Microsoft today announced the Surface Laptop Studio, which is the successor to its Surface Book series of powerful laptops. The Surface Laptop Studio is a complete redesign of Microsoft's flagship laptop. It eliminates the removable display and replaces it with one that pulls forward to convert from tablet to laptop (or studio mode as Microsoft calls it).
Surface Laptop Studio is the most powerful Surface ever made, according to Pete Kyriacou (Vice President of Devices at Microsoft). This device is the culmination years of Surface innovation in hinges, display and silicon and brings together the best of the Surface legacy into one powerful device.
Display and hinge are the most obvious and immediate changes to the Surface Book successor. The PixelSense Flow display measures 14.4 inches (2400 x 1600) and supports 120Hz and Dolby vision. Microsoft has developed a flexible Dynamic Woven Hinge that Microsoft claims is durable and allows the laptop to switch between modes just like the larger Surface Studio. Surface Laptop Studio supports three modes, namely stage, studio, and laptop.
The laptop mode arranges your display exactly like a regular laptop. It has a full keyboard, and a touchpad with haptics. Stage mode allows you to move the display forward so it is suited for streaming, gaming, or presenting. The keyboard will be covered by this angle, which is better suited to watching Netflix, playing games, touching it, or using the Surface Slim Pen 2 digital inking device.
Microsofts last mode is studio. It's designed to be used for sketching, writing and any other creative activities. Microsoft is careful not to call this tablet mode because the Surface Laptop Studio weighs in at almost four pounds and is 0.7 inches thick.
I have never taken the Surface Book display out of my Surface Book, so the new Laptop Studio design keeps the main focus on the laptop modes while still allowing for some flexibility for inking fans. It looks more like the Acers Ezel range of laptops.
Microsoft has moved most of its components to the Surface Laptop Studio's base, unlike the Surface Book. This will increase the durability of the laptop but also means that any heat generated will be dissipated onto the lap. You can also store the Surface Slim Pen 2, which you can buy separately, in the base.
The Surface Laptop Studio is powered by Intel's quad-core Core i5 and Core i7 processors. Core i5 models come with Intel Iris Xe graphics. Core i7 models include Nvidias RTX3050 Ti GPU with 4GB VRAM. There will be 16GB to 32GB RAM options, as well as up to 2TB removable SSD storage.
These specs make the Surface Laptop Studio extremely capable of running the most recent PC games. Microsoft has not traditionally promoted the Surface Book as a gaming laptop. However, the company is now embracing this idea with Surface Laptop Studio.
Microsoft will be using Thunderbolt 4 to power the Surface Laptop Studio, just like the Surface Pro 8. Thunderbolt 4 will have two USB 4 ports, along with the Surface Connect charging port. There will also be a 3.5mm headphone socket and a Surface Connect charging port. Thunderbolt support allows you to connect your Surface Laptop Studio to multiple 4K displays and high-speed external storage. You can also use external GPU enclosures to make this device a complete gaming computer.
Microsoft is taking preorders for Surface Laptop Studio now. It will ship October 5th at a starting price of $1,599.99
