Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 (13.5″) review – it is not as purist as they want you to think

Microsoft is obviously known for its software products. But there is one major issue with them – they are not made for one particular type of hardware. This is why the integration of Windows for example is not as good as that of the macOS and the Apple products.

This prompted Microsoft to invest heavily in hardware and create its own devices. Today, we’re going to review the Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 (13.5″). What they were not able to do, unfortunately, is to create their own processor and chipset.

The next best thing, however, was the special edition CPUs made by AMD, specifically for the Surface devices. On the other hand, Microsoft ditched Team Red for the Surface Laptop 5, which leaves us with Alder Lake-U processors by Intel.

Generally, there are not many changes with the new laptop. Let’s take a look inside the box, and see what a device for Microsoft purists is offering on the table.

You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/microsoft-surface-laptop-5-13-5/

Contents


Specs Sheet

Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 (13.5") - Specs

  • Sharp LQ135P1JX51 (SHP14B3)
  • Color accuracy  2.0  0.8
  • HDD/SSD
  • up to 1000GB SSD
  • RAM
  • up to 32GB
  • OS
  • Windows 11 Pro, Windows 11 Home, Windows 10 Pro
  • Battery
  • 47.4Wh, 47.4Wh
  • Body material
  • Aluminum (Optional Alcantara base)
  • Dimensions
  • 308 x 223 x 14.5 mm (12.13" x 8.78" x 0.57")
  • Weight
  • 1.27 kg (2.8 lbs)
  • Ports and connectivity
  • 1x USB Type-A
  • 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps)
  • 1x USB Type-C
  • 4.0, Thunderbolt 4
  • Card reader
  • Ethernet LAN
  • Wi-Fi
  • 802.11ax
  • Bluetooth
  • 5.1
  • Audio jack
  • 3.5mm Combo Jack
  • Features
  • Fingerprint reader
  • Web camera
  • HD front-facing camera with Windows Hello Face Authentication
  • Backlit keyboard
  • Microphone
  • Dual Far-Field Studio Microphones
  • Speakers
  • Omnisonic Speakers with Dolby Atmos
  • Optical drive
  • Security Lock slot

All Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 (13.5″) configurations

#CommissionsEarned

What’s in the box?

This notebook comes in sleek packaging. It houses the laptop itself, some paperwork, and a 65W charger with the magnetic Surface Connect plug.


Design and construction

As usual, the Surface Laptop has good build quality. It comes with a metal lid and an option of metal or Alcantara base. We got the latter, which weighs 1.272 kg, which is about 25 grams lighter than the all-metal machine.

The machine is pretty thin too, with a profile of 14.5mm. Its body shows a bit of flex, but the lid is super sturdy. To be frank, the Alcantara finish feels a bit weird on a laptop.

Yes, it doesn’t show fingerprints, it’s soft, and it is warm to your wrists. But in some way, it feels like it doesn’t belong there.

Thankfully, the lid can be opened with a single hand. This reveals a display with a glossy surface and Gorilla Glass 3 protection (the metal base model comes with Gorilla Glass 5). In our opinion, the bezels are a bit too thick. However, the top one houses an HD Web camera with an IR face recognition scanner.

Moving to the base, we already mentioned the finish of the palm rest area. Weirdly, the backlit keyboard features short key travel. What saves it from being a total disaster is the somewhat clicky feedback.

On the bright side, the touchpad is pretty smooth and responsive. Combined with the touchscreen capability of the display, you get a quite nimble experience. On the other hand, the lid doesn’t go all the way to a flat position, which makes the touchscreen use a bit uncomfortable.

Here, the speakers are hidden beneath the keyboard, and the ventilation input and output are on the back, which leaves the bottom panel plain as a bagel.

Ports

On the left side, there is a USB Type-A 3.2 (Gen. 1) port, a Thunderbolt 4 connector, and an Audio jack. And on the right, you get the Surface Connect port.

Display quality

Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 (13.5″) is equipped with a touchscreen Full HD IPS panel, Sharp LQ135P1JX51 (SHP14B3). Its diagonal is 13.5 inches (33.8 cm), and the resolution – 2256 x 1504p. Additionally, the screen ratio is 3:2, the pixel density – 201 ppi, and their pitch – 0.126 х 0.126 mm. The screen can be considered Retina when viewed from at least 43 cm (from this distance, the average human eye can’t see the individual pixels).

Viewing angles are comfortable. We offer images at different angles to evaluate the quality.

