We expect to meet the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 in 2024, but it's hard to say what to expect from the next iteration of the Surface Laptop line.
Microsoft has shipped a new Surface Laptop almost every year since 2017, so the fact that we didn't see the Surface Laptop 6 last year is notable. You may remember back in September 2023 the company put on a big Microsoft Surface event where we were introduced to the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 2-in-1 and the Surface Laptop Go 3 along with updates on Windows 11 and Copilot, but the Surface Laptop 6 was nowhere to be seen.
Now we're three months into 2024 and it feels like Microsoft has to put up or shut up when it comes to the Surface Laptop line. A Surface Laptop 6 is an opportunity for Microsoft to redesign (and perhaps even reinvent) this staid line of 13-inch and 15-inch Windows laptops for a new era, one where on-device "AI" powered by the latest chips from AMD and Intel (most notably the new NPU-equipped Intel Meteor Lake chips) gives us new ways of using and interacting with our laptops.
And I hope the company takes full advantage of it, because Microsoft's Surface Laptops have been boring for years. Characterized by thick bezels, simple designs and few identifying features besides their tall 3:2 displays, the Surface Laptops have always seemed (to me) perfectly functional but utterly dull.
When I reviewed the 15-inch Surface Laptop 5 (pictured throughout this article) back in 2022 I appreciated the updates Microsoft did make, like adding Thunderbolt 4 support and slightly improving the brightness and performance. But those were milquetoast upgrades to a laptop that, while good, can't really compete with the best laptops on the market.
However, we've heard some reliable reports that Microsoft may unveil a new Surface Laptop 6 at its Microsoft Surface and AI event happening March 21. If that happens I'd love to see a radical redesign, but I've sifted through the most believable rumors to compile this rundown of what we're likely to see out of a Surface Laptop 6.
Microsoft Surface Laptop 6: Price and release date rumors
Microsoft has not said anything about a Surface Laptop 6 in terms of either pricing or release window, so all we have to go on is rumors, hunches and history.
But I'm feeling pretty good about the odds of us seeing a new Surface Laptop at Microsoft's March 21 event because the event has Surface right in the title, and Microsoft just launched new Surface Laptop Studio and Surface Laptop Go laptops.
It boggles my mind a bit that the company bothered releasing a new Laptop Go at all, but now that they have it's hard to imagine they wouldn't update the Surface Laptop which sit between the pricey Laptop Studio and the cheap Laptop Go in terms of cost and power.
As confident as I feel about betting the Surface Laptop 6 debuts March 21 during Microsoft's Surface event, I'm even more confident I can guess the price. That's because for the last few years Microsoft has consistently priced the 13-inch Surface Laptop at $999 while the 15-inch model starts at $1,299, putting it directly in competition with Apple's MacBook Airs.
And since the folks in Cupertino just dropped new Airs equipped with the powerful new Apple M3 chip, Microsoft faces some stiff competition from both the Apple MacBook Air 15-inch M3 and Apple MacBook Air 13-inch M3.
Microsoft Surface Laptop 6: Design
As much as I'd rather they totally redesigned the thing, I expect a Surface Laptop 6 will likely look and feel a lot like the Surface Laptop 5, which measures roughly 12.1 x 8.8 x 0.57 inches and weighs 2.79 pounds in its 13-inch form, scaling up to 13.4 x 9.6 x 0.58 inches and 3.4 pounds if you go for the more expensive 15-inch model.
And while I sadly expect little to change in terms of design, I'd love to be wrong. Specifically, I'd love it if Microsoft kept the Surface Laptop's comfy keyboard and tall screen but took about half an inch off the bezels. Those big black bars around the display are distracting now that I've used so many laptops with ultra-thin bezels, and I don't understand why Microsoft sticks with them.
I'm going to stop there because frankly just trimming the bezels would make me like the Surface Laptops a lot more, but if I was dreaming I'd also love to see a revamped Surface Laptop 6 with more display configs (maybe an OLED option?), better cooling, more ports and cooler color options to boot. A man can dream!
