The first Microsoft Surface Laptop powered by Snapdragon X shows the potential of the move to Arm. Lingering emulation issues should make potential buyers think twice, but the performance boost, impressive Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 battery life, and some interesting new AI features offer a sleek, refined Windows experience. I’ve been using the first Copilot Plus PC (Microsoft 7th Gen Surface Laptop) for over a week now, and the experience has been mixed. I’ve waited seven years for Windows on Arm to deliver on its promise of long battery life and performance that rivals the best in the industry. Thankfully, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X platform delivers on these fronts, but there are still some caveats that should make potential buyers think twice before spending so much money.
On the other hand, we have AI, the current buzzword in the tech industry. While AI does offer some impressive capabilities, it’s on the verge of overuse and over-stuffing into every little feature of smartphones and now laptops. Add in competitive processing, and Microsoft is hoping AI can outdo Apple’s MacBook. But are Copilot Plus PCs the future of computing or just a flash in the pan?
If you’re considering buying one of these new machines, here’s everything you need to know about the experience.
For this review, I tested a 15-inch Microsoft Surface Laptop (2024) with a 12-core Snapdragon X Elite (X1E80100), 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD configuration.
Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Gen (2024)
Microsoft Surface Laptop
Copilot Plus PCs Meet Our Hardware Needs
Microsoft Surface 7th Gen USB C Ports
While I used a Microsoft Surface Laptop for this review, there are actually a lot of options if you want to experience the Copilot Plus PC experience. Dell, HP, Samsung, and others all offer hardware in the $1,300 price range with the same or similar Snapdragon X CPUs and dedicated Copilot keys. So, in terms of the core experience, these PCs are all very similar; the design, keyboard, and display features are very different.
Still, the Microsoft Surface Laptop’s design sets a new standard, and it’s well built, as you’d expect from a seventh-generation $999-plus laptop. The recycled aluminum alloy comes in a stylish Sapphire (blue) or Dune (bronze/tan) colorway, as well as practical black and silver. I opted for the latter and was not disappointed. With a pixel-dense 2,496 x 1,664 HDR touchscreen, responsive tactile keys, and future-proof Wi-Fi 7 support, Microsoft certainly showed us how good the Copilot Plus PC hardware is.
My only complaint: The 15-inch model is a bit heavy at 1.7 kg (3.67 pounds), compared to the less-than-1 kg Huawei MateBook X Pro (2024) Ultrabook and the 1.24 kg MacBook Air. Still, Microsoft has packed in a battery that should easily get you through a full workday. As everyone has said, battery life on these devices is truly outstanding. I haven’t experienced Microsoft’s 20-hour video playback or 15-hour web browsing metrics (at a fairly dim 150 nits brightness), but the latter isn’t far off the 10 hours or more I’ve seen when using a laptop during the day. But there’s a big asterisk with these battery claims, which we’ll get to later.
No matter which Copilot Plus PC you choose, you’re getting Snapdragon X performance, AI extras, and long Laptop Battery life.
For a cutting-edge device, I found the selection of USB ports a little odd. Two multifunction USB-C ports are flanked by USB-A sockets and a 3.5mm headphone jack, while a microSD card is hidden in another port, which I find useful. But it’s 2024, and I could live without the old port types if it made the laptop a little lighter (my desktop audio, display, and keyboard are on dongles anyway), but I appreciate that others might still find some use in these traditional use cases. Unfortunately, the USB-A port failed a few times for me, completely refusing to accept or power any connections until a reboot. Likewise, the USB-C port sometimes struggled to communicate with the DisplayPort through my USB-C hub. Maybe there’s something wrong with my device, or the hub isn’t very good. I haven’t had this issue with other laptops, though.
When you do eventually need to power the laptop, the 65W USB Power Delivery gets you back on pretty quickly, even if it’s not the highest power level you’ll see in a laptop of this class. Microsoft stubbornly sticks with its stupid proprietary connector port and bundles a 12-pin charger with the laptop (39W for the 13-inch model, 65W for the 15-inch). As far as I’m concerned, this plug is just e-waste, since I already power the laptop with one of the many USB-C plugs I already have.
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