By Mark Kawalya
The Surface Laptop 7 is a well-rounded, portable and sturdily built laptop that was recently released by Microsoft. With impressive battery life, the device rivals the current MacBook Air. Available in 13.8- and 15-inch sizes, the Surface Laptop 7 is based on a Qualcomm Snapdragon X processor. Available upgrades include a 12-core Snapdragon X Elite chip, 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB solid-state drive, which double the starting price. The smaller unit with upgrades from the base model offers strong overall performance and good battery life that rivals that of the MacBook Air.
However, compatibility with mission-critical Windows apps and the lack of a discrete GPU are limitations of the Surface Laptop 7. If compatibility checks out for specific needs and the integrated Adreno GPU are sufficient for your type of work the Surface Laptop 7 is a well-rounded, well-built ultraportable with good battery life. The Surface Laptop 7 starts at UGX 3,850,000 for a 10-core Snapdragon X Plus CPU, 16GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD. It’s available only in the silver platinum color.
The 13.8-inch models feature an LCD with a squarish 3:2 aspect ratio and an unusual 2,304×1,536-pixel resolution powered by Qualcomm’s integrated Adreno GPU. The 15-inch model starts at UGX 5,160,000 for the Snapdragon X Elite, 16GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD.
The Surface Laptop 7 feels fast during general Windows use and offers a phone-like ability to sleep and wake immediately. It’s the first Windows laptop that has been tested with a battery runtime that’s in the same league as the MacBook Air.
On a recent test it ran for nearly 20 hours on YouTube streaming battery drain test, running for 19 hours and 50 minutes, 93 minutes longer than the M3 MacBook Air. The only laptop with better battery life is the 16-inch MacBook Pro, which has room for a larger battery and ran for just over 21 hours on the same test.
One difference between the Surface Laptop 7 and the MacBook Air is the cooling system. The Surface Laptop 7 operates in silence most of the time, with fans kicking in only under heavy load. The bottom of the laptop did get warm after using it for long stretches, but it never reached a point where it was uncomfortable or affected performance.
