Notebooks
Microsoft Surface Laptop - Copilot+ PC - 13" (Netzteil separat erhältlich)
13", 512 GB, 16 GB, CH, Snapdragon X Plus X1P-42-100
Microsoft's small Surface Laptop: beautifully built, but with weaknesses
19.11.2025
Translation: machine translated
Pictures: Martin Jud
The new Surface Laptop with a 13-inch display appeals to me as a lover of small devices. However, it is not completely convincing. Its display should have a higher resolution and the graphics calculations and memory could be faster.
The 13-inch Surface Laptop with barely audible fan is one of two new, small Surfaces. I have already tested the fanless Surface Pro with a 12-inch display. Both devices are not only smaller in size, but also in features. For example, there is only the slower Snapdragon X Plus chip and Universal Flash Storage (UFS) is used for the memory - a memory that is otherwise more commonly used in smartphones.
Hardware overview: Display and memory don't convince me
My test device is currently the smallest and weakest Surface Laptop. It weighs 1.22 kilograms and only has a 13-inch display, while its larger siblings have 13.8 and 15-inch screens. You can get it in three metallic colours: ocean, platinum and purple. Not only the colour scheme, but also the workmanship looks high-quality.
To start with another positive point, I can also highly praise the active cooling of the device. It's the first device with a fan from Microsoft that I can only hear a quiet hiss when I run a CPU benchmark. Otherwise, it is always silent - I can't even hear anything when installing Windows updates after setting it up.
CH version
DE version
Notebooks
EUR996,57
Microsoft Surface Laptop - Copilot+ PC - 13" (Netzteil separat erhältlich)
13", 512 GB, 16 GB, DE, Snapdragon X Plus X1P-42-100
There are initial drawbacks with the display. The multi-touch IPS panel in 3:2 format only has a resolution of 1920 × 1280 pixels, which means a pixel density of just 178 pixels per inch (PPI). In addition, the refresh rate is only 60 hertz. All other current Surfaces, even the smaller 12-inch Pro, have a better display. The full screen brightness is 400 nits. This is sufficient for employees indoors, but outdoors it is unsuitable in sunlight together with the reflective surface. It delivers a relatively good display of sRGB content when tested with 92.5 per cent colour space coverage, but struggles with Adobe RGB (63.7 per cent) and DCI P3 (65.5 per cent).
In contrast to the larger Microsoft laptops, you have no choice when it comes to the processor and RAM. You get 16 gigabytes (GB) of SDRAM and the weakest variant of the Qualcomm Snapdragon X - the X Plus with 8 cores. The Snapdragon SoC has a powerful enough NPU (up to 45 TOPS) to guarantee the Microsoft standard at «Copilot+ PC». The chip's iGPU is a rather slow Adreno X1-45. The graphics are the Achilles heel of the first Snapdragon X generation.
You can choose between 256 GB and 512 GB of memory. However, instead of a PCIe SSD, you get the slower UFS memory, which is usually used in smartphones and tablets outside of Windows. It is significantly faster than conventional hard drives. Nevertheless, UFS 4.0, for example, is around 43 per cent slower when reading, 59 per cent slower when writing and up to 90 per cent slower with parallel access than a PCIe Gen 4 SSD. The difference can be clearly noticeable during multitasking, VM workflows and large file operations.
When it comes to connections, Microsoft has finally moved away from its proprietary, fiddly charging port. You now charge where you connect anything else - at the USB-C port. There are two version 3.2 ports on the right-hand side. It should be noted that Microsoft does not include a charger. One with at least 65 watts is recommended so that the device can be charged quickly.
On the left-hand side, there is a USB-A 3.1 port and a headphone socket. In terms of wireless connectivity, the device supports Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4. To enable you to take part in virtual meetings, a full HD camera is installed alongside speakers and microphones. The device lacks an infrared camera, which is why it cannot be unlocked by face. Instead, it comes with a fingerprint sensor that is integrated into the power button. I am happy with this, it always worked immediately during the test period.
A word about Windows 11 for devices with an arm chip
The laptop has an Arm chip from Qualcomm and Windows 11 Home adapted to the Arm architecture. This has disadvantages compared to the «normal» Windows for AMD and Intel chips with x86 architecture.
