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Customer reviews

Rating 4.7 out of 5 stars with 202 reviews

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  • Battery Life

    Rating 4.6 out of 5 stars

  • Speed

    Rating 4.6 out of 5 stars

  • Display

    Rating 4.7 out of 5 stars

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94%would recommend to a friend

Customers are saying

Customers are positive about the Surface Laptop 4's large screen size, high-quality build, long battery life, light weight, and strong performance. Many appreciate its touchscreen functionality. However, some customers express concerns regarding the limited RAM and the number of ports available, while opinions on heat generation are divided.

This summary was generated by AI based on customer reviews.

The vast majority of our reviews come from verified purchases. Reviews from customers may include My Best Buy members, employees, and Tech Insider Network members (as tagged). Select reviewers may receive discounted products, promotional considerations or entries into drawings for honest, helpful reviews.
Page 1 Showing 1-20 of 202 reviews
  • Pros mentioned:
    Battery life, Build quality, Screen size

    Rated 2 out of 5 stars

    Most Unreliable Computer I’ve Owned

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    Posted . Owned for less than 1 week when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    First impressions were great. It’s a nicely constructed thin and light laptop with decent performance. The trackpad is amazing and the keyboard is excellent. For the first week or so of ownership I had absolutely zero issues with this laptop. Battery life was excellent, screen was great, was pretty snappy and it seemed perfectly reliable until today. Today it got a random blue screen so I installed blue screen view to read the dump file and there wasn’t one. Ran an sfc scan and a dism scan health operation and nothing was wrong. Used the laptop a bit more then put it to sleep. An hour later I heard the Windows 11 bootup chime and low and behold, the laptop crashed in sleep mode and rebooted. I figured maybe an update bricked the OS so I attempted to reinstall windows via the built in reset. I chose the cloud reinstall option because I assumed it would give me the latest stable fresh Windows 11 build. It crashed again 40% through the download. No biggie, I’ll just reboot to recovery, enter my bitlocker recovery key, and choose cloud reinstall again. Nope. So I resorted to a local reinstall. Fully cleaned the drive, setup the Surface again, signed into my WiFi, my Microsoft account, chose to restore settings and files from OneDrive, installed an update and then got to the desktop. Boom! Immediate BSOD and again no dump file after restart. I wanted to give Microsoft a chance after I had horrible experiences with my corporate issued Surface Pro 3 from ages ago. But it seems several years later, Microsoft can’t cut it being a first party manufacturer for THEIR OWN OPERATING SYSTEM! It’s honestly pathetic. I will be returning this laptop promptly and getting a refund. At least my Xbox Series S and X work fine.

    No, I would not recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Battery life, Build quality, Processor speed
    Tech Insider Network Member

    Rated 4 out of 5 stars

    More Laptop In This Surface 4

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    Tech Insider Network Member
    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    Presentation: Opening the package containing the Surface 4 laptop helped me enjoy the upscale packaging that I’m sure Microsoft was aiming for. The employees took there time to make sure every inch of the boxing process was perfect. I took my time to live that moment longer. Setup: After removing and opening the Surface 4 laptop out of the box I was greeted by Cortana (Microsoft’s personal voice assistant). Cortana walked me through the initial setup and all I had to do was speak and she took care of the setup. The choice to click and manually make the selections is also available. Appearance: The Surface 4 laptop feels great to handle and weighs less than 5 pounds. I decided on the aluminum Matte black color and it looks fantastic. I don’t see it attracting fingerprints on the housing unless filthy hands get to it but it will be more for my personal use with school. For now I do Zoom meetings for school and the 720p front facing camera is perfect for it. The Surface 4 is equipped with a 15 inch crisp, and clear HD display that’s made for just about anything in touchscreen. Movies look amazing and browsing the web in 2496x1664 resolution detail make all the online shopping experience better and safer because I’m at the comfort of my home. This is faster than my other laptop from a well known company and it weighs less. Negatives: Where are the ports Microsoft? -No HDMI (not everyone do casting) the HDMI comes handy when and if I’m doing a presentation and easier to setup in my opinion. -Only 1 USB port can work but a backup would be nice. -Not a 2 in 1. It’s a touchscreen laptop and if it was designed to fold into a tablet I think it would make it more comfortable to have the option. Positives: -The Surface 4 laptop is fast. This is faster than my 2 years old laptop but I’m not sure it’s 70% faster. -The battery holds the charge for a good duration of the day depending on what I’m doing on the laptop. -Facial recognition is also a big deal to me. I’m seeing that feature more but I appreciate having it. -Keyboard keys are responsive to touch and smooth by not sticking when pressed. -Touchscreen is there when I need it. It’s a bonus to have especially when browsing. -Atmos Dolby surround sound makes watching a movie on the surface 4 laptop better when you don’t have your Surface buds nearby. -Fast charger. It comes with a magnetic fast charger that fully charge in about 2 hours. Other Mentions: For the tech gurus out there I know the specs might be a big deal. 512GB SSD 8GB RAM AMD Ryzen processor Which is enough for what I’m using it for. If the Surface 4 can’t handle the task I’ll hop on my desktop but for now it fits my need. Small things can make this Surface 4 closer to perfect but I think Microsoft is on the right path elevating there products.

