Microsoft has a new Surface laptop, called the Surface Laptop.
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Here's what it's like to use Microsoft's new MacBook rival that runs a brand-new version of Windows 10
Microsoft's new Surface Laptop feels as high-end as it looks.
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At first blush, it feels nice. That should be the case, given how much Microsoft is talking up the build quality of its new take on the traditional clamshell, but that premium feel carried over in the short time I was able to play with the new Surface at the company's New York City event on Tuesday.
The lid is covered in smooth aluminum, which seemed to pick up some light smudges, but the whole device comes off as clean and solidly put together.
It's not the thinnest or lightest machine out there, but, at 14.5 millimeters thick and 2.74 pounds, it's unlikely to encumber you on the go. It also just looks great — the burgundy and dark blue models in particular are striking in a way that should immediately stand out. That's the best thing it has going for it.
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The trade-off is a lack of ports — you get a headphone jack, USB 3.0 port, and mini DisplayPort, and that's it. That's fine enough for a notebook aimed more at college students than pros — photographers aside — but Microsoft's continued rejection of the increasingly popular USB-C isn't great.
The cloth-like Alcantara fabric that coats the palm-rests and lies underneath the keyboard is probably the signature design feature. If you've ever used one of the Surface Pro's pricier keyboard covers, it's more or less that.
I wouldn't say it's more luxurious than metal, but it's soft, warm, and, more notably, different. It's one of those things that'll signify you're Using A Surface, which is kind of the point. How well that fabric will hold up over time is another question, but one for the future.
Likewise, it's too early to say how well the essentials will perform in the long run. But the 13.5-inch touch display was bright, sharp, and responsive, the keyboard had enough travel and space to feel comfortable (unlike, for me, Apple's MacBook), and the trackpad was perfectly acceptable, if a bit stiff to click.
I wasn't able to check out the speaker quality in such a noisy environment, but if nothing else, Microsoft's decision to plant those speakers underneath the keyboard is clever. And the promised 14.5 hours of battery life will be great if it holds up.
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On the inside, the Surface Laptop starts with the latest Intel Core i5 chip, with an option for a stronger Core i7 chip, with boosted graphics, beyond that. You can get 4, 8, or 16 GB of RAM, and 128, 256, or 512 GB of SSD storage. Only the base silver model gets a choice, though; with the other colors, you have to pay $1,299 for a Core i5 and 8 GB of RAM.
My demo unit felt speedy with that configuration, but part of that is because it runs Windows 10 S, the lightweight variant of Windows 10 that Microsoft announced alongside the laptop on Tuesday.
But whereas those laptops run an unhindered version of Windows 10, here you have a Microsoft-ified alternative to Chrome OS. You're mainly running through Microsoft's Edge browser (for now), and you can only download apps from Windows' app store, which has its holes. If you try to download, say, Google Chrome from the web, you'll get a pop-up recommending you use Edge instead.
For a lot of people, including many college students, that's still plenty. Chrome OS has shown that people can get by with just a web browser, Edge is getting better, and the Windows app store has a good chunk of the essentials. (Full versions of Microsoft Office apps are coming soon, too.)
Windows 10 S looks virtually identical to plain Windows 10 in function and aesthetics — you just can't download as much. And if it's anything like Chrome OS, it should get more out of lesser hardware than its beefier sibling.
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But if you need the whole shebang, or you just don't want to pay close to $1,000 to be locked into Microsoft Land, then the Surface Laptop loses a bit of its shine.
Microsoft's ace in the hole is that you can switch to the full Windows 10 for free until the end of the year — it'll be $50 after that — but that lowers the value a bit, particularly if you're using the entry-level model and its lesser RAM and storage. In that sense, the Surface Laptop is as much Microsoft's Chromebook Pixel as Microsoft's MacBook.
Nevertheless, as a piece of hardware, the Surface Laptop feels like it belongs with the other top-end devices in the Surface series. It has that "object of desire" feel going for it, and the lighter software load should help it get more out of what it's working with.
It'll be up to you — and how much value you place on design versus simplified software — to decide whether that's worth the premium.
We'll have a more complete review before the Surface Laptop is released on June 15.
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