Can the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 Convert a Lifelong MacBook User?

As far back as I can remember, I’ve always had a MacBook. From Air to Pro, these have been the laptops I used throughout high school, college, straight through to my first job. Every article of my entire freelance career was written on a Mac. But in recent years I’ve been looking for an entry-level Windows machine to replace it. At last, I’ve found one.

The Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 is one hell of a productivity machine. As an everyday laptop, it’s hard to beat. The price, the weight, the design and aesthetic. Every aspect of this laptop goes toe-to-toe with (and in many cases exceeds) the MacBook Air M3—my current personal laptop. Plus, it has a touch screen that manages to stay less grimy than the computer screens I’m not even putting my fingers on. If you’re looking for a tablet-laptop hybrid, try the Surface Pro 11. If you’re looking for a reliable computer, the Surface Laptop 7 is the real deal.

For a more detailed guide on the difference between the Surface Laptop and Pro tablet, I’ve got you covered.

First Impressions: Welcome to Windows

The CoPilot+PC Surface Laptop 7 (its fullest title) comes in a few sizes and varieties. For screens, you can choose between 13.8 and 15-inch. The 13.8-inch model supports two processors, either the Snapdragon X Plus 10-core processor or the more powerful 12-core Snapdragon X Elite. Most models (all the ones under $2000 that is) come with 16 gigs of RAM and you can pay for up to 1 terabyte of solid state storage.

In addition to the traditional Black and Platinum, the 13.8-inch model comes in the blue Sapphire and gold Dune colorways. The 15-inch screens only come with the Elite processor, and your color options are limited to Black and Platinum.

The model I tested out was a 13.8-inch Dune laptop with a Snapdragon X Elite core and 16 gigs of RAM. I fell in love almost immediately.

As someone who hasn’t used Windows in years, I was surprised how much I could intuit off the bat. The truth is Windows 11 takes a lot more from MacOS than the operating system has in the past. As a relatively tech-savvy person, Windows 11 came easy.

I’ve Got the Whole World in My Hands

As a MacBook Air devotee, I’m used to working on a light laptop. At just under 3 pounds, the Surface Laptop is punching in the same weight class as the Air M3, even if it’s not quite as light. What it lacks, it makes up in power and tactility.

Compared to Apple laptops, the keys on the CoPilot powered Surface Laptop have more give and feedback. Typing feels satisfying, even if you’re used to a clacky keyboard. It’s lightweight without feeling cheap.

In terms of the look of the laptop, the shine of the Dune color leaves me pretty speechless. No notes, it’s a beautiful machine that I’m proud to show off.

The only thing left is the screen. I’ve certainly seen some shots fired that it’s not an OLED (to rival Apple’s Retina), but here’s the thing. It’s a really awesome touchscreen. That’s going to come with the drawback of not being quite as rich or high-contrast as some other laptops. Yet, in over a month of casual use I can’t say this has actually caused me any issues. While adjusting to using a touchscreen in a laptop setting is something I’m not fully used to yet, I’ve already found it’s usefulness in simple tasks like re-sizing windows and opening a program from the task bar.

PrAIseworthy Processing

What sets the latest Surface Laptop apart from its predecessor (and most other laptops out there) is the way it’s processing works. Branded as a CoPilot+PC, the laptop uses an AI powered Neural Processing Unit (NPU) to perform many of the functions the CPU and GPU would previously, leaving those units open to perform more tasks.

In practice, this makes for a lightning fast laptop. Tasks like browsing and using apps from the Adobe and Microsoft Office suites are no problem. Discord and video calls are a little more demanding, but even those aren’t a drain on the battery. That’s where the CoPilot+PC part of the Surface Laptop stands out. I can do so much for hours at a time and only notice a 20-30% drop on my battery life. I shut it down for a couple days and boot it back up to the same percentage I left it at.

I am someone who honestly starts to get anxious when my devices go below 70%. Not so with the Surface Laptop I’ve been using. I will quite literally rest easy until the laptop gets down to 20% and even then I know I can stretch that for a while.

These advances show how necessary the Copilot tech is, since the NPU isn’t doing anything new, just the functions the CPU and GPU already perform. Potentially, the NPU is what’s extends the battery life. Broadly, this lines up with one of my concerns about generative AI in general. What is it really adding, if anything? The new CoPilot apps prove my point.

There is now a dedicated button on the keyboard to pull up CoPilot, Windows’ version of ChatGPT. Similarly, the Cocreator function added to Paint can turn the shitty picture you draw on the touchscreen into more photorealistic, but still shitty, pictures. Even after using some of the cooler AI features (translating videos with real-time Live Captions), the feeling I’m left with is a resounding shrug. Maybe it’s just me, but the NPU is the star of Microsoft’s new AI lineup.

For Gaming, Look Elsewhere

One of the main reasons I’ve wanted to make switch from MacOS to Windows is because I’m a gamer. The library of video games playable on Mac pales in comparison to the vast majority of releases getting a Windows version. The Surface Laptop was never sold to me as a gaming device, but it’s still worth noting that this is not what you come here for.

As a gaming laptop, the Surface 7 has its limits and plenty of them. Fundamentally, the Snapdragon X Elite chipset is not built for gaming. This is an AI-powered productivity machine, not an Xbox. It’s not going to run the best games at 120 frames per second. It’s not going to let you do heavy duty video editing. The NPU cannot make up for the lack of power when it comes to these CPU and GPU intensive duties.

Your best bet for gaming on this thing is cloud streaming. You can get decent performance on many titles depending on your internet speed when using services like Game Pass and GeForce Now since these don’t actually run the games on the hardware. When it comes to running games natively though, everything with graphics more complicated than pixel art will chug. Just like my MacBook Air, the Surface Laptop 7 is allergic to 3D games. But who can blame it when it gets everything else right?

Final Verdict

I’m a writer. Let’s be honest. I spend most of my time on a laptop writing, editing my own writing, and researching on the internet. It’s a pedestrian lifestyle, but it’s one that the Surface Laptop 7 is perfect for. It is a lightning-fast Windows laptop with an elegant touchscreen and a battery that just won’t quit. The starting price is also less pricey than a MacBook Air.

It may not be as light as a MacBook air or as powerful as the latest MacBook Pro, but the new Surface Laptop holds its own. It’s made my long-overdue re-introduction to Windows into a glorious, and easy, process.

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As for the Surface Laptop 7 I tested, I’ve been using it as my primary recreational laptop for the past six weeks. I used it to write drafts, send emails, download files, watch videos, chat and stream on Discord—all of the things I normally use a laptop for. I also tested Xbox Game Pass cloud streaming on the device, as a free month’s subscription is included with every purchase.