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The new Surface Laptop 2 billboard feature is not a feature at all. It's a color: you can now get the camera in an intense matte black that manages to be deeply opaque while remaining totally stunning and beautiful. But the fact that the main point of interest of the device is a color should highlight some warning signs that there may be no reason to be so excited. And in a way, maybe there was never one.
The Surface Laptop has not changed much and it's not a bad thing. Since its release last year, I absolutely adored this device. (I've already written this, but let's recap!) It's a nice combination of design and utility that does exactly what I want and nothing I do not do. Notice that I say the design first. The original laptop and the laptop 2 are both really "designed" unlike many computers. When closed, it looks more like a thin sheet of aluminum than a closed laptop; When opened, the 3: 2 screen, very dense in pixels, is a beautiful portal for what you are watching. These 2256 x 1504 pixels crammed into a more square format make me regret the years spent squinting at 16: 9 1920 x 1080. It's a small thing, but it really makes a difference.
In other words, the device is a very beautiful easel for my day's work. It's not because I do not have very specialized needs, I do not play games and I do not edit video. Hell, I do not even launch a lot of applications. My use is limited almost exclusively to Chrome, Slack and Spotify. I do not have a TV, so I watch movies and sports on the big screen at night.
The device is not a 2-in-1, but it still has a touch screen, which I still do not have the habit of using regularly. It's very convenient – I used it last week to quickly scroll through sections of a long feature while revising it with another editor.
My main complaint with regard to the laptop is that Microsoft's desire to design a device before any design has made a dubious hardware choice: the Alcantara fabric keyboard gets pretty quickly disgusting. After writing my thoughts on the use of the device for a year, readers (and a representative from Microsoft) have suggested several methods of cleaning Alcantara. Let me tell you that it can not be cleaned easily! I spent easily an hour rubbing the places where my palms had spoiled the fabric, and it did not do much.
What is it?
New shell of Microsoft
Not as
Alcantara can become crude, it's very basic despite the sophisticated design.
On the other hand, I admire the brilliant platinum finish that Microsoft has chosen as the standard color for the Surface Laptop and Surface Book, but in practice it is not practical and always looks dirty.
I guess when you review the new device, it helps to know if the new black color is better for wear. On the Alcantara, it's impossible to know. I have been using the device for several days and so far, everything seems to be fine, but only months of use will indicate whether it is possible to prevent the material from losing its black color. As for the new black matte aluminum case, it is certainly not as prone to such lamentable residues as the platinum finish, the tradeoff being that it easily shows fingerprints. Alas, immaculate gadgets never stay immaculate.
The other improvement is a "quieter" keyboard. I immediately noticed a change in the sound and feel of the keyboard when I started typing on it, but I do not know if an ordinary person will notice a difference here. I guess I would never call the keyboard a "strong" laptop – although I often hit on mechanical keyboards on my desk, so who do I say?
Under the hood, the device has been upgraded to an 8th generation Intel Core i5 processor and you see performance improvements. Compared to the model of last year with a chip of 7th generation, the new machine obtained better performances on WebXPRT, a reference which imitates a workload based on a navigator. Meanwhile, the new Surface has made a batch of 23 RAW photos about 10 seconds faster than its predecessor. These are tiny improvements, and again, probably not remarkably remarkable.
Regarding the battery life, the laptop 2 took almost 10 hours in our degradation test, which is impressive for a lightweight design. Anecdotally, it's really nice not to have to worry about loading this thing. I can throw it in my bag without charger and do it all day in most cases.
It should be noted that the measured performance is not at all impressive compared to the other devices in our reference database, but they are still perfectly suited to average users who do not need any games.
Speaking of competing products, the Surface laptop is in a fun place, as it's difficult to find a 1: 1 equivalent for the device. Its screen displays a higher resolution than a 1080p screen but a much lower resolution than a 4K screen. The starting point of the device for an i5 with 8GB of RAM seems rather reasonable compared to other products, until you notice that it only has a 128GB SSD – most competing manufacturers do not even export laptops with SSDs of less than 256 GB. Increase the notebook's surface to 256 GB, and the thing goes up to $ 1,300. Based on this pricing, the only model that makes sense is the Surface Laptop at $ 1,000. For around $ 1,300, you can get a fully convertible HP Specter 4K with an i5 processor and 8GB of RAM or an XPS 13 2 in 1 1080p with an i7. The Surface Laptop screen is impressive, but a 4K screen or an i7 processor is too! (The only Surface Laptop model with an i7 and 16 GB RAM costs $ 2,200, which is such a scam that it makes me want to die.)
Consider this model at $ 1000, then. If you look beyond the sleek black matte keyboard and fuzzy keyboard, the Laptop Surface is actually a pretty bare shell that is not very powerful. So the question is whether you should splurge on this laptop that is more expensive than it should be simply because it has a sleek design and a pleasing display.
Let me begin by answering this question with a reflection on what I think is happening here. The Portable Surface line is revolutionary and a leader in its design. But the two products that preceded the Laptop Surface were paralyzed by their biggest ideas. From the beginning, Surface Pro is a series of smartly designed tablets that can be used as laptops if you really want to, but I do not think anyone who claims that a Surface Pro is a full-time replacement for a computer portable. valve. Not anyone with real work to do anyway. Meanwhile, the Surface Book, for its glorious keyboard and clever detachable hinge mechanism, is not really portable. It's a chore to lug around. Many people want an affordable shell that is both lightweight and stylish. makes the MacBook Air the computer of choice for many people. Although the design is a little old-fashioned nowadays, when it was released, it was really slippery. The Laptop Surface responds to a similar need with pizazz. It's a boring old shell that gives the impression that it's a lot more.
In other words, it is perhaps the most oversized device that does not really contribute much to the design in the form of unique design features. It's a simple laptop in the easiest way possible! There is nothing else to say besides that it is really very beautiful and satisfying to use, even with its Alcantara turning brown if you are not delicate. It's hard to reconcile with the realities of its price / specification ratio. But this device was never intended for anyone looking for specifications.
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- The new matte black design is beautiful, but the jury has not yet decided if the black Alcantara keyboard would stand up better than the platinum camera material.
- Windows Hello is really a joy – I like to open a computer and connect without touching anything.
- You pay for the design here. If you opt for something more than the $ 1,000 model, you can get more for your money from other devices.
- In fact, a very basic laptop despite its sophisticated design.
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