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

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 new sizes, finishes, processor configurations and additional features like fast-charging all make this the most versatile generation of Surface Laptop yet. Long-term fans of the line will appreciate that Microsoft has finally embraced USB-C, albeit in a limited capacity. However, there are a few niggles that help competition from the likes of the MacBook Pro, stand out in front.

The 15-inch version of the Surface Laptop 3 represents the biggest change to the clamshell laptop since Microsoft launched the first Surface Laptop in 2017. And yet, it is remarkably similar to the prior models, despite the fact that it’s bigger and has a completely different processor.

Excellent keyboard and trackpad; Sturdy build quality; Good performance for everyday productivity tasks; 3:2 aspect ratio screen is great for productivity; Relatively little bloatware out of the box; Windows Hello facial login works great

Only two USB ports; No Thunderbolt 3 ports; Below average battery life; No SD card slot; Matte black model gets full of fingerprints almost immediately; Struggles editing and even playing back 4K video

Now, that we’ve spent some time with both the consumer and business version of the 15-inch Surface Laptop 3 the winner seems pretty clear. We expected things to be rather close on the performance front, but the Intel powered business version of the 15-inch Surface Laptop 3 dominated most all of the...

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 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

“The 15-inch Surface Laptop 3 is a beautiful laptop, but its mediocre performance limits its potential.”

Large 3:2 display; Build quality is rock solid; Comfortable keyboard and touchpad; Stays quiet and cool

Not powerful enough; Graphics are disappointing; Bezels are large

The 15-inch Surface Laptop 3 has some of the best battery life we’ve experienced in a 15-inch laptop, which should be lauded. But, this laptop falls well short on both the power and versatility that most would expect from a 15-inch device, making it a disappointing followup for anyone who was hoping...

Excellent battery life; Exciting AMD flagship debut

Far too few ports; Lacking in power; Steep mid-range pricing

This laptop has been great in every way except for its battery. The battery depletes so fast when its advertised no to. We think we need to return it to the store to exchange