The polish of the laptop’s design and the quality of its components are what really make it feel on par with Apple. You can get it with a screen size of 13.8 or 15 inches. The smaller model has a slightly larger screen than its predecessor (up from 13.5 inches) with thinner bezels and more rounded corners. It’s also brighter and features a 120Hz screen refresh rate. Content looks vivid and sharp, even outdoors in broad daylight (but you’ll need to crank it up to maximum brightness in direct sunlight).

My favorite feature of the screen is the aspect ratio. Because it’s 3:2 instead of 16:10, the laptop has a taller screen that looks more like a square than a rectangle. This provides more vertical space for web pages, spreadsheets, and applications. When choosing between the two aspect ratios, I’ll always lean toward the 3:2 display on the Surface Laptop, which is one of the few laptops to use it. The Full HD (1080p) webcam, customizable haptic feedback trackpad, and snappy keyboard also feel as strong as they do on the MacBook Air.

However, none of that would matter if performance and battery life weren’t competitive. Fortunately, the Surface Laptop 13.8 is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon It was one of the first laptops to adopt these chips and has benefited from their exceptional battery life and efficient performance. I tested the Elite and performance has been perfectly smooth, no matter how many windows, tabs, and apps are open. This is not a machine for graphics-intensive tasks like video editing or gaming, but it is perfectly capable of performing all the usual tasks that most people perform on a laptop.

A few months ago, the seventh edition officially rose in price to $1,500, although for most of 2025, it could often be had for less than $1,000. While configurations have been limited on Amazon, you can get some decent discounts right now, like the 512GB model for $1,200.

It’s still a bargain compared to the 2026 model, which starts at $1,600. The only updates for the new Surface Laptop 8th Edition are options to get the Snapdragon X2 Plus or X2 Elite, plus some new colors. If you buy today, when the 2024 model is still available, I can’t imagine those upgrades are really worth the steep price difference. Both are configured identically, with 512GB of storage and 16GB of RAM. I’ve seen similar price increases on other devices with upgrades to the Snapdragon X2 Plus, such as the Asus Zenbook A16. While the chips offer a significant step forward in graphics performance, price increases make the devices too expensive at this time.

As long as the 2024 model is still available and selling at a discount, it’s the one you should buy today. How long it will remain there is anyone’s guess.

The best 2-in-1 laptop

The Surface Pro 13 is the best Surface tablet Microsoft has ever made. It uses the original Surface design, combining a 13-inch tablet (with built-in stand) with a detachable keyboard. You get the same two USB-C connectors as before, along with Microsoft’s Surface Connect port. It’s still awkward to use on your lap, but on a desk, the new Flex Keyboard is a great (and expensive) upgrade: You can use the keyboard and Surface separately, allowing you to space out your setup a bit.