The Microsoft Surface Laptop 2 Review: Surface Essentials
by Brett Howse on March 28, 2019 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Laptops
- Microsoft
- Surface
- Surface Laptop
- KBL-R
- Surface Laptop 2
Microsoft’s Surface lineup was created to bring a spark of innovation into the PC industry at a time where much of the competition was slow to change, and slow to adopt new form factors and new technologies. Microsoft’s Surface Pro lineup has undoubtedly been a huge success in this respect, with the 2-in-1s providing plenty of flexibility coupled with great hardware.
Unsurprisingly then, Microsoft has taken this success and run with it, growing the Surface brand by fleshing out the product line with more models. However even as Microsoft expanded the Surface family, they have always tried to keep that same edge – always embracing a unique feature on their lineup to differentiate a Surface device from the competition. Surface Pro had the kickstand, of course. Surface Book is a laptop with a detachable display. Surface Studio is an all-in-one PC that can fold into a drafting table.
But even with the Pro as a successful template for how to build out the Surface family, Microsoft has one product that doesn’t really fit in with the rest, and that is the Surface Laptop. There are no tricks or unique chassis features here. Microsoft just set out to create a thin and light laptop to fill a void where people want to buy a Surface, but want to use it in their lap; and they don’t need the performance, heft, or price of the Surface Book. It's a simple concept for a company that's been more focused on distinctive designs, but one that helps tap an important segment of the notebook market.
We didn’t get a chance to review the original Surface Laptop, but the Surface Laptop 2 is only a small update, offering new color choices and the move from Kaby Lake dual-core processors to Kaby Lake-Refresh quad-core options. Also, Microsoft has ditched the anemic 4 GB of RAM in the base model; all Surface Laptop 2 models ship with a minimum of 8 GB of LPDDR3, with high-end and upgraded models increasing that to 16 GB, which happens to be the maximum supported by Intel’s current U-series processors.
Even without any crazy chassis features, Microsoft has set the Surface Laptop apart from the competition in a couple of key ways. First and foremost, they’ve kept the excellent 3:2 aspect ratio display in a sea of 16:9 laptops. The extra vertical height is welcome when doing any sort of productivity work, though it is a design tradeoff of sorts since less of the display is used when watching 16:9 video. Along these lines, Microsoft’s PixelSense displays are some of the best in the industry as well, offering class-leading color accuracy along with touch and pen support. The 13.5-inch display in the Surface Laptop 2 offers 201 pixels per inch, which isn’t quite as sharp as the Surface Book 13.5’s 267 pixels per inch, but still enough to offer a sharp image.
Meanwhile the other differentiating features for the Surface Laptop 2 come down to asthetics and the typing experience. In terms of looks, Microsoft offers the Surface Laptop 2 in a choice of four colors, going so far as to color-match the Alcantara keyboard deck. Which as it happens, is the other notable feature here, as the Alcantara keyboard rounds out the device by providing a smooth typing experience.
Microsoft Surface Laptop 2 | |||||
Model Tested: Core i7-8650U 8GB 256GB $1599 | |||||
Processor | Intel Core i5-8250U 4C/8T, 1.6-3.4GHz, 6MB L3, 14nm, 15w Intel Core i7-8650U 4C/8T, 1.9-4.2GHz, 8MB L3, 14nm, 15w |
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Memory | 8 GB or 16 GB Dual-Channel LPDDR3 | ||||
Graphics | Intel Core i5-8250U Intel UHD Graphics 620 (24 EUs, 300-1100 MHz) Intel Core i7-8650U Intel UHD Graphics 620 (24 EUs, 300-1150 MHz) |
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Display | 13.5" 2256x1504 3:2 PixelSense Touch and Pen support 100% sRGB color, individually calibrated panels |
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Storage | 128 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB PCIe 3.0 x2 | ||||
Networking | 802.11ac, 2x2:2, 866Mpbs Max, 2.4 and 5GHz Bluetooth 4.1 Marvell AVASTAR |
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Audio | Omnisonic Speakers Dolby Audio Premium |
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Battery | 47.5 Wh, 44 W AC Adapter with USB charging port | ||||
Right Side | Surface Connect Port (charging and docking) | ||||
Left Side | USB 3.0 Type-A Mini DisplayPort 1.2 Headset Jack |
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Dimensions | 308 x 223 x 14.48 mm (12.13 x 8.79 x 0.57 inches) | ||||
Weight | Core i5: 1252 grams (2.76 lbs) Core i7: 1283 grams (2.83 lbs) |
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Camera | Front: 720p Camera and Windows Hello support Dual microphones |
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Extras | Surface Pen and Dial (sold separately) Surface Dock - 2 x mDP 1.2, 4 x USB 3.0, 1 x Gigabit (sold separately) TPM 2.0 |
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Pricing | 128 GB Core i5 8GB RAM: $999 256 GB Intel Core i5 with 8GB of RAM: $1299 256 GB Intel Core i7 with 8GB of RAM: $1599 512 GB Intel Core i7 with 16GB of RAM: $2199 1 TB Intel Core i7 with 16GB of RAM: $2699 |
Buy the Microsoft Surface Laptop 2 at Microsoft.com
Yet even with all of the Surface Laptop 2's cutting-edge hardware, what you surprisingly won't find here is a USB Type-C port. In fact it’s a bit ironic; Microsoft first launched the Surface brand because they felt the competition wasn’t innovating quickly enough, only for Microsoft to adopt USB Type-C at such a slow pace. As a result of this, the Surface Laptop 2 offers just a single USB port, and that is USB-A. While you can’t fault Microsoft for including a Type-A port (since it improves compatibility dramatically), the lack of any USB-C is a fault that is difficult to overlook, especially when you consider the laptop has a Mini DisplayPort instead, a port that has been rendered all but redundant by USB Type-C alt modes.
