Surface Laptop (2024), Windows 11 Copilot+ PC, 13.8" Touchscreen Display, Snapdragon X Elite (12 core), 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD Storage, Black

As a software developer, I purchased this laptop for its advertised battery life due to my past struggles with battery performance of some laptops. After using it for a month, I have the following observations:1. Android Development: If you are an Android developer using Android Studio extensively, I recommend against this laptop for two reasons. First, to the best of my knowledge, it is not possible to create virtual devices to emulate any Android version. At least, i failed to do it. This necessitates the use of real devices for testing, meaning you would need to have several real phones and tablets available. Second, when I connected my phone (S24 Ultra) as an emulator, the laptop battery drained very fast reaching 5% in about four hours. Although this duration is quite long, I would have preferred if it lasted at least ten hours. This way, I don't need to carry a charger every where i go.2. Charging Indicator: When charging the laptop while it is powered off, there is no indication of when the battery is fully charged, as the light does not change its color (remains white). To check if it is fully charged, you have to power on the laptop first in order to see the battery percentage. I would expect the light to either turn off or change to green when fully charged.3. Keyboard Design: The keyboard is good but has two issues. First, it lacks a Ctrl key on the right side, which has been replaced by a Copilot button. As an Android developer, the Ctrl key is crucial for commenting out code in Android Studio. Secondly, it appears that some keys are missing; for example, I do not see the Print Screen key to take a screenshot. Additionally, I wish the power button was located elsewhere to create room for other buttons.4. Charger Compatibility: [updated 21/11/2024]. Today i managed to charge this laptop with a USB-C charger. I do not know why it did not work before. Maybe there was a software update.5. [Updated 20/11/2024]: Today, I had an unexpected realization. I use Surfshark as my antivirus and VPN, but I discovered it cannot protect my laptop. Please see the attached screenshot for reference. Consequently, I will need to purchase another antivirus solution for this laptop.6. [Updated 29/12/2024]: The laptop has two sharp points at the bottom of the screen. When cleaning dust or water spills from the screen with your bare hands, you might get cut. Please refer to the attached screenshot for their exact locations.7. [UPDATED 30/04/2025]: While moving between office rooms, I attempted to open the laptop, using my other hand behind the hinge for support. Unfortunately, the hinge caused an unexpected pinch (bite), which was not only painful but nearly broke the skin. I strongly recommend revisiting the hinge design for the next release to prevent similar incidents.8. [Updated 23/07/2025]: Today i wanted to run Python code using Visual Studio 2022. After hours of trying to get it installed, i did a Copilot search only to learn that Python is not supported (see screenshot) on this laptop. They advised me to use VS Code instead. If you are a developer, it may be wise to stay away from this laptop. Just that i am in Uganda, otherwise i would have returned it back.

I thought i would not be able to use this for work for fears that my intel x86 programs wont work. Im happy to report that everything works well here. All my native intel apps runs smoothly on emulation with this surface 7. Even those old clunky 2018 apps. Im able to print with my brothers printer too. Theres a lot of app updates in the beginning and a few firmware too. After that, you can simply work. Copilot is ok. It is no longer in beta now. Quality is great and screen is a bit smaller than last gen but it occupies a bigger space at the edges. It is finally using 120 hz lcd led panel. Super fast shipping by amz too.