Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (15in) review: Bigger than before, and very nearly as good

Since it appeared back in 2017, the Surface Laptop has been one of our favourite laptops. While it may not have the convertible kudos of other Surface systems, it’s a slick and portable machine with a fantastic screen and keyboard and it’s offered in a decent range of configurations.

One option that’s been lacking, however, is a large-screen variant. Until now, that is: the new third-generation line-up includes a whole spread of 15in configurations to go along with the regular 13.5in models. The question now is whether the Surface Laptop concept works at this larger scale.

READ NEXT: Microsoft Surface Pro 3 (13.5in) review

Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (15in) review: What you need to know

The 15in Surface Laptop 3 looks very similar indeed to the 13.5in version. The most visible difference is that it is, of course, bigger. It’s also a bit heavier, weighing 1.54kg versus the 1.29kg of the original.

There’s a more limited selection of finishes, however: black and platinum are your only choices, and both options come with plain metal wrist-rests. There’s no sign of the Alcantara fabric that has previously been the Surface Laptop’s trademark.

Microsoft has also made one noteworthy change inside. While all 13.5in Surface Laptops are powered by Intel processors, the 15in range takes in two different architectures. Regular consumer-grade models come with AMD Ryzen CPUs but there’s also a Surface Laptop for Business series that uses Intel Core i5 and i7 chips, and comes with Windows 10 Professional instead of the Home edition.

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Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (15in) review: Price and competition

The 15in Surface Laptop 3 comes in no fewer than nine configurations if you factor in both AMD and Intel platforms. And you should, because although the Intel-powered models are dubbed “for business”, you don’t have to be a business to buy one: anyone can order these models directly from Microsoft’s online store. Here’s the complete range of options:

15in Surface Laptop 3

15in Surface Laptop 3 for Business

As you can see, there’s a 15in Surface Laptop 3 to suit pretty much every usage scenario but there are plenty of big-screen alternatives out there too.

One is the classy Dell XPS 15. Prices start at £1,479 with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, so it’s a direct competitor to the Surface Laptop, and the entry-level model beats Microsoft with a six-core Core i7 processor and discrete Nvidia GTX 1650 graphics. The trade-off is that this spec of XPS 15 only has a Full HD screen; other models feature 4K panels but for those you’re looking at a cost of at least £1,999.

A more affordable option might be the 15in HP Envy x360, which comes with a 4K panel plus a quad-core i7-8565U processor for £1,499 – reduced, at the time of writing, to just £1,249. At 2.05kg it’s hardly the most portable system around but considering you also get 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD, it’s a fantastic deal. The cherry on top is a flip-around design, enabling you to turn the thing into a gigantic tablet should you so wish – and an Nvidia GeForce MX250 GPU means casual gaming is very much on the table too.

Those demanding meatier 3D capabilities, meanwhile, should check out the Razer Blade 15. Here, £1,469 gets you the Base Model with a six-core Core i7 processor, an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 GPU, 16GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD plus a 2TB hard disk. As with the Dell, the screen only has a native resolution of 1,920 x 1,080, but step up to the Advanced Model and you can configure a 4K touchscreen, as well as graphics options including GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q GPU and Quadro RTX 5000 – at prices going all the way up to a cool £4,000.

Finally, for the professionally minded, the new 16in Apple MacBook Pro surely deserves a look. Bargain-hunters need not apply, however: there are just two models on offer, and even the cheaper one costs £2,399, which includes a six-core processor and 512GB of storage, not to mention that big 16in screen with its massive 3,072 x 1,920 resolution and support for the wider P3 colour gamut.

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Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (15in) review: Design

The success of the 13.5in Surface Laptop 3 owes a lot to its physical design, and clearly Microsoft hasn’t wanted to meddle with that: the 15in Surface Laptop 3 looks all but identical, aside from its larger 340 x 244mm footprint. Pleasingly, it’s not noticeably any thicker than the 13.5in model, measuring a maximum of 14.7mm thick at the hinge, versus 14.5mm. Even so, the larger dimensions make it feel a little less wieldy; it’s still perfectly transportable but it lacks the nimble, go-anywhere spirit of its smaller sibling.

