gourimoko
Fighting the good fight!
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@gourimoko what are your thoughts on the Surface Laptop?
Well, I think the Surface line is awesome, particularly the Surface Pro...
I think the Surface Laptop is an interesting device, but I think people get confused by how Microsoft markets them. Most people think the Surface Laptop and Surface Pro (tablet) are the same, or that the Laptop is just a Pro with a fixed keyboard -- and that's not true, they're actually quite different.
Some advantages of the Laptop vs the Pro(tablet) are that it's keyboard is simply much better to type on.. There's no comparison. Secondly, it's a more rugged device, built solidly and feels like it could be dropped without shattering... Lastly, it has substantially better battery life since it's screen takes far less power to drive.
CPU performance-wise, these systems use the same processors, PCIe storage, same RAM, same GPU, same everything on the mobo; so there's no performance differences there..
So, the biggest issue that has mostly been resolved with the Surface Laptop pre-2018 is that it comes with Windows 10 S; which, is (was) criminal IMHO. Windows 10 S is basically a walled-garden, locked down version of Windows 10 Pro. You can (could) only run applications from the Windows Store -- which is insane. So you absolutely must upgrade to Windows 10 Pro to get a fully-functional laptop... Microsoft is now offering the upgrade for free, thankfully - so this is no longer an issue.
Since you can get Windows 10 Pro for free now, I'll set that aside and focus on the other points of difference..
For one, the display... The Surface Laptop has a beautiful, bright display with excellent color reproduction.. But while you might not notice it in the harshness of a retail store with all those bright ass lights, the Laptop has significantly lower resolution and pixel response than the Pro tablet... Which raises the question: why??
Why did Microsoft use two different displays for the Surface Laptop and Surface Pro? It makes no sense... The only answer is that the Laptop's display was so much cheaper in production that using it on a different SKU outweighed the cost benefits of scaling up production/sales of the Pro display.
To break down the difference,s the Surface Pro has the equivalent of a 5Mpx display at 267.47 PPI over 12.3"; whereas the Surface Laptop has ~3.4Mpx at ~200 PPI .. I'm using Mpx as the unit of measure because these devices are different aspect ratios.
In flat resolution terms, the numbers are deceptive because it looks like only an aspect ratio and size difference, but this isn't the case. The Laptop has significantly lower resolution regardless of the 1" size difference and aspect ratio difference. What compounds the difference is that the tablet is significantly brighter on the same settings; with 398 nits vs 361 nits... Both are sRGB compliant, but the tablet, again, has better color reproduction than the laptop -- which, when you think about it, makes no fucking sense...
Moreover, if you plan to use the pen; the tablet (Pro) is more responsive, with more pixel definition (for pen resolution) than the Laptop; so if you plan on doing art work, the Pro is the way to go.
I'm also not sure why they removed the Surface Pro's microSD card slot from the Surface Laptop? For photography work, this means you need to carry a USB SD card reader... You can also use the SD card as an archival disk, and given that neither system is upgradeable in the slightest, having an SD card slot is great since you can pop in another 128-256GB with a fast SD card .. It won't be as fast as PCIe, obviously, but you'll get similar speeds as an old SATA II HDD if not better depending on the card. So if you're running low on space, you can move static content to a $110 256GB Samsung EVO+ SD card.. Stuff like music, movies, photos, zip/rars, etc, can just be moved to very fast (90MB/s) removable storage... That's an awesome feature, so why take it away?
So with all that being said... it really boils down to this:
Laptop) If you will be typing a LOT on your Surface, and I mean a LOT.. and you do not really need the pen for art or anything requiring the finest precision, and you do not care about it's tablet features and plan to use it AS a laptop -- and you also don't care to use it as an eBook reader (a heavy one admittedly), then the Laptop is better.
1) It has way better battery life (like 30%+ battery life);
2) It has a more traditional aspect ratio so gaming and movie watching is better;
3) It has the larger display, 13.5" is standard in ultrabooks;
4) It has the vastly superior keyboard;
5) It is more rugged and more durable;
6) You do not need an additional keyboard attachment;
7) It's much more useful in your lap than the Surface Tablet without a case.
8) It's definitely better for gaming than the tablet given design.
Tablet) If you don't plan on typing a lot, or don't really mind using the keyboard attachment; if you DO plan on using the pen for art, design, precision-work; if you DO think you need the best color reproduction for photoshop or design work; if you will use the device most often WITHOUT the keyboard attached; if you DO want expandable storage; or if the $200 difference matters to you, then the tablet is better.
1) It has a way better display;
2) It has the better aspect ratio for a tablet, for reading, and for art/design, IMHO;
3) It is significantly lighter;
4) You can remove the keyboard (I like this feature);
5) The pen is FAR more usable, responsive, and operates with a higher resolution;
6) Without the keyboard it's more compact (the kickstand is very small)
7) You don't need to worry about Windows 10 licensing changes in the future...
8) It's $200 cheaper than the Laptop....
I think both are dope, but I would definitely go with the Tablet for my personal use-case since I already have 3 other laptops... If I didn't have a laptop though ... I might consider the Surface Laptop, although, it is expensive.