This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/surface by /u/cyan_experiment on 2024-09-28 07:19:43+00:00.
Hi all, so I recently bought the SL7 and have been using it for 5 weeks - thought I’d share some experience here, since this sub has been very helpful when I’m making my decision.
Context
This is my 2nd Surface - I previously used a Surface Pro 3, bought in 2015. As a fairly light user (Office apps, Google Workplace Suite, some light Photoshop & Illustrator) it has served me well. However, the battery drained a lot, and in recent months the screen also won’t turn on properly. I have been able to get by since I also have my work laptop, but it was time for a new device for general use and productivity after 9 years.
Purchasing Decision
I decided to go for the traditional laptop form factor as I realized I didn’t use the tablet mode and the pen a lot. I have been thinking of other brands too (like HP) but I’m still drawn to the clean Surface without bloatware. I did my research on ARM app compatibility, but it’s not a concern as I don’t use any incompatible apps. The battery life is also something I’m attracted to. I went with the 13.8" X Plus 16/256 version - storage space is OK for me as I don’t deal with a lot of big files and store most of my stuff in cloud. I got it at a local retailer that gave two free gifts (a STM laptop sleeve and an MSI portable monitor) so all in all it’s a fairly good deal.
First Impression
Absolutely beautiful, and it feels solid. It is not as slim as a Macbook Air, but it definitely feels more well-built. The screen is good and having 120Hz is great - I’m not too particular about LCD/OLED, however the screen is very reflective. Keyboard feels good but the trackpad is really nice to use. Having USB-A port allows me to still plug in my mouse. I bought a third-party dongle for HDMI connection which I need to use quite often for screen casting.
App usage
So far I have been using Edge as my main web browser instead of Chrome. I also used WhatsApp app daily which works well, although for a couple of instances the messages seemed to get stuck - fixed by just logging out and back again. For Adobe apps I used Affinity, which works well - intend to get the full version after the free trial ends. I also downloaded SketchUp for Web for a project, and while it is not the smoothest, it gets the job done. I also have been doing a lot of regular video calls on Zoom and Google Meet (around an hour each), and some Netflix (on Edge, not the app). Sound is good enough for me but I usually use earbuds.
Battery life
For the first couple of days it didn’t last very long, but after allowing it to settle down (and complete the updates) for around a week then I can see a noticeable improvement. WhatsApp uses the most battery life, around 8-12% and is almost always at the top of the “Battery usage per app” list. If I did any video calls on Zoom or Meet (at 60% brightness and high volume), it would use around 10-11% for an hour. Watching around 24 mins of show on Netflix uses around 2%. I don’t use my laptop all the time so I can actually go up to 3 days per charge. I never turn off my laptop and just close the lid, and sometimes opening back after 24 hours would only lose me 2% of battery, which is incredible. Keeping screen brightness low also helps to prolong the battery life a lot - once I used Edge, Affinity apps, SketchUp, WhatsApp at the same time with screen brightness around 25-30%, and it drained only like 30% over 4 hours. I when I bring my laptop out, I leave the charger at home as I know it will last, so that has been great. Throughout the whole time the laptop didn’t make any noise and didn’t heat up as well.
Battery usage over the past 7 days.
Conclusion
So far I have been happy with this purchase. For my usage (light, daily productivity) I think it has done great. Hopefully this helps others who are also thinking about getting this laptop too.