Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2-in-1 (2021)

MSRP 1600 USD77% External
Keywords: 2-in-1convertibledolby-atmosintellaptopmagnesiummicrosoftmicrosoft-surfacenvidiathunderbolt-4tiger-lakewifi-6windows

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Photo 0of Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2-in-1 (2021)Photo 1of Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2-in-1 (2021)Photo 2of Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2-in-1 (2021)Photo 3of Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2-in-1 (2021)

Product Overview

Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio is a premium 14.4-inch 2-in-1 convertible laptop with a traditional Surface 3:2 aspect ratio. Powered by 11th-gen Intel Tiger Lake H-series quad-core processors, the Surface Laptop Studio goes about the convertible form factor in a unique approach similar to HP's EliteBook Folio.
As its name suggests, the Surface Laptop Studio combines is a laptop that brings in the folding mechanism found in Microsoft's Studio 2-in-1s. Its 3:2 display reminds us of Huawei's MateBook X Pro, even though the physical design is closer to what Apple has been bringing on the market for over a decade.
Other notable features of this laptop includes its magnesium-aluminum chassis, quad-speaker setup, FHD webcam, and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti discrete graphics for the i7 model.
The Surface Laptop Studio is introduced with the launch of Windows 11. It is unclear whether it will replace the Surface Book line for the moment.

Ratings

What we found**

Pros
  • Gorgeous design with a folding hinge
  • Excellent keyboard and touchpad
  • Good battery life
  • Beautiful 120Hz display
Cons
  • Not as powerful as the Surface Book 3
  • Only USB-C ports

What external reviewers found***

External score 77% (not directly comparable across industries)
Pros
  • Fantastic 120Hz display
  • Excellent build quality
  • Excellent performance
  • Solid performance
Cons
  • Poor battery life
  • Lacks haptics or a touch screen
  • Lackluster performance
  • Very expensive
  • No dedicated GPU option
Read More

Price Comparison

Specifications

i5i7

Connectivity

Ports2x Thunderbolt 4 + 1x 3.5mm Headphone jack + 1x Surface Connector
Wireless ConnectivityWiFi 6 + Bluetooth 5.1

Construction

Battery | Capacity58 Wh
Camera | Front1080p FHD camera with Windows Hello
ColorsPlatinum
Form Factor2-in-1 convertible laptop
MaterialMagnesium and Aluminum
MicrophoneDual far-field Studio Mics
SpeakersQuad Omnisonic speakers with Dolby Atmos

Dimensions

Size | Depth228.32 mm / 8.98"
Size | Height18.94 mm / 0.746"
Size | Width323.28 mm / 12.72"
Weight1743 g / 3.83 lbs1820 g / 4.00 lbs

Display

Aspect Ratio3:2
Contrast Ratio1500:1
Display Diagonal14.4"
Display TypeIPS
Pixel Density201 ppi
Refresh Rate120 Hz
Resolution2400 x 1600

Function

GraphicsIntegrated Intel Iris Xe GraphicsNVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti 4GB GDDR6
HDRDolby Vision
Keyboard BacklightYes
Operating SystemWindows 11 Home
Processor11th-gen Intel Core i5-11300H or i7-11370H
SecurityFirmware TPM 2.0 chip, Windows Hello face sign-in
SensorAmbient light sensor, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Magnetometer
Touch Screen10 point multi-touch
TouchpadPrecision trackpad: 115 x 76.66 mm, glass

Performance

Battery LifeUp to 19 hoursUp to 18 hours
Key Travel1.3 mm
Memory | Capacity16 or 32 GB
Memory | TypeLPDDR4x
Power Supply60 W95 W
StorageUp to 2TB PCIe NVMe SSD

Production

AccessoryDigitizer: Surface Slim Pen 2 with integrated storage for charging | Digital Dial: Surface Dial
Debut2021-09

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Launch Comparison
Clear List

3rd-Party Review Videos

External Reviews

arstechnica[1]

Reviewer score 55%
Reviewers from arstechnica have found the following***:
The Laptop Studio isn’t necessarily trying to win over people who are eyeing a MacBook Pro or a Dell XPS 15 or even a regular old Surface Laptop. The convertible touchscreen and Surface Pen are the main reasons to buy this thing, and everything else about it is just fine if those features are essential for you. My biggest criticism of this laptop is that it’s not as good as the old Surface Book.
Find the original article here.
Pros
  • Comfortable keyboard and touchpad
  • Good performance for the price
Cons
  • Not as good as the Surface Book
  • No dedicated GPU option

gizmodo[2]

