Surface Laptop Studio - 14.4" Touchscreen - Intel® Core™ i7 - 16GB Memory - 512GB SSD - Platinum

I bought my first Microsoft Surface Pro 3 in 2015. I used it A LOT. I traveled with it, used it for my podcast, writing and artwork. I still use the Pro 3 for watching videos when I'm on the bike trainer, but that's it. The touch screen is temperamental now and the keyboard no longer works, so I felt it was time to get a new one.I like the Surface Studio Laptop, it's a little bigger, it's got the keyboard and it doubles down as a tablet drawing surface (now that I'm getting into architectural sketching). I love it.A thing you should know however.While it says it uses the NVidia graphics card, it is only partly true. It comes with the Intel Iris Xe graphics card and when the graphics gets pushed, then the NVidia takes over. The default graphics is the Intel Iris Xe. It does have the 8gb of video memory on it, just don't freak out like I did. I was on the phone with tech support and sales for hours until we figured that whole thing out. THEY didn't even know that's how it was made. Microsoft SHOULD advertise it the correct way. Yes it has Nvidia graphics..... but only when it needs it.Additionally, I originally was going to order it direct from Microsoft, but as I was about to check out, I got an Amazon notification of the same Surface that they had it $100 cheaper (from Beach Camera in New Jersey), it was new, so I went that way. I got the surface about a week later and it DID have the Intel Iris Xe Graphics, no Nvidia. So I returned it and it took forever for them to refund my money, nearly two weeks!! When I did finally get my refund, I went and ordered a new Surface Laptop Studio directly from the Microsoft Site.The final "Oh, by the way", is that it does not have standard USB 3.0 inputs. It has 2 USB-C inputs. What that means is if you want to plug in a mouse or flash drives or anything USB, you're going to need a USB hub that supports USB-C. Fortunately I had one and it works wonderfully. I got this one.https://www.amazon.com/Docking-Station-Monitor-Display-Ethernet/dp/B08BYFQHC4?pd_rd_w=Qr1nC&content-id=amzn1.sym.deffa092-2e99-4e9f-b814-0d71c40b24af&pf_rd_p=deffa092-2e99-4e9f-b814-0d71c40b24af&pf_rd_r=9AYNYVRMVDS87C3PST4D&pd_rd_wg=5AezP&pd_rd_r=0176a085-e7bc-4f4c-a5d7-53a3f2a5dc7c&pd_rd_i=B08BYFQHC4&psc=1&ref_=pd_bap_d_grid_rp_0_9_tAs far as it goes for this Surface, I love this thing. It's fast, smooth and is everything I need for what I do. Certainly NOT a waste of money.

The media could not be loaded. I`m an animator and illustrator. I was looking for a laptop for work, something similar to Apple laptops, capable of working with graphics, After Effects, and Photoshop. This laptop is great for this. I use Laptop Studio for about 3 months.ProsThe screen is clear and bright, touch works well. I choose this laptop instead of a Macbook because of the touchscreen and because it`s convenient to draw and design things on the go. It`s like you have an Ipad, but you can work with heavy programs like Premiere or Photoshop in a coffee shop or somewhere else. I like this because It`s hard to bring my Wacom anywhere I want. By the way, the laptop works fine with the Wacom tablet.I love the design, it`s simple and looks just great. The build quality is good, you can easily open the laptop with one hand. The screen can bend back and forth when you want to write some notes or work with graphics. This laptop is loud enough, I never turn up the volume more than 30 %. Touchpad is good, you can feel a little of a haptic response. The pen is very responsive, I don`t have any problems with this. But you need to buy this separately if you want to take notes and draw like I do.Gaming experienceThis laptop is powerful enough for me. I wish I have 32 GB instead of 16 though, because I work with animation. Plus, sometimes I love to play video games, like Witcher 3, so I wanted to have some extra power for this. Games work fine on this laptop (30+ fps).ConsWhat I didn`t like is a buttery life. When I don`t use any heavy programs the battery life is 6-8 hours, but it is reduced to 3-4 when I run Photoshop or After Effects.Microsoft has terrible customer support. I wanted to manage my Game Pass subscription but I didn`t get any response yet.Overall, it`s a long-lasting powerful laptop for work, especially for artists and motion designers. The design and built quality are great. Touchscreen is an amazing feature if you want to take notes or draw on this device. The battery life could be better.