Last year, Microsoft introduced the 13.8-inch Surface Laptop (previously known as the 7th Edition) as a direct competitor to the MacBook Air. This laptop powered by the Snapdragon X delivers comparable build quality, battery life, and performance in certain areas—something that many Windows laptop manufacturers have struggled to achieve. While the 13.8-inch Surface Laptop is impressive, occasional app compatibility issues with Windows on Arm prevented it from fully taking the lead as the primary alternative to the MacBook Air.
Almost a year later, Microsoft has rolled out new Snapdragon-powered Surface models that are slightly smaller and more affordable. The 13-inch Surface Laptop, priced at $899.99, comes close to last year’s version despite some cost-cutting changes like a lower-resolution display, a processor with two fewer cores, the absence of face recognition, and the removal of the magnetic charging port. While the hardware remains superb, Windows on Arm is slightly improved compared to last year. It should work for many users, but certainly not for all.
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