Microsoft Surface Laptop 4: New generation presented

Microsoft has unveiled its new Surface Laptop. At first glance, not much has changed compared to the predecessor of the upcoming Surface Laptop 4. But appearances are deceptive. While the design of the device is almost identical to the predecessor, Microsoft really pushes the envelope when it comes to the innards.

Powerful innards

Among other things, AMD’s computing power slumbers under the hood of the latest Surface laptop. The corresponding processors have been customized for Microsoft’s laptop and are supposed to provide the best possible power and energy efficiency. Buyers can choose between an AMD Ryzen 5 4680U with six cores and a Ryzen 7 4980U with eight cores. However, the choice is only available for the “small” model with a screen size of 13.5 inches. Those who opt for the larger 15-inch model have to choose the more powerful Ryzen 7.

In terms of battery life, the smaller model is said to come out on top with up to 19 hours. The larger version is supposed to bring it to a still impressive 17.5 hours. If you are not a fan of the increasingly popular AMD CPUs, you can alternatively opt for a processor from Intel. However, the price of the notebook also increases with the choice of the Intel chip. While the price increases, the battery life unfortunately shrinks. Thus, the laptop in the 13.5-inch version with the Intel Core i5 is only supposed to get a maximum of 17 hours of battery life. According to Microsoft, the 15-inch model with Intel Core i7 should last up to 16.5 hours. Regardless of the features, all models share a touch-sensitive display that can boast a pixel density of 201 ppi.

Material choice as a unique selling point

It is extremely difficult to stand out in the now wide-ranging notebook market. Only market giants like Apple or ASUS achieve this goal with their unique designs. However, Microsoft is definitely one of the big players in the field of design when it comes to notebooks. However, the focus is not on crazy shapes. The Redmond company has always stood out with a rather untypical choice of materials. The rough surface is high-quality Alcantara. We actually only know this leather-like microfiber material from expensive cars. The animal-friendly vegan leather is optionally available in platinum or blue for the Surface Laptop 4.

Alternatively, you can also opt for the Surface Laptop 4 in a classic metal finish. Here you have the choice between the colors sand and black. Depending on the material, the 13.5-inch version weighs 1,265 grams (Alcantara) or 1,288 grams (metal). The large model is only available in metal. With a weight of 1,542 grams, this is no lightweight, but it is still easy to transport.

Prices and availability

On the official website from Microsoft you can configure your very own Surface Laptop 4 right now. The models with AMD CPU and Windows 10 Home start at an MSRP of 1,129 Euros for 13.5 inches. For the large model of the Surface Laptop 4 with AMD processor, Microsoft charges an MSRP starting at 1,449 Euros. The cheapest versions include an SSD with a capacity of 256 GB in addition to 8 GB of RAM. Users who prefer an Intel processor will have to pay at least 300 Euros more, but they will get a 512 GB flash storage in the basic version.