Would you buy a 'Surface Laptop Pro' if Microsoft made it? (Poll)

By Dan Thorp-Lancaster
last updated

Imagine something like the Razer Blade 15, but built like a Surface.

Surface Laptop 3 15
Surface Laptop 3 15 (Image credit: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central)

The Surface Book 3 is the most powerful Surface in Microsoft's lineup. But, for some, that power isn't enough. Despite a stated 50 percent boost to performance with new chips from Intel and NVIDIA, the fact that the Surface Book 3 "only" uses quad-core CPUs was a disappointment to some.

The thing is, Surface Book 3 is never going to push hardware limits like some wish it would. Windows Central executive editor Daniel Rubino tackled the issue in a recent post, explaining why Surface Book will never be the monster some want it to be. To keep things brief, it comes down to engineering hurdles and what the Surface Book is designed for.

Turns out it's hard putting most of the guts of a PC in the display. Doing that and designing for the thermals of something like a gaming PC is nigh impossible (at least right now).

What would be more practical, and what Rubino posits in his piece, is something like a "Surface Laptop Pro." Think of the Razer Blade 15 or Dell XPS 15, but in Surface clothing. Something designed from the ground up to use the most powerful mobile components possible: A 45-watt CPU and the latest discrete graphics chips with ample cooling.

Such a laptop could take the form of the Surface Laptop 3, but maybe with thicker chassis to accommadate the more robust cooling setup.

There's no indication Microsoft is even exploring such a device. However, if a "Surface Laptop Pro" were to arrive one day, would you buy one? Let us know in the poll below.

Be sure to chime in in the comments as well. What other changes would you want to see? How much would you be willing to pay?

Surface Book3 RecoTwo in one

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Surface Book 3

Power on the go

The refreshed Surface Book 3 for 2020 gets new Intel 10th Gen processors, more powerful GTX graphics, and much better Wi-Fi, SSD, and RAM options making this one powerful 2-in-1 convertible PC.

Dan Thorp-Lancaster
Dan Thorp-Lancaster

Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the former Editor-in-Chief of Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central, Android Central, and iMore as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DthorpL and Instagram @heyitsdtl. 

