The Surface Laptop 5 by Microsoft is a decent ultrabook that is optimal for regular office use and occasional CPU-intensive workloads such as coding or using Photoshop.
It also improves upon its predecessors by including an Intel processor while also making minor improvements to the I/O ports.
However, the Surface Laptop 5 is far from perfect. And we will discuss the shortcomings that make it harder for us to recommend in some cases.
Specs at Glance
CPU: Core i7 1225u | GPU: Intel Iris Xe Graphics | RAM: 16GB | Display: 13.5” 2256×1504 touch supported | Storage: 512GB SSD | Battery: 47Wh | OS: Windows 11
Chassis & Design
The design of the Microsoft Surface 5 is as simple as it gets. The design remains the same as the previous model, having a simple Microsoft logo on the lid of the all-aluminum laptop. The chassis feels solid thanks to the all-aluminum design.
Though one thing we wished it didn’t carry from the previous model was thick black bezels. These make the Surface Laptop 5 feel like a laptop from 2015.
The competition is far ahead when it comes to this. The Galaxy Book 2 pro has thin bezels, along with the Lenovo Yoga 7i.
In case you really prefer a thin screen, then you might consider the competition.
One area where the Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 is much better is its weight coming at 2.8 lbs (1.27kg) which is quite light when compared to something like the Yoga 7i which weighs around 4.1 lbs (1.9kg.) Though the Galaxy Book 2 Pro is slightly lighter around 2.4 lbs (1.1kg.)
As for the form factor and dimensions, its 307mm (12.1 inches) in length, 223.5mm (8.8 inches) in width, and 14.4mm (0.57 inches) in height. Which is more or less the same compared to the competition.
I/O Ports
The I/O is quite limited on the Surface Laptop 5. It has a single USB 3.2 Type-A port and a single USB C port, which this year thankfully is a Thunderbolt port. Other than that it has an audio combo jack and a full-size SD card reader.
This quite underwhelming, considering that the competition offers much better and rich I/O ports.
The Yoga 7i does not only have dual USB C and USB Type-A ports but it also has a full-size HDMI port. Though the I/O can be considered an improvement over the previous one, it still has a lot to improve on.
Keyboard & Touchpad
Keyboard
The Surface Laptop 5 features an amazing keyboard. It has big and spacious keys that are well spread out, allowing you to land each keystroke accurately.
As someone who likes keys with short travel, the keys on the Surface Laptop 5 feel fast and snappy. What further adds to the typing experience is the Alcantara keyboard deck which feels soft and comfy while typing.
Though if you are used to more travel on your keyboard then you might prefer the keyboard on the Yoga 7i which features much more travel due to the signature Lenovo keyboards.
Touchpad
The Surface Laptop 5 has a glass touchpad which works as expected. The glass surface feels really slippy and slldy, allowing you to glide your finger with ease.
I am really happy that the touchpad is also centered and it’s big enough that you can move around with ease.
As for the gestures they work as expected, though you can remap them in the settings as you wish.
The Touchpad on the Surface Laptop 5 is pretty much on par with the competition, where both the Yoga 7i and the Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro have accurate and smooth touchpads.
Display
As far as color accuracy goes, the Surface Laptop 5 is pretty good The display on the Surface Laptop 5 is colorful and beautiful, covering 100% of sRGB while also covering 72% of DCI P3 color space.
This is on par with what the competition has to offer including the Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro and Yoga 7i.
This means you can easily do color-sensitive creative work with ease on Photoshop or Premiere Pro which is further supported by its capable CPU (More on that later.)
Though if you really value the inky blacks and the amazing contrast of an OLED display, then you must consider the Galaxy Book 2 Pro.
Even if the Surface Laptop 5 has an LCD display, it still looks good for content consumption and can work great for your occasional Netflix binging session.
You can also use this laptop outdoors with ease thank its 440 nits of brightness which makes the display quite useful outside on a sunny day.
This is the brightest out of the competition, considering that the OLED panel on the Galaxy Book 2 pro struggles to get bright.
