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00:00These are the two new Surface laptops for 2019.
00:07This is the 13.5-inch model.
00:09This is the 15-inch model.
00:10Now, I'm going to spend the majority of this video talking about the 15-inch one because
00:14it's the one that's most interesting to me, but it's also the one that has the most important
00:18discussion to be had around it because there's a lot of kind of information and misinformation
00:23about this particular device.
00:25So the 15-inch device starts at $1,200, and the configurations that Microsoft is advertising
00:30and kind of pushing right now are all equipped with these AMD chips.
00:34They're custom chips.
00:35They're good performers.
00:36They have good CPU and GPU performance, but the thing that casts a little bit of shade
00:40over this entire AMD Surface Laptop 3 product line is the fact that Microsoft also sells
00:47the same laptop, but it's equipped with Intel CPUs, and those are just better.
00:53Like straight up, they're better products than the AMD version.
00:57The weird thing is that Microsoft doesn't even sell this better Intel version to regular
01:01customers, at least not openly.
01:03You have to be a member of their enterprise program or like a business customer with Microsoft
01:08to even have access to this superior product, and it's not to take away from what Microsoft
01:12and AMD have created here.
01:14This is a really good device, but knowing that this is a slightly inferior product than
01:19the Intel version when you're only saving $100, just, it doesn't feel right.
01:24So with the AMD version of the 15-inch Surface Laptop 3, you get about an hour less of battery
01:29life, which is, it could be significant depending on what you do, and you also get slightly
01:33worse performance across the board.
01:35Now, if you are not a student, and you don't have access to a student discount, and there's
01:39no sales going on, I would highly recommend the Intel version over the AMD every day.
01:44And I also noticed that overnight, like once I close this thing and just let it idle with
01:48the screen off overnight, it was draining like 15% every night, and I'm not sure if
01:53it's a software thing or if it's like actually related to the AMD CPU, but battery life is
01:58clearly not the strong point of the AMD Surface Laptop 3.
02:02Okay, how are they overall?
02:05They're good.
02:06The design and build quality of the Surface Laptops have always been good.
02:10There's something about the way they look that I've always appreciated.
02:13They don't cop anyone.
02:14It's got this distinct Microsoft Surface design aesthetic to it, and I like that.
02:19They've also added USB-C this year.
02:21All of them have a single USB-C port, and they still also have Surface Connect on the
02:25other side.
02:26It's a lightweight machine, particularly the 15-inch, like there's something very well
02:30balanced and just easy to hold about this machine.
02:33It's easily the best device I've ever had for like spinning a laptop.
02:37And I think most people, like they look at this and they're like, this is a joke.
02:40It's actually incredibly well balanced and lightweight for a 15-inch device.
02:45But the reason why it is so light, or at least part of the reason why it's so light, is because
02:49the battery in the 15-inch is the same size as the battery in the 13-inch.
02:53So the bigger screen doesn't give you a bigger battery, which is unfortunate, but it does
02:58keep the weight down on this device.
03:00When you lift the lid, you get your classic 3x2 Microsoft Surface screen, and they're
03:04both good.
03:05Both the 15 and 13-inch have good screens.
03:07There's nothing I would really have to complain about these screens.
03:10They're bright, they're not like super high refresh or anything, they're just high quality
03:13screens from Microsoft.
03:15The keyboard and the trackpad are also very good.
03:17The Surface laptops have always had great input devices, and this year it's no exception.
03:22The keyboard is something I think most people will enjoy.
03:24It's got a nice layout, the keys have a good amount of travel on it without it being too
03:28spongy or too snappy, like it's an all-round solid keyboard.
03:33And the trackpad, I think this is like literally the best trackpad on a Windows laptop.
03:38The thing that makes it special, not its size or its texture, it's the actual click mechanism.
03:42It's like this...
03:43You hear that?
03:44It's got this, like, nice resonance to the click.
03:48It's a good trackpad, and obviously because it's Microsoft, it takes advantage of all
03:52the Windows gestures and stuff like that.
03:54Now, the other feature they've added this year is serviceability.
03:58They've had these screws you can remove from the bottom.
04:00I'm not going to remove them from this unit, like you've got to peel off the rubber tabs.
04:04I'll show a clip from iFixit where they tore this thing down, but you do have access for
04:08serviceability, not so much upgradability.
04:11There's only one thing that can be user-upgraded, it's the drive, and even then, it's an uncommon
04:16size, but the fact that this device can be serviced at all is a nice change from the
04:20previous year and the year before that.
04:22Okay, performance real quick.
04:24These are good laptops for kind of light to average use.
04:29If you're trying to pick one up for like video editing or gaming, it's not a thing.
04:32It doesn't matter how Microsoft tries to market these things, these are designed for lighter
04:36use.
04:37These screws are more powerful this year, but keep in mind that the main strength of
04:40Surface laptops have always been about portability and quiet fans and not so much power.
04:46But overall, I do like what Microsoft brought this year for the Surface Laptop 3.
04:50There's all these tweaks and upgrades that they've done across this device.
04:54It's got faster drives, better Wi-Fi, it's got USB-C, fast charging off of Surface Connect,
04:59and the repairability on these devices is something that's always nice to see.
05:03But just keep in mind, if you're interested in the 15-inch device, my recommendation is
05:08Intel.
05:09But the 13-inch device, they only offered Intel.
05:11This is like an easier option if you're interested in that one.
05:14But yeah, there you have it.
05:16Surface Laptop 3.
05:17Thumbs if you liked it.
05:18Subs if you loved it.
05:19See you guys next time.
05:20But for real, give me some actual thumbs if you like this video.