    I would recommend this to a friend
    • Brand response from MicrosoftOutreachTeam
      Posted .

      Hi – We appreciate you taking the time to share your experience with Surface Laptop 4. We're glad that you love the sleek design, PixelSense touchscreen display, and Atmos Dolby speakers. We hope you continue to enjoy using your new Surface! Best, Erica Surface Customer Care Microsoft

  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Amazing Laptop!

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    Posted . Owned for less than 1 week when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    I purchased the Surface Laptop 4 with a Ryzen 7, 8GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. It was listed as being in “Satisfactory” condition, so I was expecting cosmetic issues and maybe the charger to be missing. I had purchased an “excellent” condition laptop that did not have the charger in the box, so I was expecting some issues. This laptop is in beautiful condition. I can find no scuffs, scratches, dings, blemishes or even fingerprints on this device. It looks like a brand-new laptop and the charger was in the box. Even though I did not have the fun of a full unboxing experience, I am amazed that I was able to pick this unit up for a third of what mint would have cost. I’m glad I took the gamble. My first impression was this is a beautiful device. The matte black finish and urban design give it a premium look and feel. It feels well balanced and light for its’ size. The screen lid lifts with one finger revealing a backlit keyboard with three (four if you count no light) levels of brightness. The keys are ever so slightly cupped with a shallow but satisfying amount of travel and the angled base provides a comfortable landing space for my wrists when typing. Something that is annoying about this laptop is how the ports are located on the lower body. The way the bevel is makes it difficult to connect to all the limited ports. Even the charging port is a struggle. I find that I need to tilt the laptop up so I can get things to connect. The PixelSense touch screen is bright and slightly reflective. It works with my finger and the three generations of Surface pens that I have. There are magnets in the lids right and left corners so my Slim pen lives there. I have brightness set at 50% and can easily view everything in a normal light. The colors are vibrant and crisp on either light or dark mode. The camera is very nice and can be used for Windows Hello. This option allows the laptop to unlock in a heartbeat and is something Apple should and to their models. The screen bezels are thick when compared to other laptop screens at the normal price point and the only thing that detracts from the viewing experience. Even with the thick bezels there is plenty of viewing room on this 15" screen. The Ryzen 7 is snappy and even with only 8GB of RAM it has been able to handle the programs (Photoshop, Sketchup, and the Microsoft suite) I need to use for my workflow. After my initial device set up there were 474GB available for storage. The storage uses NVMe SSD and I do not see lag when working. I would say that I was the winner on this purchase. So far my expectations have been exceeded and I would say that Best Buy surpassed the quality standards that described this laptop. This would be a great laptop for a student or businessperson. I would recommend it and would encourage checking out even laptops listed as “Satisfactory”. You might be pleasantly surprised.

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Rated 4 out of 5 stars

    Mr mich

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    Posted . Owned for more than 2 years when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    Worked ok for awhile then it slowed way down paid to much money for it

    No, I would not recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Battery life, Build quality, Processor speed
    Cons mentioned:
    Ram
    Tech Insider Network Member

