Microsoft launches Intel-exclusive Surface Laptop 5G with reengineered design — but it's SHOCKINGLY expensive

Microsoft's highly anticipated 5G variant of the Surface Laptop 7 is now available for pre-order, with shipments expected to begin on August 26, the company has confirmed. The device is available to buy via Microsoft's business storefront or commercial partner channels and is powered by Intel Core Ultra series 2 processors.

The Surface Laptop 7 with 5G was first announced earlier this year, but Microsoft said at the time that customers would have to wait before it would be available to buy. That wait is now over, as the device is now ready to order in a number of regions, including the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, and more.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Surface Laptop 7 with 5G is not cheap. In fact, it's Microsoft's most expensive 5G product to date, starting at $1,799 for an Intel Core Ultra 5, 16GB RAM, and 256GB SSD storage. The 5G variant is also only available in the 13.8-inch screen size and weighs around 3lbs.

The good news is you can spec the 5G model with a higher-end processor, more RAM, and storage. It maxes out with an Intel Core Ultra 7, 32GB RAM, and 1TB SSD storage for $2,699. That's an almost $1,000 premium over the entry-level 5G configuration.

All models of Surface Laptop 5G include both a physical nanoSIM tray as well as eSIM support. The physical SIM tray is located on the right-hand side of the device, next to Microsoft's proprietary magnetic Surface Connect port, and can be ejected using a SIM ejector tool.

And of course, all models of the 5G variants are also Copilot+ compatible, featuring an NPU that outputs 40+ tops of power. All Surface PCs going forward will be Copilot+ capable.

It's an almost all-new Surface Laptop

Microsoft says that the Surface Laptop 5G was reengineered from the ground up to best support 5G connectivity. The company says it has created a new multi-layered laminate material that's designed to allow 5G radio signals to pass through the chassis without impacting performance.

This new material results in a Surface Laptop that looks unlike any other Surface Laptop on the market to date. It features a dual-color tone, with a black finish on the keyboard deck, and silver finish around the edges and frame of the chassis.

The frame of the chassis includes 5G antennas, which run all around the device. Microsoft says it has placed the antennas higher up compared to other 5G laptops, which it says should reduce interference and ensure the 5G connection is stronger, reliable, and consistent.

The new Surface Laptop 5G joins the Surface Laptop 7 for business lineup, which unfortunately means you won't find the 5G model on sale at your usual consumer-facing retailers such as Amazon or Best Buy. Instead, the Surface Laptop 5G will be available via Microsoft's commercial partners, as well as on the Microsoft Store for business.

That means individuals can still buy one, but you'll rarely, if ever, see them on sale at a discount. Unfortunately, it looks like Microsoft has no plans to launch the Surface Laptop 5G for consumer channels, and that means we're also unlikely to see a Surface Laptop 5G with a Snapdragon processor, at least for this generation.

Smaller Surface PCs also launch for business

Microsoft is also launching its new smaller Surface PCs for business customers today. The new Surface Pro 12-inch and Surface Laptop 13-inch first launched back in May exclusively for consumers, and now the business versions are available.

The business models feature the same Snapdragon SoC as the consumer variants but are rocking additional RAM options as well as an anti-reflective screen. The Surface Pro 12-inch and Surface Laptop 13-inch for business can be configured with up to 24GB RAM, unlike the consumer models that max out at 16GB.

Microsoft has gone to great lengths to more obviously split the Surface line between consumer and business in the last year. The Surface Laptop 6 and Surface Pro 10 were exclusively available for business customers, with the Surface Laptop 7 and Surface Pro 11 originally launching exclusively for consumers, before eventually being updated with Intel chips for business users.