Surface Laptop Studio 2 review: stylish upgrade ideal for digital artists

A beautiful laptop with a stunning display that comes up short when being pushed to the limits.

Surface Laptop Studio 2
(Image: © Paul Hatton)

Our Verdict

The Microsoft Laptop Studio 2 is a pro laptop with a beautifully engineered design and a stunningly good display. It looks great at every angle and the refresh rate of 120Hz ensures everything is super-smooth. All of this quality results in a high starting price, which will put many people off, especially considering a decent MacBook Pro can be bought for cheaper. The battery life is still lacking and the processing performance means this laptop is fine for digital artists but not for 3D artists needing beefier hardware.

For

  • Beautiful design, stunning display
  • Multiple positions for the display
  • Touchscreen

Against

  • Very expensive
  • Poor battery life

Why you can trust Creative Bloq Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

The new Studio laptop, released in 2021, was met with a wave of great reviews including our own review of the Surface Laptop Studio that found it to be a great all-rounder hybrid, which delivers on performance. We’ve had to wait two years for the second iteration and I was excited to see this new version from Microsoft

Upon opening the box, I saw that the design was almost identical, a little heavier, but generally the same great look and feel. The movement between the three modes – tablet, laptop and a propped up tablet – was equally well engineered, and I suppose there wasn’t much to improve on there.

Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1