Microsoft recently announced a new generation of Surface devices for 2023 and the Surface Laptop Studio 2 is one of the most interesting devices of the bunch. Being the flagship device from the company, it is mostly aimed at creative professionals and power users who need a capable Windows device to complete their demanding workflows with ease. Among a sea of high-performing Windows 11 laptops, the Surface Laptop Studio 2 brings unique capabilities at competitive prices.
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Everything New With The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2
For the second-gen Surface Laptop Studio, Microsoft made some major changes to the inside and some subtle changes to the outside of the device. There is new high-performance hardware from Intel and NVIDIA, the build has changed while the design remains familiar, and just like its predecessor, it has a hybrid 2-in-1-like form factor that creators seem to love.
Changes to the Design and Build
Microsoft has replaced the Magnesium alloy chassis with a more traditional Aluminum construction. This gives the device a slightly more premium feel when touched and the color is also slightly different. The chassis is now a bit thicker compared to the older model as well and that gives the internals some extra room to breathe.
Creators loved how the original Surface Laptop Studio’s design allowed for added flexibility in their workflows, so Microsoft stuck with the same formula for the new model. The hinge mechanism on the display allows the device to seamlessly transform from a regular clamshell form factor to a touch-based canvas for creative tasks.
Hardware and Performance improvements
The more significant upgrades came on the inside as the company decided to go all out on performance. You can now choose from three different GPU options from NVIDIA. This includes GeForce RTX 40 series GPUs including RTX 4050 and RTX 4060, and there’s even an option for an RTX 2000 ADA Generation GPU for bleeding-edge workflows. This brings massive amounts of graphics power to the Surface Laptop Studio 2.
On the CPU side, Microsoft went with the 13th Gen Core i7-13800H which is a step above the more streamlined -i7-13700H. This is an extremely powerful laptop CPU with faster boost clocks (up to 5.2 GHz) and even though it has a 45W TDP, it’s still Intel Evo certified. That means the battery life shouldn’t suffer as much as some of the other 45W alternatives. The company also claims twice the CPU and GPU performance and that seems to line up with the new hardware upgrades.
There are a few RAM and Storage configurations to choose from and you can mix and match these to get something more suited to your budget. Microsoft is offering 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB LPDDR5x RAM alongside 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD options. This should be enough for most of the creators out there, but in case you need more, the Thunderbolt 4 ports (USB 4 Type-C) should provide excellent speeds with fast external storage.
The 14.4-inch IPS display is still the heart of the operation, and alongside having a QHD+ (2400×1600) resolution, it’s also color-calibrated from the factory, has a 120Hz refresh rate, comes with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection, and peaks at 650 nits for HDR content (500 nits in SDR). There is also support for the Surface Pen Slim 2 and if you have a Surface Dial, that should work just as well.
Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 is now available on Amazon
If you think you can benefit from all the exciting features and hardware capabilities of the Surface Laptop Studio 2, it’s now up for grabs on Amazon. The base configuration with the RTX 4050, 16GB RAM, and 512GB SSD starts at $2399.99 and the prices can go all the way up to $3699.99 for the RTX 4060, 64GB RAM, and 2TB SSD. You can customize the GPU, RAM, and Storage options and pick the configuration that works best for your specific workflow.