Reviewer score 86%
Reviewers from gizmodo have found the following***:
The Surface Laptop Studio feels like a special creature, and even though I really like what I've experienced thus far, I still feel like I'm just scratching the surface of its potential. Microsoft has delivered a system with an excellent build, a vivid and super-smooth display, and a refined design. With a battery life of 11 hours and 44 minutes on our wifi video rundown test, the Studio is firmly above average.
Find the original article here.
Pros
  • Gorgeous, vivid display
  • Excellent build quality
  • Excellent keyboard and touchpad
  • Solid performance
Cons
  • Intel-only CPU
  • No Thunderbolt 4

anandtech[3]

Reviewer score 84%
Reviewers from anandtech have found the following***:
Microsoft has delivered a worthy successor to the Surface Book which integrates wonderfully with Windows 11. The new 14.4-inch PixelSense Flow display is wonderful to use. The 120 Hz refresh makes everything incredibly smooth, but thanks to the automatic refresh rate control, it can lower the refresh to save power. Pen input is also well-executed with the new Surface Slim Pen 2, which can dock to the underside of the step, and charge right off the laptop.
Find the original article here.
Pros
  • Excellent performance
  • Excellent keyboard and haptic touchpad
  • Excellent battery life
Cons
  • Very expensive

laptopmag[4]

Reviewer score 83%
Reviewers from laptopmag have found the following***:
The Surface Laptop Studio runs Windows 11 out of the box. Photos and videos look crisp and colorful, especially when compared to everything else on the market. The keyboard and touchpad are fantastic, the speakers are crisp and even the webcam is decent. It's an excellent option if you have the cash.
Find the original article here.
Pros
  • Fantastic 120Hz display
  • Excellent keyboard and touchpad
  • Excellent battery life
Cons
  • Nothing in particular

pcmag[5]

Reviewer score 75%
Reviewers from pcmag have found the following***:
The Surface Laptop Studio is packed with innovative features like a haptic touchpad and digital stylus support. It sails through everyday tasks like web browsing, but on more demanding tasks it falls short. Razer's less expensive Blade 14 just happens to pack a lot more punch, thanks to its Ryzen 9 and RTX 3070.
Find the original article here.
Pros
  • Gorgeous design
  • Haptic touchpad and digital stylus support
  • Excellent battery life
Cons
  • Lacks haptics or a touch screen
  • No stylus or haptic touchpad

pcworld[6]

Reviewer score 75%
Reviewers from pcworld have found the following***:
The Surface Laptop Studio does everything else that the Surface Book 3 does. Microsoft has never shied away from asking for a premium price where Surfaces are concerned. It’s much more than the sum of its parts, offering a superior content-creation and gaming experience.
Find the original article here.
Pros
  • Sleek, light design
  • Excellent battery life
  • Comfortable keyboard
Cons
  • Lackluster performance
  • No Thunderbolt 3 port

techradar[7]

Reviewer score 63%
Reviewers from techradar have found the following***:
The Surface Laptop Studio only barely tops the Surface Pro 8 in CPU-dependent workloads. In graphics-heavy workloads like Blender, it doesn't have the best performance, thanks to its paltry 4GB of VRAM. It's not for gaming either, because with its 1600p resolution, even the RTX 3050 Ti isn't going to have much luck at the native resolution.
Find the original article here.
Pros
  • Beautiful display
  • Excellent battery life
  • Excellent webcam
Cons
  • Not as good as the Surface Pro 8
  • Not the best for gaming

techradar[8]

Reviewer score 85%
Reviewers from techradar have found the following***:
The Surface Laptop Studio has four speakers in total, with two tweeters under the keyboard, then two woofers on the bottom of the laptop, to the left and the right. The 14-inch PixelSense display has a resolution of 2,400 x 1,600, which is a perfect fit for the hardware on offer. It has a 120Hz refresh rate, which makes navigating through Windows 11 feel incredibly smooth.
Find the original article here.
Pros
  • Gorgeous display
  • 120Hz refresh rate
  • Great battery life
Cons
  • Low-power Intel processors
  • No tablet mode

theverge[9]

