Microsoft’s Surface Laptop 4 packs much faster Intel processors
- Microsoft has introduced the Surface Laptop 4.
- You get faster 11th Gen Intel Core chips, but a familiar design and older AMD options.
- It will be available starting April 15, starting at $ 999.
Microsoft has unveiled the Surface Laptop 4, the latest version of its main portable device. It’s good news if you’re craving more performance – and don’t bother with a tried and tested formula.
The new system offers 11th generation Intel Core processors, which offer a performance increase of around 70% compared to the corresponding options in the outgoing model. You can also expect up to 19 hours of claimed battery life, although in practice that will likely result in a drop. You can now configure the 13.5-inch Surface Laptop 4 with Microsoft’s customized version of an AMD Ryzen, but it’s still the old Zen 2-based chip and not a modern Zen 3 CPU.
See also: The best Surface laptops and tablets
Otherwise you will see a very recognizable machine. The Surface Laptop 4 uses the same 13.5- and 15-inch touchscreens, a Hello-enabled 720p webcam, and a mix of USB-C and USB-A ports. It’s still a solid design, but you won’t get the thinner bezels or Thunderbolt ports found on rivals like the Dell XPS 13 or the Apple MacBook Air.
The Surface Laptop 4 will be available in the US, Canada and Japan on April 15th. It starts at $ 999 for a 13.5-inch edition with a Ryzen 5, 8 GB of RAM, and a 256 GB SSD. Save no expense and you can pay up to $ 2,299 for a 13.5-inch model with a Core i7, 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD, while the 15-inch equivalent is $ 2,399 costs. Orders placed before April 15th will include a free pair of Surface Earbuds.
