Surface Laptop 4 to launch on April 27; leaked configurations affirm that Microsoft continues to make compromises to drive sales volumes of more expensive configurations
There have already been many leaks about the Surface Laptop 4, from its design to the processors in which Microsoft will offer its next laptop. According to Roland Quandt and WinFuture, Microsoft has decided to launch the Surface Laptop 4 on April 27, although it is unclear if it will do so in a press release or at a launch event. Last year, Microsoft revealed the Surface Book 3 and Surface Go 2 in a press release, so we would not be surprised if the company does the same this year with the Surface Laptop 4.
We have outlined the configurations in which Microsoft will sell the Surface Laptop 4, at least in Europe. We stress this as Microsoft tends to sell more configurations in the US than it does on the other side of the Atlantic. As far as we can tell, the Surface Laptop 4 has a larger battery and more powerful processors than the Surface Laptop 3, but that is it. There are no external changes to speak of, which explains why the pictures of the Surface Laptop 4 are indistinguishable from those of the Surface Laptop 3.
Quandt stresses that the Ryzen 7 4980U Surface Edition and should be available for the 13.5-inch model, so please do not treat the configurations below as complete. However, Microsoft has decided to reserve 32 GB of RAM and a 1 TB SSD for Intel models for some reason. The M.2 SSD in the Surface Laptop 4 should be simple to replace, but the RAM will not be. Sourcing a 1 TB M.2 2230 SSD is another matter though, as they are considerably more expensive and harder to find than their M.2 2280 equivalents.
The Surface Laptop 4 is mighty expensive too, especially considering that AMD has moved on from Renoir to Cezanne APUs. Overall, it seems that Microsoft is pushing people to buy the 15-inch model and the more expensive Intel configurations if they want more RAM or storage. Nonetheless, the Surface Laptop 4 should offer significantly better performance than the current models, which is always a good thing.
| Surface Laptop 4 13.5-inch | Surface Laptop 4 15-inch | |
|---|---|---|
| Display | 13.5-inch PixelSense display, 2,256 x 1,504, 3:2 aspect ratio, 10-point multi-touch, 201 PPI | 15-inch PixelSense display, 2,496 x 1,664, 3:2 aspect ratio, 10-point multi-touch, 201 PPI |
| Chassis | Aluminium | Aluminium |
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 5 4680U Surface EditionAMD Ryzen 7 4980U Surface EditionIntel Core i5-1145G7Intel Core i7-1185G7 | AMD Ryzen 5 4680U Surface EditionAMD Ryzen 7 4980U Surface EditionIntel Core i5-1145G7Intel Core i7-1185G7 |
| Configurations | Ryzen 5 4680U SE, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD, €1,149Ryzen 5 4680U SE, 16 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD, €1,399Intel Core i5-1145G7, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD, €1,499Intel Core i5-1145G7, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD, €1,699 (?)Intel Core i7-1185G7, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD, €1,899 | Ryzen 7 4980U SE, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD, €1,499Ryzen 7 4980U SE, 8 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD, €1,699Ryzen 7 4980U SE, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD, €1,899Intel Core i7-1185G7, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD, €1,999 Intel Core i7-1185G7, 32 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD, €2,699 |
| Battery | 6,513 mAh - 49 Wh | 6,513 mAh - 49 Wh |
| Dimensions & weight | 308 x 223 x 14.5 mm AMD 1.25 kg/Intel 1.31 kg |
339.5 x 244 x 14.5 mmAMD (?)/Intel 1.54 kg |
| Connectivity | Surface Connect, USB Type-A, USB Type-C, Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 ax) | Surface Connect, USB Type-A, USB Type-C, Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 ax) |
| Features | Windows Hello, Surface Pen and Surface Dial compatible | Windows Hello, Surface Pen and Surface Dial compatible |
| OS | Windows 10 Home | Windows 10 Home |
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