Why Microsoft’s new slide-out, fold-down Surface Laptop Studio could change 2-in-1 computers

Its screen flips up, slides out and folds down: Microsoft’s Surface Laptop Studio has a slick design that could change hybrid computers. SEE HOW.

Smashing together the tablet and the laptop, like a highly productive Frankenstein’s monster, has been on the agenda of computer-makers for years.

We’ve seen computers with screens that can be detached, hyper-extended, and even flipped over on themselves and used as a canvas for art.

But Microsoft’s newest top model Surface hybrid has another take on this trend: a screen that can flip up and slide forward, and work in three different modes.

It might sound eccentric but it’s surprisingly practical and might even be enticing enough to win over buyers who would otherwise have eyed off a Mac or peeked under the hood of a glowing gaming machine.

Microsoft’s Surface Laptop Studio features a 14.4-inch touchscreen that can swing forward to create a new way to work.

Microsoft’s newest laptop adds a new design to the company’s Surface range, though one that feels like it belongs in the family.

The Surface Laptop Studio looks like a bigger brother to the Surface Book, which came with a screen that detached from its keyboard. The new approach is arguably more useful as there’s no magnet to disengage or software to hand over between its parts.

The Surface Laptop Studio can be used like a regular laptop – and comfortably so – but you can also flip the screen up, using its “dynamic woven hinge”, and move it forward to sit over the keyboard.

Microsoft calls this “studio mode” and it’s incredibly handy if you want to inspect the screen up close, use its touchscreen to wrangle email, or use a stylus to edit photos or design graphics.

Flip this screen further forwards, and it can lay flat on the keyboard and be used like a tablet; albeit a heavy one, for scribbling digital notes or reading.

Microsoft's Surface Laptop Studio brings a new design to Microsoft’s computers.

Microsoft’s execution of this unusual form factor is well executed and moving the screen doesn’t feel risky.

It’s also worth noting the keyboard on this computer is full sized, backlit and incredibly comfortable to use – if a little Apple-like – and its touchpad is not only large but offers haptic feedback.

Its 14.4-inch screen also offers more than just movement: it’s easy on the eye, largely due to a 120Hz refresh rate rarely seen outside gaming machines and top smartphones.

The Surface Laptop Studio also features plenty of grunt to appeal to the creative pros likely to use this machine, though Intel Core i7 chips and 32GB RAM is reserved for the two top models that will set you back more than $4000.

Its hardware falls a little short of what you might find in a top-model gaming laptop, though it can deliver between 18 and 19 hours of use between charges.

Other downsides include an extra fee for the stylus ($190), just two USB-C ports, and this computer weighs in at up to 1.8kg and features quite a chunky base that hides its fans but makes it a large tablet.

Those in the market for a versatile computer to use between work and home, who demand top screen technology, or who want to be able to use their laptop in different ways could find what they need in Microsoft’s new model.