22 Comments
  • Think it needs another screen like the zenbook. It's the 2020s now. :p
  • Why? There are plenty of "Pro" laptops out there already. Microsoft invests in making form factors that others won't. If MS did, they'd be competing against their own partners.
  • The Surface Laptop is not a new form factor It is exactly like many other laptops on the market.
  • Sorta, they did re-imagine the form factor as it was a laptop done right focused on portability, style and quality rather than just trying to keep up with the Jones' on specs. That said, notice they didn't announce a refresh of it. They wont enter the pro laptop space unless maybe they are filling a gap somewhere but that is a mature space. MS needs to innovate.
  • I would be interested in something like this, but only if Microsoft included TB3. Without that, I cannot connect to any docking station out in the wild. Business is 100% invested in TB3 docking, period. It's a shame Microsoft doesn't understand the business market.
  • They are waiting for USB 4.0 as one reason they haven't implemented Thunderbolt
  • I might be interested in a Surface gaming laptop. There are only rare ones with a touchscreen.
  • Not for me. I'm happy with Surface Pro for portability and a desktop for gaming and development. I've always felt that gaming laptops and such make too many trade-offs. Not powerful enough for a lot of dev work (which is often unoptimized or experimental in early stages, so needs a lot more horsepower to be able to profile and debug properly) and not portable enough for casual consumption. I used a Razer Blade when I worked at Oculus, and it was *okay* but not nearly as nice as a desktop when trying to run 2 screens plus a Rift.
  • This completely describes my use case as well. Ever since the Surface Pro arrived on the scene, traditional clamshell laptops have just lost their place for me. I am either going for a proper desktop workstation, with all the memory and power I can get, or I get the Surface Pro. I could also consider the Surface Book. The regular laptops just have no point to me now. They can't become nice writing tablets like the Surface Pro, and they also can't be as powerful as my desktop workstations. And in any case, they are just as uncomfortable for extended work durations as the Surface Pro. It seems I'll never buy a regular clamshell laptop again. Surface Pro (or similar), or full desktop. All else has no point to me lol!
  • No way. I want a quality 2-in-1, not anither needless clamshell device. If they made a Yoga competitor with AMD guts, I'd be all over it. An AMD-packing Surface Pro? Absolutely. An AMD-powered Surface Book? I'm in. I passed on the AMD SL3 for a reason, and it's because clamshell devices offer nothing over 2-in-1s when they're not built for gaming. That said, I don't want a gaming laptop.
  • Its nice to have but it doesn't have to exist. When it comes to conventional laptop form factor, Surface Laptop is nice but other makers such Dell, HP, Lenove produce ultrabooks that are just as, if not more, elegant. Some even more productive, sleeker and nocer than Surface Laptop. In my opinions, the very existence of Surface Laptop line is to "complete" the Surfacr family, and of course, to make sure MS partners continue to push their laptop design superiority with Surface Laptop as guideline. Surface Pro and Surface Books are the real niche of Surface family, not Surface Laptop. The mere existence of super power Surface Laptop will not make a dent on market share. Many people, in fact do not like the super minimalism design of Surface Laptop. One example of this is the minalist keyboard layout. Other makers give more complete keys on their laptop keyboards (Home/End/PgDn/PgUp as separate keys and numeric pads). Also, other makers makes flex monitor that bends all the way back. So, if someone wants to find a conventional laptop, whether its normal or super power one, Surface maybe low in the list anyway. But if someone wants to find detacheables, Surface is on the top of consideration. Surface Pro and Book are always still one of the best in the market.
  • Like someone else said in that other thread; amd laptop with H cpu (and possible an amd gpu) and x360 degree hinge. Make it with topnotch specs (16-64 gb ram, >1 tb ssd) and a hefty price tag so oem partners won't get angry. Problem solved.
  • Most of those voting Yes would change their minds after seeing the price tag, I imagine. Talk is cheap.
  • Knowing Microsoft they would make a Surface Laptop Pro and it would have an ARM processor!
  • MacBook Pro is a joke? Have you seen the Surface Pro X?!
  • And how, exactly, do you know about his underwear?
  • AMD Renoir, 15 watt AMD Ryzen™ 7 PRO 4750U
    https://www.amd.com/en/products/ryzen-pro-processors-laptop
  • They really need a 'Pro' version of the Surface Pro 2-in-1 lineup. Naming would be an issue though, Surface Pro Pro?
  • I think that would be good. I don't know if I would call it a "Pro" however. I think MS would be better off calling it the Surface Laptop G, Because the Business SKUs of the 13 and 15 inch models are already geared for "Pro" use. That way, they can concentrate on a laptop that caters to the consumer power user/Gamer market. They could work with AMD like they did with the latest surface laptop. To me, the idea hardware configuration should be this. AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS, While they could go with the 4800HS if they wanted to pull this off sooner, ASUS has a 6 month exclusivity on this chip for some reason (4900HS), but that's the one to beat, Linus Tech Tips did an extensive test and it's been proven to overperform against Intel's 9800 series chips, which is impressive. For the GPU, I think MS should go all in with AMD. AMD reportedly has a 5600 mobile gpu available. Most AMD Gaming laptops on the market, are using the 5500 chip, which runs fairly close to the 1660 TI and just below the 2060 RTX. 5500 could be the entry level laptop GPU, but there should be a range topper that has the 5600 or a custom chip using the 5700 XT, that's undervolted, ala the Nvidia Max Q version RTX GPUs. For the Screen, they need to think outside the box, and consider an industry leading VRR screen that's 15 inches. Razer has a laptop with a 4K, 120hz version monitor in available in their 17 inch laptop. MS should offer this in the 15, but possible give you the ability to run it at 1080, and increase the refresh rate 240hz. If this can't be done, simply offer the 120 hz 4K screen. Much like the Surface Laptop, it should offer upgradable storage, but also upgradable ram. that maxes out at 32GB at least, 64 being the recommended. For the ports, thunderbolt 3 should be offered. along with the usual USB ports, and Xbox wireless connect.
    They do that, and they'll have something to rock the industry
  • Limited choice in the vote; yes, I'm interested, but I won't buy one because the price tag would be astronomical. The Surface lineup is already monster expensive with the current internals; I'm sure beefing them up considerably wouldn't help...!
  • Absolutely, provided it folded around into tent mode. Surface + Pro = inking and touch, in my mind. The lack of octa core i9 / i7, and an extra port is a killer in the SB3 from here. The SB2 was great in its time, and for what it was it ably competed with the MacBook Pro or Dell XPS 15. Dell’s subsequently fixed their webcam and coil whine (and IIRC, aspect ratio?). Apple’s fixed thermals, keyboard and speakers. Microsoft’s out of the race now for me in the “prosumer” space (I make music, render 4K vids, ink, and program. I need a grunty dGPU, and as many cores as I can get at the highest wattage available)
  • Id buy it if Microsoft could build a 20-core ARM CPU. It could offer full-fledged Intel i9 performance, but use the power of a low-end i5.