Five reasons why the Surface Laptop 5 is the perfect laptop for you
Beautiful, well specced and repairable, the Surface Laptop 5 is the appealingly priced ultrabook you need in your life
If you’re in the market for a new thin, light and portable laptop with enough power to tackle your daily needs, Microsoft’s excellent Surface Laptop 5 should be at the very top of your shopping list.
When one company designs the software and the hardware, amazing things happen. Stylish to look at, well specced and appealingly priced, it gets everything about portable productivity right. Best of all, its beauty isn’t skin deep: Microsoft has built a laptop that’s easy to open up and repair, making it truly built to last.
Here are five reasons the Surface Laptop 5 is the perfect laptop for you.
1. As practical as it is beautiful
The Surface Laptop has always been easy on the eyes, with an effortless minimalism that will attract admiring glances wherever you go.
For the fifth generation, Microsoft lets you choose from black, sandstone, green and platinum colour schemes. The last of these is even more luxurious with a luxurious layer of soft Alcantara fabric around the keyboard.
The iconic look has endured over the past few years because it works beautifully. Rather than sacrificing practicality for looks, Microsoft gives you the best of all worlds. The keyboard is spacious and comfortable for quick, responsive typing and the expansive touchpad is perfect for Windows 11’s efficient gesture controls.
You get solid connectivity options too, with a 3.5mm headphone jack and two USB ports — one A and another C with Thunderbolt 4 support. That means you can attach any number of useful accessories, from extra storage to another display. You can even use it for charging in a pinch, should you have left your official charger at the office.
2. Built with repairability in mind
Repairability tends to be an afterthought for most manufacturers, but Microsoft has put it front and centre with the Surface Laptop 5.
As the video below shows, opening up your Surface Laptop 5 to access its precious innards is an absolute doddle: just remove the four rubber feet, unscrew the screws behind them and lift up the magnetic keyboard deck for full, unfettered access.
3. A bright, accurate 3:2 screen
Whether you opt for the 13.5in or 15in model, the Surface Laptop 5’s screen is a literal bright spot in an excellent ultrabook.
The extra-tall 3:2 aspect ratio is great for anything you throw at it, from content creation to entertainment. It packs a super-sharp Quad HD resolution with superb colour accuracy and impressive brightness levels to ensure you don’t miss a thing.
Not only that, but it’s also a touchscreen with support for the Surface Pen for when you need the kind of creativity that mouse and keyboard can’t reach.
4. A webcam to make you look your best
Nowadays, many of us have to jump into two or three video calls a day, and while you could once have got away with a grainy, low-resolution webcam, those days are long gone.
The Surface Laptop 5’s webcam is amongst the best you can buy on a notebook, providing a sharp 720p HD stream for you to look your clearest on.
And best of all, it comes with the super secure Windows Hello built-in. That means you can forget about using a password to log on: just your face will do the trick.
5. A price that won’t break the bank
Despite its superb specs, prices start at just £999 for the 13.5in model with a 12th-generation Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB RAM and 256GB of fast solid-state storage.
That easily undercuts similar products from its rivals — in fact, you could double the built-in storage and still pay less than for its Samsung and Apple-branded rivals.
Of course, the entry-level specs won’t work for everyone, and you can take your pick of 13.5in or 15in models with a selection of Core i5 and Core i7 processors, upgraded RAM and larger SSDs. Need a 15in screen, a Core i7 processor, 16GB RAM and 512GB of storage? Go for it!
Discover the Surface Laptop 5 range at John Lewis
Which Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 is right for you?
Surface Laptop 5, 13-inch | Now £850
Spec: Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD
“The most affordable specification of the 13-inch Surface Laptop 5 is a great all-round pick. If you’re after a cost-effective, portable and unusually stylish laptop for under £1,000, it’s an amazing little package.”
Surface Laptop 5, 15-inch | Now £1,439
Spec: Core i7, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD
“If you need power, this high-spec 15-inch Surface Laptop 5 fits the bill. The Core i7 processor boosts processing power for demanding applications, and that sparkling 15-inch display provides more elbow room for both work and play.”
