Buzz
At the recent Microsoft Surface 2022 event, the tech giant officially unveiled a range of latest products including Surface Laptop 5. This is the successor to the Surface Laptop 4 with many promising changes. But is it a better choice or not? Let's delve deeper with Mytour.
Reviewing Surface Laptop 5
Design
The appearance of Surface Laptop 5 still adheres to the principle of simplicity yet sophistication, with beautifully crafted lines and shapes. The weight of the 13.5-inch version is approximately 1.3 kg, while the 15-inch version is 1.5 kg. If you opt for the 13.5-inch version, there are 4 colors for you to choose from: Sandstone, Platinum, Matte Black, and the newly minted Sage color. Meanwhile, the 15-inch version only comes in 2 colors: Matte Black and Platinum.
The connectivity ports on this Surface laptop model are still limited, featuring one USB-C, one USB-A, a 3.5mm jack, and a Surface Connect port. With such a limited number of ports, the ability to connect to peripheral devices may be restricted, or Microsoft might be steering users towards using Bluetooth devices more.
The bezels around the screen are slightly thick but the webcam still only offers 720p quality. With these bezel sizes, it should be equipped with a 1080p webcam for accuracy. Nevertheless, the webcam quality remains quite good, supporting Windows Hello passwordless login, and Microsoft has integrated some new interactive features of Windows 11 to enhance video quality in varying light conditions, as well as adjusting skin tone and adapting to changes in head and face position.
Both the keyboard and trackpad provide a smooth and highly responsive feel. The keys have short and flexible travel, with a surface wide enough to accommodate any finger size, while the glass trackpad offers a smooth and comfortable swiping experience.
Display
The PixelSense IPS displays, both 13.5 inches and 15 inches with a 3:2 aspect ratio, remain sharp as ever with a resolution of 2256 x 1504 pixels, boasting a pixel density of up to 201 ppi. This generation introduces support for Dolby Vision IQ, HDR, and both versions can be used with a pen. However, you'll have to buy the pen separately as it's not included with the device, and the Surface Laptop 5 lacks a magnetic charging point for the pen, which can be slightly inconvenient.
The display quality of the screen doesn't change much from the Surface Laptop 4, maintaining stable brightness, average color coverage, relatively high color accuracy, and a contrast ratio of 1,300:1.
The touch sensitivity of the screen is quite impressive, responding swiftly to each touch and offering plenty of new features to explore. For instance, the Focus feature will silence notifications for a predetermined period to help you focus on work, which can be useful when you're on a tight deadline and don't want to be distracted by notifications from Facebook, Zalo, or Skype. Another feature, Snap Dragon, sounds like a camera feature, but in reality, it divides the screen into various sections, allowing you to drag tasks into them for better multitasking.
Sound
The speakers of the Surface Laptop 5 remain the Omnisonic stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos technology. The Surface Laptop 4 impressed with its sound quality, and with the speakers of the Surface Laptop 5 positioned beneath the keyboard instead of on the sides or below the frame, expectations are even higher. The high sound capability of the machine can compete with the Dell XPS 15, which currently leads in sound quality among 15-inch laptops.
Performance
This is the most notable change in the Surface Laptop 5; the company has completely ditched AMD chips and switched to Intel's Core i5-1235U and Core i7-1255U 15W CPUs. The new processors feature 10 cores (2 power-saving cores and 8 high-performance cores) with 12 threads, promising faster processing power compared to the previous generation while also conserving battery life. Although the Intel Iris Xe GPU is decent, it's not sufficient for handling high graphics tasks. If the 15-inch version comes with a discrete GPU variant, it will certainly satisfy more users.
Additionally, Microsoft has denied the possibility of releasing AMD Ryzen 5000 or 6000 series versions, indicating that the Surface Laptop 5 is specifically designed for office workers requiring good processing power rather than aiming at the design field where creators demand exceptionally high performance.
The machine's RAM is LPDDR5 type with options of 8GB/16GB/32GB, and the SSD also comes in 3 sizes: 256GB/512GB/1TB.
Battery Life
Microsoft hasn't disclosed the battery capacity of the Surface Laptop 5 but claims that the 13.5-inch model can reach 18 hours and the 15-inch model 17 hours. If true, its battery life is even more impressive than Surface Laptop 4.
Pricing
This Surface model comes in two versions: 13.5 inches and 15 inches. Each version has its own configuration; the 13.5-inch version offers options for both i5 and i7 CPUs, while the 15-inch version only has a single option for Core i7.
The starting price of the Surface Laptop 5 13.5-inch model is 999 USD (approximately 24 million VND), while the Surface Laptop 5 15-inch model is 1,299 USD (approximately 31.2 million VND). Its highest configuration can go up to 2,399 USD (approximately 57.8 million VND) with a 1TB SSD and 32GB RAM.
Is It Worth Buying Surface Laptop 5?
Overall, the Surface Laptop 5 seems to be just a minor upgrade from the Surface Laptop 4 rather than a completely new laptop in the literal sense. Although its design is still beautiful, performance is still good, and there are some new added features, objectively speaking, there haven't been any groundbreaking changes. Therefore, if you already have the Surface Laptop 4, upgrading to the Surface Laptop 5 may not be a worthwhile choice.
On the other hand, within the same price range, the lack of performance is putting the Surface Laptop 5 at a disadvantage. Its competitors like Dell XPS 13, HP Spectre x360 13.5, and Dell XPS 15 even offer better overall performance and more noteworthy innovations. Of course, the decision still lies with you; if you have the budget, buying the Surface Laptop 5 may not necessarily be a mistake, as it remains a highly efficient office laptop.
