Dubai: After the success of the hybrid form factor Surface Pro, Microsoft has released its regular laptop — Surface laptop — in the region to give MacBook Air a run for its money.
The Surface laptop is thin and light with comes with different specs according to buyers’ needs and it is easy to hold in one hand.
It weighs 1.28 kilos when compared to MacBook Air’s 1.35 kilos.
The device I got for review was a silver coloured 2.5GHz seventh generation Intel i7 7660 CPU with 16GB of RAM and 1TB solid state drive hard disk. It is powered by Windows 10 Pro version.
The lower version of the devices come with locked-down Windows 10 S version which means that you will only get access to Windows Store applications and cannot download third-party apps. The free deadline to upgrade to Windows 10 Pro is until end of March 2018 after that the user needs to pay $289 (Dh1,060) to switch. In Windows 10 S version, you will be stuck with Microsoft Edge and so you cannot run Chrome.
It comes with one year of Office 365 Personal with the Surface laptop.
But if you are a basic user who does not need to depend on third-party apps, then Windows 10 S is a better version as it will speed up the machine and faster boot-up time.
The 13.5-inch PixelSense touchscreen display is an attractive machine and Microsoft has shown it to other manufacturers how to make a designer laptop. The full aluminium lid and body is very sturdy but it does not have an aluminium keyboard. The keyboard is the key beauty element of this device. The display has a resolution of 2256 x 1504 which gives it 201 pixels per inch density.
While most laptops have a 16:9 screen aspect ratio and MacBook has 16:10 aspect ratio, the Surface laptop has a 3:2 aspect ratio which means that it has more screen real estate. On the negative side, if you are watching widescreen movies, then you will notice black bars on the top and bottom of the screen, similar to what you see on the latest bezel-less smartphones.
Replacement
The Signature Alcantara-covered palm rest and keyboard gives the backlit laptop a pleasant feel when typing and the key travel with 1.5mm are also excellent. It gives you a comfortable place to rest your palms as you type on the soft keyboard.
The disadvantage is that the fabric is glued to the device. If your machine happens to undergo repairs, then you need to get a refurbished replacement instead.
The Omnisonic stereo speakers with Dolby Audio Premium are placed between the key gaps on the sides and produces loud and clear audio. If you are not interested, there is also a 3.5mm headphone on the left side of the device.
Talking of ports, it comes with a USB 3.0 port and Mini DisplayPort on the left and a proprietary Surface Connect power and docking port on the right. Next to that, on both sides, are the Wi-Fi antennas. There is no choice of USB-C port.
The touchscreen display is fast and responsive and you can also use the Stylus Pen with it and the Windows Ink handwriting and annotation feature. The stylus does not come with the box and you have to buy it separately. There is no storage space for the stylus and you need to carry it separately compared to Surface Pro. You can live without the Stylus due to the lack of a 360-degree hinge as the screen cannot stay flat.
The huge glass trackpad is smooth and utilises Microsoft’s Precision Touchpad technologies for multiple and customisable gestures. To enhance the user experience, it has Cortana and 720p Windows Hello compatible IR camera that scans your face to sign into Windows.
It is faster than entering a password or PIN code and it is accurate.
Regarding connectivity, it has Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) and Bluetooth 4.1. It does not have an SD or micro SD card reader.
The battery life is excellent and it gave me more than 11 hours of juice and reducing the screen brightness, it gives close to 12 hours. It is priced at Dh10,599. The i5/4GB/128GB is priced at Dh4,199, i5/8GB/256GB is priced at Dh5,399, i7/8GB/256GB at Dh6,499 and i7/16GB/512GB at 8,699.
Pros
• Beautiful and slim design
• Very good performance
• Comfortable keyboard and trackpad
• Excellent battery life
• Well built and sturdy
Cons
• No USB-C port
• Lack of other ports
• Bit expensive
• Wear and tear of the fabric remains an issue
• Screen can’t stay flat
