Surface Laptop 7: One Year Later (Premium)

One year ago, I purchased a Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite-based 15-inch Surface Laptop 7 and it remains my favorite overall laptop. The battery life was stellar but it’s actually improved since last year. Its performance, compatibility, reliability, and efficiency are unmatched by other Windows laptops, especially those based on x64 chips. And while there are a few small changes I’d like to see in a future revision, it’s just about perfect for my needs. If I had to give up all but one PC, this would be my choice.

First steps

As soon as Microsoft announced Surface Laptop 7th Generation at the Copilot+ PC launch last May, I opened a new browser tab, navigated to Surface.com, and preordered a 15-inch model in platinum with 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of storage.

I immediately suffered buyer’s regret. Not because I didn’t want one, but because I realized belatedly that I should get a version with more storage so I could more adequately test Recall, the non-controversial marquee new feature that, for reasons I will never understand, was controversial at the time. And so I canceled that order and preordered a different Surface Laptop, this one a black 15-inch model with 32 GB of RAM and 1 TB of storage.

Microsoft promised to deliver the first Surface Laptop 7 units to customers on June 18, or one year ago today. Which it did, though I was in Mexico City at the time. So I had a niece who was watching our cats accept the delivery and it sat there in our condo until we returned home on June 29. The laptop was exactly as expected: A premium Windows-based laptop modeled on the Apple MacBook Air with a large display, but with a slightly thicker and heavier body.

As I began using Surface Laptop, I immediately noticed that everything worked great. I had almost no compatibility issues across the hardware devices and software I use. And the few I did experience–the Focusrite USB audio interface and Google Drive client–were both resolved quickly. The only thing that was problematic was videogames. Despite Qualcomm’s bizarre claims to the contrary, this is not the right platform if PC gaming is important to you.

By the time I reviewed it, the conclusion was obvious: Surface Laptop delivers on the design, usability, performance, efficiency, battery life, and compatibility we’ve always wanted from Windows 11 on Arm, and it is a viable alternative to the MacBook Air, with a similar design (and price point) and a consistent 10.5 hours of uptime on battery. I have more experience with previous-generation WOA-based laptops than most, so you may have to take my word on this one. But this platform is a miracle. And Surface Laptop 7 was at the time, and still is, my favorite of the bunch.

Time flies when you’re not constantly looking for the power cord

In the intervening year, I’ve struggled to not use Surface Laptop continually: I usually have several review laptops in-house that need my attention, but they always fall short in some area, like screen size, reliability, keyboard or touchpad quality, or whatever else. You have a love a product that just works.

That extends to the entire experience. When I open the lid of this laptop, the display comes on immediately, the Windows Hello webcam identifies me immediately, and I am at the Windows desktop immediately. This is worth pointing out because I review over 20 laptops every year, and that is not the experience with any x64-based laptop, no matter which chip or PC maker. In fact, there is no experience on that side of the fence: It’s different every time. Sometimes it works. Oftentimes it doesn’t. I love how reliable Surface Laptop is, and I write that with far broader experiences than anyone reading this. Sorry, it’s a fact.

The display is epic and I love that it’s a matte display and not a reflective OLED panel. It’s ruined me. And while the 3:2 aspect ratio is unique, it doesn’t look/feel unusual in daily use. I could look at this screen happily for years.

Gearing up for this write-up, I monitored the uptime and am surprised to report the battery life is better than it was before. I’m averaging over 12 hours on a charge now.

What I don’t like

No PC is perfect. And there are few things I would change with Surface Laptop 7–or maybe 8–if I could.

The black color

If I could have, I would have ordered the Surface Laptop 7 in platinum, a color close enough to true aluminum silver that it would have help to mask whatever scratches and other signs of wear. But I got black because it was my only choice. And sure enough, There are scuff and wears marks here and that betray the silver underneath.

This first occurred on the left front side of the wrist rest because I wear a smartwatch and the metal parts of the buckle scrape against the edge as I type.

You can also see similar silver scrape marks around the USB-C ports from me plugging in to power and just missing the opening repeatedly.

The good news? That’s about it. There are no other scratches or scuffs, and those that are visible aren’t too noticeable in daily use.

Windows Hello

Surface Laptop has a terrific Windows Hello ESS-compatible webcam, but there’s no fingerprint reader, and I expect both in a PC this expensive. So should any customer.

Weight and bulk

This is only a minor gripe, as the Surface Laptop 7 form factor feels commensurate to its screen size. But at 3.67 pounds and 0.72 inches thick (at its worst), this PC is a bit big and heavy compared to other 15-inch laptops, and it’s considerably thicker and heavier than my MacBook Air (0.33 inches, 3.3 pounds). It’s noticeable.

(One thing that isn’t noticeable, ever, are the fans. This has never been a problem.)

Expensive

Surface Laptop is expensive. Even in the Snapdragon X Elite/Copilot+ PC space, it’s expensive. There’s no talking around that.

Sssss

Right around the time we came back from Mexico, I received my first indications of a potential hardware problem. The “S” key on the keyboard wouldn’t work reliably. I tried blowing compressed air under the key. I researched what it would look like to replace the key or the keyboard myself, and that’s a non-starter due to one having to removing multiple internal components to get there. I looked into a warranty repair, which would have happened without cost. But Microsoft recommended trying its Surface Diagnostic Utility first. Indeed, I had to complete its tests before I could send it in for repair. And while this makes no logical sense, that did it. At no point did it indicate any issues with the keyboard, but when the test ended, the “S” was working. And it’s worked ever since, for over a month. I’m using it to type this article, and there are over 370 “S’s” in it.

Thank God.

Things that don’t matter

And then there are the non-factors.

Many have made the point that the Windows 11 on-device AI features that are unique to Copilot+ PCs are superfluous, and that was certainly true when this product line first launched a year ago. Today, that’s less true: Click to Do, in particular, is quite interesting and useful, for example. But it’s fair to say that these features are no reason to buy this kind of computer. They’re also no reason not to buy this kind of computer. For the most part, they simply don’t matter.

This thing has a microSD card. I have never once actually used it for anything, and I never will.

The Surface Connect port is a wash. I like that it opens up both USB-C ports for other uses. But I also never need to use both USB-C ports for other uses. And so I leave the Surface Connect power supply in a drawer and just use normal USB-C power supplies. Obviously, they work fine.

I would prefer the Surface Laptop 7 display to lie flat, but it doesn’t. That’s not a deal-breaker. But it would be nice.

Speaking of the display, I pointed out how the squared-off corners of full-screen windows look weird with the curved display corners on this laptop. That’s true, of course. But I also don’t notice it anymore.

Like most laptops, Surface Laptop 7 doesn’t have cellular connectivity, even as a paid option. I would never pay for such a thing and don’t understand the importance. I just tether my phone, which keeps that charged, and the connectivity is identical.

When people complain about hardware or software compatibility issues, I just smile and keep working. I never have issues with this kind of thing. Ever. Ever. Ever. Most of what I use is native on Arm. That which isn’t works perfectly via Prism. No one would ever notice a difference. (To prove this, I gave my wife an HP Copilot+ PC 6 weeks ago. Guess what? Right. No issues.)

Cheers

It’s not clear that Microsoft Surface makes sense as a business. And it’s a bit too easy to criticize this product in particular, as it’s clearly designed to emulate the MacBook Air. But neither of these facts bothers me. Microsoft Surface is a business, thank God. And a PC that’s a lot like a MacBook Air is precisely what I wanted. It still is.

This isn’t just the best laptop I’ve ever purchased. It’s the best laptop I’ve ever used.