Microsoft showed off its updated and expanded line of Surface devices this week, positioning the new Surface Laptop Studio as its flagship Windows 11 laptop.
Surface Laptop Studio is the latest addition in the Microsoft family, which is a successor of the powerful laptop series Surface Book line. It features a complete redesign of Microsoft’s flagship laptop, including the elimination of the removable display in favour of a display that slides forward to transition from laptop to tablet mode.
Microsoft’s vice president of devices, Pete Kyriacou, states, “Surface Laptop Studio is the most powerful Surface we’ve ever produced.” “It is the culmination of years of Surface innovation – on hinges, display, silicon, and more – and brings the best of the Surface history together in one powerhouse device,” says Microsoft.
The display and hinge are the most noticeable and instant changes to this Surface Book successor. Up to 120Hz and Dolby Vision are supported by the 14.4-inch PixelSense Flow display (2400 x 1600). The laptop has a novel flexible Dynamic Woven Hinge, which Microsoft claims is durable and allows it to move between modes similarly to the bigger Surface Studio. There are three modes available on the Surface Laptop Studio: laptop, stage, and studio.
Watch, Play and Present
The laptop mode sets up the display to look like a real laptop, complete with a full keyboard and a new haptic touchpad. Things become interesting in stage mode, where you can bring the display forward at an angle that’s ideal for gaming, streaming, or presenting. This will cover the keyboard, and the angle is better for watching Netflix or playing games, touching the screen, or digital inking with the new Surface Slim Pen 2.
Studio is Microsoft’s final mode, and it’s ideal for writing, sketching, and anything else creative, as the name implies. The Surface Laptop Studio isn’t exactly light, weighing in at nearly four pounds and measuring 0.7 inches thick, so Microsoft is cautious about labelling this “tablet mode.”
Unlike the Surface Book, Microsoft has shifted the majority of the Surface Laptop Studio’s components to the base. That will help with the laptop’s durability, but it will also mean that any possible heat will be vented into your lap. The Surface Slim Pen 2, which is unexpectedly sold separately, is likewise neatly tucked in the base.
Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio Specification
The Surface Laptop Studio can be powered by Intel’s quad-core 11th Gen Core i5 or Core i7 CPUs. Intel Iris Xe graphics will be included in Core i5 models, while Nvidia’s RTX 3050 Ti GPU with 4GB of VRAM will be included in Core i7 editions. There will be 16GB and 32GB RAM options, as well as up to 2TB of external SSD storage.
With these characteristics, the Surface Laptop Studio is more than capable of running the most recent PC games. Microsoft has generally avoided marketing the Surface Book as a full-fledged gaming laptop, but with the Surface Laptop Studio, the company embraces the concept.
Microsoft is upgrading the Surface Laptop Studio to Thunderbolt 4, just like the Surface Pro 8. Two USB 4 ports with Thunderbolt 4 will be available, as well as the Surface Connect charging port and 3.5mm headphone jack. Because the Surface Laptop Studio has Thunderbolt support, you can connect it to multiple 4K screens, use high-speed external storage, and even use an external GPU enclosure to turn it into a full gaming PC.
The starting price for Microsoft Surface Laptop is $1,599.99.