The maximum measured brightness is 409 nits (cd/m2) in the middle of the screen and 385 nits (cd/m2) average across the surface with a maximum deviation of 15%. The Correlated Color Temperature on a white screen and at maximum brightness is 6590K – ever so slightly colder than the 6500K temperature for sRGB.
In the illustration below you can see how the display performs from a uniformity perspective. The illustration below shows how matters are for operational brightness levels (approximately 140 nits) – in this particular case at 61% Brightness (White level = 141 cd/m2, Black level = 0.11 cd/m2).
Values of dE2000 over 4.0 should not occur, and this parameter is one of the first you should check if you intend to use the laptop for color-sensitive work (a maximum tolerance of 2.0 ). The contrast ratio is good – 1290:1.

To make sure we are on the same page, we would like to give you a little introduction to the sRGB color gamut and the Adobe RGB. To start, there’s the CIE 1976 Uniform Chromaticity Diagram that represents the visible specter of colors by the human eye, giving you a better perception of the color gamut coverage and the color accuracy.

Inside the black triangle, you will see the standard color gamut (sRGB) that is being used by millions of people on HDTV and on the web. As for the Adobe RGB, this is used in professional cameras, monitors, etc for printing. Basically, colors inside the black triangle are used by everyone and this is the essential part of the color quality and color accuracy of a mainstream notebook.

Still, we’ve included other color spaces like the famous DCI-P3 standard used by movie studios, as well as the digital UHD Rec.2020 standard. Rec.2020, however, is still a thing of the future and it’s difficult for today’s displays to cover that well. We’ve also included the so-called Michael Pointer gamut, or Pointer’s gamut, which represents the colors that naturally occur around us every day.

The yellow dotted line shows Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 (13.5″)’s color gamut coverage.

Its display covers 90% of the sRGB/ITU-R BT.709 (web/HDTV standard) in CIE1976, providing a punchy and vibrant image.

Our “Design and Gaming” profile delivers optimal color temperature (6500K) at 140 cd/m2 luminance and sRGB gamma mode.

We tested the accuracy of the display with 24 commonly used colors like light and dark human skin, blue sky, green grass, orange, etc. You can check out the results at factory condition and also, with the “Design and Gaming” profile.

Below you can compare the scores of Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 (13.5″) with the default settings (left), and with the “Gaming and Web design” profile (right).

The next figure shows how well the display is able to reproduce really dark parts of an image, which is essential when watching movies or playing games in low ambient light.

The left side of the image represents the display with stock settings, while the right one is with the “Gaming and Web Design” profile activated. On the horizontal axis, you will find the grayscale, and on the vertical axis – the luminance of the display. On the two graphs below you can easily check for yourself how your display handles the darkest nuances but keep in mind that this also depends on the settings of your current display, the calibration, the viewing angle, and the surrounding light conditions.

Response time (Gaming capabilities)

We test the reaction time of the pixels with the usual “black-to-white” and “white-to-black” method from 10% to 90% and vice versa.

We recorded Fall Time + Rise Time = 38 ms.

After that, we test the reaction time of the pixels with the usual “Gray-to-Gray” method from 50% White to 80% White and vice versa between 10% and 90% of the amplitude.


Health impact – PWM / Blue Light

PWM (Screen flickering)

Pulse-width modulation (PWM) is an easy way to control monitor brightness. When you lower the brightness, the light intensity of the backlight is not lowered, but instead turned off and on by the electronics with a frequency indistinguishable to the human eye. In these light impulses, the light/no-light time ratio varies, while brightness remains unchanged, which is harmful to your eyes. You can read more about that in our dedicated article on PWM.

Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 (13.5″)’s display uses PWM to adjust its brightness up to 104 nits. Not only that but below 104 nits, the pulsations have a very high frequency, undetectable for most users. This makes the display comfortable for continuous work.

Blue light emissions

Installing our Health-Guard profile not only eliminates PWM but also reduces the harmful Blue Light emissions while keeping the colors of the screen perceptually accurate. If you’re not familiar with the Blue light, the TL;DR version is – emissions that negatively affect your eyes, skin, and your whole body. You can find more information about that in our dedicated article on Blue Light.

Gloss level measurement

Glossy-coated displays are sometimes inconvenient in high ambient light conditions. We show the level of reflection on the screen for the respective laptop when the display is turned off and the measurement angle is 60° (in this case, the result is 107 GU).


Buy our profiles

Since our profiles are tailored for each individual display model, this article and its respective profile package are meant for Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 (13.5″) configurations with 13.5″ Sharp LQ135P1JX51 (SHP14B3) (FHD, 2256 × 1504) IPS panel.

*Should you have problems with downloading the purchased file, try using a different browser to open the link you’ll receive via e-mail. If the download target is a .php file instead of an archive, change the file extension to .zip or contact us at [email protected].

Read more about the profiles HERE.

In addition to receiving efficient and health-friendly profiles, by buying LaptopMedia's products you also support the development of our labs, where we test devices in order to produce the most objective reviews possible.

