Surface Laptop: Everything you need to know

Updated June 15, 2017: The Surface Laptop starts shipping June 15, but we’ve updated this piece with the pushed-out ship date for the highest-end SKU. We’ve also added details about how to get Microsoft Office while running Windows 10 S.

The Surface Laptop stole the show at Microsoft’s May 2 event. The focus may have been on education, Windows 10 S, and affordable laptops for classroom use, but the oohs and ahhs went to the Surface Laptop for its beautiful display and Alcantara-clad keyboard, not to mention its light weight and long battery life. College kids are the Surface Laptop’s purported target user, but a lot of regular folks are intrigued by this new addition to Microsoft’s premium Surface family—and, frankly, many students won’t be able to afford it anyway.

Interested? You’ve come to the right place. Here’s everything you need to know about the Surface Laptop. We have the pricing and release date, answers to your most burning questions, our video coverage, and all the specs. Click a link to the left to jump to a specific section, or just start reading.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

  • Pricing and release date
  • Frequently asked questions
  • First impressions
  • Our video coverage
  • Specs and features

Pricing and release date

You can preorder the Surface Laptop now. Units will begin shipping June 15, but note that the highest-end SKU will ship a few weeks later.

Pricing starts at $999, and quickly goes up from there. We’ve summarized the pricing per configuration below along with scheduled ship date. Detailed specs follow:

Intel Core i5 CPU, 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD: $999 (June 15)

Intel Core i5 CPU, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD: $1,299 (June 15)

Intel Core i7 CPU, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD: $1,599 (June 15)

Intel Core i7 CPU, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD: $2,199 (June 30)

Note: Those prices don’t include a Surface Pen, let alone the Surface Dial.

microsoft surface laptop row

Microsoft

The Surface Laptop is aimed at college students who might otherwise choose the MacBook Air.

Frequently asked questions

The Surface Laptop’s debut hand-in-hand with Windows 10 S has created a lot of confusion. Here are some answers, and we’ll keep posting more as we learn more.

What is the Surface Laptop?

The Surface Laptop is a thin, light, high-design laptop that Microsoft unveiled May 2 as part of a larger event about education. Distinguishing features include a gorgeous display, a laser-cut keyboard tray made of Alcantara fabric, and a claimed battery life of up to 14 hours. At the same event, the company introduced the secure, manageable Windows 10 S operating system, which will come preinstalled on the Surface Laptop as well as a lower-cost flock of laptops intended for K-12 classroom use.

What are PCWorld’s first impressions? 

PCWorld’s Mark Hachman was among the first to try the Surface Laptop at the May 2 event. A seasoned user of both the Surface Pro and Surface Book, he saw the family resemblance in the Surface Laptop’s dazzling display and Alcantara fabric-clad keyboard. This is, indeed, a laptop that could turn the heads of MacBook Air faithful. What’s less clear is how the Surface Laptop’s thin-and-light compromises will play out: the new Kaby Lake CPU and big battery vs. the skimpy RAM in entry-level models, not to mention the scant port connectivity.

[Source”indianexpress”]