What do you think of the Windows surface laptop?

Question

What do you think of the Windows surface laptop?

Answer 1

Its Awesome

Answer 2

It t would be easy to compare Microsoft’s Surface Laptop to Apple’s MacBook Air that is still praised by many today, but I think that’s unfair. The MacBook Air hasn’t been a class-leading laptop for years with its low-resolution display and aging design. Competition like Dell’s XPS 13 and HP’s Spectre x360 have shown that Apple has been left behind, and Microsoft is now releasing its Surface Laptop at a time when it’s apparent that Apple has given up on its MacBook Air.



The Surface Laptop isn’t perfect and the alcantara fabric will be a risky decision, but it does manage to achieve something very Apple-like: desire. I know there are laptops out there with more bells and whistles, but I still want to buy a Surface Laptop. Microsoft has managed to strike that fine balance of something that looks beautiful and luxurious, but that’s fully functional and effortless to use.



That’s what makes Microsoft’s insistence on Windows 10 S so confounding — it puts it at a weird disadvantage right out of the box. I understand that Microsoft needs to encourage developers to put their programs and apps into the Windows Store, and forcing 10 S is a way to do that, but when you’re spending $1,000 or more for a laptop, you don’t want it to be crippled right away.



Fortunately, upgrading to Windows 10 Pro is quick, easy, free (for now), and doesn’t have any particular downside, so it’s something I recommend you do. (And chances are, you’d probably do it even without my recommendation.) Provided you make that upgrade, the Surface Laptop might be the new default computer I recommend, essentially taking over exactly where the MacBook Air left off.

Answer 3

Smooth?

Answer 4

For latest Surface Pro

|||GOOD STUFF|||



Free upgrade to Windows 10 Pro

Great balance of power and thinness

Beautiful touchscreen



|||BAD STUFF|||



Few apps on Windows 10 S

Alcantara fabric requires care and maintenance

No SD card slot or USB-C

Answer 5

Microsoft says the fabric on the Surface Laptop should be cared for like a ‘luxury’ handbag.



When I told my colleagues that I was speaking to Microsoft’s general manager of Surface Engineering, Pete Kyriacou, about the hardware design of the Surface Laptop, they all had the same question: will that fancy Alcantara fabric on the deck of the laptop really hold up?



It’s a fair question. The idea of taking a thing you rest your greasy mitts on every day and putting any kind of fabric on top of it seems like a recipe for grossness. And though in my experience the similar fabric on a Surface Pro 4 Type Cover has held up fine for me with light use, there have been a few reports of stains out there.



The first line of defense against such stains? A specialized polyurethane coating on top of the fabric. It should help prevent spills from staining the fabric so long as you quickly wipe them away. Kyriacou says that Microsoft worked with Alcantara to ensure that the coating wasn’t too thick or obvious. “The balance there was making sure we maintained the luxury feel of the product,” Kyriacou says. “Because you can coat it with a Scotchguard or something like that and make it rubbery, but it won’t be luxury.”



The world “luxury” kept coming up again and again in the conversation. (Yes, toward the end the word “chamfered” also appeared in the context of laser-cutting the edge of the fabric.) “Luxury” is an odd term for a machine that seems custom-built to supplant the de facto everyperson laptop, the MacBook Air. Does Microsoft want this to be a laptop for students, a laptop for everybody, or a luxury product?