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Very solid machine

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    Tech Insider Network Member
    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    I am someone that I would describe as techy, but at the same time, not overly so. The TL;DR of this review is that that is the type of person this laptop will suit best. PROCESSOR AND PERFORMANCE I have two laptops in my house. One is my work computer and the other is my personal laptop, which this is a replacement for. My personal laptop was a 2010 value laptop and there's no comparison between it and this. Things are a little closer with the company supplied laptop. That has a 2015 core i5 processor and an SSD as well. I thought maybe they'd be fairly comparable, but the Surface Laptop 4 is soooo much snappier and responsive. The extra 5 years (these have 2020 Ryzens in them) and this being more on the level of an i7 make the two processors feel night and day. Microsoft went for processing power on this and it shows. Very fast in everything it does. Opening programs, installing them, running large Excel sheets, etc. I can't compare it to Surface Laptop 3s as I never had one, but compared to my decent work laptop, this is much better. One thing to note though is don't get this expecting it to be a gaming laptop. You can play some of the less demanding games on it, but if you like 4k @ 120hz+, you've come to the wrong machine, though I'm sure someone with those tastes knew that. Gaming that would probably work well on here would be streaming like Microsoft's Xcloud or Google Stadia. Something where the computer isn't being tasked with rendering the game. Thanks to Wifi 6 built in, you could stream games. Speaking of, wifi 6 is amazing. My phone gets 250 to 300 Mbps downloads and uploads over my gig speed wifi. I ran the test on the Surface Laptop 4 and hit over 400 Mbps both ways, which is a massive gain. I wish everything had wifi 6. BATTERY LIFE: This laptop has great battery life. I charged it the night I got it and have been using it each night over the last 5 days or so and still haven't had to recharge it. That's a win in my book. Every other laptop I've ever used gave me maybe 7 or 8 hours. STORAGE AND RAM: Storage is ample with a 512GB SSD in mine. I love the SSD. A cold boot and this is up and at your desktop in maybe 20 seconds. It's fast. No complaints here. As far as RAM though, I do wish there were more. It's a little light at 8GB and considering a lot of top end phones carry around that, I wish there was more on a machine expected to do more. I believe it is upgradable down the line. Plus, this laptop carries a premium price tag so it really should come with a little more. USE This is a dream to use. Fast, responsive, and has a comfortable, wonderful feeling keyboard to type on. The touchscreen is nice, but admittedly I'm avoiding using it to keep oil streaks off my pristine screen. The color accuracy of the screen is great and it makes video really pop. The only downside I find here is that while it does support HDR, it has to be on certain apps. You can't go on youtube in Edge or Chrome and watch HDR. That's my biggest complaint as everything else about the screen is a thing of beauty. I also enjoy the 3:2 aspect ratio as 16:9 is much more suited to movies and TV. The webcam works great for video calls, though I only briefly tested it. Speakers sound good too, though I would encourage anyone to set up a nice set of external speakers. These are laptop speakers after all. You're not going to get a home theater experience from them. VERDICT: If I could give it 4.5 stars, I would. It's a beautiful laptop that runs exceptionally well. Incredibly polished experience all around. The only things I would knock it for are RAM, though more is available for extra money, and smaller things like a lack of legitimate graphics hardware, or the HDR thing I mentioned previously. As I said early on, if you're techy enough to like the finer things in the world of consumer electronics, but not so techy that you're building your own PC or looking for your next gaming laptop, this will be a great laptop for you.

    I would recommend this to a friend
    • Brand response from MicrosoftOutreachTeam
      Posted .

      Hi – We appreciate you taking the time to share your experience with your new Surface Laptop 4. We're thrilled that you're enjoying the processing speeds, battery life, and comfortable feel. We hope you continue to enjoy using it. Best, Erica Surface Customer Care Microsoft

  • Cons mentioned:
    Ram

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    A great computer for $550 open box

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    Posted . Owned for 1 week when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    Speakers and overall experience is amazing. I wish it had 16gb of ram, but it’s amazing even with 8gb. I bought a razer gaming laptop to compare the two and then based on that I’ll decide whether I want to return this one.

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Battery life, Build quality, Processor speed
    Tech Insider Network Member

