish, which is reasonably handy if you forget to charge it nightlong .

Best Offers

Should you buy it?

If you’re loyal to Microsoft:
If you ignore pricing, then the Surface Laptop 4 is the identical best clamshell laptop from Microsoft you can buy thanks to the performance courtesy of the latest Intel processors .
You’re looking for value:
If you want the best value laptop going, then the older Surface Laptop 3 is a better choice. The MacBook Air besides offers a far superior performance despite sharing a similar price point .

Final Thoughts

The Surface Laptop 4 is a good laptop, but it doesn ’ t in truth offer anything dependable compared to the competition. The upgrade to the Intel ’ s latest processors has ensured it ’ s rapid enough to compete with the Dell XPS 13, but it ’ sulfur looking outdated since Microsoft refused to give it a makeover. I ’ d personally recommend the discount Surface Laptop 3 rather if you ’ re not bothered about fooling gambling .
Trusted score

FAQs

Does this laptop have Windows 10 installed? Yes, the Surface Laptop 4 fall with Windows 10 pre-installed, with a rid promote to Windows 11 on free. Does it have a touchscreen? Yes, the Surface Laptop 4 supports allude stimulation. Does it have a 2-in-1 design? No, the Surface Laptop 4 can only be used as a traditional clamshell laptop.

Trusted Reviews’ Test Data

‹

Geekbench 5 multi core

Geekbench 5 single core

3DMark Time Spy

Battery recharge time

Battery Life

PCMark Battery (office)

DCI-P3

Adobe RGB

sRGB

White Visual Colour Temperature

Contrast

Black level

Brightness

CrystalMarkDisk Write Speed

CrystalDiskMark Read speed

PCMark 10

Microsoft Surface Laptop 4
4844
1307
1493
90 mins

11 hour
11 hour
64.8 %
63 %
91.3 %
6465 K
1373:1
0.2872 nits
394.25 nits
1169.96 MB/s
2280.38 MB/s
4088
›

Specs

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Manufacturer

Battery

Screen Technology

Touch Screen

Convertible?

Connectivity

RAM

Colours

Ports

Display Technology

Refresh Rate

Resolution

Operating System

ASIN

Weight

Size (Dimensions)

Screen Size

Storage Capacity

Front Camera

UK RRP

USA RRP

CPU

CA RRP

Microsoft Surface Laptop 4
Microsoft
47.4 Whr
information science
Yes
No
WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0
8GB
Ice Blue, Sandstone, Platinum, Matte Black
1x USB-C, 1x USB-A, 3.5mm earphone jackfruit, 1x Surface Connect larboard
liquid crystal display
60 Hz
2256 ten 1504
Windows 10 dwelling
B08VJMXKYK
1.3 KG
14.5 308 223 MM x ten
13.5 inches
512GB
720p
£999
$ 999.99
Intel Core i5-1135G7
CA $ 1299.99
›

Jargon buster

Thunderbolt

Thunderbolt is a port technology that enables faster data transfer speeds than standard USB-C ports, while also allowing for multiple other functions such as outputting images to external monitors, power delivery and connecting to an Ethernet network.

GPU

The graphics processing unit is designed to render graphics, which is particularly important for gaming, creating 3D models and editing video.

Bluetooth 5.0

Bluetooth 5.0 is the latest iteration of the standard, and allows data to be sent at doubly ampere much as speed over former standards, cover four times vitamin a much in terms of distance and transfer eight times a much data .

Wi-Fi 6

One of the latest radio standards that allows for quicker speeds and better coverage when paired with compatible routers .