Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2

Microsoft’s Surface Laptop Studio 2 is both an overpriced content-creation laptop and an underappreciated content-consumption device with a hidden turbo boost.

Google’s Pixel Watch 2 improves on its predecessor, making for a capable and quick smart watch, though it could have done plenty more.

I am glad that a Windows convertible for creative professionals, with this level of craftsmanship and quality, exists. But I wish it were more. I wish it could be a more powerful version of Acer’s truly innovative ConceptD line — a laptop with a built-in stylus, every port under the sun, and six unique positions. Or I wish it could be something like the Surface Book — an exceptional laptop that happens to have a fun bonus quirk. In my view, the current Surface Laptop Studio is an okay convertible. For its price, it should be more than that.

The Surface Laptop Studio 2 starts at $2,000 and tops out at a whopping $3,700. The system I tested, as configured above, is priced at a cool $3,300, which makes it the most expensive laptop I’ve reviewed in a decade. I may not be the target market for this machine—I just bought a $1,300 ultralight—but even if I had zero restrictions on budget, I don’t know that I’d opt for a device with this many caveats, no matter how fancy the display and touchpad are.

Microsoft's Surface Laptop Studio 2 significantly ramps up the performance with modern parts and dedicated AI processing—all while maintaining the unique pull-forward touch-screen design.

The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 is more powerful than ever and has the welcome additions of USB Type-A port and microSD card slot. But its GPU is restrained with just 80W, and the system is still expensive and difficult to repair.

Still targeted at creators and gamers like the original Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio from 2021, the Laptop Studio 2 has as its distinguishing feature a three-position, 120Hz, 14-inch display. In addition to using its standard clamshell, typing-oriented position, you can pull it out to angle over the keyboard for activities like gaming using a controller and video streaming or lay it down on the keyboard at a very, very slight angle for tablet tasks like drawing or handwriting.

Microsoft’s Surface Laptop Studio 2 is both an overpriced content-creation laptop and an underappreciated content-consumption device with a hidden turbo boost.