Microsoft Surface Laptop 6: Display
I expect a Surface Laptop 6 would have roughly the same display as its predecessors, which means either a 13.5-inch or 15-inch touchscreen with 201 pixels per inch (PPI). That translates to display resolutions of either 2256 x 1504 on the 13-inch or 2496 x 1664 on the 15-inch, and in my experience that's plenty good enough for getting work done.
But after reviewing the last two generations of Surface laptops, I'd love to see Microsoft do something to up the brightness of these screens. They're fine indoors, but if you're working outside in direct sunlight they can throw off a lot of glare and be awfully hard to see, even with brightness cranked to the max.
We haven't heard any trustworthy rumors about display upgrades for the next generation of Surface Laptop, so right now it's more hope on my part than believable hype.
Microsoft Surface Laptop 6: Ports
When it comes to ports, the Surface Laptop 6 is going to need to improve upon its predecessors if it hopes to stay competitive with the best Windows laptops on the market.
That's because Surface Laptops have always been light on ports, like a lot of ultraportables. And they're actually a bit better than a MacBook Air, in my opinion, because with the Surface Laptop you get USB-C, USB-A and a headphone jack, whereas on an Air you just get USB-C and no headphone jack.
But my gripe is that not only do you not get many ports on a Surface Laptop, but they're all located on one side. The 15-inch Surface Laptop 5 I reviewed back in 2022 had both USB ports and the headphone jack on the left, which means all your accessories need to be plugged into one side of your laptop.
That can be an unsightly hassle when you're working on the go, and worse it can make it difficult or impossible to use USB hubs and adapters on those ports due to space constraints. And since a cheap USB hub is one of the best ways to deal with the Surface Laptop's limited port selection, this lopsided design undercuts your ability to overcome the laptop's shortcomings.
Hopefully a Surface Laptop 6 will incorporate, if not more ports, at least more thoughtful port placement.
Microsoft Surface Laptop 6: Performance
Surface Laptops have long been powered by both AMD and Intel laptop chips, so if I was a betting man I'd put money on a Surface Laptop 6 being offered with your choice of CPU from either the new Intel Meteor Lake chips or AMD's 8040 laptop CPU line.
Hopefully that will deliver some performance improvements over the Surface Laptop 5 in terms of both speed and battery life, which disappointed on both counts. However, there's little chance a new Surface Laptop will be able to compete with the best MacBooks in terms of battery life or speed.
And of course, I also expect that whatever chips will be available to power the Surface Laptop 6 will have onboard NPUs (Neural Processing Units) optimized for certain "AI" workloads. Remember, a big talking point of Microsoft's March 21 Surface event is about "scaling AI" in "the new era of work with Copilot", so expect new Surface Laptops to be heavily marketed as AI laptops.
Microsoft Surface Laptop 6: Outlook
The Surface Laptops are respectable, serviceable Windows laptops that look good on a desk for not a lot of money. I expect we'll see a new Surface Laptop 6 in 2024 and I doubt it will deviate much from that description, which is fine for most but disappointing for me.
I say that because I actually liked the Surface Laptop 4 when I reviewed it in 2022, and I thought Microsoft could make it into a real winner with just a bit of improvement. Thinner bezels, a better webcam, better performance and an extra port or two would turn these 3- star laptops into top-tier machines, at least to me.
But the Surface Laptop 5 was such a letdown on all fronts that I've lost hope in Microsoft's ability to design interesting or compelling laptops. The one exception is the Surface Laptop Studio 2, a heavy, expensive and silly-looking 2-in-1 that at least dares to try a different design and offer a compelling alternative to the rows of clamshell laptops on offer at retailers worldwide.
I'd love to see Microsoft flex its creativity and bring a little of that Laptop Studio design philosophy to bear on a Surface Laptop 6. Unfortunately, I think we're in for more of the same.
