Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 13.5" Price, Review And Specs.
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Also, compare to the Surface laptop 2, which features the 8th Generation Intel processor, the latest laptop is powered by the recent 10th Generation Intel Ice Lake chipset.
By the way, the 13.5-inch Surface laptop 3 price starts from $999; which is for the one with the Intel Core-i5 processor, 8GB of RAM and 128GB storage capacity. While the better equipped Core-i7 variant, that has 16GB of RAM and up to 1TB storage space, costs about $1,599.
This also means that the starting price of the 13.5-inch Surface laptop is the same as that of the new Dell XPS 13 2020. But Dell laptop features Intel Core-i3 processor (though same 10th Gen. chipset), 4GB of RAM, non-touch display but with twice storage space of 256GB.
Same Look, Dimension And Weight:
Microsoft maintain the look and features of the earlier Surface laptop in the latest one. The new Surface laptop 3 13.5-inch also comes in aluminum clamshell like its predecessor, and it also features the same 12.1x8.8x0.57 inches dimension with almost the same 2.79 pounds (1.26kg) weight as the previous one. Which also means that the latest Surface laptop has almost the same weight as the 2.75 pounds (1.28kg) MacBook Air 2019 and 2.8 pounds (1.27kg) Dell XPS 13 2020.
Also, from the given dimension (above), the 13.5-inch Surface laptop 3 has almost the same thickness as the 0.58 inches thick MackBook Air.
But as a result of its 0.61 inches thickness, Dell XPS 13 2020 is slightly thicker than the two of them.
Meanwhile, Surface laptop 3 is the tallest of the three laptops, which is as a results of its 3:2 screen aspect ratio (compare to the 16:10 screen aspect ratio of the other two laptops).
Main Differences And Updates:
While the earlier 13.5 inch Surface laptop came in four design colours of Burgundy (Red), Blue, Black and Silver, all with Alcantara (soft fabric) palm rests, though the latest 13.5-inch Surface laptop 3 still comes in Blue and Black colours with Alcantara palm rest, but! Microsoft has replaced the Red colour design with Sandstone (Gold).
In addition, the new Sandstone and the previous Silver colour options now features Aluminum palm rests, like the Dell XPS 13 and MacBook Air.
Furthermore, Microsoft has added USB-C 3.1 port to the Surface laptop 3, the new port now replaces and occupies the previous position of the mini-DisplayPort (but the positioning and arrangements of other ports remain the same in the new laptop).
Therefore, you can now connect your various USB-C devices to the new 13.5-inch Surface laptop 3. And besides the proprietary Surface connector, you can also make use of the new USB-C port to charge your Surface laptop 3 with the USB-C Charger.
However, the newly introduced USB-C port is not USB-C Thunderbolt 3 port, rather, it's a standard USB-C 3.1 port. Therefore, it does not support the functionalities or data transfer speed of the USB-C Thunderbolt 3 port (found on the MacBook Air and Dell XPS 13 2020).
And speaking of the Surface connector, the magnetic proprietary connector (and the charger) is now capable of fast-charging your Surface 3 laptop up to 80% in less than an hour.
Furthermore, the Microsoft Precision touchpad of the latest 13.5-inch Surface laptop 3 has also become 20% larger than that of the Surface laptop 2. The glass touchpad is also reported to be smoother and more responsive than the one on the earlier model.
13.5-inch Surface Laptop 3 Also Features Intel 10th Gen Chipset:
Though, like the its predecessor, Microsoft Surface laptop 3 is also pre-installed with the Microsoft Windows 10 (64-Bit) Home Edition. But, rather than having the 8th generation Intel processor like the Surface laptop 2 (and the MacBook Air), the 13.5-inch Surface laptop 3 is powered by the recent 10th generation Intel Ice Lake Chipset.
And as usual, the base variant of the new 13.5-inch Surface laptop 3 is fitted with the Core-i5 processor of the latest Intel chipset, along with 8GB of RAM.
On the other hand, the higher variant of the Microsoft 13.5-inch laptop sport the Core-i7 processor of the Intel chipset with 16GB of RAM.
And like the earlier model, the new Surface laptop 3 also comes with four storage space options of 128GB, 256GB, 512GB and 1TB of SSD (Solid State Drive) Drive.
Concerning its GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), both variants of the 13.5-inch Surface laptop 3 feature the recent Intel Iris Plus integrated Graphics. However, if your works require more powerful GPU, you might want to consider the 15-inch Surface laptop 3; which is equipped with a better AMD Radeon Vega 9 or RX Vega 11 GPU.
