Microsoft is changing the design language of its laptops, and it seems the target is squarely Apple’s MacBook Air. The latest from the Redmond giant is a new 13-inch Surface Laptop, which undercuts Apple’s popular entry-level laptop with a sticker price of $899.
The company says its latest offering is the thinnest and lightest Surface Laptop yet. The new Copilot+ machine has a footprint smaller than the MacBook Air, but Microsoft’s laptop is also slightly lighter, as well, though not quite as slim as its rival.
How does it stand out?
Instead of the sharp sloping lines and flat sides that we have seen on Microsoft’s mainline laptops so far, the new 13-inch Surface Laptop embraces curved sides. The build employs anodized aluminum chassis, and you will be able to snag it in Ocean, Violet, and Platinum colors.
Unlike its Apple competition, the 13-inch Surface Laptop offers a pair of USB-C ports alongside a full-sized USB-A port, too. The biggest improvement, however, is the battery life.
Microsoft is claiming a per-charge mileage of 23 hours, which even races ahead of the 15-inch Surface Laptop and the MacBook Air. Rocking the Copilot+ label, this one draws power from Qualcomm’s 8-core Snapdragon X Plus silicon processor, paired with 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM.
Starting at $899, the new Surface Laptop will go on sale on May 20, though the pre-orders have already gone live. For enterprise customers, it will be up for grabs in July.
What else is on offer?
The new Microsoft laptop offers a 13-inch full-HD screen with a 3:2 aspect ratio and multi-touch support. But compared to its 13.8-inch and 15-inch siblings, the display refresh rate has been dropped from 120Hz to 60Hz.
It seems Microsoft was on a quest to create the perfect anti-MacBook running Windows 11. To that end, the storage options still start at 256 GB, but only go up to 512 GB.
There’s a full-HD Surface Studio Camera for video calling duties, with support for auto-framing, portrait, and a bunch of creative background effects. Charging is handled via the USB-C port with a peak output of 60W.
With the new Surface Laptop, Microsoft is also introducing a handful of next-gen AI experiences such as Recall, Click to Do, enhanced Windows Search, and Live Captions, among others. On the repairability front, the company says nearly all components have been designed to allow replacement work.
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