Best Microsoft Surface: Which Models to Buy or Avoid (2024)

Microsoft operates Windows, so you’d think its Surface laptops would be the best representation of the desktop operating system, right? Well, these machines were innovative and feature-rich at the start, and the lineup has expanded from a standard laptop to a giant desktop. But Microsoft has stuck with minor spec bumps over the years, and Surface laptops don’t feel as well regarded as they once were.

That might be changing as the company recently announced two new AI-powered Surface laptops, injecting some life into these computers. But it begs the question, what’s the best Surface laptop to buy? We’re currently testing the latest machines and will have our thoughts soon, but read on for more advice on the current Surface lineup.

Be sure to read our other buying guides for more, including the Best Laptops, Best Cheap Laptops, Best MacBooks, and our tips on how to choose a laptop.

Updated June 2024: We added details on the new Surface Laptop (7th Edition), Surface Pro (11th Edition), and Microsoft’s new CoPilot+PC line and Prism Emulator.

Table of Contents

• Best for Most People: Surface Laptop 5
• Best 2-in-1: Surface Pro 9
• Surface Devices to Avoid
• What About Older Models?
• What Are CoPilot+PC’s?
• Things That May Annoy You
• Great Surface Accessories
• Look Into Surface All Access and Microsoft Complete
• Should You Wait to Buy?

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Best for Most People

Editor’s Note: Microsoft announced a new Surface Laptop (7th Edition) equipped with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus processors, slimmer bezels, brighter displays (with 600 nits of brightness and a 120-Hz refresh rate), a haptic touchpad, and longer battery life. It’s currently available for preorder, starting at $1,000, and will be available June 18. We’ll be testing it and will add our thoughts on it soon.

Microsoft made incremental changes with the Surface Laptop 5. As usual, you can choose between a 13.5-inch and a 15-inch model. Both come with the same port selection as predecessors: a USB-A port, a 3.5-mm headphone jack, a Surface Connect Port, and a USB-C port. This time, the USB-C port supports Thunderbolt 4, so you can connect it to a 4K monitor and transfer large files at fast speeds.

On the inside, both sizes come with a 12th-generation Intel processor—you can choose between a Core i5 or i7 for the 13-inch model while the 15-inch version only comes with the i7. However, the Surface Laptop 5 feels outdated as a whole (especially when compared to other laptops on the market). There’s no fingerprint scanner, the bezels are distractingly thick, and Microsoft no longer offers the option of an AMD processor.

After spending some time with it, we gave the Surface Laptop 5 an honorable mention in our Best Laptops buying guide. Even though it has a nice keyboard and stylish outer design, it feels stale—making it tough to justify the price. The upcoming Surface Laptop (7th Edition) seems to remedy these qualms, so stay tuned for our review.

Specs to look for: 13-inch Intel Core i7, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD

Best 2-in-1 Laptop

Editor’s Note: Microsoft announced a new Surface Pro (11th Edition) equipped with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus processors—which the company claims is up to 90 percent faster than the Surface Pro 9. In addition to the standard LCD screen, there’s now an OLED option. It’s available for preorder, starting at $1,000, with full availability on June 18. We’ll be testing it and will add our thoughts soon.

The original Surface design, with its kickstand and keyboard cover, is still a joy all these years later. The Surface Pro 9 bridges the gap between laptop and tablet pretty well. The new version doesn’t differ much from the Surface Pro 8 (7/10, WIRED Recommends), apart from an updated processor and a new 5G option.

No matter which configuration you land on, each Pro has 12th-generation Intel chips (the 5G model is powered by a Microsoft SQ 3 chip from Qualcomm) and a 2,880 x 1,920-pixel resolution screen with a document-friendly 3:2 aspect ratio. The screen can be set with a 120-Hz refresh rate (120 frames per second), but this will significantly impact battery life. You also get two USB-C ports, a magnetic charging port, and a Windows Hello–compatible 1080p webcam. As with last year’s model, there is no longer a microSD slot. If you want your Pro to be a true hybrid tablet/ laptop, you’ll also need to buy the essential Microsoft Type Cover keyboard (it’s not included).

Our only complaint with the Surface Pro 9 (aside from the nixed microSD slot) is shorter battery life. Microsoft claims the same 15.5 hours of battery with the Wi-Fi model, while the 5G version will last 19 hours. However, when testing the latter we hit only 7.5 hours before the low-battery notification popped up. This still got us through the entire workday, powering apps like Chrome, Slack, and Zoom simultaneously, but it’s nowhere near the 19 hours Microsoft claims. It’s worth noting I did keep brightness at 100 percent for a couple of hours before switching between 50 and 60 percent for the rest of the day, so you might be able to squeeze a few more hours out of it at lower brightness.

