The Surface Laptop 3 is everything a laptop should be, if not everything a lot of modern laptops are today

Superb keyboard; Great speakers; Excellent build quality

The USB-C isn't Thunderbolt 3; Purist design may seem feature-light

The Surface Laptop 3 13 may not be a massive upgrade on the Surface Laptop 2, but upgrades such as Intel's 10th Generation Ice Lake processor and a couple of new colour options are enough to keep this ultrabook among the very best

Classy; ultra-portable design; Excellent performance; Stunning 3:2 display; Fantastic keyboard

Middling battery life; Lack of Thunderbolt 3

Microsoft's Surface Laptop 3 for Business, with Intel's 10th-gen Ice Lake architecture inside, is a solid all-around laptop with higher performance...

All-day battery life; Excellent performance; Bright; beautiful screen

Keyboard isn't quite as good as in previous models; No Thunderbolt I/O tech behind its USB-C ports

A sensible upgrade to the already stellar series, the introduction of a USB-C port, larger trackpad, and more power add plus-points onto its impressive score sheet. However, there's no Thunderbolt 3 speeds from that USB-C port, which is an oddity. And there aren't that many ports either.

The PixelSense display is still brilliant; Great-looking design - in a variety of finishes; USB-C is a welcome addition

No Thunderbolt 3 speeds; More ports would benefit; Battery life a little down on previous version; Slightly reflective screen

With a large 3:2 screen, a comfortable touchpad, light weight for its size, and decent performance (powered by new partner AMD), Microsoft's larger-screen Surface Laptop 3 is an excellent mainstream machine.

Attractive, unassuming design; Thin and light for a 15-inch laptop; Bright, vivid 3:2 display; Comfortable touchpad.

Optional extras (such as the Surface Dock) are pricey; Limited selection of ports; No Wi-Fi 6 support.

The new 15in Surface Laptop 3 retains much of the charm and style of the 13.5in version, while adding some welcome extra desktop space

Slim and light; Big; sharp display; Excellent keyboard and touchpad

Performance isn't first class; Lacks Wi-Fi 6; Limited physical connectivity

Despite finally embracing USB-C and a new larger 15in model to choose between, the Surface Laptop 3 still has work to do to become best-in-class

The main advantages of our Core i7 SKU versus the Ryzen 5 SKU include Wi-Fi 6 compatibility, faster storage performance, faster CPU performance, integrated AI acceleration, faster gaming performance, and higher performance-per-Watt.

full performance on battery power; good performance sustainability; faster storage performance; no DPC latency issues; long battery life; generally quiet

hardware-based AI acceleration has yet to be exploited; no card reader or Thunderbolt 3; PWM at lower brightness levels; barebones set of features; no vPro or WWAN

This was meant to be it. After working with AMD on Xbox, Microsoft was going to unleash an AMD-powered laptop that would blow the figurative doors off every laptop held back by having Intel silicon.

Metal appearance is far better than cloth; 3:2 display; Points for giving AMD a run; Nice keyboard

Disappointing battery life; One side vacant of USB ports

As you might have noticed, each of these options forces you to make a compromise. That's where the Surface Laptop 3 finds its niche, because as an ultraportable laptop with a large display, there's nothing else like it.

Slim; lightweight chassis; Attractive metal design; Bright; vivid 15-inch display; Loud; clear speakers

Mediocre battery life; Underwhelming performance; Slow; expensive SSD; Limited ports