Watch out, Apple: Microsoft’s Surface laptops rival MacBooks in performance and beat them in repairability
For years, Microsoft’s Surface lineup was a series (ha!) of disappointments with poor performance, stuttering, slowdowns, forced resets, and installed programs refusing to run, all wrapped up in a price that was completely undeserved for the level of quality. However, a clear difference between previous iterations and the 2024 models sets the latter apart in the best possible way.
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 and the Microsoft Surface Pro 11 are exceptional laptops that have essentially set the gold standard for AI PCs. Microsoft has finally taken all the feedback and complaints from the last few years and is working to improve most of them. As a result, we finally have Surface laptops that are not only worth their price, but are excellent in their own right.
If Apple is smart, it will take note of what its biggest competition is now and adjust its own strategies to better align with Microsoft’s initiatives – not just for the sake of its business, but also because of its greater environmental impact.
How bad was the Surface series?
While not the absolute worst laptops ever made, it was often mind-bending how Microsoft was able to churn out such mediocrity year after year at a suggested retail price that was far superior to many better portable machines. It was the epitome of a series that had a lot of potential, yet failed to even begin to live up to it, all while being bogged down by yearly releases designed to appeal to the Surface loyalists and only them.
Before 2024, I tested two other Surface laptops: the Microsoft Surface laptop 5 And Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3three out of five stars and three and a half out of five stars respectively.
As for the former, I touched on how its poor performance, poor port selection, and outdated design, along with a high price tag, put it far below its rivals. This was also the laptop that had a ridiculous amount of programs and tasks running in the background, overloading the operating system and causing major programs to crash and lag. This latter fared only slightly better, with average performance, a tired design, a poor webcam, and incredibly outdated specs.
The other big problem was how anti-user repairable Microsoft laptops were, especially the Surface line. In 2017, iFixit gave the first Surface Laptop a zero out of ten in repairability because it was an absolute nightmare to break down, causing catastrophic damage to the machine. And for years, later iterations weren’t much better.
What has changed this year?
The biggest, most definitive change between older Surface models and the 2024 suite is the introduction of Qualcomm Snapdragon CPUsFor months, manufacturers have been touting their innovations with these chips, bragging about their superior performance and battery life, two essential keys for running AI tools and AI-based components.
The question then was, will these chips live up to the hype? And for the Surface line, they take what were mostly mediocre and above-average laptops and turn them into some of the best Windows laptops and best laptops on the market today. Their performance is exceptional, extremely responsive, and absolutely zero stuttering.
Considering that Snapdragon chips are built on the same Arm architecture that powers Apple’s latest M3 chips, it’s a testament to how closely Surface laptops stack up against MacBooks. Both offer snappy performance and high efficiency, allowing them to stay nice and cool during even the most intensive operations.
What has also improved significantly is the ease of repairing the Surface series. In 2021, Microsoft partnered with iFixit to Sell surface repair toolswhich resulted in a score of eight out of ten from iFixit for both the Surface Laptop 7 and Surface Pro 11. These laptops are among the most repairable laptops on the market.
Meanwhile, Apple’s MacBooks are among the worst laptops in terms of repairabilityaccording to a report called The failure of the solutioncompiled by the Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), a consumer organization in the US. Having such a terrible level of repairability in 2024 is downright anti-consumer and worsens the reputation of MacBooks compared to Surface laptops.
Final thoughts
Microsoft has really upgraded its Surface laptop range, with the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 and Microsoft Surface Pro 11 receiving rave reviews for their excellent performance and repairability.
The accolades are well deserved, as the tech giant has often taken withering criticism and used it to finally make the necessary changes to make the Surface lineup truly competitive. And now that the competition is finally heating up on Microsoft’s side, the ball is now in Apple’s court.
It’s time for the tech giant to re-examine its MacBook design, not only to maintain peak performance and efficiency, but more importantly, to address and solve the increasingly glaring lack of self-repair options for consumers.
Apple’s control over every aspect of the manufacturing and repair process has long been a hallmark of the brand. But with the growing threat of e-waste and its devastating ecological impact, it is finally time for this to change. If Microsoft can do it, Apple can do it too. There is no longer any excuse to settle for less.