Many programmes apart from Office and browsers, especially games, are not yet available natively for Windows 11 Arm. Nevertheless, you can still use some of them because the Arm processors emulate the programmes written for the x86 architecture in this case. However, emulated software requires more processor power than applications programmed for Arm.
With emulation, the performance is easily sufficient for a smooth experience with practically all non-native programmes - with the exception of software that requires a lot of power. This includes, for example, extensive video editing with Adobe Premiere Pro. Adobe is working on optimising its programs for Arm. Native versions of Photoshop, Lightroom and Fresco already exist. Adobe Acrobat Pro and Premiere also work, but only in emulated form. After Effects and Dreamweaver, on the other hand, cannot be used.
You can find out which software can be used natively, emulated or not in detail at windowsonarm.org.
CPU performance: performs well in multi-core tasks
To test the processor performance, I rely on Geekbench 6 and Cinebench 2024.
The 13-inch laptop was tested against the following competitors, all of which are also actively cooled except for the 12-inch Surface Pro: Microsoft Surface Pro 12-inch with identical chip (Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus), Microsoft Surface Pro 13-inch with Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite X1E-80-100, Microsoft Surface Pro 13-inch with Intel Core Ultra 7 268V and Asus Zenbook S 16 with AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370.
The single-core performance of the weakest Snapdragon comes in last place. The mini laptop is only just better than the 12-inch tablet with an identical CPU, which is at a disadvantage with its passive cooling. In terms of multi-core, it leaves the Intel competition behind. Of course, there is nothing to be gained against chips with more cores. Seen in this light, this is a really strong performance.
Cinebench challenges the CPU and cooling more, which widens the gap to the competition in multi-core. The single-core results show a similar picture to Geekbench.
Graphics performance: poor, as expected
To test the iGPU, I run the Geekbench 6 graphics test with OpenCL and Vulkan API. I also render images with 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Unlimited. The test field remains the same.
The result of the 13-inch Surface Pro with the better Qualcomm chip clearly lags behind the competition from AMD and Intel. I have always found this to be a subterranean solution. But the Plus chip with Adreno X-45 performs even worse with roughly half the performance.
The 3DMark graphics test confirms what Geekbench has revealed.
Gaming performance: it's clear that this is nothing
I use 3DMark Fire Strike to test how well the devices perform when gaming in 1080p resolution using DirectX 11. You can see a blue overall score, green graphics values, yellow CPU values and a combined score in the graph.
Gaming is hardly possible with the mini laptop. Even gaming at Steamdeck level, as is possible with current AMD SoCs, is a long way off.
Efficiency: outstanding battery life
With PCMark 10 Professional Edition, the battery performance can be tested using various scenarios standardised (200 nits brightness, Wi-Fi and co. deactivated). I test the battery life with the profile «Video». I have to omit the profiles «Modern Office» and «Gaming» from this review, as they do not yet run under Windows 11 for Arm chips. The video test always plays the same video locally until the battery is empty.
This is where the concept of a slimmed-down device really comes into its own. I have to wait over 18 hours until the 48 Wh battery is empty. The standardised low display brightness during the test is good enough for binge-watching in a dark room. The weak chip is an advantage in less intensive processes and provides a good battery life, which leaves the stronger chips in the test field behind.
In a nutshell
Compact and quiet, but technically limited
I like the small Surface Laptop at first glance: high-quality workmanship, quiet cooling, pleasantly compact. But when it comes to the display, graphics performance and memory, it becomes clear that Microsoft is making too many compromises here.
On the other hand, the battery life is outstanding, but in my opinion this is not enough to compensate for the weaknesses in performance and features. If you are simply looking for a nice, quiet device for office and web use, you will be satisfied. If you want more, it's better to go for a different notebook.
Pro
- Small, light, quiet
- Good battery life
- Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4
- Finally without a proprietary charging port
Contra
- UFS instead of SSD
- No OLED option
- Graphics performance well below the competition
- Windows 11 Arm restricts software selection and use
- somewhat expensive
Notebooks
Microsoft Surface Laptop - Copilot+ PC - 13" (Netzteil separat erhältlich)
13", 512 GB, 16 GB, CH, Snapdragon X Plus X1P-42-100
Martin Jud
Senior Editor
martin.jud@digitecgalaxus.chI find my muse in everything. When I don’t, I draw inspiration from daydreaming. After all, if you dream, you don’t sleep through life.
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