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Microsoft recently showcased their latest gen Surface laptops which will boast the so far seemingly impressive Snapdragon X Plus/Elite chipset. And as a Surface fan, that has me excited for the upcoming release date. But it was a refreshing site to see Microsoft also highlight some of its competitors soon to be released A.I. powered laptops as well.
And from the looks of it, there's going to be plenty to choose from. For the most part, choosing the right one for you is going to come down to portability, battery life and screen quality, as they are all boasting the same chipset and performance.
Surface Pro (11th gen)
The Surface Pro (11th gen) did not disappoint this year when it was showcased. As a past Surface owner, the standout features for me have always been the portability, the high quality screen and the blend of tablet and full Windows PC.
Add to that a brand new OLED display and a full-day of battery life, and the Surface Pro moves to the top of the list for me personally.
Key features
- 14 hour battery life
- OLED touchscreen option
- Wi-Fi 7 (optional 5G)
- Weighs under 2lbs (device only)
- Surface studio camera
- Removable SSD drive
- 2880 x 1920 resolution
- Dynamic refresh up to 120Hz
- Starts at $999 (Check out on Amazon)
For the most part, alot of what people love about the Surface line is still present, but now you have the option of an OLED display and more powerful A.I. based chips. You still do have to purchase the pen and keyboard cover separately though. And you are getting less battery life than all of the other models listed below. So you might end up paying a bit more for the form-factor, but if portability is important, then this might be the way to go.
Surface Laptop (7th gen)
The Surface Laptop is a fan favorite for office workers who probably aren't going to find themselves hopping from coffee shop to coffee shop looking for their writing inspiration. Though it definitely can as it weighs in under 3lbs and has a much more impressive battery life than the Surface Pro.
Key features
- 20 hours of battery life
- Touchscreen HDR display
- Weighs 2.96 lbs
- Surface studio camera
- Wi-Fi 7
- Removable SSD drive
- 2304 x 1536 resolution (13.8 inch model)
- 2496 x 1664 resolution (15 inch model)
- Dynamic refresh up to 120Hz
- Starts at $999
- More details
If battery life is important to you, then the Surface Laptop is a great option. You won't get an OLED option unfortunately, but Surface Laptop displays have been known to be some of the best on the market.
Dell XPS 13
The Dell XPS boasts a very impressive 27 hour battery life and doing so on a 120Hz 3K display. You get the same great portability that people are used from the XPS line, a haptic glass touchpad and the iconic touch function row.
Key features
- Up to 27 hours of battery life
- Touch function row
- 3K resolution
- Up to 120Hz variable refresh rate
- 1080p FHD 2MP webcam
- Weighs 2.6 lbs
- Starts at $1299
- More details
Dell Inspiron 14 Plus
A slight downgrade from the XPS specs listed above, but price wise, the Inspiron 14 Plus is a worthy contender, particularly as you are still getting a decently sized battery.
Key features
- Snapdragon Elite Plus
- 14 inch QHD+ display
- Up to 400 nits
- 21 hour battery life
- 60Hz refresh rate
- 512GB SSD
- Starts at $1099
- More details
Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x
The Yoga Slim 7x might be the best value for your buck, when looking solely at features and build quality. It boasts an impressive display and an even more impressive 70Whr battery, which is definitely going to push it near top of the list when it comes to all-day usage.
Key features
- 3K PureSight OLED display
- 1000 nits peak brightness
- 90Hz touch display
- Weighs 2.82 lbs
- Meets military-grade MIL-STD-810H standards
- 1.5mm keyboard key travel
- 70Whr battery
- Starts at $1289.99
- More details
A worthy contender for me personally when going up against the Surface Pro. While you don't get a 120Hz, like the Surface Pro, you do get one of the brightest displays on the list and quite possibly the largest battery capacity that we're going to find as well.
Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge
Samsung has long been known to have some of the best displays out on the market. And if you're already tied in to the Samsung ecosystem, then this might be the best fit.
Key features
- Dynamic AMOLED 2X touchscreen display
- 3K resolution
- Up to 120Hz refresh rate
- Up to 18 hours of battery life
- Weighs 3.4lbs (16 inch model), 2.6lbs (14 inch model)
- Full port selection (including HDMI 2.1, MicroSD, USB 3.2 and 3.5mm jack)
- Starts at $1349
- More details
ASUS Vivobook S 15
The ASUS Vivobook is another great deal when it comes to features and build quality versus price. And it includes an RGB keyboard on top of everything.
Key features
- 18 hours of battery life
- 3K OLED display
- Up to 120Hz refresh rate
- Weighs 3.13lbs
- RGB keyboard
- Full I/O ports (including HDMI 2.1, MicroSD reader, Audio jack
- 600 nits peak brightness
- Starts at $1299
- More details
HP OmniBook X 14
The HP Omnibook X 14 comes in with one of the most impressive battery lives on the list and at minimum, you're going to get 512GB of storage.
Key features
- Up to 26 hours of battery life
- 14 inch 2.2K touchscreen display
- Weighs 2.97 lbs
- 512GB SSD / 1TB options
- 300 nits of brightness
- Starts at $1149
- More details
Whichever laptop you end up gravitating towards, there is one thing for sure that can be said about all of them. These are definitely some of the best spec'd laptops that we've seen in years now, and they are all coming in at under $1500.
It's still too early to say anything official about any of them, as no review models have been broken down just yet. But in the next month, I think we'll start to see which laptops are actually going to live up to their name and spec sheets.
I, for one, will be keeping a close eye on real-world battery tests.