Note: This review was first published on 18 December 2024.
The Microsoft Surface Laptop series has come a long way since its first release way back in 2017. Designed to compete with Apple’s MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, the latest Surface Laptop 7 (7th Generation) is arguably Microsoft’s best display of its engineering prowess – the tech giant certainly knows how to make a good hardware when it puts its full weight behind it. But there’s a key change with the latest Surface laptops. Unlike other brands like Dell and ASUS that followed Microsoft’s Copilot+ PC initiative, and have their own Snapdragon-based laptops alongside Intel- and AMD-powered models, Microsoft is going all-in with Qualcomm’s newest mobile chips here.
I spent a few weeks putting the 15-inch Surface Laptop 7 through its paces (it’s also available in a 13.8-inch version), and I quite like what I’ve seen, especially now that it is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite processor. It’s got pretty good performance and fantastic battery life, but just like the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x and Dell XPS 13 (2024) laptops, the Surface Laptop 7 may not work smoothly, or at all, with some mission-critical Windows x86-based apps.
But if you’re looking for a well-rounded, well-built laptop for productivity tasks at a reasonable price, then there’s quite a lot to like about the 15-inch Surface Laptop 7.
Model | Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 |
Display | 15-inch, Touch, 2,496x1664, 120Hz, LCD, Dolby Vision IQ, HDR |
Processor | SnapdragonX Elite X1E80100 Processor (3.40 GHz) |
Memory | 16GB DDR5 |
Storage | 512GB SSD M.2 |
Graphics | IntegratedAdreno GPU |
Battery capacity | 66Wh |
For those who are keen to know what the new Qualcomm processor is all about and if it matters because it's not an Intel or AMD processor, here's our video primer to walk you through:-
Going full metal jacket
My 15-inch test unit is powered by a 12-core Snapdragon X Elite X1E80100 processor and comes with the base specs of 16GB of memory and a 512GB SSD for storage. You could upgrade the memory and storage, but the price jumps significantly from $2,348 up to $3,789 for 64GB and 1TB of memory and storage respectively. That’s a hardcore premium price compared to better spec-ed Snapdragon X-powered laptops, but the Surface Laptop 7 has the build and finish befitting it. In fact, I’d go as far as to say this is easily one of the best-looking Windows laptops of 2024.
Image: HWZ
The all-aluminium chassis is extremely rigid with zero flex, and the bottom edge tapers near the edges to make it appear thinning than it is, reminding me of the original MacBook Air. There’s a trade-off though; at 1.66kg the Surface Laptop 7 isn’t what I would describe as light compared to the competition, but the heft does add to the overall premium “feel” in my opinion.
For display, the laptop comes with a squarish 3:2 aspect ratio LCD touchscreen with an unusual 2,496 x 1,664 pixels resolution that bucks against the trend of 16:9 or even 16:10 aspect ratios. Microsoft says the screens are individually calibrated for accuracy, and there's also Dolby Vision support. It also comes with dynamic refresh rate capability, so the display can ramp up to 120Hz for smoother gameplay and video playback or scale down to 60Hz to conserve battery. The display demonstrated impressive brightness and good colours when watching Netflix shows and editing photos, although at this price, I would have expected an OLED display.
Image: HWZ
Image: HWZ
On the audio front, the speakers perform well enough for Zoom calls. They offer clearer audio than many rivals, but they fall short when it comes to music playback. While they can reach high volumes without distorting, the lack of bass means they don’t provide the depth needed for a satisfying music-listening experience. To be fair, not many small and slim laptops are made for ideal enjoyment with entertainment media anyway.
On the left side of the laptop, Microsoft has provided two USB-C ports, a USB-A port, and a 3.5mm audio jack. Over on the right, you’ll find the proprietary Surface Connect magnetic charging port, which is great because this frees up the USB-C that you’d otherwise use for charging the laptop. There’s even a MicroSDXC card reader (yay!), which is only available on this 15-inch model. Wireless connectivity includes Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4, which are standard fare on Snapdragon X-powered laptops.
Battery life and real-world performance
In my battery and productivity performance tests using UL Solution’s Procyon (the only real-world office productivity benchmarking tool compatible with non-x86 chips), the Surface Laptop 7 performed adequately when compared to the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x and Dell XPS 13 (2024) that I tested. While 16GB is adequate for most productivity tasks, I would recommend going for the 32GB option if you’re intending to throw in some content creation workloads with the laptop. The problem, however, is that Microsoft combines the 32GB memory option alongside a 1TB storage capacity increment. This bumps the price up to $3,248 – almost a 50% increase. There’s no option for a memory-only upgrade.
The higher the score, the better. Image: HWZ
The higher the score, the better. Image: HWZ
The main selling point of the Surface Laptop 7 has got to be its incredible battery stamina, achieving an unprecedented 22 hours and 30 minutes in our Microsoft Office test and more than 15 hours in our video loop benchmark. Microsoft certainly wasn’t kidding with their 22-hour claim. It’s very, very impressive and stands as a record in our lab. Of course, the caveat is that it uses an LCD panel rather than the more power-hungry OLED.
It also did well in Handbrake, where we encoded a 4.7GB 1-hour-long video file and completed the run in 12 minutes and 27 seconds. It’s really not too shabby a score.
Is the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 worth it?
Image: HWZ
Apart from the price tag, there is little I don’t like about the Surface Laptop 7. Microsoft has delivered a laptop that balances sleek design, thoughtful engineering, and solid performance. The all-metal chassis exudes a very nice premium feel, and the battery life is nothing short of astounding. It’s a fantastic showcase of the Windows-on-ARM platform after years of misfires, and I can imagine subsequent generations of Snapdragon X chips will be an even more serious threat to Intel and AMD’s mobile platforms. Battery life performance like that we’ve seen on the Surface Laptop 7 is a game-changer.
However, pricing – especially for configurations with higher memory and storage – is a divisive point for me, and it’s here, despite everything else that I like about it, that the Surface Laptop 7 feels more like a luxury purchase than a value-oriented choice. There are still other great Snapdragon X-powered laptops (such as from Lenovo we've tested and even those powered by Intel) out there that go for a lot less and offer better specifications, but none quite match the look and feel of the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 nor its impressive battery life.
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 is available at the Microsoft Store with prices starting from $1,599 for the 13.8-inch model and $2,348 for the 15-inch model (tested here).
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