Search results
- Cons Optional extras (such as the Surface Dock) are pricey. Limited selection of ports. No Wi-Fi 6 support. Even with a smartphone always in your pocket, sometimes you just need a straight-up laptop. Maybe you've got a complex vacation to plan, or some regression analysis to perform. Or perhaps you simply prefer using a keyboard and touchpad.
www.pcmag.com/reviews/microsoft-surface-laptop-3-15-inch
People also ask
What are the issues with Surface Laptop 3 15?
Is the 15-inch Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 good?
Does the Surface Laptop 3 15-inch look like art?
Does the Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 have USB Type-C?
Does Surface Laptop 3 15 have a 201 pixel per inch display?
Should you buy a Microsoft Surface Laptop 3?
Sep 4, 2020 · Then, restart the Surface device and run the Surface Diagnostic Toolkit. After running SDT, kindly follow the suggested steps avaiable in this link>> https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4520288/windows-10-fix-sound-problems to further troubleshoot the issue.
Oct 23, 2019 · Surface Laptop 3 suffers from backlight bleeding, pulse-width modulation, and DPC latency issues. Microsoft's latest Surface Laptop only started shipping last week and we're already...
Oct 21, 2019 · Pros. Attractive, unassuming design. Thin and light for a 15-inch laptop. Bright, vivid 3:2 display. Comfortable touchpad. Cons. Optional extras (such as the Surface Dock) are pricey....
- Deputy Managing Editor
- Tom Brant
- 2
- Overview
- Surface Laptop 3 15 price and availability
- What's new with Microsoft's Surface Laptop 3
- Surface Laptop 3 15 design
- Surface Laptop 2 display
- Surface Laptop 3 15 keyboard and trackpad
- Surface Laptop 3 15 audio
- Surface Laptop 3 15 performance, battery, and heat
- Geekbench 5
- Geekbench 4
News
A bigger display is about all you get with the new Surface Laptop 3 15, and that's a shame
Jump to:
•Price and availability
•What's new
•Design and features
As of April 2021, Surface Laptop 3 15 has been superseded by Surface Laptop 4. However, users can still find Surface Laptop 3 15 from various retailers, often discounted, making it a viable option for those who want a solid laptop but do not need the latest.
Amazon and Best Buy both still sell non-refurbished (new in box) Surface Laptop 3s with $400 savings as of May 2021. For example, a model with a Ryzen 5, 16GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD costs $1,299 instead of its previous $1,699 price point.
The remaining stock of Surface Laptop 3 will likely last through 2021 before being phased out altogether.
The good stuff
Following in the steps of Surface Book 2, Microsoft is making a larger — and in theory — more powerful version of its 13.5-inch Surface Laptop. Compared to the Surface Laptop 3 13.5, which uses newer Intel processors, the 15-inch has gone AMD. The move is likely meant to save on some costs, as AMD regularly undercuts Intel on a per-chip basis. But some have speculated that the AMD Ryzen and Vega combo may outperform a similar Intel configuration.
For ports, Microsoft is following the rest of its refreshed Surface line by bringing USB Type-C 3.1 Gen 2 (10GB/s) to the Surface Laptop 3. That port is the most powerful Type-C you can do without bringing full Thunderbolt 3 to the mix. It features DisplayPort 1.4, for powering dual-4K displays at 60Hz. There is also Power Delivery (PD), so you can use a 65-watt Type-C charger, and it can be used with Type-C hubs or for data transfer.
Swipe to scroll horizontally
There is a standard USB Type-A port and headphone jack, both of which are on the left side of the laptop. On the right is the Surface Connect+ port, which now supports a fast charge of 0 to 80 percent in about an hour. Microsoft includes a standard 65-watt Surface charger with the 15-inch model, and that should already give hints about the power draw of this device; it's the same charger that a Surface Pro or 13.5 Surface Laptop use.
The front-facing camera is very good, even at just 720P. This year it is now flanked by two microphones, or what Microsoft calls far-field Studio Mics. They work well and greatly enhance the Skype experience.
For Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, Microsoft is leveraging the Qualcomm Atheros QCA61x4 chip. That's an odd choice because that part has been around since 2015, and it does not support Wi-Fi 6, unlike the Intel-based Surface Laptop 3 13.5. Instead, it supports Wi-Fi 5 and is significantly slower. It's a direct result of going with AMD and not Intel for the chipsets.
The Surface Laptop 3 15 is unsurprisingly just like the 13.5 model but, well ... more substantial. The taller 3:2 aspect ratio gives this laptop a rather sizeable footprint, but comparatively speaking at 3.4 lbs (1.54kg), it is lighter than most 15-inch laptops. While the all-metal design feels very premium, you must baby this laptop. It is prone to dings, chips, and scratches from seemingly minor incidents. Carrying it in a well-protected bag with no foreign objects is a must.
For color choices, there are just two with the 15-inch model: platinum and matte black. Both are stunning. If you do not like fingerprints, the platinum is the better choice, and it will also hide dings and scratches better. If you scratch the matte black model, it leaves a noticeable silver mark.