Specs to look for: Intel Core i5, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD

Surface Devices to Avoid

Surface Laptop Studio 2 for $2,000: We had a great experience with the first-generation Laptop Studio (8/10, WIRED Recommends), but we can’t say the same for the Laptop Studio 2 (6/10, WIRED Review). The second-generation version has worse battery life (4 hours on the Studio 2 versus 12 hours on its predecessor) and it runs super hot—despite a new heat-dissipation system and new “thermal capacity performance,” the device reached a whopping 109 degrees at one point). It’s also too expensive (the high-end version will set you back $3,700).

Surface Studio 2+ for $4,000: This machine came out only two years ago, but its specs are slightly dated for $4,500—both the 11th-gen Intel Core i7 11370H processor and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 graphics card came out in 2021. You’re better off either saving your money and waiting until Microsoft launches the next-generation version (hopefully, with a more recent processor and graphics card) or finding a more powerful machine that’s worth the high price.

Surface Laptop Go 3 for $800: We had high hopes for the Surface Laptop Go 3 (5/10, WIRED Review), but this one leaves much to be desired. The display’s low resolution is noticeable when reading text (everything looks a bit fuzzy), battery life isn’t great (we reached six hours whereas Microsoft claims 15 hours), the fingerprint sensor is finicky, and it has a grainy 720p webcam. Microsoft also nixed the 4 GB RAM and 128-SSD options, increasing the starting price by $100 more than previous versions. There are plenty of alternative budget laptops out there that offer more for this price point.

What About Older Models?

• Surface Pro 8 for $798 (With Type Cover): The 2021 Pro 8 packs a majority of the same features as the Pro 9. It’s still an excellent choice if you don’t need the latest processor (the 11th-gen Intel is still plenty powerful) or 5G connectivity. Try and find it on sale.
• Surface Go 2 for $650 (Intel Core m3): The Go 2 was a fun little machine and got better battery life than its successor. That said, the battery life is about the only thing it has going for it versus the newer model. Wait to find it on sale.
• Surface Laptop 4 for $569: The Surface Laptop 4 (7/10, WIRED Recommends) has a gorgeous 13.5-inch high-resolution display (if you want a larger display, there’s also the 15-inch version), a lovely keyboard, stellar glass trackpad, and a slim case. Our only grip is the lack of ports—you’ll get a USB-C port, a USB-A port, and a magnetic charging port. It’s available with either an AMD Ryzen chip or an Intel processor, both of which will easily handle most workloads and apps. We only recommend spending $475 or less.
• Surface Laptop Go 2 for $441: The Surface Laptop Go 2 (8/10, WIRED Review) won’t wow, but it is portable and stylish. Battery life could be better (we reached close to 7 hours on average—far from the 13.5 hours that Microsoft claims) and the screen is subpar (it’s not even at HD resolution, so text can appear slightly pixelated), but it’s a solid choice if you like the portability of the Surface Go hybrid but want the more traditional clamshell design.
• Surface Go 3 for $500: This is the smallest member of the Surface lineup (6/10, WIRED Review). The 10.5-inch screen is ideal if your needs are minimal. With a Type Cover, it’s a good, tiny, tablet and laptop hybrid. The Surface Pen also makes it convenient for note-taking. However, it does lack all-day battery life, and the smaller, slower storage drive coupled with limited RAM could make multitasking and demanding apps feel slower. We only recommend waiting until it’s on sale for $500 or less.
• Older Surfaces: We do not recommend Surface laptops or 2-in-1s older than these.

What Is CoPilot+PC?

At its Surface Hardware event in May, Microsoft announced a new product category called CoPilot+PC, specifically designed to power AI features. The first wave of these—which includes laptops from brands like Acer, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Samsung, in addition to Microsoft—pack Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus processors. The first two Microsoft CoPilot+PC models are the Surface Laptop (7th Edition) and Surface Pro (11th Edition). In addition to supposedly helping to optimize performance and battery life, these chips also power new AI capabilities that are currently only available on Qualcomm-powered devices (but will be available to future Copilot+ PCs) running Windows 11 including Live Translations, Windows Studio Effects, and CoCreator—which you can read more about here.

While Microsoft isn’t making custom chips, switching to Qualcomm exclusively rather than working with Intel (its longtime partner) marks the start of a new era for the company’s machines. It also means that developers have to optimize their apps to run natively on the processors. As a temporary loophole, while developers catch up, Microsoft announced new emulation software called Prism. Similar to Apple’s Rosetta 2 technology, this allows Intel apps to run on ARM-based laptops even if a native version isn’t available.

Microsoft already has a host of native Arm versions of certain apps built for the Snapdragon X series. This includes Microsoft 365 apps (like Teams, Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, One Drive, and more), Google Chrome, Spotify, Zoom, Whatsapp, Blender, Affinity Suite, DaVinci Resolve, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom, and more. The company says Slack will be released later this year. Expect more apps to be supported quickly, since Apple’s M1 chipsets forced many developers to create ARM versions of their apps for the MacBook.

