Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 14.4" A1Y-00001 2022, Core i7-11370H, 16GB, 512GB SSD, RTX 3050 Ti, Platinum

The Surface Laptop Studio has a killer pull-forward touchscreen that's perfect for artists, but this config is held back by an old CPU and truly terrible battery life. The screen is a standout, but the performance is mediocre for the price. Unless you absolutely need that unique hinge, skip this one and get a more powerful, longer-lasting laptop for the same money.

The RTX 3050 Ti sits at the 74th percentile in our GPU database, which is solid for light creative work and some 1080p gaming, but it's not a powerhouse. You can edit photos and do some 3D modeling, but don't expect to crank settings in modern AAA titles. The real bottleneck is the Core i7-11370H. At the 29th percentile for CPUs, it's well below average for a laptop at this price. It'll handle everyday tasks fine, but it chokes on heavy renders or compiling code compared to newer 13th or 14th-gen chips. The 16GB of RAM is also just mediocre, landing in the 39th percentile, which feels stingy for a 'creator' laptop.

Stacked against the competition, the Surface is in a tough spot. The ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 will run circles around it in gaming and raw CPU performance with a newer AMD or Intel chip and a more powerful GPU, often for less cash. The MacBook Pro M5 is in a different universe for battery life and creator performance, though you lose the touchscreen and 2-in-1 flexibility. Even the HP OmniBook X Flip offers a similar convertible experience with much better battery life from a Snapdragon chip. The Surface's only real win is that unique screen mechanism, but you sacrifice a lot to get it.

Value is where this thing falls apart. We're seeing prices all over the map, from $1,496 to a frankly absurd $67,150 from different sellers, so you absolutely have to shop around. Even at the low end, you're paying a massive premium for the unique hinge and build quality while getting last-gen performance. For the same money, you can get a laptop with a much faster current-gen CPU, double the RAM, and a higher-wattage GPU. You're buying the form factor, not the specs, and that's a tough pill to swallow.

The Surface Laptop Studio is Microsoft's swing at a do-it-all machine, part laptop, part drafting tablet, part portable canvas. The pull-forward 14.4-inch 120Hz display is genuinely clever, letting you switch from clamshell to stage mode for watching stuff or studio mode for drawing. It's a design that feels premium and unique, and the keyboard and haptic trackpad are some of the best you'll find on a Windows machine.

But under that slick exterior, this specific A1Y-00001 config is a weird mix of parts. You get an 11th Gen Intel Core i7 and an RTX 3050 Ti, which sounds capable on paper, but the CPU is now several generations old and the GPU is a lower-wattage laptop variant. For a device that often costs a premium, the raw performance doesn't keep up with newer, often cheaper, laptops. And with a tiny 58Wh battery, the real-world endurance is a major pain point.

If you need all-day battery life or strong raw performance per dollar, look elsewhere immediately. This machine will frustrate you if you're a student running between classes, a developer compiling large projects, or a gamer who wants high frame rates. The outdated CPU and tiny battery are dealbreakers for most people.

This is a laptop for a very specific person: someone who absolutely needs the pull-forward drawing canvas of the Surface Laptop Studio and is willing to pay a premium for that one feature. If you're a digital artist who lives in apps like Photoshop or Illustrator and wants a premium all-in-one Windows machine, the form factor might just win you over. For everyone else, you're better off with a traditional clamshell or a different 2-in-1 that doesn't compromise so heavily on performance and battery life.