There is no Alcantara fabric on the 15-inch model, although the 13.5-inch offers it in two color options. Alcantara is somewhat controversial with some loving the feel and others really disliking it or worrying about it getting dirty over time.
Some of the best things about the Surface Laptop are what's hidden. The speakers are under the keyboard with no visible grill, and there are no bottom intake vents for the cooling system. Instead, the vents are at the rear of the laptop. This design is brilliant as your knees never block the intake system. It looks clean and minimal — a common theme with Surface Laptop.
Every little detail of the Surface Laptop 3 15 is well thought out and signifies precision craftsmanship. Closing the lid is even a joy as it has just enough resistance not to slam shut, but instead, quietly close. You can also easily open it with one hand despite it lacking a physical notch like Apple MacBook Pros.
Saying the Surface Laptop 3 15 feels and looks like art is not an understatement.
Microsoft is used an LCD-based 15-inch PixelSense display with a 3:2 aspect ratio at 2496x1664 resolution for the Surface Laptop 3 15. The 201 pixel per inch (PPI) is lower than that of Surface Pro 7 (267 PPI) and Surface Book 2 (260 PPI), but that's not really discernible.
The bezels are relatively thin, and the glass is Gorilla Glass 3 with some oleophobic protection. That glass is edge to edge without any plastic for the bezels — another excellent design choice.
The Surface Laptop 3 supports inking with a Surface Pen, but the display does not open to 180 degrees, nor is there a place to keep the pen in transit. In a pinch, however, the pen is great for signing a document or making a quick note. Likewise, the Surface Dial is also supported with off-screen interaction.
New colors
Surface Pen 2019
$67 at Microsoft
Microsoft has been killing it in the Surface line with its keyboards and trackpads. That's the case for the Surface Laptop 3 15, which highlights the best in this area. Microsoft has made the keyboard a bit quieter than the Surface Laptop 2, the key travel is still 1.5mm, and there is a three-stage backlight.
Part of that typing experience is amplified by the plentiful wrist area on the deck. Your hands will not hang off when typing, and instead, you can rest them comfortably. However, because Microsoft didn't use Alcantara, there is no padding, and the metal deck is prone to scratches if you wear a watch or bracelet. It seems almost complicated to avoid unless you remove anything from your wrist or type without resting your hands on the deck.
The Precision Trackpad is now 20 percent larger than the Surface Laptop 2's. It's tremendous — not Apple MacBook huge — but still ample. The click is soft, and the accuracy is excellent.
muddied sound
Microsoft is one of the best at audio for laptops. The Surface Pro has amazing front-facing speakers that sound better than you would expect. Same for Surface Book 2.
Sound quality for last year's Surface Laptop 2 — even with the speakers hidden under the keyboard deck — is the best I have heard (putting aside MacBook Pros). It is rich, but clear, and it sounded fuller than Surface Pro or Surface Book due to the ability to resonate in the body of the laptop.
I was dissatisfied, however, with the sound profile for Surface Laptop 3 15. The audio can get loud, but go above 60 percent and you start to risk minor crackles or distortions. When playing the movie Interstellar (2014) on both the Surface Laptop 2 and Surface Laptop 3 15, the former had clearer dialog with better highs, whereas the Laptop 3 sounded muddied.
It's not clear if this is just a software tuning issue (there are no manual controls to alter), or it is related to the lack of Alcantara. I presume Microsoft could adjust the sound curves to deliver similar audio to Surface Laptop 2, but as of this review, the Laptop 3 audio is disappointing.
There are a lot of high hopes for the combo of AMD Ryzen and Vega chips in the Surface Laptop 3 15. Despite the hype around "customized" versions of the Vega GPU and the Ryzen 5 (tested here) and Ryzen 7, I am so far not seeing many advantages.
A more straightforward way of classifying all of this is to say that the Surface Laptop 3 15 is just a 13-inch Ultrabook with a slightly slower CPU and a slightly more powerful GPU. For those looking for a massive performance gain that places Surface Laptop 3 15 closer to Surface Book 2 rather than Surface Laptop 2, I don't have any good news.
Geekbench 5.0 (CPU) (Higher is better)
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Geekbench 4.0 (CPU) (higher is better)
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Nov 12, 2019 · Pros. +. 3:2 display. +. Attractive, lightweight design. +. No longer glued together. +. Finally has USB Type-C. Cons. - Below-average battery life. - Very few ports for the size. - Middling...
Nov 25, 2019 · At first, it isn't clear who the 15-inch Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 is for: Compared to the rest of its many competitors, it's not particularly light, or fast or feature-packed.
Dec 2, 2019 · Using CrystalDiskMark 4.0.3, random 4K reads (using the 4KQ32T1 setting) on the Surface Laptop 3 are a whopping 455.9 MBps, somewhat more than three times as fast as the 133.8 MBps reported by...