Office Work

Office Work should be used mostly by users who spend most of the time looking at pieces of text, tables or just surfing. This profile aims to deliver better distinctness and clarity by keeping a flat gamma curve (2.20), native color temperature and perceptually accurate colors.

Design and Gaming

This profile is aimed at designers who work with colors professionally, and for games and movies as well. Design and Gaming takes display panels to their limits, making them as accurate as possible in the sRGB IEC61966-2-1 standard for Web and HDTV, at white point D65.

Health-Guard

Health-Guard eliminates the harmful Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM) and reduces the negative Blue Light which affects our eyes and body. Since it’s custom tailored for every panel, it manages to keep the colors perceptually accurate. Health-Guard simulates paper so the pressure on the eyes is greatly reduced.

Get all 3 profiles with 33% discount


Sound

Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 (13.5″)’s speakers produce a sound of very good quality. Its low, mid, and high tones are clear of deviations.


Drivers

You can find more information and support for the Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 (13.5″) here: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/surface-laptop-5-features-0816e45e-6a4c-4c9e-8365-ef755a2e34d2

Battery

Now, we conduct the battery tests with the Windows Better performance setting turned on, screen brightness adjusted to 120 nits, and all other programs turned off except for the one we are testing the notebook with. Here, the notebook lasts for 8 hours and 25 minutes of Web browsing, or 8 hours and 56 minutes of video playback.


CPU options

This device can be found with the Core i5-1235U or Core i7-1255U. This time, there are no special options, available only for Microsoft laptops.

Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 (13.5") CPU variants

Here you can see an approximate comparison between the CPUs that can be found in the Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 (13.5") models on the market. This way you can decide for yourself which Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 (13.5") model is the best bang for your buck.

Note: The chart shows the cheapest different CPU configurations so you should check what the other specifications of these laptops are by clicking on the laptop’s name / CPU.


GPU options

Graphics-wise, you get only the integrated solution. Thankfully, it uses LPDDR5x, which will positively impact the performance of your integrated GPU.

Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 (13.5") GPU variants

Here you can see an approximate comparison between the GPUs that can be found in the Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 (13.5") models on the market. This way you can decide for yourself which Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 (13.5") model is the best bang for your buck.

Note: The chart shows the cheapest different GPU configurations so you should check what the other specifications of these laptops are by clicking on the laptop’s name / GPU.


Gaming tests

cs-go-benchmarks

CS:GOHD 1080p, Low (Check settings)HD 1080p, Medium (Check settings)HD 1080p, MAX (Check settings)
Average FPS138 fps90 fps59 fps

DOTA 2HD 1080p, Low (Check settings)HD 1080p, Normal (Check settings)HD 1080p, High (Check settings)
Average FPS134 fps86 fps54 fps

Temperatures and comfort

Max CPU load

In this test we use 100% on the CPU cores, monitoring their frequencies and chip temperature. The first column shows a computer’s reaction to a short load (2-10 seconds), the second column simulates a serious task (between 15 and 30 seconds), and the third column is a good indicator of how good the laptop is for long loads such as video rendering.

