Microsoft has finally took the wraps off its new Surface Laptop 4, which is an iterative update over the Surface Laptop 3 that launched back in October 2019. If the latter was the first Surface Laptop model to offer a 15” model with a choice between Intel and AMD “Surface Edition” CPUs, the Surface Laptop 4 will bring the Intel/AMD choice to the 13” model as well. The design of the Surface Laptop 4 is identical to its predecessor with the addition of a new “Ice Blue” finish, but what matters here are the under the hood changes.
With the 13.5″ and 15″ Surface Laptop 4, Microsoft is letting customers choose between Intel 11th gen Core i5/i7 CPUs with Iris Xe graphics, or AMD’s Ryzen 4000 “Surface Edition” processors with integrated Radeon Graphics. There’s still no dedicated GPU option, but the more efficient chips still result in better battery life, with Microsoft promising up to 19 hours of usage in a single charge on the 13.5″ Surface Laptop 4 with AMD Ryzen processors.
“Surface Laptop 4 offers a choice between either the 11th Gen Intel Core processors, or AMD Ryzen Mobile Processors with Radeon™ Graphics Microsoft Surface® Edition (8 cores); in either case, you’ll find a smooth experience that powers modern, multitasking demands. Across both options, we’ve partnered to customize silicon in ways that boost performance while offering improved battery life,” explained Pete Kyriacou, VP, Microsoft Devices.
The Surface Laptop 4 will start at $999.99 for the base 13.5” model with a six-core AMD Ryzen 5 GPU, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of SSD storage. The 13.5 Intel models will start at $1,299 for the configuration with a Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage. The 15” Surface Laptop 4 will also start at $1,299 for the AMD model with a six-core Ryzen 5 GPU, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage, and Intel models will start at $1,799 for the version with an Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage
For the first time in the history of the Surface Laptop line, high-end Surface Laptop 4 models will offer up to 32 GB of RAM, 1TB of storage, and 8-cores AMD Ryzen CPUs. It’s still easy to find more powerful laptops from competing manufacturers, but Microsoft is slowly but surely making its Surface Laptop line more suitable for power users. For now, though, the Surface Book 3 and the Surface Studio 2 remain the latest Surface devices to offer dedicated NVIDIA GPUs.
The Surface Laptop 4 is available for pre-order starting today in the U.S., Canada, and Japan, with shipments to begin on April 15. Microsoft is also offering free Surface Earbuds to early adopters who purchase a Surface Laptop 4 on the US Microsoft Store or Best Buy before April 15. Select European markets will start receiving the Surface Laptop 4 on April 27.
The Surface Laptop 4 isn’t the only new device Microsoft unveiled today: The company is also launching the Surface Headphones 2+ for Business, a new version of the headphones that are certified for Microsoft Teams and also come with a dedicated Teams button for managing calls. The Surface Headphones 2+ will also ship with a USB dongle that will offer a more stable connection compared to Bluetooth, and this is probably something business users will appreciate.
In addition to the Surface Laptop 4 and the Surface Headphones 2+ for Business, Microsoft also unveiled a family of new “Modern” accessories today that includes a webcam, two headsets, and a USB-C speaker. You can learn more details about these new non-Surface devices on our separate post.
