Microsoft's Surface Laptop Studio is both familiar yet unique. You won't be able to tell the difference if you don't look closely enough. It looks like a standard, clamshell notebook. Apple's MacBook Pro designs share many similarities. The rounded corners, layout of keyboard and trackpad, as well as the port layouts, all scream Apple.
In typical Surface fashion, however, you will see something else when you look closer. The Laptop Studio can be used as a regular laptop. However, it can also be pulled forward to allow for touch interaction. Or you can lay the screen flat to write on it. Microsoft isn't the only manufacturer to use such a design. However, the Surface Laptop Studio is the most sleek laptop with it.
The company sees digital artists using it in a variety of positions, such as to draw on it or to lay it flat when connected to a monitor, mouse and keyboard to take digital notes. This is a continuation of the Surface Book line by Microsoft, but it doesn't compromise on portability and performance. The Laptop Studio is as good as a regular laptop and as well as a tool for creating digital art.
This evolution is not cheap. For $1,599.99, the Laptop Studio comes with a basic model. You can upgrade it to a faster processor, more RAM, storage, or a discrete GPU and easily add over a thousand dollars. Even then, the Laptop Studio does not have the latest graphics cards or chips. There are many great laptops for creators, and many offer much more power for a fraction of the price. The Laptop Studio pivoting screen or head-turning design is worth it.
Laptop Studios' top half is slightly thicker than normal laptop lids, but it is perfectly normal for normal use. It opens easily with just one finger, and the main hinge is strong. This is not a problem with Microsoft's older Surface Book design. The aluminum and magnesium chassis are strong and sturdy, with no flex.
Laptop Studios' design is stronger and more stable than a typical convertible laptop that has a 360-degree hinge. You can choose from more powerful components than what you would find in a convertible laptop, or Microsoft's thin-and-light Surface Pro 8.
It is a touch screen of 14.4 inches with 2400x 1600 pixels and a 120Hz refresh speed. It is bright and accurate in color, much like Surface displays. The screen can also be split between multiple Windows 11 Snap layouts, which allows you to easily divide the screen. The 120Hz refresh rate allows for smoother scrolling, improved touch interactions, and lower latency when using pen input. Surface-signature 3 to 2 aspect ratio makes browsing websites and working with documents more enjoyable. It also gives the Laptop Studio an almost identical footprint as a 15-inch laptop. This laptop is over four pounds and 0.7 inches thick. However, it's not very portable.
It is difficult to pull the screen forward. You will need to reach up and bend the top part backwards until the magnets that hold the bottom in place are released. Then you can bring the screen closer to your face. The screen can be parked halfway across the deck. You can tent it over the keyboard while still having access to the trackpad. The deck has magnets that hold the edge of your screen in place. This mode is too vertical for a pen to be used comfortably on, so I couldn't find any other uses.
The screen can be lifted up from the tent position and flattened down completely, making it awkward and heavy. This is a good way to draw or write because the screen is flat. You can also lean on it and use a pen to start drawing. It is too heavy and bulky to be used as a tablet or for reading or watching movies in bed.
The bezels around the screen are quite large, even compared to Dells XPS. The screen's corners are so aggressively rounded that they can sometimes cut into an app window that is docked to one side. A 2-megapixel 1080p webcam is also located in the bezel. It can be used to login with Windows Hello facial recognition. The camera isn't as good as the 5-megapixel sensor on the Surface Pro computers and made my face appear red during video calls.
You will also find some unusual features in the bottom half of the Laptop Studio, but you must lift the machine up to view them. The platform is hidden below the deck and raises the laptop a few millimeters. It makes the Laptop Studio noticeably thicker that a Surface Pro. However, it allows for Intel's most powerful and hot processors as well as a discrete GPU. Plus the cooling systems required to keep them running efficiently. Although I was concerned that typing on this platform would be awkward, it is almost invisible and requires me to not lift my wrists as much as normal.
Although the layout of Laptop Studios fans is quite unusual, it works. The Studios fans are located in the front of the bottom deck, unlike most laptops which have them at the back to blow away air. When the computer is under load, the fans exhaust from one side and warm air can be seen coming out of the sides. The fans are usually quiet and dormant so you won't notice them unless you are playing a game or using an intensive application. The Laptop Studios fans don't sound nearly as loud under load as other gaming laptops.
