Review: Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2: Fun, flexible and freakin’ expensive

Do you need a laptop which can bend over backwards? Then the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 might be the one for you.

Microsoft's new Surface Laptop Studio 2 is a niche product, although for who is debatable.

It’s no secret The Australian’s tech team are big fans of two-in-one products.

A tablet that doubles as a smart home hub, an e-Reader that allows you to take notes and listen to audiobooks, and a mesh Wi-Fi system with points that doubles as speakers are all things we’ve thoroughly enjoyed.

But when it comes to the Microsoft Surface Studio 2, we just don’t quite know how to feel.

This is one review we had been waiting for quite some time. When the device first came out, it was a real head turner. And for some, it very well could still be. But for us, we’re left a little puzzled for now.

The device, which at its core is a laptop, also has some handy features for those who love to sketch or illustrate.

But it’s hard to narrow down the target market for the new device which has a screen that can – quite literally – bend over backwards for the user. While the device can do that, do people really use it that way? We certainly didn’t.

Microsoft’s latest Surface Laptop Studio 2 landed on Australian shores in October with a starting price of $3519.

For that price – which resembles two entry level iPhone 15s and a 9th generation Apple Watch (+$100) – the buyer gets the new laptop with a 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD and an Intel Core i7 processor.

Microsoft has been selling this one as the main competitor to Apple’s MacBook Pro and, at a New York event earlier this year, the company put the two up to the test with a 3D rendering race in Blender.

Microsoft's new Surface Laptop Studio 2.

The Surface Studio 2 won, and the company’s vice-president of Surface devices, Brett Ostrum, proudly declared: “This is Surface Laptop Studio 2, the most powerful Surface we have ever built, unmatched productivity, versatility and creativity all in a single laptop.”

At that event the company also signalled this device was the ultimate for creators, and after some time with it, we’re not ones to disagree.

Which leaves us to wonder whether the average consumer really needs or wants this device.

For us, it was good to use. It didn’t feel as fast as the MacBook Pro we’ve been typing away on for the past year, nor as powerful.

However, we’re old enough to have known a world with computers long before Apple went mainstream and we very much enjoyed the Windows experience again at a premium tier.

One of the device’s downfalls is certainly the weight. It’s 1.98kg and the device itself is a little clunky, if we’re honest.

We’re living in a world where portability matters, and Microsoft and Apple know this well. For years, Microsoft’s most popular device has been the Surface Laptop, which weighs between 1.29kg to 1.56kg depending on 13-inch and 15-inch models – and for Apple it’s the MacBook Air, which weighs between 1.25kg (13-inch) to 1.59kg (15-inch).

At the end of day 400g might not seem like much but you feel it, especially on the days you’re carrying a full bag or more.

One area Microsoft is increasingly proud of is the device’s touch screen ability. And that’s something we’d have loved to test in full but weren’t able to, having not been provided with a stylus. The touch screen function worked just fine by hand.

The verdict? You’d have to be a hardcore Microsoft fan or some kind of designer who draws day in day out to really love this one.