Average P-core frequency; Average E-core frequency; CPU temp.; Package Power

Intel Core i5-1235U (15W TDP)0:02 – 0:10 sec0:15 – 0:30 sec10:00 – 15:00 min
Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 (13.5″)3.35 GHz @ 2.84 GHz @ 69°C @ 44W3.27 GHz @ 2.78 GHz @ 80°C @ 42W2.24 GHz @ 2.17 GHz @ 71°C @ 22W
ASUS Vivobook 15 (X1502)2.91 GHz @ 2.49 GHz @ 78°C @ 39W2.62 GHz @ 2.37 GHz @ 81°C @ 33W2.30 GHz @ 2.19 GHz @ 68°C @ 27W
Acer TravelMate P2 (TMP215-54)3.67 GHz @ 3.09 GHz @ 90°C @ 55W2.83 GHz @ 2.55 GHz @ 85°C @ 33W2.59 GHz @ 2.44 GHz @ 84°C @ 28W
HP EliteBook 650 G93.26 GHz @ 2.80 GHz @ 89°C @ 45W2.63 GHz @ 2.39 GHz @ 91°C @ 32W2.25 GHz @ 2.15 GHz @ 79°C @ 24W
Dell Latitude 15 35302.97 GHz @ 2.60 GHz @ 87°C @ 34W2.64 GHz @ 2.43 GHz @ 88°C @ 30W2.37 GHz @ 2.29 GHz @ 80°C @ 25W
HP 470 G91.43 GHz @ 1.39 GHz @ 54°C @ 15W1.43 GHz @ 1.39 GHz @ 57°C @ 15W1.44 GHz @ 1.39 GHz @ 64°C @ 15W
HP EliteBook 640 G93.27 GHz @ 2.77 GHz @ 90°C @ 45W2.53 GHz @ 2.32 GHz @ 90°C @ 30W2.32 GHz @ 2.17 GHz @ 74°C @ 24W
HP EliteBook 840 G93.09 GHz @ 2.75 GHz @ 83°C @ 46W2.73 GHz @ 2.46 GHz @ 89°C @ 37W1.58 GHz @ 1.67 GHz @ 61°C @ 17W
Lenovo ThinkPad E14 Gen 43.28 GHz @ 2.77 GHz @ 84°C @ 44W3.18 GHz @ 2.77 GHz @ 90°C @ 44W2.49 GHz @ 2.28 GHz @ 77°C @ 28W
HP Pavilion Plus 14 (14-eh0000)2.85 GHz @ 2.43 GHz @ 77°C @ 39W2.34 GHz @ 2.10 GHz @ 75°C @ 29W1.84 GHz @ 1.79 GHz @ 65°C @ 20W
Lenovo IdeaPad 5 (15″, 2022)3.60 GHz @ 3.08 GHz @ 73°C @ 55W3.44 GHz @ 2.95 GHz @ 88°C @ 51W2.80 GHz @ 2.49 GHz @ 69°C @ 35W
Lenovo ThinkPad L14 Gen 33.20 GHz @ 2.77 GHz @ 83°C @ 44W3.10 GHz @ 2.71 GHz @ 94°C @ 43W1.89 GHz @ 1.95 GHz @ 72°C @ 20W
Acer Aspire Vero (AV14-51)3.63 GHz @ 2.87 GHz @ 84°C @ 55W2.73 GHz @ 2.36 GHz @ 81°C @ 33W2.49 GHz @ 2.23 GHz @ 79°C @ 28W
MSI Modern 14 (C12M)3.17 GHz @ 2.69 GHz @ 77°C @ 45W3.10 GHz @ 2.61 GHz @ 81°C @ 45W2.69 GHz @ 2.45 GHz @ 78°C @ 35W
Dell Latitude 15 55303.57 GHz @ 3.02 GHz @ 94°C @ 52W2.03 GHz @ 2.09 GHz @ 76°C @ 21W2.24 GHz @ 2.19 GHz @ 64°C @ 23W

The Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 (13.5″) shows an impressive performance in short and medium loads. On the other hand, it drops to closer than 2.00 GHz at the end, but the temperature is pretty low.

Comfort during full load

The thin chassis doesn’t do a good job with heat dissipation. Instead, the heat builds up to about 46° on the keyboard. The bottom plate is not too cool either.


Verdict

As always, the 13.5-inch Surface Laptop is super incredibly thin. Its fifth iteration again provides an Alcantara base option, which is arguably more comfortable to the touch. Unfortunately, this makes the disassembly process nearly impossible for no-damage repairs.

The use of glue all around it, and the soldered memory means that you won’t be upgrading this machine. As a result, you should get the best possible option for your budget and purpose. In some cases, 8GB and 256GB of RAM and storage, respectively, won’t be enough.

This prompts the question – is buying this device a sensible choice? Does the software integration that it should bring actually make a big enough difference? Well, one argument for the Surface Laptop 5 is its display.

Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 (13.5″)’s IPS panel has touchscreen support, high resolution, comfortable viewing angles, and a good contrast ratio. It covers 90% of the sRGB color gamut and features a pretty good maximum brightness. It uses PWM, but at low brightness and high frequency, which makes it pretty much harmless for most users. In addition, the color accuracy is pretty good.

Combine that with pretty good performance, especially in short and medium loads. This results in a very potent little machine, which is uncharacteristic for a laptop of this size.

Why would you want to get this laptop? Well, it has an exquisite build, it offers good performance, and it has a decent battery life – about 9 hours of either Web browsing, or video playback.

However, some machines, like the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 (14″, 2022) for example, offer a lot more to the table. Indeed, you will be happy with the IR face recognition scanner, and the fascinating speakers of the Surface Laptop 5 (13.5). However, the lack of upgradeability, high price, and poor serviceability make it a tough notebook to recommend.

You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/microsoft-surface-laptop-5-13-5/

Pros

  • Great performance
  • Decent battery life
  • Covers 90% sRGB (Sharp LQ135P1JX51 (SHP14B3))
  • Doesn’t use aggressive PWM to adjust screen brightness (Sharp LQ135P1JX51 (SHP14B3))
  • Work-friendly 3:2 aspect ratio and a touchscreen usability
  • Good build quality and optional soft Alcantara base


Cons

  • No SD card reader
  • Memory is soldered
  • Nearly impossible to service
  • Limited I/O

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