On battery life, Microsoft says that a fully charged 13.5-inch Surface laptop 3 will last for up to 11.5 hours; which is not up to the Microsoft's 14 hours claim about the previous 13.5-inch Surface laptop 2 which later reported to last for almost about 10 hours. Therefore, one should expect similar duration from the latest laptop.
[Image Credit: Pocket-lint]
Microsoft Retain Other Features In The New Laptop:
Although, the latest laptop's backlit keyboard still looks the same as the one on the Surface laptop 2, Microsoft says the new laptop's keyboard offers deeper travel and better feedback than the one on the earlier model. It's also reported that the 13.5-inch Surface 3 Laptop's keyboard rivals (even better than) the MacBook Air 2019's mechanism keyboard.
Updated: It should be noted that the MacBook Air 2020 has a better Magic Keyboard.
Meanwhile, except for the presence of the USB-C port (which replaces mini-DisplayPort), other ports (and connection) are still found at the usual spots. Therefore, in addition to the USB-C port, you have the USB-A port and 3.5mm audio jack on the left side of the Surface laptop 3, while you have only Surface connector on right side of the Microsoft laptop.
Same 13.5-inch Pixel Sense Touch Display:
Like the one on its predecessor, the 13.5-inch display of the Microsoft Surface laptop 3 still features the same 2256x1504 resolution. And the Corning Glass protected, 10-point multi touch display is still Surface pen enabled, though, some says the latest 13.5-inch Pixel Sense display is slightly brighter and more vivid than that of the Surface laptop 2.
To some people, the 3:2 aspect ratio of the Surface 3 display might not be as sleek looking as the 16:10 aspect ratio of both Dell XPS 13 2020 and MacBook Air, but the 3:2 aspect ratio enables Surface Laptop 3's display to have more working space than those of the two laptops. And i personally think 3:2 aspect ratio of the Surface laptop is the optimum screen aspect ratio for documentation and internet browsing.
However, whenever you watch movies or videos on the Surface laptop, you will have thick black bars at the top and bottom of the display.
Though, both Dell XPS 13 2020 and MackBook Air displays will also have such bars, nonetheless, their own will be minimal, due to their 16:10 screen aspect ratio. But Hp Spectre x360 13's display won't have such bars due to its 16:9 aspect ratio.
Also, as a result of its 201ppi (pixel density), Surface laptop 3's 13.5-inch screen is sharper than the Dell XPS 13 2020's display, which has 169ppi. Still, none of the two laptops' displays is as detailed as the MacBook Air's 227ppi Retina Display. Still, if you prefer an ultrabook laptop that offers a much higher pixel density display, Dell XPS 13 2020, with 4K panel, might the right choice.
13.5-inch Surface laptop 3 Quick Specs.
13.5-inch Touch Display (201ppi).
3:2 Aspect Ratio.
10th Gen. Intel Ice Lake Processor.
Windows 10 (64-Bit) Home Edition.
8GB or 16GB of RAM.
128GB, 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB PCIe NVMe SSD.
1xUSB-A, 1xUSB-C, 3.5mm Audio Jack & Surface Connect.
45W Battery.
Starting Price: $999/£899 (375,850 Naira, GHs 5,565., Kes 102,986, Ugx 3,730,707).
The latest 13.5-inch Microsoft Surface laptop 3 still looks exactly like the Surface laptop 2, except for a few cosmetic changes such as the presence of the aluminum palm rest (optional), a new colour design, a larger Touchpad and the replacement of mini-DisplayPort with USB-C port.Also, compare to the Surface laptop 2, which features the 8th Generation Intel processor, the latest laptop is powered by the recent 10th Generation Intel Ice Lake chipset.
By the way, the 13.5-inch Surface laptop 3 price starts from $999; which is for the one with the Intel Core-i5 processor, 8GB of RAM and 128GB storage capacity. While the better equipped Core-i7 variant, that has 16GB of RAM and up to 1TB storage space, costs about $1,599.
This also means that the starting price of the 13.5-inch Surface laptop is the same as that of the new Dell XPS 13 2020. But Dell laptop features Intel Core-i3 processor (though same 10th Gen. chipset), 4GB of RAM, non-touch display but with twice storage space of 256GB.