    Rated 4 out of 5 stars

    Premium Laptop, Strong Performance, Great Battery

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    Tech Insider Network Member
    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    /////////// First Impressions and Features /////////// The Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 15” is definitely a premium laptop. It is one of the rare laptops where its hardware and software come from under the same roof. It shares the look and feel of its predecessor, and I have no issues with that at all. This is my first Surface Laptop (I currently own a Surface Pro 3, still kicking!). It is equipped with a Ryzen 7 8 core/16 thread APU, 512GB SSD and 8GB DDR4 RAM. The unit feels premium and sturdy, the hinge that holds the screen upright is very strong, and the backlit keyboard is probably one of the best keyboards I’ve ever typed on in a portable laptop. The cool metal feels smooth on your palms as you type and the touchpad registers all single and multi-touch gestures without a hitch. The panel is a touchscreen and I feel that it won’t be utilized very much, but it does become very handy when you need it. Trying to buy that elusive gpu online before everyone else? With a touchscreen, you are now the fastest ‘add-to-cart’ online shopper this side of the Mississippi! Contrary to what most others say about the thick bezels, I actually appreciate them. Where else are you going to hold the screen to open it up or make tilt adjustments without touching the panel itself? It’s one of those things that we take for granted as we prioritize looks over functionality. Ok, maybe they can be shrunk down a tad...but it doesn't bother me. One of the most satisfying aspects of the Surface Book is the display’s 3:2 aspect ratio, with a resolution of 2496x1664. From a general use and productivity standpoint, the vertical real estate gained allows the natural viewing of websites, documents and the like. Think about it. Most physical documents are printed in portrait, so there is a welcoming familiarity once you begin using the laptop. It is most definitely refreshing. The I/O is sparse on the laptop, having only a single USB-C, USB-A and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The only other means of connectivity is the Microsoft proprietary charge port that can also double as an I/O port with their proprietary dock. The limited amount of I/O helps keep the laptop thin, as evident in other laptops designed today, and the only way to expand I/O is to purchase a separate docking station or USB hub. The USB-C can also double as a charge port as well if you have a means of charging it that way. I own a monitor with a USB-C connection that acts as both a 65W charger and hub. This is a perfect complement to the Surface Laptop 4. /////////// Processing Performance /////////// A big omission is the use of the newest Ryzen 5000 Series mobile processors for this latest generation of Surface Laptop. This is an automatic star deduction in my book. Microsoft pinned the last generation’s Ryzen with the latest silicon to come from Intel. That being said, the Ryzen 7 4000 Surface Edition mobile processor is still a great everyday mobile APU. It is an 8 core/16 thread 7nm that should satisfy most users and their processing needs. The CPU core speeds will behave differently on battery versus when plugged in, and I’ve provided a table of the tests I ran for each power mode using Cinebench R23: <<- On Battery, 4 Modes ->> Battery Saver (Single 2GHz, Multi 1.4GHz) Recommended (Single 2GHz, Multi 1.6GHz) Better Performance (Single 2.9GHz, Multi 2.4GHz) Best Performance (Single 4.2GHz, Multi 2.9GHz) <<- Plugged In, 3 Modes ->> Recommended (Single 3.95GHz, Multi 2.5GHz) Better Performance (Single 4.3GHz, Multi 2.4GHz) (dipped as low as 1.5GHz in Multi, thermal throttling?) Best Performance (Single 4.3GHz, Multi 2.7GHz) (dipped as low as 1.3GHz in Multi, thermal throttling?) A couple of things to note. Maybe I’m stating the obvious here, but if you’re looking for top performance out of this laptop, you’re going to have to plug it in. When plugged in, the base single core speeds are increased almost by 100%. The laptop does not need to worry about battery conservation and can allow the cores to run full blast. The other thing I noticed is that when plugged in and running multi-core tests, the speeds start off strong but begin to taper off. I took note of the temps during testing and the core temps held under 70 degrees C, so I don’t know if it’s thermally throttling or something else relating to its TDP. When running off the battery, the speeds and performance are expected; the APU is intentionally limited to conserve battery. Still at Best Performance, you can squeeze out a single core speed of about 4GHz, which is impressive. /////////// Graphics Performance /////////// The Ryzen 7 Mobile is baked in with Radeon graphics. The graphics had no trouble running games like Roblox. I had my daughter give it a test run (she plays on my desktop PC with a dedicated GPU, for reference) and she gave it two thumbs up. I know, Roblox isn’t a demanding game, but it’s nice to know she can Roblox on-the-go on a PC rather than on a smartphone. So I took it to the other extreme and installed Shadow of the Tomb Raider for another test run. Running the in-game benchmark tool, I was able to squeeze out 13fps. This is with all graphics settings set to the lowest setting. During the benchmark, the APU shot up 91 degrees C! Terrifying. For my last test, I decided on a middle ground with Halo MCC. This was actually playable! Frame rates were around 30-40fps and the APU temps were hovering around 67 degrees C. Not bad at all. I had the laptop plugged in while gaming and did notice that the laptop became warm to the touch with the fans quietly spooled up, but nothing to be alarmed about. /////////// Battery Performance /////////// Ultimately if you decide to go with the Ryzen APU, you reap the benefits of the 7nm process which equates to lower power consumption and ultimately longer run times. This will be evident as you begin to configure your Laptop 4 with either Intel or AMD. If you go Intel, your battery times are reduced by as much as two hours. Intel Tiger Lake uses a 10nm process on their mobile chips which results in more power use. The Intel chips are fast in both processing and integrated graphics and may have advances in their silicon process, but you lose out in runtime. And it costs more, too. From the standpoint of costs and battery life, Ryzen would be the way to go. Just something to think about. Speaking of battery life, Microsoft states a battery life on this 15” Ryzen model to about 17.5 hours. We don’t know how they arrived at that number, but my regular use brought about 11-13 hours with the battery set to Recommended mode. That’s essentially a full day before reaching for the wall charger. You can easily mitigate battery usage by reducing screen brightness as well as disabling keyboard backlighting and turning off Bluetooth if you’re not already using it. Also, the more applications you have running in the background, the more battery will be consumed. /////////// Summary /////////// At its price point, it will have to trade blows with Dell, Lenovo and even the upcoming Samsung for ultra portable PC laptops, and many may find the other brands more visually appealing if we consider all their models comparably equipped. It boils down to preference and what is value priced at the moment. But again, there is something to be said about a company that designs both the hardware and the software of a device and even collaborates with chip makers like AMD to make a premium product, and so I recommend the Surface Laptop 4 15” Ryzen Edition as a buy. It’s a shame that Microsoft didn’t go with the nextgen of Ryzen processors. Apple is at the forefront of hardware and software, with their new M1 chip being all the rave at the moment, and is another alternative to the Surface Laptop 4 if you don’t mind running MacOS. Another avenue would be gaming laptops that offer much more performance at the same price point, but are larger, heavier and will need to be plugged in most of the time. I recommend that you think about your daily use cases and make a decision on a certain type of laptop from there.