Things That May Annoy You

Microsoft has made Surface devices for nearly a decade now, but there are still imperfections that may impact your enjoyment. You may start to get annoyed from the moment you add a device to your cart and order it. If you’re grabbing a Surface hoping to use the famous, fabulous Surface Pen with it, you’ll need to buy it separately. In years past, the Surface Pro and the Surface Book included the Pen, but that’s no longer the case.

Ports are another mixed bag for Surface devices. You’ll find USB-C ports throughout the Surface line, and the newest versions support Thunderbolt 4. Despite the USB-C ports, Microsoft stuck with its magnetic Surface Connect charger. (Confusingly, you can charge with USB-C too.) This may not be a bad thing, but it feels strange with the Thunderbolt support there as well.

Great Surface Accessories

You’ll have to purchase these accessories separately (unless they’re available as a bundle)—on top of shelling out money for the device itself. Below, we break down some of those aforementioned add-ons from Microsoft, as well as more affordable third-party options.

Surface Pro Flex Keyboard for $350: Microsoft redesigned its signature keyboard cover specifically for the new Surface Pro (11th Edition). It’s detachable, so you can position it anywhere you’d like while using the tablet. The touchpad is also larger this time around. There’s a bold key option too, to assist people with low vision and reduce eye strain. It’s currently available for pre-order. We’ll be testing this one soon.

Surface Pro Type Cover for $130: This Type Cover is one of our favorite accessories. The cover is easy to attach, the clicky keys feel satisfying to type on, and it’s the least expensive option for the Surface Pro lineup. It’s compatible with the Surface Pro 8 and earlier. There’s a similar Type Cover for the Surface Go line that also costs $130.

Surface Pro Signature Keyboard for $126: The Pro Signature Keyboard is expensive, but it’s the best option if you’re using the Surface Pro X or Surface Pro 8 with the Slim Pen 2. It comes with built-in storage for the stylus that doubles as a charger. That way, you don’t have to worry about losing it or running low on battery.

Surface Pen for $100: The Surface Pen is compatible with myriad Surface devices, so it’s useful if you’re always switching between Microsoft’s laptop and tablet. It packs precision ink—with tilt for shading—along with thousands of pressure points and virtually zero lag. Unlike the Slim Pen, which supports wireless charging, the Surface Pen runs on batteries.

Surface Slim Pen 2 for $130: With the second-generation Slim Pen, Microsoft added haptic feedback and lower latency (sketching and writing should feel more responsive). We liked using it with the Surface Pro 8, but it’s also compatible with a variety of other Surface devices. It’s an ideal accessory if you rely on your tablet for taking notes or drawing.

Logitech K380 Wireless Keyboard for $40: If you want a cheap Bluetooth keyboard to use with your Surface device, we like Logitech’s K380 Wireless Keyboard. It’s inexpensive, offers a nice typing experience, and is compact. It also comes in a super cute pink color.

Twelve South StayGo Mini USB-C Hub for $60: Ports can be a bit scarce on Surface devices. This hub from Twelve South comes with a USB-A port, an HDMI, a headphone jack, and a USB-C port for pass-through charging. You can either plug it into the device or extend it with the included cord.

Microsoft Adaptive Accessories ($15 to $45): Microsoft offers a range of PC hardware for people with limited mobility including a programmable button, adaptive mouse, and a hub to connect them to a PC wirelessly.

Protect Your Surface With Microsoft Complete

If you’re rough on your gadgets, get the Microsoft Complete extended warranty. Starting at $99, it gives you additional warranty coverage, plus two accidental damage claims with a $49 deductible. Microsoft will provide up to four years of coverage for Surface devices specifically and will cover things like cracked screens, drops, and spills.

You can get Microsoft Complete in a few different ways. You can add it in real-time when buying a Surface device. But if you’re not sure whether you need it, you can either book an appointment with a Microsoft product expert, add it directly through the Surface App, or contact Microsoft Store Support. However, it’s worth noting you’ll have up to 45 days after purchase to add a protection plan.

Should You Wait to Buy?

No. Back in September, Microsoft launched a new Surface Laptop Studio 2 and Surface Laptop Go 3. There’s also a new Surface Go 4, but the refresh is strictly for enterprise consumers. More recently, Microsoft announced a new Surface Pro (11th edition) and Surface Laptop (7th Edition). These are successors to the Surface Pro 9 and Surface Laptop 5, but the company no longer follows a numerical naming structure—instead, it’s going by “editions.” Both devices are currently available for preorder with full availability starting June 18.

We’re still waiting on the Surface Studio 3 (the all-in-one desktop). The last version was released in October 2022. Microsoft has yet to release any details on a next-gen model.