Reviewer score 67%
Reviewers from theverge have found the following***:
In typical productivity work, the Laptop Studio had no problems juggling many browser tabs, multiple virtual desktops, Slack, Zoom, email, and other daily work apps at the same time. I did initially experience some bad lag when moving windows around while on battery power, but a hard restart (holding the power button down for 15 seconds) appeared to resolve that. Under my normal usage, I averaged less than five hours per charge. Even some gaming laptops are lasting hours longer on a charge.
Find the original article here.
Pros
  • Bright 120Hz display
  • Comfortable keyboard
  • Good battery life
Cons
  • Mediocre performance
  • Poor battery life

tomsguide[10]

Reviewer score 84%
Reviewers from tomsguide have found the following***:
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio is well-built and reasonably powerful. It has a nice bright screen, great speakers, and a battery good enough to see you through a day at work. But if that's all you care about, you would probably be better investing in a more powerful Windows laptop.
Find the original article here.
Pros
  • Gorgeous 120Hz display
  • Haptic feedback
  • Great speakers
  • Good battery life
Cons
  • No stylus

tomshardware[11]

Reviewer score 82%
Reviewers from tomshardware have found the following***:
The Surface Laptop Studio has a 1080p webcam in the top bezel. The base model is $1,599.99, which uses a 35W Intel Core i5-11370H, 16GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD and integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics. If you require discrete graphics, you'll need to pay at least $2,099.99.
Find the original article here.
Pros
  • Powerful Intel Core i7 processor
  • Excellent battery life
  • Solid performance
Cons
  • Not the most comfortable
  • No Thunderbolt 3

wired[12]

Reviewer score 85%
Reviewers from wired have found the following***:
The Surface Laptop Studio is one of the nicest pen-based image-editing devices I've tested. There are several configurations available, starting with the $1,600 model. The model I tested featured a Core i7 chip with 32 gigabytes of RAM and a 1-terabyte SSD, which retails for $2,700.
Find the original article here.
Pros
  • Sleek design
  • Excellent performance
  • Great battery life
Cons
  • No desktop apps optimized for Studio Mode

User Reviews

Comments

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References

  1. ^ Surface Laptop Studio review: One well-built, weird convertible PC. [arstechnica]. https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/10/surface-laptop-studio-review-one-well-built-weird-convertible-pc/. 2021-10-13. Retrieved 2021-11-08.
  2. ^ Microsoft's Surface Laptop Studio Does It All. [gizmodo]. https://gizmodo.com/microsofts-surface-laptop-studio-does-it-all-1847799107. 2021-10-05. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
  3. ^ The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio Review: Dynamic Design. [anandtech]. https://www.anandtech.com/show/16993/the-microsoft-surface-laptop-studio-review-dynamic-design. 2021-10-05. Retrieved 2021-11-08.
  4. ^ Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio review. [laptopmag]. https://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/microsoft-surface-laptop-studio-review. 2021-10-05. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
  5. ^ Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio Review. [pcmag]. https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/microsoft-surface-laptop-studio. 2021-10-05. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
  6. ^ Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio review: Windows 11’s flagship feels like the future. [pcworld]. https://www.pcworld.com/article/538948/microsoft-surface-laptop-studio-review-the-future-is-here.html. 2021-10-05. Retrieved 2021-11-08.
  7. ^ Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio review. [techradar]. https://www.techradar.com/reviews/microsoft-surface-laptop-studio. 2021-10-05. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
  8. ^ Hands on: Surface Laptop Studio review. [techradar]. https://www.techradar.com/reviews/surface-laptop-studio. 2021-09-22. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
  9. ^ Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio review: back to the drawing board. [theverge]. https://www.theverge.com/22716121/microsoft-surface-laptop-studio-review. 2021-10-08. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
  10. ^ Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio review. [tomsguide]. https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/microsoft-surface-laptop-studio-review. 2021-10-06. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
  11. ^ Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio Review: Windows 11 on a Pedestal. [tomshardware]. https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/microsoft-surface-laptop-studio. 2021-10-05. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
  12. ^ Review: Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio. [wired]. https://www.wired.com/review/microsoft-surface-laptop-studio/. 2021-10-10. Retrieved 2021-10-14.

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These key takeaways ("pros" and "cons") and summaries are identified from third-party reviews. They may differ from the original texts.

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