    I would recommend this to a friend
    • Brand response from MicrosoftOutreachTeam
      Posted .

      Hi – Thanks for giving us your honest feedback. It's great to hear that Surface Laptop 4’s thin profile, processing performance, and long battery life make it a good fit for your needs. We hope you continue to enjoy using it. Best, Erica Surface Customer Care Microsoft

  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Great Computer

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    Posted . Owned for 7 months when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    This computer is amazing. Just what I needed for my graphic designs

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Battery life, Build quality, Screen size
    Tech Insider Network Member

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Now there's competition!

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    Tech Insider Network Member
    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    For a long time there was not a lot of competition for high end (non-gaming) laptops, with the Surface Laptop 4 it looks like things are changing. With the new AMD Ryzen 7 Microsoft Surface Edition processor they claim 17.5 hours of battery life on this model and I didn't quite get there but there was more than enough battery life to get through a long day of work and home use. The touch screen and trackpad were very responsive and the backlit keyboard was a joy to type on. The speakers were loud as well as clear and the build quality felt very premium and balanced in the hand. The usb-c, usb-a and headphone jack ports were all a welcome sight. The only knock I have would be that they didn't go for an exotic feature such as a digital screen button row as I feel that would lead to new and exciting ways to use your laptop. Overall I'm very happy with the Surface Laptop 4 and have no qualms about recommending it to anyone in the market for a higher end laptop.

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Tech Insider Network Member

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Compact Powerhouse, Faster Than Gaming Laptops!

