The laptop was announced at the #MicrosoftEDU event by Microsoft on 2 May 2017,[1] alongside Windows 10 S and an updated version of Surface Arc Mouse that includes a large capacitive surface.[2][3] It became available for pre-order on the same day, and began shipping on 15 June 2017.
Alcantara fabric keyboard with a 1.5mm travel backlit keys
Windows 10 S operating system
13.5-inch PixelSense display with a 3:2 aspect ratio
14.5 hour battery life
110.6 Mbit/s SSD
Integrated vapor chambers into the aluminum finish
Hardware
Burgundy version of the Surface Laptop
The Surface Laptop is the 5th addition to Surface lineup, following the Surface Pro, Surface Hub, Surface Book, and the Surface Studio. Unlike the other products, the Surface Laptop is aimed toward students. Microsoft claims a 14.5-hour battery life when running Windows 10 S, but testing suggests that the battery can be depleted to 50% in just 2.5 hours.[6] It comes in four colors: Platinum, Graphite Gold, Burgundy, and Cobalt Blue as advertised.
It has a 13.5-inch "PixelSense" Display at 2256 × 1504 using a 3:2 aspect ratio. It features a 10-point touch screen along with Surface Pen support. Unlike other ultra-portables by Microsoft, this does not feature any sort of detachment mechanism from the keyboard.
The Surface Laptop uses seventh-generation "Kaby Lake" processors, with both Intel Core i5 and i7 variants. It uses Intel HD Graphics 620 on the Core i5 version, while the Core i7 model uses Intel Iris Plus 640.
Three system memory options are available at purchase: 4, 8, and 16 GB and three SSD options: 128, 256, and 512 GB. These cannot be upgraded in the future. The SSD has a transfer speed of 110.6 Mbit/s, which is quite slow when compared to its competitors.[7]
The Surface Laptop cannot be opened without destroying it, making it impossible to repair or upgrade by anyone except Microsoft.
It has an unremovable battery with a capacity of 45.2 Wh. All other parts are either glued or soldered.[8][9]
Software
Surface Laptop models used to ship with Windows 10 S, a feature-limited edition of Windows 10 with restrictions on software usage which has now been replaced with Windows 10 in S Mode; users may only install software from Windows Store, and system settings are locked to only allow Microsoft Edge as the default web browser with Bing as its search engine, since third-party web browsers using custom layout engines are banned from Windows Store.[10][11][12]
The device may be upgraded to Windows 10 Pro for free, which removes these restrictions.[13]