Same Look, Dimension And Weight:
Microsoft maintain the look and features of the earlier Surface laptop in the latest one. The new Surface laptop 3 13.5-inch also comes in aluminum clamshell like its predecessor, and it also features the same 12.1x8.8x0.57 inches dimension with almost the same 2.79 pounds (1.26kg) weight as the previous one. Which also means that the latest Surface laptop has almost the same weight as the 2.75 pounds (1.28kg) MacBook Air 2019 and 2.8 pounds (1.27kg) Dell XPS 13 2020.
Also, from the given dimension (above), the 13.5-inch Surface laptop 3 has almost the same thickness as the 0.58 inches thick MackBook Air.
But as a result of its 0.61 inches thickness, Dell XPS 13 2020 is slightly thicker than the two of them.
Meanwhile, Surface laptop 3 is the tallest of the three laptops, which is as a results of its 3:2 screen aspect ratio (compare to the 16:10 screen aspect ratio of the other two laptops).
Main Differences And Updates:
While the earlier 13.5 inch Surface laptop came in four design colours of Burgundy (Red), Blue, Black and Silver, all with Alcantara (soft fabric) palm rests, though the latest 13.5-inch Surface laptop 3 still comes in Blue and Black colours with Alcantara palm rest, but! Microsoft has replaced the Red colour design with Sandstone (Gold).
In addition, the new Sandstone and the previous Silver colour options now features Aluminum palm rests, like the Dell XPS 13 and MacBook Air.
Therefore, you can now connect your various USB-C devices to the new 13.5-inch Surface laptop 3. And besides the proprietary Surface connector, you can also make use of the new USB-C port to charge your Surface laptop 3 with the USB-C Charger.
However, the newly introduced USB-C port is not USB-C Thunderbolt 3 port, rather, it's a standard USB-C 3.1 port. Therefore, it does not support the functionalities or data transfer speed of the USB-C Thunderbolt 3 port (found on the MacBook Air and Dell XPS 13 2020).
And speaking of the Surface connector, the magnetic proprietary connector (and the charger) is now capable of fast-charging your Surface 3 laptop up to 80% in less than an hour.
Furthermore, the Microsoft Precision touchpad of the latest 13.5-inch Surface laptop 3 has also become 20% larger than that of the Surface laptop 2. The glass touchpad is also reported to be smoother and more responsive than the one on the earlier model.
13.5-inch Surface Laptop 3 Also Features Intel 10th Gen Chipset:
Though, like the its predecessor, Microsoft Surface laptop 3 is also pre-installed with the Microsoft Windows 10 (64-Bit) Home Edition. But, rather than having the 8th generation Intel processor like the Surface laptop 2 (and the MacBook Air), the 13.5-inch Surface laptop 3 is powered by the recent 10th generation Intel Ice Lake Chipset.
And as usual, the base variant of the new 13.5-inch Surface laptop 3 is fitted with the Core-i5 processor of the latest Intel chipset, along with 8GB of RAM.
On the other hand, the higher variant of the Microsoft 13.5-inch laptop sport the Core-i7 processor of the Intel chipset with 16GB of RAM.
And like the earlier model, the new Surface laptop 3 also comes with four storage space options of 128GB, 256GB, 512GB and 1TB of SSD (Solid State Drive) Drive.
Concerning its GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), both variants of the 13.5-inch Surface laptop 3 feature the recent Intel Iris Plus integrated Graphics. However, if your works require more powerful GPU, you might want to consider the 15-inch Surface laptop 3; which is equipped with a better AMD Radeon Vega 9 or RX Vega 11 GPU.
On battery life, Microsoft says that a fully charged 13.5-inch Surface laptop 3 will last for up to 11.5 hours; which is not up to the Microsoft's 14 hours claim about the previous 13.5-inch Surface laptop 2 which later reported to last for almost about 10 hours. Therefore, one should expect similar duration from the latest laptop.
Microsoft Retain Other Features In The New Laptop:
Although, the latest laptop's backlit keyboard still looks the same as the one on the Surface laptop 2, Microsoft says the new laptop's keyboard offers deeper travel and better feedback than the one on the earlier model. It's also reported that the 13.5-inch Surface 3 Laptop's keyboard rivals (even better than) the MacBook Air 2019's mechanism keyboard.
Updated: It should be noted that the MacBook Air 2020 has a better Magic Keyboard.
Meanwhile, except for the presence of the USB-C port (which replaces mini-DisplayPort), other ports (and connection) are still found at the usual spots. Therefore, in addition to the USB-C port, you have the USB-A port and 3.5mm audio jack on the left side of the Surface laptop 3, while you have only Surface connector on right side of the Microsoft laptop.