As for the touch response, it’s nice and accurate. Similar to the competition, it does not include a stylus in the box so you would have to buy that separately.
Despite being a touch display, don’t expect it to use like a convertible. as the display hinges are not designed for it to be used in tablet mode.
If you prefer using your laptop in tablet mode, then you are better off buying the Lenovo Yoga 7i.
Performance
The performance of the Surface Laptop 5 is subpar at best. That’s not to say it’s bad or anything. We do notice a considerable improvement compared to the last year’s model.
In synthetic benchmarks like Geekbench 5, it got a single core score of 1209 which was 12% faster than the previous model. And it also got a significant improvement in the multi-core score where it got 6840 which is 37% faster than Surface Laptop 4.
In Cinebench R23 we noticed similar improvements. In single-core it got 1683 which was 23% higher than the Surface Laptop 4, and it got 7372 in multi-core which was 34% faster than the previous model.
What this performance translates to is a great performance in your day-to-day tasks while also holding up well in multi-threaded workloads such as code compilation and small video rendering projects.
Though comparing it to the competition, both the Yoga 7i and the Galaxy Book 2 Pro have performance variants of the i7 processors. This as you might expect, leads to a better overall performance in both single-core and multi-core workloads. So if you want the best performance out of the bunch, you can safely go with the Yoga 7i.
However, the Surface Laptop 5 and the other laptops in the league are not meant for demanding and intensive multi-threaded tasks. If that’s what you do in your daily workflow, you might consider buying laptops intended for content creation or gaming. As these laptops tend to pack in much more power than your average thin and light ultrabook.
Speaking of gaming, since the Surface Laptop 5 does not have discrete graphics, you can’t expect to game on it. Sure, Iris Xe Graphics can run older titles like GTA V and CS GO at playable framerates on medium to low settings. But don’t expect to run newer demanding titles like Cyberpunk 2077, Hogwarts Legacy, or Elden Ring.
Speakers & Webcam
Speakers
The speakers are subpar and what you would come to expect from an average laptop. They produce crystal clear mids with a bit of emphasis on highs while completely missing out on the bass.
This is not impressive, considering that the Yoga 7i quad speaker setup provides a relatively much better sound thanks to its emphasis on bass while also providing clear mids and highs.
Though similar to the Surface Laptop 5 they can also get quite loud without distorting.
Webcam
The webcam is nothing to write home about. It’s a boring 720p webcam that is serviceable for occasional video calls on Zoom or Microsoft Teams.
This is disappointing considering that the Yoga 7i and the Galaxy Book 2 Pro feature a 1080p webcam which provides a much clear and sharper image.
Though it has Windows Hello so that is something nice.
Battery
In terms of battery life, the Surface Laptop 5 is middle of the road, lasting around 8 hours on moderate to light use. Whereas the Galaxy book 2 Pro last more than 12 hours thanks to its bigger 67Wh battery.
So if all-day battery backup is all that matters to you, then you might go for the Galaxy Book 2 Pro. But even if you opt to not do that, you would still be satisfied with the battery backup of the Surface Laptop 5.
Expandibility & Upgradbility
This is what hurts me the most about the Surface Laptop 5. The sleek and slim design comes at the cost of future-proofing. To start off, the RAM is soldered, which though unfortunate, seems to be common among all thin and light laptops these days.
Though the SSD is replaceable on the Surface Laptop 5, it’s not quite easy. The chassis is made in such a way that it’s not supposed to be taken apart by the user.
So if you feel comfortable and confident enough to take apart the Surface Laptop 5, then do so.
Conclusion
For us, the Surface Laptop 5 is a bit hard to justify. Though it is a good laptop with a good keyboard, a beautiful display, and good performance, it’s not the greatest out of them all. And especially considering its hefty price tag of around $1500, it’s hard to prefer this laptop.
If you manage to get this laptop on sale then it might be a great buy for you. But when compared to the competition, it’s better you go with the Galaxy Book 2 Pro or the Yoga 7i.
