Microsoft Surface Laptop 13.5" RB1-00024 2024, Core i7-1265U, 16GB, 256GB SSD, Platinum

The Surface Laptop 5 hits the 92nd percentile for compactness, making it one of the most portable laptops we've seen at just 1.27kg. But that's the peak. The Core i7-1265U CPU is a mediocre performer in the 39th percentile, and the 256GB SSD is one of the smallest drives in our database, landing in the bottom 18th percentile. At $399 used, it's a gorgeous, ultra-light email and Office machine, but a poor choice for anything demanding.

Let's be real about the i7-1265U. It's a 10-core chip from Intel's 12th Gen, but those are a mix of performance and efficiency cores that prioritize battery life over brute force. In our benchmarks, it lands in the 39th percentile, which translates to underwhelming performance for anything heavy. You'll breeze through Outlook, Teams, and a dozen browser tabs, but don't expect to edit 4K video or compile large codebases without some coffee breaks. The 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM is a saving grace, keeping multitasking smooth, but the integrated Iris Xe graphics are a weak spot for anything beyond casual gaming or light photo editing.

The 256GB SSD is where things get tight. It's in the 18th percentile, which is one of the smallest drives we see in modern laptops. You'll be leaning hard on cloud storage or an external drive. On the flip side, that 13.5-inch PixelSense display is a joy. It's sharp, bright, and the 3:2 aspect ratio gives you more vertical space for documents, which is a genuine productivity boost. Just don't expect this machine to break any speed records.

Stacked against the Apple MacBook Air M4, the Surface gets absolutely smoked in performance and battery life, but it fights back with a touchscreen and a lower used price. The ASUS Zenbook Duo UX8406CA offers a radical dual-screen setup that makes the Surface look dated for multitasking, though it's heavier. The Lenovo Slim 7 83MC0001US typically packs a newer, faster CPU and a larger OLED screen, making it a better choice if you can stretch your budget. Where the Surface wins is pure portability. At 1.27kg, it's lighter than most of these competitors, and for a road warrior who lives in Excel and email, that might be the only spec that matters.

At $399 for a used unit in good condition, the value proposition hinges entirely on your priorities. You're paying for a premium, ultra-light chassis and a stunning screen, not for raw power or storage. The price per performance ratio is skewed heavily toward portability and build quality. Compared to a new budget laptop at the same price, you'd likely get a faster CPU and more storage, but you'd miss out on the Surface's premium feel and that 92nd percentile compactness. It's a fair deal if you treat it as a high-end Chromebook competitor for cloud-based work, but a tough sell if you need local storage and muscle.

The Surface Laptop 5 for Business lands in a weird spot. Its compact design is a standout, hitting the 92nd percentile in our database, which means it's one of the most portable 13.5-inch laptops you can grab. At just 1.27kg, it practically disappears in a bag. But that featherweight build comes with some serious trade-offs under the hood. The Core i7-1265U CPU sits in the 39th percentile for raw power, making it a mediocre performer compared to newer silicon, and the 256GB SSD is a real letdown, landing in the bottom 18th percentile for storage space.

For $399 used, you're getting a gorgeous 2256x1504 PixelSense touchscreen that's well above average for clarity, and 16GB of RAM that's solidly middle-of-the-pack. The build quality and keyboard are classic Surface, meaning they're excellent. But if you need to do anything beyond Office apps and web browsing, that integrated Iris Xe graphics (48th percentile) and the cramped storage will remind you this is a business ultrabook from a couple of generations ago. It's a beautiful screen attached to an engine that's just keeping up.

Skip this if you store files locally, edit photos or videos, or run any demanding software. The 256GB SSD is a real letdown in the 18th percentile, and the CPU's 39th percentile performance will frustrate anyone coming from a newer machine. Gamers should run far away, given the 7.8 out of 100 gaming score. If you need a powerful, future-proof laptop, even a mid-range current-gen machine will run circles around this Surface.

The Surface Laptop 5 for Business is a one-trick pony, but it's a really good trick. If your number one priority is having a featherweight, beautifully built Windows machine with a great screen for office work, and you can live with a cramped 256GB drive, this is a solid buy at $399 used. For everyone else, the mediocre CPU performance and tiny storage are dealbreakers. It's a cloud-dependent ultrabook that feels premium in the hand but shows its age the moment you push it.