The Laptop Studios has two speakers that vent from the sides of the platform, and the other two that are below the keyboard. Although the Studios audio quality is above average, it works well for video calls and doesn't have the same punch or room-filling power as a MacBook Pro 16.
This unique platform underneath the laptop allows for charging and storage of the Surface Slim Pen 2 ($129.99). The magnets under the laptop's front lip grab the pen and keep it in place. This ensures that the pen is always charged and available for use when needed. This system is more stable than the magnets at the sides of older Surface computers and iPad Pros, but it's also more elegant than the garages other laptop manufacturers provide for storing a stylus.
The Slim Pen 2 has a similar shape to the Slim Pen that was introduced a few years ago. However, it is lighter and has a haptic system that gives subtle vibration feedback when you draw or write on the screen. Tom Warren, my colleague, wrote about the pen separately. However, I'll add that it significantly improves handwriting experience when using apps that support haptics. It gives me more control and feedback than older Surface pens. The haptics are not available in all apps. Stranger still is that haptics are not yet available in popular note-taking apps such as Microsoft's OneNote, Nebo or Evernote.
Although I'm not an artist, it is difficult for me speak about the Studio and how to use the pen to create art. Brad Colbow's YouTube videos are worth a look if you are an artist. He is a cartoonist and tests styli and tablets to make digital art.
Microsoft seems to be drawing inspiration from Apple in the selection of ports for Laptop Studios, along with other design elements. The Studio lacks the many ports found on the Book line. Instead, it has two Thunderbolt 4 USB C ports, a headset jack and the Surface connector. Although it's wonderful that Microsoft finally embraces Thunderbolt, which allows my external drive and dock to work quickly, I find it frustrating that this computer is not equipped with an SD card slot or any other type of I/O.
The keyboard from Laptop Studios is excellent, just like other Surface computers. It has 1.3mm travel, is comfortable spaced, has backlight and is just all around very pleasant to type on. Although it is smaller than the Surface Laptop's keyboard, I have no complaints about it. The new trackpad has a similar haptic system to Apple's MacBooks. It is also large and extremely accurate. It is very easy to click no matter what I press. Scrolling and multi-finger gestures work flawlessly. Palm rejection is great. This trackpad is the best on any Windows laptop.
There are a few configurations of the Laptop Studio available. The first is an Intel 11th Gen Core i5 CPU and integrated Intel Xe graphic. Customers will most likely choose to upgrade to Nvidia RTX3050 Ti discrete graphics option. This starts at $2,099.99, and includes an upgrade of the Core i7-11370H CPU. My review unit came with the Core i7 chip and the Nvidia GPU. It also has 32GB RAM and 1TB SSD storage. The total cost is staggeringly $2,699.99.
Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio specifications (as tested). Dimensions: 12.7x9.0x0.7 inches (3322.6x228.6x 17.8mm).
Weight: 4 lbs (1.8 kg)
Display: 14.4-inch touch display, 2400 x 1600, 120Hz refresh rate, 3:2
Memory: 32GB LPDDR4x
Processor: Quad-core Intel 11th Gen Intel Core Core H35 i7-11370H
Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 3050 Ti with 4GB of GDDR6 RAM
Storage: 1TB SSD (removable).
Capacity of the battery: 58Wh
Ports: Two USB-C with USB 4.0 / Thunderbolt 4 ports, one 3.5 mm headset jack and one Surface Connect port
Cameras: Front-facing 2MP camera with 1080p FHD video
Wireless: Wi-Fi 6 802.11ax and Bluetooth 5.1
It is obvious that this processor costs a lot for midrange performance. This processor is a 35W quad core processor, not the six or eight-core processors in the XPS 15 and gaming-focused laptops with AMD Ryzen chips. The RTX3050 Ti is a midrange GPU, which can be used for casual gaming, but it is not powerful enough to take full advantage of the Laptop Studios fast refresh screen in new titles.
Microsoft claims the Laptop Studio is suitable for weekend gamers. Shadow of the Tomb Raider achieved 28 frames per second in the Studios native resolution with all the eye candy on. Red Dead Redemption 2 managed 42 frames per second at native resolution and all details were turned on thanks to Nvidia's DLSS tech (set in Auto mode). The Laptop Studio could only manage a few frames per second more in these demanding games even though it reduced the resolution to 1920x1440.