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    Tech Insider Network Member
    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    This newly updated Microsoft Surface 4 laptop is a superb combination of technology and functionality which will outperform almost all existing laptops thanks to its incorporation of a new 8 core AMD Ryzen 7 processor with integrated Radeon RX Vega 8 graphic processing unit in a very compact form. Visually, the Surface 4 is an elegant, minimalist design with a very slim, beautiful matt black brushed aluminum body. The excellent full-size keyboard has white backlighting. The 15.1” touch screen seems larger because it incorporates a classic 6:4 format. The solid-state hard drive and low power needs of the LED display, CPU and GPU make possible up to 17.5 hours of silent operation. The audio quality of the Omnisonic speakers with Dolby Atmos sound processing is amazing. Overall, the impression is very sophisticated and high tech. Microsoft introduced the Surface product line in 2012 as a Windows tablet. It was the company’s first product which incorporated the Windows operating system and their own hardware. The first products ran tablet-only Windows RT. The early models were somewhat under-powered with limited storage and poor battery life. The next generation added a supplemental keyboard and more processing power, becoming 2-in-1 tablet/laptops. In 2015 the Surface 3 models were the first to run the full Windows operating system and standard programs. That Surface 3 lineup included the first true laptop. But not until the latest version, the Surface 4, did the product finally achieve parity in power and functionality with competitive laptops by incorporating bigger displays, very fast microprocessors, large SSD storage and superior battery life. Consider this outstanding combination of features: • Microsoft Surface 4 Laptop (Model 5W6-00024) • AMD Ryzen 7 4980U CPU 8 core/16 thread, 15w max power load • 8 core/16 hyper-thread processor runs at speeds from 2.0 to 4.4 GHz • 64 bit Windows 10 Home 20H2 operating system • Integrated AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 GPU uses shared system memory • 8 GB DDR4 high efficiency RAM primary memory • 512 GB SK-Hynix SSD fast hard drive • 15.1” IPS LED-backlit PixelSense touch-screen display with 2496 x 1664 (201 PPI) resolution • Windows ink workspace/Surface Pen support • Omnisonic full-range stereo speakers and Dolby Atmos audio processing • 720 HD f2.0 Webcam with dual far field microphones • 3D IR Camera for Windows Hello facial and gesture recognition • Intel AX200 wireless LAN 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax (WiFi 6 support), WPA3 security • Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity • USB-C video output • 1 USB 3.1 Type C (up to 5 GBps) • 1 USB 3.0 Type A • 40 pin Surface Connect port for charging and accessory connections • Headphone out/Microphone in 3.5 mm port • 45.82 Watt-Hour Lithium Ion battery – 17.5 hour operating life • 65 watt/15.0 volt/4.0 amp charging unit with USB Type A 5.0 volt/1.0 amp charging port and 101” cord length • Very slim and compact: 13.4” wide x 9.6” deep x 0.6” thick • Lightweight: only 3.4 pounds • One year warranty on parts and labor So how does this laptop perform? Flawlessly! It seemed very fast when I was using it, so I ran two well-regarded benchmark programs (Novabench and PC Mark 10) on both it and four of my other computers to determine their relative performance. These tests measure both CPU (general processing) and GPU (graphics processing) so they give a good overall measure of a computer’s speed. The first was a base model office desktop with an AMD A6 (A6-7310) CPU (comparable in speed to an Intel i3 CPU), no separate GPU and 8 GB RAM. The next was a nicely-equipped all-in-one computer with a 6th generation Intel i5 (6400T), Intel 530 GPU and 12 GB RAM. The third was a 2018-era gaming laptop with an 8th generation Intel i5 (8300H), Nvidia 1050Ti GPU and 8 GB RAM. The fourth was a 2019-era two-in-one laptop/tablet with AMD’s Ryzen 5 and Radeon Vega 8 GPU and 8 GB RAM. Finally, I ran the same tests on the Microsoft Surface 4 laptop. All computers were well-maintained, running identical Windows 10 versions with no other programs active. Here are the results (higher is faster): Novabench Results: Office desktop (AMD A6, 8 GB ram): 636 (Base case) All-in-One (i5-6400, 12 GB ram): 858 (35% faster than base) Gaming laptop (i5-8300H, 8 GB ram)): 2028 (219% faster than base) Two-in-One tablet/laptop (AMD Ryzen 5 3500U, 8 GB ram): 1425 (124% faster than base) Microsoft Surface 4 (AMD Ryzen 7 4980U, 8 GB ram): 2981 (369% faster than base) PC Mark 10 Results: Office desktop (AMD A6, 8 GB ram): 1451 (Base case) All-in-One (i5-6400, 12 GB ram): 2300 (59% faster than base) Gaming laptop (i5-8300H, 8 GB ram)): 4603 (217% faster than base) Two-in-One tablet/laptop (AMD Ryzen 5 3500U, 8 GB ram): 3698 (155% faster than base) Microsoft Surface 4 (AMD Ryzen 7 4980U, 8 GB ram): 5096 (251% faster than base) OK, that’s a lot of numbers and technical jargon but the bottom line is that you will find this slim Surface 4 capable of out-performing anything you currently own (unless you have a really geeked-out special system) and very smooth in running any games or software you may ever buy. Put this elegant notebook to work on most business software and it will never even break a sweat. Use it for photo or video editing and it will calmly do whatever you want, no drama. And you need not hesitate to fire up a graphics-intensive game because it has the power to handle even that chore easily. It is certainly faster than most dedicated gaming laptops made prior to 2020! The Omnisonic speakers and Atmos sound system on this laptop are surprisingly good. I listened to some of my favorite albums from Spotify and the speakers (although tiny) were much better than typical for laptops. They are mounted at the hinge, have decent volume and good stereo separation – certainly good enough for watching Netflix or YouTube videos. A major plus for this Surface 4 device is the outstanding battery life. I always test laptops by streaming Netflix series on battery power with a bright screen and high speaker volume. The combination of modem usage, video rendering, screen lighting and speaker volume usually drains most laptop batteries in less than two hours. But this Microsoft lasted almost twelve hours before exhausting the charge! That is long enough for five full movies and certainly would suffice a traveler for even the longest international flights. You can thank the ultra-efficient and power-miser AMD CPU and GPU for that amazing performance. Another advantage for travelers is the compact size (less than 14” wide and 0.6” thick) and very light weight – about 3.4 pounds. The power cube is small (about 3” x 2” x 1”) so it won’t take up much precious space or weight in your briefcase/backpack. The notebook is nicely balanced with a great lighted keyboard and big touchpad, so those who like to literally use their laptop on their lap will be pleased. The Intel wireless LAN is compatible with the latest WiFi 6 standard and provides excellent, high speed connection to your network. Similarly, the Bluetooth 5.0 gave a stable connection at up to 35 feet. The 3.5 mm audio port is convenient if you like to use wired headsets or earbuds. The 15.1” touchscreen display has superb resolution, high speed video rendering and HDR content support with very good color saturation. The 6:4 screen ratio is taller than the 16:9 or 16:10 ratios seen on many laptops and actually offers considerably more screen area (about 19% more) than the 16:9 screens. This is an advantage when working with Word documents or spreadsheets. It also supports the Surface Pen for graphic editing, although I don’t think that a laptop is the best vehicle for that function. The Microsoft Hello facial recognition and Cortana both work well, as does the webcam and built-in microphones. I suggest that you turn off the setting which requires entering a password when waking from sleep (but I suggest that change for all Windows PCs!) What are the possible weak points or purchase issues to consider? • I would have preferred at least two Type A and two Type C USB ports. I prefer to use a mouse rather than a trackpad and often need to use a flash drive so having only one USB port is an issue. (I solved it by buying a very nice Microsoft Bluetooth mouse from Best Buy for just $15. See photo.) • While the keyboard is excellent, it does not have a separate numeric keypad. However, that would have required a somewhat wider unit or reducing the size of the other key, so its absence is understandable. • It would have been nice to have a form-fitting cloth carrying case included (as many other notebook brands provide.) • When you set up your new Surface 4 laptop you will need to download some software (e.g., Open GL, Dolby Atmos) and update the drivers. There are several free software suites which will take care of those tasks for you. • Some might feel that the 8 GB of RAM and 512 GB SSD could be larger but the performance results I noted above show that the RAM is adequate. The hard drive is big enough for most purposes and can be supplemented by an external hard drive plugged into the USB Type C port. • The optional Intel 11th generation Core i7 microprocessor allows a larger RAM and SSD configuration and may be a bit faster but at a considerably larger cost and much less battery life. But these are really just minor quibbles. When you consider all of its power and functionality you will agree that the price is very reasonable. I can enthusiastically recommend the new Microsoft Surface 4 laptop for both serious stay-at-home power users and for those who need a perfect travel companion.

