Surface Laptop Studio shows off Windows 11 with a trick no other laptop can do

The curtain has just fallen on Microsoft’s latest hardware event, where the company announced a slew of new devices that will launch alongside its redesigned Windows 11 desktop operating system on October 5. The highlight of the 45-minute event, which was streamed from the Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, was the Surface Laptop Studio.

This all-new laptop is the successor to the Surface Book series, which had a detachable screen that could be used separately as tablet away from the guts of the device. The Surface Laptop Studio has a very different party trick up its sleeve.

This time around, the 14.4-inch screen doesn’t detach but it can be pulled forward to an angle that covers the keyboard to binge a boxset on Netflix, or can be pushed down to sit flush with the base of the laptop – what Microsoft calls ‘Studio Mode’ – transforming the device into an enormous tablet. Microsoft bundles a Surface Slim Pen 2, which attaches underneath the palm rests via magnets to charge wirelessly, with the Surface Laptop Studio so you can annotate documents or draw on the touchscreen display.

Microsoft is using the same hinge mechanism found on the likes of the Surface Pro line-up to power this all-new tilting display.

Elsewhere, the Surface Laptop Studio looks set to be a true powerhouse. The 14.4-inch PixelSense display supports a refresh rate up to 120Hz, which should make scrolling and system animations appear much smoother. Games that support the high refresh-rate will also be more frantic. Speaking of gaming, Surface Laptop Studio can be paired with an Xbox Series X controller and stream next-generation titles via its Games Pass subscription service, which offers games via a flat monthly cost like Netflix.

Microsoft has included a 1080p webcam – something we’ve only seen on tablets until now – to boost your video call quality when using applications like Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and WhatsApp to keep in touch with friends and family. The latest generation of Windows Hello, which uses facial recognition to skip the hassle of typing in a password to login, is faster and will work regardless of whether you’re wearing a hat or scarf, Microsoft has promised.

Powering the Laptop Studio is the 11th generation quad-core processor from Intel, coupled with Nvidia’s RTX 3050 Ti GPU.

Microsoft is also adding haptic feedback into the glass trackpad on the Surface Laptop Studio. This is something we’ve seen across the MacBook line from Apple, so it’ll be interesting to see how Microsoft’s equivalent compares. The US company says that some haptic feedback will also be felt when in ‘Studio Mode’ and drawing on the screen to make the experience feel as close to paper as possible.

Out of the box, Surface Laptop Studio will be powered by Windows 11. The laptop was designed to showcase this new operating system, which has been designed from the ground up with an almost unrecognisable Start Menu, new interactive widgets to boost productivity, faster performance and better battery life.

In the United States, the Surface Laptop Studio will begin to land through letterboxes at the same time as Windows 11 becomes available to users worldwide, October 5, with users already able to add one to their shopping basket to ensure they don’t miss out. However, in the UK, the Surface Laptop Studio won’t arrive until “early 2022”.

Surface Laptop Studio switches to USB 4 ports with Thunderbolt 4 for faster data transfers and connecting to multiple 4K displays. These can also be used to charge the Surface Laptop Studio, although Microsoft still includes its proprietary Surface Connect charger that connects with magnets.

There’s also a 3.5mm headphone port, for those who haven’t yet moved to wireless earbuds.

During the same event, Microsoft announced a new Surface Pro 8 with a high refresh-rate 120Hz display with thinner bezels, Thunderbolt 4 ports for faster file transfers and more 4K external displays, as well as a redesigned keyboard that houses an upgraded Surface Slim Pen 2 for doodling on-screen. A new Surface Go 3 arrives with newer Intel processors for faster performance too. Both the Surface Pro 8 (from £999) and Surface Go 3 (from £369) are available to pre-order in the UK right now.