When Steve Jobs released the MacBook Air back in 2008, famously pulling the sleek machine out of a brown manila envelope. It was far from being the most powerful computer in the market — it was more of a lightweight fashion accessory that did a reasonably okay job as a STUDENT LAPTOP or a generic home computer — but there was no denying that it was super-sleek, beautiful, and everybody naturally wanted one. It didn’t take long for the MacBook Air to gain ubiquity across any demographic that could afford it, and even ones who couldn’t often found themselves going for one. Rival companies were slow to mobilize a counterattack against the Air, and by the time the first ultrabooks (the Windows and Intel-powered ultra-slim laptops) started to hit the market, they found themselves facing stiff competition.
owever, the Air hasn’t received an update in a long time, and its specs have not aged well over the years since its last rehash. It’s supposed successor, the MacBook (one can’t help but marvel at the originality of Apple’s product naming conventions), while a beautiful and almost absurdly slim device in its own right, was shockingly lacking in terms of specs and power, while being grossly overpriced and being saddled with only a single USB-C port for power and peripheral connectivity alike, thus necessitating the use of converter dongles. It is the perfect time for the emergence of the perfect alternative to the MacBook Air, and Microsoft has been working on precisely that. The result? The Surface Laptop.
With an advertised battery life of over 14 hours, the Surface Laptop isn’t Microsoft’s first foray into portable computers, but it is the first true clamshell laptop offering from the company since the Surface Book convertible computer. Sporting latest-generation i5/i7 CPUs from Intel, a 13.5” high-resolution screen and a competitive price tag starting from $999, the Surface Laptop a worthy competitor of the MacBook Air. While it comes with the somewhat limited (for now) Windows 10 S operating system, it can be upgraded to a more standard form of Windows 10 for an additional $50. While it is more expensive than similar offerings from other brands, the premium pricing is justified by the premium quality of the device — its aluminum chassis (available in four different tints), glass-coated touchpad and Italian Alcantara wrist rest all speak volumes about the device’s build quality and finish.
The Surface Laptop, however, will not be incorporating USB-C ports into its design, because Microsoft believes that the USB-C protocol is yet to reach maturity before it can be integrated into a device targeted at the mainstream. Unlike designer-focused offerings like most previous Surface devices, the Laptop is truly a workhorse for the masses. People who specifically need machines for tasks that require more horsepower would be better off with the Surface Book, the next Surface Pro or even the Surface Studio, but for most people the Surface Laptop should suffice just fine.
