Pretty well all computers are pretty fast nowadays, and extra speed is one of those things you don’t need. Those of you who have been following the microprocessor market would know that AMD has been killing it these past few years, producing processors that are both faster and cheaper than comparable Intel processors. At that size, you can get an AMD Ryzen 7 processor and a non-sagging, metal keyboard, both in the same machine, and without doubt that is what I would do if I were buying one of these laptops. Things become much clearer when you go to the bigger, 15-inch version of the Surface Laptop 4, however. Which is to say, in the 13.5-inch variety of the Surface Laptop 4, there is no model that screams out for you to buy it. The Intel-based version of the same laptop costs $400 more, but for the extra money you don’t only get a slightly slower Core i5 processor, you also get an all-metal keyboard which won’t sag every time you type on it, and you get more storage. I’m typing to you from a 13.5-inch Surface Laptop 4 with 16GB of RAM and an AMD Ryzen 5 processor, which costs $1899. Of the 13.5-inch versions of the Surface Laptop 4, the Alcantara model is the one that comes with an AMD Ryzen processor rather than an Intel Core processor, you see, and the Ryzen model is both faster and cheaper than the Intel model. The Alcantara keyboard has an inviting texture, but an unappealing flex.įrustratingly, though, the model with the Alcantara keyboard is the one you would want, if it wasn’t for the flex and sag. So I thought if I cover it up, and type under a piece of paper the way they used to do in typing school, I might be able to get through this review without ever mentioning the keyboard problem.Īnd I thought it would be OK not to mention the keyboard problem, due to the fact that it will only affect the subset of Surface Laptop 4 owners who a) can’t touch type and b) buy the model with the flexible Alcantara keyboard rather than the model with the rock-solid, metal keyboard. It’s very distracting.īut, oddly enough, I can’t actually feel the keyboard sagging as I type.

I can’t stand to see the way it sags every time I hit a key towards the middle of the keyboard.

I simply can’t stand to look at the keyboard any more.

Microsoft surface laptop 4 review