Beneath the lid the 15in Surface Laptop 3 also has the same keyboard and touchpad as the 13.5in model – and I’m definitely not complaining about that. The keys are a delight to type on, with an action that’s lightweight yet solid and positive, and the same three-level backlight.

It’s spacious, too. Microsoft hasn’t been tempted to use the extra space to squeeze in a numeric keypad, and that also means that the keys are centrally positioned rather than shoved off to one side. I wouldn’t have minded if the function and media keys had been separated out, rather than doubling up as on the 13.5in model, but it’s not a huge hardship to use the Fn key to switch between the two modes.

The touchpad, meanwhile, is generously proportioned at 115 x 77mm, and I can’t fault its smooth feel and impeccable responsiveness. There are no separate buttons, but a top-hinged design lets you easily register a click anywhere in the lower half of the touchpad. It’s not quite as freeing as Apple’s touchpads, which let you click anywhere at all, but it’s not far off.

Above the display sits the obligatory webcam: like other Surface Laptop cameras, this has a rather low 720p resolution, but an aperture of f/2 (along with built-in stereo microphones) means it works well for video-conferencing even in low-light settings. It also supports Windows Hello, so you can log in by simply glancing at the screen for a moment – a trick that works surprisingly well.

Probably the most disappointing aspect of the 15in Surface Laptop’s design is connectivity. Here, once again, the 13.5in design has been precisely replicated, and that means you get just one USB 3 Type-A connector, one Type-C connector, a 3.5 mm headphone socket and Microsoft’s magnetic “Surface Connect” port. The latter can be used to connect the optional £190 Surface Dock, which adds Gigabit Ethernet, twin Mini DisplayPort connectors and four extra USB sockets but at least some of these ports could surely have been built directly into the laptop’s sizeable chassis.

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Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (15in) review: Display and audio

The display on the 15in Surface Laptop 3 is nearly 25% bigger than the 13.5in model’s and, since pixel density remains identical at 201ppi, that translates to 25% more usable desktop space, with a beautifully crisp native resolution of 2,496 x 1,664. Obviously, that’s lower than the 4K resolution favoured by several competitors but (thanks to the limitations of the human eye) it looks no less sharp.

Display performance is pleasing, too. We measured a strident maximum brightness of 399cd/m2 with an excellent contrast ratio of 1,272:1 and the Surface Laptop 3 can optionally adjust its own brightness according to ambient lighting. For the most vibrant colours you can choose the “Enhanced” colour mode, or if colour accuracy is more of a priority, you can switch to sRGB mode, which offers 94.7% gamut coverage.

In all, the Surface Laptop 3’s screen is one of the best-looking Windows displays around. True, it lacks the tonal range of the MacBook Pro’s larger P3 colour space and it’s not quite as searingly bright as that system’s 471cd/m2 screen but it is ten-point touch-enabled and works with the optional Surface Pen, which the Mac can’t claim.

As for audio, the Surface Laptop 3 proudly boasts “omnisonic speakers with Dolby Audio”. What this actually means is that there’s a pair of stereo speakers hidden beneath the keyboard, which take advantage of Dolby Audio software processing to imbue the sound with a sense of presence and clarity. I have to say, this works startlingly well: there is, predictably, very little in the way of real bass, but overall the sound is loud, spacious and rich enough to make music and films immersive and enjoyable. 

Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (15in) review: Performance

As we’ve discussed, 15in Surface Laptop 3 models come in two flavours: consumer-oriented variants with AMD processors and business configurations built on Intel. The model we tested used the AMD Ryzen 5 3580U, a quad-core chip designed and tuned specifically for Surface systems, partnered with 8GB of RAM.

