Surface Laptop 13-inch: Microsoft’s First Hands-on with a Minimal Alternate Surface Pro Model and the Surface Pen
Microsoft is announcing a slightly smaller version of its popular Surface Laptop today. The smaller Surface Laptop 7-inch is Arm-powered, but has some changes to the specifications and ports. I got to spend some time with the new Surface Laptop 13-inch model at Microsoft’s headquarters last month, and while there aren’t any huge changes here, the smaller form factor is a lot more tempting than the 13.8- or 15-inch Surface Laptop models.
The Surface Laptop 13-inch qualifies as a Copilot Plus PC with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Plus chip inside, so you get access to the new Recall feature as well as AI-powered Windows search, Click to Do, and a number of other Windows AI features inside Paint, Photos, and other apps.
The Surface Laptop is not fan-less. Microsoft made the switch to a fan-less design on the new Surface Pro 12-inch, but it’s keeping a fan inside the smaller Laptop variant to help keep it running cool. This should mean that the Surface Laptop 13-inch will throttle less than the Surface Pro 12-inch, but we’ll have to test that during reviews.
Disappointingly, Microsoft has also ditched Windows Hello facial recognition support on this smaller Surface Laptop, so you’ll have to use a fingerprint reader that’s positioned on the power button if you want to log into this laptop without a password or PIN code. The smaller Surface Pro 12-inch has Windows Hello facial recognition, and there is a front-facing camera on the Surface Laptop 13-inch.
The new Surface Pro 12-inch keyboard also lacks an insert for the Surface Pen. Attach the stylus to the rear of the device, where it will charge, and you’ll be good to go. Microsoft says it has done a lot of work to ensure the Surface Pen won’t simply detach when you slide the Surface Pro 12-inch into a bag, and during my hands-on I wasn’t able to easily detach it from the rear of the device — it felt rather sturdy.
Surface Pro 12: A New 12-inch LCD Model of the Surface Pro PentaLaser, MS Surface Pro 12, and Surface Pro 11
If you are used to the smooth appearance of the 120hertz panel, it will cause a noticeable drop to 60hertz.
Microsoft is using a 12-inch LCD display on the Surface Pro 12-inch, with a resolution of 2196 x 1464 (220 ppi). The company has stuck to its usual 3:2 aspect ratio, but is using a 90Hz panel instead of the 120Hz found on the 13-inch Surface Pro 11. The Surface Pro 12-inch has no display option.
The 12 inch model of Surface Pro keyboards is the only one in which Microsoft has used the alcantara fabric. The palm rests have been replaced with a smooth finish. The rear of the keyboard has options for slate, violet, or ocean green on the keyboard and Surface Pro 12-inch.
I tested the Surface Pro 12 on my lap, and found the flat one to be better suited for the bigger Surface Pro 11, but I prefer the slanted keyboard on the larger Surface Pro 11. Both are good at reducing the bounce and flex that you’d find on older versions of the Surface Pro, though.