The real benefit of USB-C in a laptop like this would be in charging though, especially since numerous laptops and pretty much all Android phones have migrated to the new connector by now. Instead, Microsoft continues to rely on its proprietary Surface Connect port for charging. And while the magnetic connector works flawlessly while also granting the laptop compatibility with the Surface Dock, I still see little reason why they couldn’t offer both USB-C and the Surface Connect, like they do on the Surface Book 2.
But, if you can get past the lack of expandability, there is a lot to like about the Surface Laptop 2, starting with its design.
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Manch - Monday, April 1, 2019 - link
True no need to fanasize. Just look at Anands bench. Intel has 2 8 series 6C/8T. One cost 100$ more and has a 100mhz base clock bump over the 2k series Zen. Boost clock is also higher. They trade blows but the 2k series zen wins more than it loses. Then look at the 8086 which is double the price and for double the price it beats the 2k series Zen. Fair enough. Looking at the benchmarks, the key gake away is as I said earlier, Intel has the speed still and its enoigh to offset the efficiency gains of Zen's SMT. Unless Intel is holding back soemthing good, the 3rd series Zen will take the Rchitecture from trading blows and winning some to handing out L's.eddman - Thursday, March 28, 2019 - link
What do you mean by "effective"?mr_tawan - Thursday, March 28, 2019 - link
In the other hand, if I wait for half a year and found that the CPU I bought is not much better comparing to the ones available 6 months before, I'd be very disappointed.That is something happened to me before.
That said, I don't think this will be the case for Ice Lake CPUs.
tipoo - Thursday, March 28, 2019 - link
Hopefully that's what they were waiting on for a redesign with USB C/TB3maus92 - Thursday, March 28, 2019 - link
I replaced a MacBook with this machine. The MacOS was having issues with backups and reliable / persistent internal network connections, so this purchase is an experiment. So far, so good. My only complaint is the trackpad - the one on the MacBook was far superior.Eletriarnation - Thursday, March 28, 2019 - link
A bit of a nitpick, but I think this statement in the first page isn't 100% correct:"...16 GB, which happens to be the maximum supported by Intel’s current U-series processors."
This limitation probably only applies to DDR3, as ark.intel.com advertises a maximum of 32GB and DDR4 support for these models too.
Ryan Smith - Thursday, March 28, 2019 - link
To be clear, that passage is solely talking about LPDDR3. Which is why it's mentioned as such in the full sentence."models ship with a minimum of 8 GB of LPDDR3, with high-end and upgraded models increasing that to 16 GB, which happens to be the maximum supported by Intel’s current U-series processors."
Gunbuster - Thursday, March 28, 2019 - link
FIFY: "The Surface Laptop 2 is built out of glue"Should mention nothing is serviceable so you better buy the extended and accidental damage warranty and plan on that "accident" when the battery degrades to 60% in true surface style.
Irata - Thursday, March 28, 2019 - link
Small correction:The article says "Model Tested: Core i7-8650U 8GB 256GB $1299", however further down under pricing, you see:
"256 GB Intel Core i7 with 8GB of RAM: $1599"
Ryan Smith - Thursday, March 28, 2019 - link
D'oh. Fixed. Thanks!