On paper, the 3580U looks almost identical to the Intel Core i5-1035G7 found in other models, with the same 3.7GHz maximum turbo speed and a total of 6MB of on-chip L2 and L3 cache. We haven’t yet had a chance to test a system based on the Intel chip, so we can’t say for sure whether the two deliver comparable performance. What we can say is that the AMD processor is fine, rather than great: in our 4K media benchmarks the 15in Surface Laptop delivered enough power for everyday desktop tasks but couldn’t keep up with other laptops in its class:

It’s worth bearing in mind that this is (in terms of computing power) the most lightweight version of the Surface Laptop available: no doubt the gap will narrow once you move up to pricier configurations. However, the 15in Surface Laptop is never going to be the fastest system on the block, because even the top-end models feature quad-core processors, while many competing systems use six-core parts.

That, in turn, may have something to do with the thermal properties of the relatively slim Surface Laptop chassis. I noticed that, when the going got tough, the 15in Surface Laptop’s fan quickly kicked in, making a distinctive hissing noise that’s not exactly annoying but certainly noticeable.

Another point to note is that all Surface Laptop models use integrated GPUs, which eats into the available memory and limits gaming potential; our system came with 2GB of RAM reserved for graphics. With the Surface Laptop’s screen resolution set to 1080p and detail settings on High, Metro: Last Light Redux chugged along at a rather jerky average of 23.7fps, while the SteamVR Performance Test tool gave the system a VR-readiness score of a big fat zero.

Intel-based systems, with their Iris Plus GPUs, are likely to do better here: the Core i7-equipped 13.5in edition managed a smoother 29.3fps in Metro: Last Light Redux, although it did no better in the SteamVR test. And it goes without saying that competing 15in systems with discrete Nvidia GPUs are on another plane of performance altogether.

This doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy games on an AMD-based Surface Laptop – just that you’ll need to keep your expectations modest. Pulling the resolution down to 720p in Metro: Last Light Redux got me a perfectly playable 42fps, and running Dirt Showdown at the same resolution allowed me to enjoy an average of 29.8fps at Ultra detail settings. The GPU and screen also support AMD’s FreeSync technology, so you won’t see annoying tearing when the graphics engine doesn’t match up to the panel’s 60Hz refresh rate.

Storage-wise, our review laptop came fitted with a 256GB SK Hynix NVMe SSD, which delivered sequential read and write speeds of 1,273MB/sec and 341MB/sec respectively. That’s all right for everyday use but hardly impressive: the 512GB SSD in the Dell XPS 15 achieved 2,292MB/sec and 1,009MB/sec. There’s some good news, though: if you crave a drive that’s faster or bigger, it is possible for a “skilled professional” to open up the Surface Laptop 3 and replace the installed card with any standard 30mm M.2 drive – something very few laptops these days permit.

Battery life isn’t bad, either. In our video rundown test the 15in Surface Laptop lasted 7hrs 22mins on a full charge, which is precisely the same as managed by the 16in MacBook Pro, and eight minutes longer than the Dell XPS 15. It’s 48 minutes less than the 13.5in Surface Laptop, but considering the larger screen area that’s hard to complain about.

There’s one last area of performance that needs mentioning, and that’s Wi-Fi. Intel-based versions of the Surface Laptop 3 support the latest 802.11ax wireless standard (also known as Wi-Fi 6) but AMD models are stuck on the older, slower 802.11ac. That will serve for most purposes and, indeed, the 16in MacBook Pro uses the same standard. Even so, it’s disappointing to see a stylish new laptop like this held back by last-generation networking technology.

Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (15in) review: Verdict

The 15in Surface Laptop 3 has its shortcomings. Inevitably, it’s not as deliciously portable as the 13.5in model, yet it doesn’t take advantage of its larger size to add any useful connectivity options. Performance is behind the curve, at least on the model I tested, and the absence of next-generation Wi-Fi on the AMD versions is a disappointment. On top of all that, the lack of an Alcantara option robs it of some of the distinctive Surface Laptop character.

Yet the Surface Laptop was always more than the sum of its parts. The key was that it felt like a computer you could enjoy using and be proud to own, and that remains fundamentally true for this 15in version. For that reason, even if it’s not the most competitive option for your needs, anyone in the market for a largeish laptop really ought to be giving the 15in Surface Laptop very serious consideration indeed.