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Build quality, Processor speed, Weight

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Exceeds expectations...love it!

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    Posted . Owned for 1 month when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    Very happy with this new laptop...starts fast, no problems. Clear, crisp image on the screen, lightweight and easy to tote. Would definitely buy again....and Geek Squad was super-helpful moving everything over!

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Battery life, Processor speed, Screen size

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    A Great Laptop

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    Posted . Owned for 1 year when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    I bought this laptop for school and it really does come in handy, both in speed and ease of use, has an amazing screen on top of pretty good battery life too!

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Tech Insider Network Member

    Rated 4 out of 5 stars

    Excellent sleek laptop

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    Tech Insider Network Member
    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    This is an excellent laptop with an interesting form factor that will take me some getting use to. I really enjoy the lightweight sleek look of this laptop especially with the 15" screen size. If you are looking for a wonderful work or play laptop, I feel like this is the perfect hardware combination with the 8GB of RAM and the 512GB SSD paired with a beefy Ryzen 7 processor. I use Adobe for photo and video work and this laptop handles the sometimes intense processing tasks just fine. One thing I did notice was no thunderbolt port which i feel like should come standard nowadays it opens up lots of options. I also noticed the lack of ports on this laptop which isnt necessarily a bad thing because I dont tend to use many usb ports but if you like to connect up lots of things, just know you may need an external port replicator of some sort. The battery life on this has been stellar and I'm very happy to say I have yet to run it down in between charges like I tend to do on my other laptops with sub optimal batteries. One thing to note is the battery does not appear to be removable and I dont beleive the RAM is removable or upgradeable either. So if you want the 16GB of RAM, get it up front because there is no adding any additional or swapping it from what I have read thus far. All in all, I love this laptop, I think it has great speed, is built well, and provides excellent power with excellent battery life. I would highly recommend it.

    I would recommend this to a friend
    • Brand response from MicrosoftOutreachTeam
      Posted .

      Hi – Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts on your new Surface Laptop 4. We're delighted that you enjoy its sleek design and long battery life. We hope it continues to serve you well. Best, Erica Surface Customer Care Microsoft

  • Pros mentioned:
    Screen size, Weight

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Lightweight 15’

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    Posted . Owned for 3 weeks when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    Excellent computer with touchscreen! This laptop is very light and processing speed is good for my task. I love the Matt black color and the 15’ screen. I was pleasantly surprised to find the set up easy. The computer talks you thru the entire process. Purchased for my mother and she has no issues navigating and completing task

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Battery life, Build quality, Processor speed

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    The best laptop on the market

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    Posted . Owned for 2 months when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    The best laptop on the market!!! This laptop is beautiful! It is slim, great screen and color clarity, with a beautiful minimalist design. I hate when there a bunch of stickers on my laptops. It is just wonderfully sleek, The Ryzen 7 is lightning fast. It beats out an 11th gen i7 in most performance benchmarks. The graphics are good too. The Radeon graphics are better then most Intel Iris versions and it does have 512mb of dedicated memory which actually makes a big difference, The keyboard is the best but that is nothing new as Microsoft makes the best keyboards. Another thing I noticed (this is my 7th different surface device) is that the windows hello on this laptop is better then any other. The battery gets about 11 hours in real life for me with the screen at 40%. And the if this helps the USB-C port Supports DisplayPort 1.4 Alt Mode for 2 HD monitors

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Processor speed, Weight

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Review

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    Posted . Owned for more than 2 years when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    Very good computer. Very fast. Very lightweight. Compact. Sleek finish

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Screen size

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    This Is A Beast!

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    Posted . Owned for 3 weeks when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    Loving The Specs Screen Size And Performance. When You Buy Surface You Buy Premium. Open Box Items Never Looked So Good! Best Buy Is The Best Place To Buy Your Surface With More Promotions Than The Microsoft Store Itself!

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Screen size
    Cons mentioned:
    Ports

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Laptop

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    Posted . Owned for 1.5 years when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    Great laptop! I do wish it has more than one USB port but other than that I love how thin it is and how it is touch screen. Very good quality!

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Battery life, Build quality, Processor speed

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Great Purchase

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    Posted . Owned for 3 weeks when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    Fantastic! Exactly what was expected. Super fast, very light weight, great battery life, keyboard has a great touch. Very happy!

    I would recommend this to a friend
    • Brand response from MicrosoftOutreachTeam
      Posted .

      Hi – We're delighted that you love the speed, battery life, and lightweight design of your new Surface laptop 4. We hope it continues to serve you well. Best, Erica Surface Customer Care Microsoft

  • Pros mentioned:
    Build quality

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    A Windows MacBook

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    Posted . Owned for 2 weeks when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    The build quality and pricing both place this laptop in the range of a new MacBook Air. The laptop is very well built and feels great to use. For the price you could probably do better if MacOS works for your needs, but if you need something that natively runs windows without the compromises of most windows machines, this is it. You can find an identically equipped windows ultrabook for hundreds less, but if you can get a discount it is worth it, even if it still costs a little more.

    I would recommend this to a friend