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Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (Model 1868) review

Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (Model 1868)

CHOICE Expert Rating

76%
What is the CHOICE Expert Rating?
Good points

Good Points

  • Excellent touchpad
  • Very good screen
  • Very good Wi-Fi speed
  • Excellent keyboard
  • Very good screen luminance
  • Screen has excellent viewing angles
  • Short charge time to 80 per cent
Bad points

Bad Points

  • No SD card slot
  • Keyboard-mounted power button puts system to sleep immediately if accidentally pressed
  • Power port is located in an area that can be awkward to access

Type

Ultraportable
Ultrabook
Tablet mode
Operating system
Windows 10 Home

Recommended products

Recommended
Not recommended
Recommended for tablet use

Test results

CHOICE Expert Rating
76%
Performance score
59%
Tablet use score
N/A
Ease of use score
85%
Battery life score
66%
Display score
84%
Audio score
55%
Wi-Fi score
85%
Storage write-speed (MBps)
1559
Storage read-speed (MBps)
2362
Wi-Fi speed (MBps)
48
Average battery life – heavy usage (hours)
6:26
Charging time to 80% full (h:min)
1:02
Expert tester comments
Microsoft's Surface Laptop 3 is a great upgrade to the Surface Laptop 2. Not only does it offer noticeable boosts in performance across the board (processing via a 10th generation Intel CPU, Wi-Fi via an 802.11ax adapter, and storage via a fast SSD), it now includes a USB-C port that can be used to plug in data devices or even an external display. Its keyboard is excellent, and it has a screen that produces excellent colour, brightness, and contrast.

Sustainability

Shop Ethical rating
C
Warranty (years)
1
Replaceable battery
Not collected
Replace/upgrade RAM
Not collected
Slots for additional RAM
Not collected
Replace/upgrade storage
Not collected
Slot for additional storage
Not collected
Replace/upgrade Wi-Fi
Not collected
Country of origin
Not collected

Related products

Availability
Discontinued model

Cost

Price
$1,999.00

Specifications

Screen size (inches)
13.5
Native screen resolution (pixels)
2256 x 1504
Processor (CPU) type
Intel Core i5-1035G7
CPU frequency (GHz)
1.2
RAM (GB)
8
Video graphics type
Intel Iris Plus Graphics
Storage capacity (GB)
256
Available user space (GB)
199
Storage type
SSD
Wi-Fi version
6
Weight of laptop (kg)
1.3
Weight of power supply (kg)
0.3
Size (mm, H x D x W)
17 x 224 x 303

Features

Screen finish
Glossy
Touchscreen
USB-C
USB 2.0 ports
0
USB 3.0 ports
1
USB 4 as USB-C port
0
USB-C (USB 3.2 Gen 1 or 2, not Thunderbolt 3 or 4) ports
1
Thunderbolt 3 or 4 (as USB-C) ports
0
SD card slot (full-size)
SD card slot (micro)
HDMI port
Gigabit ethernet port
Rear camera
Backlit keyboard levels of brightness
3

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