Forza Horizon 4 achieved just 38 frames per second at native resolution and ultra settings while Fornite averaged 40 frames per second on epic mode.
Lighter games, like Civ VI and League of Legends can run at higher frame rates. However, you will want to use DLSS as much and be open to adjusting the resolution and detail settings to maximize your gaming experience. Forza was set to 1080p resolution with medium graphics. I experienced a steady 97fps. This was great and still looked very pretty. Fortnite ran at native resolution and had the details set to high, producing a playable 75 frames per seconds.
While the Laptop Studio is not the best for gaming, it can be used for creative work. The Laptop Studio was able export a 5-minute, 33-second 4K video from Adobe Premiere Pro within five minutes and 35 seconds. This is about the same speed as an M1 MacBook Pro but it's not as fast as laptops with faster graphics cards. The Laptop Studio scored 427 in the PugetBench test. This tests Premiere Pro through a variety of tasks to simulate real editing. It scored slightly lower than Razers Blade 14, which scored 593, and a well-equipped Dell XPS 15, which scored 665. These computers cost significantly less than the Laptop Studio if they have similar amounts of RAM or storage.
No matter how many tasks were put before the studio cooling system, it did a great job. The temperature was kept low enough to prevent throttling. I could feel warmth beneath my hands on the deck, but it didn't get too hot. In his Surface Laptop Studio review, Daniel Rubino pointed out that older Surface Books struggled to charge for long periods of time due to inadequate power supplies. The 127W charger, which Rubino claims solved the problem of power drain on his Laptop Studio, is worth considering if you intend to gaming often.
The Laptop Studio was able to handle multiple browser tabs, virtual desktops, email, Slack and Zoom simultaneously, which is typical for productivity work. Although I initially experienced some lag in moving windows while the battery was charging, a hard restart (holding down the power button for 15 seconds) seemed to fix that problem. I never saw it again during my testing. Although it is not as fast as the M1 MacBook Pro, it's still a great choice for multitasking.
The problem with the Laptop Studio is when you unplug it from power. My normal usage averaged less that five hours per charge.
My usual workload isn't too intense. This includes my usual assortment of browser tabs in Edge and Slack, email and Spotify, Evernote, Evernote, Evernote, Evernote, Evernote, Twitter, Evernote, Evernote, Evernote, Evernote, Evernote, Evernote, Evernote, Evernote, Evernote, Evernote, Evernote, as well as a few other apps that run across three virtual desktops with 50 percent brightness. The Surface Book 3's five hours of battery life is significantly shorter than any other laptop that is productivity-oriented. Some gaming laptops can last hours on a single charge.
This is due to two reasons: The Laptop Studios 58-watt-hour battery (compared to the Book 3's 80-watt-hour cell), and Windows 11 does not yet support Dynamic Refresh Rate mode, which was announced in the original announcement. This means that the 120Hz screen runs at 120Hz, which is more energy-intensive. Although you can adjust the display settings to lower it to 60Hz, I was able to get another hour of battery time. The Dynamic Refresh Rate allows the screen to adjust its refresh rate based on what you are doing. This should theoretically help save battery. Microsoft has yet to announce when it will be made available.
Laptop reviewers have a long-standing game of trying to determine for whom Microsoft designed its Surface computers. Marketing often features the computers in minimalistly decorated art studios where hip designers meticulously craft lines on the screens.
The reality is that digital artists are a small market. Most people who look at a Laptop Studio, or any other Microsofts computer are probably doing so for a completely different reason. They might be a photo or video artist looking for a MacBook-like laptop that runs Windows. The offerings from Dell and HP aren't enough. They might be a Microsoft fan who is eager to support the company's vision for the future of computing, regardless of the price.
These people were often disappointed by the Surface line. Either the Surface Pro or standard Surface Laptop did not provide enough performance or the Surface Book was too limited in terms of drawing capabilities.
They will find the Laptop Studio to be the most attractive computer. The list of compromises it has is actually much shorter. Its high sticker price and short battery life are the main drawbacks. However, the Laptop Studio is a fun computer to use, even if one digital brushstroke is not something you're interested in.
Even if you are Microsofts ideal customer, this screen requires that you give up some money and battery life in order to have it all. The Dell XPS 15 computer is a great choice if you are willing to be flexible and don't need a screen that moves in a unique way. It costs a little less but provides a lot more power.
Photography by Dan Seifert/The Verge
