Surface Laptop 4: New Microsoft notebook with AMD Ryzen or Intel Core i processor

Microsoft releases the fourth generation of Surface Laptop. Neither the design (all-metal or with an Alcantara palm rest) nor the two sizes (3: 2 touchscreen with 13.5 inches or 15 inches diagonal) changed anything when going from Laptop 3 to Notebook 4 – but the inner workings: processors Intel 11th-generation Core i or AMD Ryzen 4000U chipset is now in use.

The latter might be surprising, as AMD already announced the Ryzen 5000U in January 2021. But at Microsoft, the Ryzen 4000U with up to eight CPU cores is not used; Instead, Surface Laptop 3 went on sale with the old-generation quad-core Ryzen 3000. As in Laptop 3, Microsoft again uses proprietary CPU models in Laptop 4 that other manufacturers don’t. Even the AMD website doesn’t know yet the Ryzen 5 4680U (six Zen 2 cores) and the Ryzen 7 4980U (eight Zen 2 cores) installed by Microsoft.

Form diversity

Microsoft offers both laptop sizes with processors from both manufacturers, but they are divided in terms of price and other features. There is a 13.5-inch Surface Laptop 4 at € 1,130 with Ryzen 5, 8 GB of RAM and 256 SSD. With double the RAM called 1,350 euros, but if you want more storage space, you should use the smallest Intel model (i5, 8 GB), which comes with a 512 GB SSD for 1450 euros. The maximum configuration is achieved with the Core i7, 1 TB SSD and 32 GB of RAM, at a price of 2550 euros.

It looks similar to the 15-inch Surface Laptop 4: with the Ryzen 7, between € 1,450 (8 GB, 256 SSD) and € 1,850 (16 GB, 512 SSD) are called, while with the Core i7 (16 GB, 512 SSD) SSD ) At only 1950 euros. A maximum of 2700 € must be paid (32 GB, 1 TB SSD).

Business models

For corporate customers who order Surface Laptop 4 in a B2B business from Microsoft or from system homes, there are more options – for example the 13.5-inch model with Ryzen 7 and 512 SSD or cheaper i5 variants with a mini SSD. Additionally, Windows 10 Pro is preinstalled instead of Home in all business models.

As with Surface Laptop 3, the SSD can also be replaced on Surface Laptop 4, although Microsoft’s warranty terms state that exchange is reserved for qualified technicians. Frequently used LPDDR4X processors and memory chips are primarily welded; The WLAN module is the latest in technology with support for Wi-Fi 6.

Interfaces include analog audio output and a USB jack in both Type A and Type C format. The latter is dockable, but without Thunderbolt support. An optional Microsoft Surface Dock 2 indoor docking station can be connected to the Surface Magnetic Connector like the supplied power supply. In terms of uptime, AMD models are ahead of Intel variants: Microsoft specifies a maximum of 19 or 17 hours for a 13.5-inch machine, and 17.5 or 16.5 hours for a 15-inch machine.

Availability

Microsoft is now accepting orders for Surface Laptop 4; Delivery is scheduled to begin April 27. Anyone who pre-orders a copy as a special customer before sales start will receive the eye-catching True Wireless Surface EarBuds for free.

Microsoft had no news of other Surface families. The Windows Surface Pro tablet has been available since January 2021 as a Surface Pro 7+ with a revised interior, but only as a B2B model. The flagship Surface Book will continue to sell unchanged in the 2020 edition (Surface Book 3) with the 10th Gen Core i. And there isn’t any official news about the dual-screen Surface Neo either, since the focus on the particular Windows 10X OS has changed in the meantime.

(Fall out)