Same 13.5-inch Pixel Sense Touch Display:
Like the one on its predecessor, the 13.5-inch display of the Microsoft Surface laptop 3 still features the same 2256x1504 resolution. And the Corning Glass protected, 10-point multi touch display is still Surface pen enabled, though, some says the latest 13.5-inch Pixel Sense display is slightly brighter and more vivid than that of the Surface laptop 2.
To some people, the 3:2 aspect ratio of the Surface 3 display might not be as sleek looking as the 16:10 aspect ratio of both Dell XPS 13 2020 and MacBook Air, but the 3:2 aspect ratio enables Surface Laptop 3's display to have more working space than those of the two laptops. And i personally think 3:2 aspect ratio of the Surface laptop is the optimum screen aspect ratio for documentation and internet browsing.
However, whenever you watch movies or videos on the Surface laptop, you will have thick black bars at the top and bottom of the display.
Though, both Dell XPS 13 2020 and MackBook Air displays will also have such bars, nonetheless, their own will be minimal, due to their 16:10 screen aspect ratio. But Hp Spectre x360 13's display won't have such bars due to its 16:9 aspect ratio.
Also, as a result of its 201ppi (pixel density), Surface laptop 3's 13.5-inch screen is sharper than the Dell XPS 13 2020's display, which has 169ppi. Still, none of the two laptops' displays is as detailed as the MacBook Air's 227ppi Retina Display. Still, if you prefer an ultrabook laptop that offers a much higher pixel density display, Dell XPS 13 2020, with 4K panel, might the right choice.
13.5-inch Microsoft Surface laptop 3:
GENERAL:
Maker: Microsoft.
Name: 13.5 inch Surface Laptop 3.
Year: Oct. 2019.
DIMENSION & COLOUR:
Dimension: 12.1x8.8x0.57 inches.
Weight: 2.79lbs (1.26kg)/2.84 lbs (1.28kg).
Colour: Sandstone and Matte Black (metal palm rest), Cobalt Blue and Platinum (Alcantra palm rest).
DISPLAY:
Size and Type: 13.5 inch Pixel Sense Touch Display.
Aspect Ratio: 3:2.
Resolution: 2256X1504.
Pixel density: 201PPI.
PERFORMANCE:
Chipset: 10th Gen. (Ice Lake) Intel Core-i5 and Core-i7 Processors.
GPU: Intel Iris Plus Integrated Graphics.
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 (64-Bit) Home Edition.
RAM & STORAGE:
RAM: 8GB/16GB LPDDR4X.
Storage: 128GB/256GB/512GB/1TB M.2 PCIe SSD.
CONNECTIVITY & PORTS:
Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.0, Killer Wi-Fi 6 (AX1650).
Ports: 1x USB-C, 1x USB-A, Surface Connect, 3.5mm audio jack combo.
MULTIMEDIA & SECURITY:
Multimedia: 720p (HD) Webcam,
Omnisonic Speakers: with Dolby Audio Premium.
Security: Window Hello face authentication camera.
BATTERY:
45Wh (up to 11.5 hours)
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GENERAL:
Maker: Microsoft.
Name: 13.5 inch Surface Laptop 3.
Year: Oct. 2019.
DIMENSION & COLOUR:
Dimension: 12.1x8.8x0.57 inches.
Weight: 2.79lbs (1.26kg)/2.84 lbs (1.28kg).
Colour: Sandstone and Matte Black (metal palm rest), Cobalt Blue and Platinum (Alcantra palm rest).
DISPLAY:
Size and Type: 13.5 inch Pixel Sense Touch Display.
Aspect Ratio: 3:2.
Resolution: 2256X1504.
Pixel density: 201PPI.
PERFORMANCE:
Chipset: 10th Gen. (Ice Lake) Intel Core-i5 and Core-i7 Processors.
GPU: Intel Iris Plus Integrated Graphics.
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 (64-Bit) Home Edition.
RAM & STORAGE:
RAM: 8GB/16GB LPDDR4X.
Storage: 128GB/256GB/512GB/1TB M.2 PCIe SSD.
CONNECTIVITY & PORTS:
Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.0, Killer Wi-Fi 6 (AX1650).
Ports: 1x USB-C, 1x USB-A, Surface Connect, 3.5mm audio jack combo.
MULTIMEDIA & SECURITY:
Multimedia: 720p (HD) Webcam,
Omnisonic Speakers: with Dolby Audio Premium.
Security: Window Hello face authentication camera.
BATTERY:
45Wh (up to 11.5 hours)
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