 The surface name makes me think of something that is flat. But, unlike every other product in the surface lineup, the surface laptop cannot be laid down flat. So then, with the ease of drawing and note-taking removed, can the surface laptop stand out among the other plain-jane, thin-and-light laptops on the market? We're not sure. Maybe you can help us decide. Intro Music Raw Cat's IscuPlus ForceFX features pressure-sensitive QWE ASAD keys, which can be configured in three different modes for multiple functions. Check it out now at the link below. So there are a handful of different color surface laptops available, but unexpectedly, we actually really like our burgundy one. I wouldn't say that its design screams professional, but when you first meet it, it definitely gives you a clear plastic binder with the arguments for its professionalism laid out in a clear and convincing manner. And after the interview, every interaction with the surface laptop feels premium, with virtually zero chassis flex and a solid screen hinge, both of which are made even more impressive by the fact that they were achieved in a device that weighs in at only 2.76 pounds. The battery life is also what I would describe as very respectable, managing over six hours in our work battery test. Although it should be noted that won't be quite enough to completely free you from the charger, like the over nine hours recorded with the second gen LG gram. Specs-wise, our model packs just enough punch to make not doing a whole lot feel nice and snappy, so don't expect to run games or edit epic videos with the integrated graphics, but this middle-of-the-road core i5 with 8 gigs of ram and an entry-level 256 gig NVMe SSD is well suited to surfing the internet or writing up documents in office, as well as light multitasking. A word of warning though, make sure when you spec out your surface laptop, you've got enough storage and ram when you buy, since there is no obvious way to open up the sealed chassis, and therefore no easy way to upgrade this thing once it leaves the factory. The screen continues to be a really strong point for the entire surface lineup. Avid movie watchers may not appreciate the black bars that come along with the 3x2 aspect ratio, but the surface laptops high resolution and factory color calibrated IPS display make it a treat to use for daily tasks and even suitable for some light photo work on the go. The touch capabilities are excellent and the top mounted infrared equipped webcam is great for Windows Hello. And while not the most amazing looking or sounding on a business call or in an emergency, it would surely do you fine. Ezl, a bomb, look! Come on, look at this thing, what do I do? How do I get rid of this thing? All right, calm down. How can I calm down? This is a very clear view of this bomb and you're gonna have to snip the glue stick. Snip the glue stick? Where did you go to ordinate disposal school? What kind of a bomb is this anyway? Red wire, blue wire, red wire, blue wire. I can see that there is no red wire there. There, the day is saved. But with that said, fans of the Surface product line expecting a great stylist experience are going to be, uh, how you say, majorly bummed out because the usefulness of the screen is hampered by not being able to fold the Surface laptop flat. It's compatible with the Surface Pen and dial for that matter, but while the hinge is easily strong enough to prevent screen wobble during regular use, it is not strong enough that I'd be comfortable drawing on it. And unlike the Surface Book, it can't be flipped all the way around. The good news is that lots of people who weren't fans of Microsoft's existing devices won't care about that at all, and for them, a touchpad is a perfectly good alternative. And perfectly good it is. It's glass-topped with a very satisfying click and almost no weird behavior during our testing. In fact, it's so good that if it was between the touchpad and the ARC mouse that Microsoft also sent over, I'd stick with the touchpad. The idea of having a mouse with built-in touch on the top for scrolling that folds flat for portability is pretty appealing, but it's, uh, again, how you say, uh, shockingly uncomfortable. Back to good stuff, though. And boy, is it good. This keyboard has inspired us to start a laptop keyboard hall of fame and put this in it. I don't know how they managed to make a keyboard this thin feel so darn good. But it's freaking amazing. Once I finished writing up this review on it, I just wanted to keep on typing to feel the keys. Their smooth but tactile feel accentuated by the soft Alcantara palm rest and the better weight distribution for easy in-lap operation make this machine with its keyboard possibly the best Word on-the-go device that I've yet encountered. But what if you want to use programs other than Word? Well, ha ha, funny story. The Surface laptop comes preloaded with Windows 10 S. So as long as those other programs are either the Edge internet browser or available in the Windows Store, then you're good to go because that's all that runs on Windows 10 S. But hold on, before you power users out there freak out, Windows 10 Pro is a free upgrade that only takes a few seconds. So we did that. On the subject of freaking out, the Surface laptop stayed calm, cool, and quiet, avoiding any sort of thermal throttling even under synthetic loads. A feat again made all the more impressive by the fact that we had a heck of a time even figuring out where the darn air intake was. And to round out the good stuff, the stereo speakers, which are positioned under the keyboard, are great. I mean, they're not gonna floor you, but given how thin this guy is, it's impressive how much sound Microsoft was able to pack into it. Okay, so up until now, this has been a really positive review of the Surface laptop because it's mostly pretty sick. But unfortunately, there is one subjectively massive blemish. The I.O., I.M.O., really misses the mark, then flies across a field and gets stuck in your great-aunt's horrible hairdo. With only a single USB Type-A, one mini display port, and a headphone jack, don't expect to be connecting much to it at a time. And Microsoft, if you're watching, guys, if you're gonna force people to dongle their way through life, at least have the courtesy to include a non-proprietary USB-C or Thunderbolt port. The Surface dock that connects to the power connector of the Surface laptop does greatly expand its I.O., but it costs a whopping $200 U.S. dollars, money that could be spent on a thin and light notebook with more I.O. or faster hardware, or both. But with that said, you would be making other sacrifices. The LG Gram 2017 might be more easily upgradable and lighter, with a bigger battery and more ports, but its build quality is vastly inferior at the same price for the same spec. So bottom line, then, the Surface laptop is a great notebook, that with the addition of a Thunderbolt 3 port would be nearly perfect, as long as you can afford it. I cannot say enough good things about the iFixit ProTech Toolkit. It's super easy to use, the tools are quick enough to access, that even when you're on a crowded show floor, you can whip that thing out and start disassembling laptops and monitors and all-in-ones and pretty much you name it. An iFixit site is the resource you need to use your iFixit ProTech Toolkit to fix and or upgrade your devices, because gosh darn it, you own them, so why shouldn't you be able to do that? It's got all kinds of great tools like their suction cups, their prying tools, their screwdrivers and an ESD safe strap, and the best part is it's backed by iFixit's lifetime warranty. So head over to ifixit.com slash Linus and use code LINUS at checkout to save five bucks on your purchase of ten dollars or more. Oh, and if you're in Canada, you can check them out at amazon.ca for cheaper shipping. So thanks for watching, if this video sucked you guys know what to do, but if it was awesome, hit the like button, get subscribed, maybe consider checking out where to buy the stuff we featured at the link in the video description. Also down there you'll find our merch store with cool shirts like this one and our community forum, which you should totally join.