Your own workload could mean longer or shorter battery life. Microsoft says the 13.5-inch version of the Surface Laptop 5 gets up to 18 hours of typical device usage, but it’s closer to between 8–10 hours in my experience. I usually charge the Surface Laptop 5 once it automatically hits Battery Saver mode at 20 percent, which then takes just under an hour to get to 80 percent charged with the Surface Connect charger. For me, that includes everything from daily Zoom meetings and Slack in the background to multiple Word documents open at the same time, along with dozens of Firefox tabs. Solid battery lifeįrom fully charged, the Surface Laptop 5 lasts just about a full workday before needing to recharge. The two options felt like polar opposites in terms of sensitivity, but I’m sure I would’ve adjusted fine with more time. I was left between pressing down for a somewhat clunky “ka-chunk” or doing a dainty tap to click. I did have one gripe with the Surface Laptop 5’s trackpad, which was clicking. The trackpad felt very intuitive with its sensitivity and many gesture controls. I did the same on the Surface Laptop 5 and although the trackpad's sensitivity made it very responsive - particularly with the two- and three-finger gestures - using a fast three-finger swipe to switch between apps was almost (but not quite) as reliable and convenient as the ol’ reliable Alt+Tab. I tend to bump up the cursor speed and the sensitivity of trackpads a smidge from factory settings.

The trackpad’s size feels just right - it’s spacious but not too large that the palm rests areas are cramped. For me, this really highlighted a stark difference compared to the soggy mess that is the butterfly keyboard on older MacBook Pros. Each keystroke feels accurate and smooth. The keyboard offers a distinct and tactile responsiveness, while still feeling like you can glide across the keys. Microsoft’s Surface Laptops have a reputation for having some of the best keyboards out there and that’s no different with the Surface Laptop 5. The 15-inch Surface Laptop 5 also goes up to 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD, but it only comes in platinum or black. Colors: platinum, matte black, sage green, sandstone.Ports: 1x Thunderbolt 4 USB-C, 1x USB-A, 1x 3.5mm headphone jack, 1x Surface Connect port.Processor: up to a 12th Gen Intel Core i7-1255U CPU.

Display: 13.5 inches (2,256 by 1,504) 60Hz PixelSense touchscreen.

Surface laptop 3 for video editing