With the Surface Laptop 3 Microsoft's design department has delivered something extraordinary. For one, the new notebook looks just fine, even in the sandstone color of my review sample. I would buy a different color, but it is definitely an eye-catcher. All the more so, as well as the keyboard was adjusted in color.
Of course, this is not ergonomic. In the light of our office lamps, the keys are often difficult to read due to the low contrast between the lettering and the key color. The Surface Laptop 3 has an extra-large touchpad, much like Apple's MacBooks. This makes it easier to say goodbye to the mouse.
The build quality is excellent and the aluminum housing makes a very robust impression. That Microsoft has been inspired here a little bit of the MacBook Air, is not to be overlooked. However, the designers have solved the current trend in an important point, namely to assemble notebooks with many tiny screws and with generous use of adhesive.
Laptop with quick release
Instead, the Surface Laptop 3 is exemplary easy to open, as the repair portal has found iFixit. There is one screw each under the four rubber feet on the underside of the device. Although has a head in the format Torx Plus, which is rather unusual for home improvement. Nevertheless, you can get suitable screwdrivers in almost every hardware store and at internet senders.
Once the screws have been loosened and unfortunately the small rubber feet suffer a bit, the housing can simply be opened and, for example, the SSD removed with a few simple steps and replaced with another one. That would actually be a great way to save money.
Because more storage space, Microsoft, similar to Apple, lush pay. The price difference between a model with a 256 gigabyte SSD and a 1 terabyte SSD is - with the same processor and memory - a whopping 900 euros. The upgrade from 512 GB to 1 TB costs 450 euros. Given low prices for retrofit SSD, it seems tempting to buy a simpler equipped, cheaper model and upgrade yourself.
Of course, Microsoft would rather not, points out on its website that the SSD "can not be changed by the user", but only "by a qualified technician". If you try anyway, you run the risk of being unable to rely on the guarantee for subsequent problems. In addition, SSDs are still rare in the format chosen by Microsoft M.2 2230, but with prices from 170 euros for a TB still very cheap.
It's getting warm
In more leisurely applications such as web surfing, e-mailing or word processing, you can not hear the unusually accessible interior of the Surface Laptop 3. But as soon as you demand the machine, for example, through elaborate games, image processing or several gigabytes of downloads, it is obviously hot.
If you balance them on the thighs because of the lack of a table, you will notice that first, because on the underside it becomes very, very warm, especially on the right side. At the same time, loudly audible a fan, which makes every effort to blow out the heat through the slots in the housing.
A space trip with "Elite Dangerous" is possible but in good graphic quality, at least in the tested version with Intel Core i7 processor.
connection shortage
The battery life is impressive. In continuous operation with deactivated energy-saving functions and permanent network traffic, my Surface Laptop 3 switched off after just over ten hours. Charging the battery took about 130 minutes after this ordeal. Not world record, but values that you can live well with.
More problematic are the few connections that Microsoft treats the almost 1.3 kilograms light laptop. In addition to a headphone jack, only a USB-C and a USB-A port are available. The Surface Laptop 3 with its 802.11ax module is already prepared for the new WLAN standard Wifi 6. Hardly anyone has that at the moment, but if you come across such a network somewhere, you can at least use it with this notebook.
Conclusion
advantages and disadvantages
Robust and very well made
Easy-to-open housing
Very good screen
Many variants available
Too few connections
Gets very hot quickly
High surcharges for more storage
Technically, the Surface Laptop in its third version is not a groundbreaking product. As usual in the industry, Microsoft has been primarily product maintenance here, so the new model equipped with the latest technology, such as the Intel Core processors of the tenth generation. The result is a solid work tool that also looks good and impresses with a very good screen.
That does not sound particularly exciting at first. And yet, the Surface Laptop 3 stands out from the crowd of notebooks in its class. Not so much by the prices - the tested 13.5-inch version costs 1649 GB and 256 GB SSD proud 1749 euros - but by the possibility to open it easily. This detail potentially allows life-prolonging measures such as replacing the SSD with a larger model or changing the battery if it loses endurance after two to three years. Opposite is a very economical equipment with connections.
Background: Product tests in the network world department
Which products are reported in the network world section?
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