Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 for Business (13.5in)

A top-quality and beautifully slender business laptop that would win an award if it was easier to upgrade and repair

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PRICE Range starts at £899 (£1,079 inc VAT) from microsoft.com/uk

Microsoft describes the Surface Laptop 4 as “ultra-thin” and, much as we hate to approve the use of “ultra” in any sentence, we can’t argue here. On paper, a 14.5mm thickness sounds similar to the 19mm of a typical laptop, but the difference is obvious as soon as you clap eyes on it. If anything, the Surface Laptop 4 looks even slimmer, thanks to a design that tapers to 10mm at the front.

An all-metal chassis means that others beat it for lightness, but at 1.3kg the Surface Laptop won’t weigh you down. And we don’t think you’ll bother carrying the 340g charger with you either, as battery life is superb: almost 12 hours for office tasks, just shy of 15 hours when idling, and 9hrs 15mins when playing video.

When you do need a top-up, reach for any USB-C charger or Microsoft’s supplied Surface Connect unit. This builds in an extra USB-A port, which could be handy as Microsoft takes a minimalist approach to ports: one USB-A, one USB-C and one 3.5mm jack. With no physical Ethernet port you’re reliant on Wi-Fi, and at this price we hoped for Wi-Fi 6E rather than Wi-Fi 6.