TheSurface Laptop 4isnt the most exciting laptop Ive ever reviewed.
And yet I still consider this laptop to be near the top of its class.
A few quibbles aside, its one of the easiest to recommend laptops on the market.
Here are some of the reasons why.
Its still stunning
Sometimes newness for the sake of newness is overrated.
As the saying goes; if it aint broke, dont fix it.
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Im equally biased by the Alcantara material.
I dont care if it can get a little dirtier than metal with your grubby hands.
In any case, it gets way less dirty than you might expect.
Even after several months, theres just a slight hint of wear.
When I think about what I really want Microsoft to change, only a few things come to mind.
Alternatively, keep the bezels, but give the Surface Laptop a 360-degree hinge.
I dont like it.
Rarely does it actually soundgood.
The Surface Laptop 4 instead fires sound up through the keyboard.
Good speakers are just good speakers.
You just need to create decent sound without all the gimmicks.
I think 1080p on a 13-inch display is a pixel-fest by modern standards.
Meanwhile, 4K displays, many of them OLED, tend to eat through battery life like nobodys business.
Apple is one of them, and Microsoft is another.
I wouldnt mind alittlehigher pixel density, but its just about at the point of diminishing returns.
Increasing the resolution further would lead to barely noticeable gains in sharpness while draining more battery.
It also has a 3:2 aspect ratio, which is the best aspect ratio.
Mind you, its not perfect.
Still, at least you should be able to play most games at lower resolutions and options.
Its quiet, its clicky, its responsive.
Heck, I like it more than many a desktop keyboard Ive used.
Its better than the one even on the Surface Book 3 too.
Coupled with the Alcantara material, its a writers dream.
Its the benefit of that goldilocks display resolution and careful optimization by Microsoft.
Plus, its just nicer to watch movies with the screen pushed forward.
At the end of the day, its the overall experience that matters, not how new it is.
