Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 review: still unique but should be better

Big chip and graphics upgrades come at great cost to wallet and battery life for difficult second act

Microsoft's latest top-end laptop sticks with its novel screen-flipping form, with upgrades on the inside aimed at keeping up with the powerhouse competition - but these improvements come with a very steep price increase.

The Surface Laptop Studio 2 starts at 2,069 (2,239/$1999.99/A$3,343) - a 620 increase over the outgoing model. That takes it far away from the normal premium consumer range on which Microsoft has built its Surface reputation, and places it firmly in the creative workstation class of machine typically used by programmers and video and photo editors.

Screen: 14.4in LCD 2,400x1,600 (201 PPI; 120Hz)

Processor: Intel Core i7-13700H (13th generation)

Ram: 16, 32 or 64GB

Storage: 512GB or 1TB

Graphics: Intel Iris Xe, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 6GB, RTX 4060 8GB or RTX 2000 8GB

Operating system: Windows 11

Camera: 1080P front-facing, Windows Hello

Connectivity: wifi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, 2x Thunderbolt 4/USB 4, USB-A, microSD, headphones, Surface Connect

Dimensions: 323 x 230 x 22mm

Weight: 1,890 or 1,980g