The river sounded a long time ago, and the rumors about the arrival of the new Microsoft laptops were increasing week after week. These teams are already with us, and today the firm has officially announced the launch of the Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 .
The new computers are offered with two different diagonals (13.5 and 15 inches) and especially with two different types of processors: either the 11th generation Intel Core, or some curious Ryzen 4000 specially designed with AMD for these models.
Surface Laptop 4 data sheet
| MICROSOFT SURFACE LAPTOP 4 (13.5 “) | MICROSOFT SURFACE LAPTOP 4 (15 “) | |
|---|---|---|
| SCREEN | 13.5 “PixelSense 3: 2 (2,256 x 1,504)
Touch and pen support |
15 “PixelSense 3: 2 (2,496 x 1,664)
Touch and pen support |
| PROCESSOR | Intel Core i5-1035G7
Intel Core i5-1145G7 Intel Core i7-1185G7 AMD Ryzen 5 4680U AMD Ryzen 7 4980U |
Intel Core i7-1185G7
AMD Ryzen 7 4980U |
| MEMORY | Up to 32GB LPDDR4X at 3,733MHz | Up to 32GB LPDDR4X at 3,733MHz (Intel)
Up to 32GB DDR4 2400MHz (AMD) |
| GRAPHICS | Intel: Intel Iris Xe Graphics
AMD: AMD Ryzen Microsoft Surface Edition Radeon Graphics |
Intel: Intel Iris Xe Graphics
AMD: AMD Ryzen Microsoft Surface Edition Radeon Graphics |
| STORAGE | Up to 512GB M.2 NVMe SSD | Up to 512GB M.2 NVMe SSD |
| CONNECTIVITY | Wi-Fi 6, BT 5.0 | Wi-Fi 6, BT 5.0 |
| PORTS | 1 x USB-A, 1 x USB-C, Surface Connect, headphones | 1 x USB-A, 1 x USB-C, Surface Connect, headphones |
| DIMENSIONS | 308 x 223 x 14.51 mm | 339.5 x 244 x 14.69 mm |
| WEIGHT | 1.26 kg (fabric), 1.29 kg (metal) | 1.54 kg |
| DRUMS | Up to 19 hours on the Ryzen 5
Up to 17 hours on the Core i5 |
Up to 17.5 hours on the Ryzen 5
Up to 16.5 hours on the Core i5 |
| OTHERS | 720p webcam with Windows Hello support
Long Range Dual Microphone |
720p webcam with Windows Hello support
Long Range Dual Microphone |
| PRICE | From 1,129 euros. | From $ 1,099 |
AMD option a bit bittersweet
Although we do have both types of processors to choose from, it seems that Microsoft is not convinced by the AMD chips that are conventionally available.
In the Surface Laptop 3 it already happened to him that his models with AMD chips did not make much sense: they were almost “obsolete” by the Ryzen 4000 that appeared shortly after.
With these new Surface Laptop 4 the play is strange, especially considering that the AMD 5000 just hit the market and begin to appear in some very attractive laptops. Microsoft does not integrate these models, but variants of the Ryzen 4000 that have taken over the portable market in recent months but are now less attractive.
The Surface Laptop 4s are therefore still based on chips with the Renoir architecture even though the new chips with the Cezanne architecture were available, and here we may have the reason in the pandemic : the shortage of chips may have caused the delay in the launch of the Surface Laptop 4, which had been launched before Christmas would have been more in line with what the market offered at that time.
Even so, these mics are much superior to those of the previous generation AMD Ryzen 3000 family, but they are also available in both the 13.5-inch and 15-inch Surface Laptop 4 : last year it was only possible to find them in the 15-inch one.
The design does not change, neither do the ports: nothing from Thunderbolt 4
Microsoft had here the opportunity to make changes that had already been demanded in the latest models, and among them stood out the one to leave behind once and for all the Surface Connect charging port, which seem to make no sense anymore when the USB-C ports they offer more than enough room for maneuver for this.
However, in the Surface Laptop 4 that “old” charging port is maintained , but also Microsoft still does not bet on the Thunderbolt 4 interface. Although we have USB-C ports in these computers, not even in the models with 11th Intel Core microphones generation we access that possibility.
The design is maintained compared to the previous versions, and with it interesting options are also inherited such as the ability to change the internal SSD thanks to a small hatch at the bottom of the laptop.
The Alcantara fabric that surrounds the keyboard and touchpad is present in the 13.5-inch models, but not in the 15-inch models in which the metallic finish dominates the entire chassis.
Surface Laptop 4 price and availability
The new Surface Laptop 4 will be available on April 27 in Spain .
The starting price will be 1,129 euros in the version with AMD chips.