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00:00Hey, how's it going? Dave2D here, and this is a video on the Surface laptop and whether
00:07or not it's overpriced. So when this thing launched, I think a lot of people were very
00:11excited about it because it looks really cool, but then when the price was revealed, people
00:15were disappointed because it seemed a little bit more expensive than it should have been.
00:20Now it's a Surface device, so the whole Surface product line has always been a little bit
00:24more expensive. It's a more premium product line, so it's to be expected. Now if you take
00:28a look at the build quality, the exterior build quality is fantastic. I would say that
00:32the fit and finish of this thing is comparable to the MacBooks. It's a better finish than
00:37the XPS 13. It's a better finish than the Razer Blade Stealth, better than HP, Lenovo.
00:42It literally has the best build quality in any Windows laptop that I've seen to date
00:46for this 13-inch screen size. The hinge feels well-tuned and is durable. You can open the
00:50lid with one hand really easily, and it has this really satisfying snap when it closes
00:55shut. The exhaust is well-machined. It feels really precise, and the whole device is made
00:59from aluminum, not magnesium like some other Surface products. The interior build quality
01:04is different. It's good, it's just not as impressive to me. The material here, the Alcantara,
01:10it feels awesome. It's really nice to hold, and the material is adhered to the laptop
01:13really well. I tried to pick at it to see if I could peel it off. It is stuck down really
01:17well, but like I mentioned in my previous video, we'll have to see how well it holds
01:20up over time. It does feel slightly different from the Alcantara Surface Pro keyboard, so
01:25maybe it's more resistant to wear and tear. The keyboard itself feels good. It's not perfect
01:30to me. There's some flex on the keyboard deck that I didn't expect to be there. It's supposed
01:34to have a unibody construction, so I thought it would just feel a little more rigid. To
01:38be clear, I do enjoy typing on it. It's just the build quality is not as good as the exterior.
01:42The trackpad is also really nice. Glass Surface, precision drivers. I mean, Surface trackpads
01:47are always done well, and this one's on point as expected. Now, the trackpad and typing
01:51experience feel oddly similar to the Surface Pro experience, and that's weird, right? Because
01:57a Surface Pro is a type pad cover, and the Surface laptop is a regular fold-out laptop
02:02keyboard. It's good, it's just not as good as I was hoping it to be. Now, in terms of
02:05the operating system, Windows 10 S, like the gimped version of Windows 10, if you're watching
02:11this video, obviously you're somewhat enthusiastic about technology, and if you are, Windows
02:1510 S is not for you. Now, don't hate on it. I think 10 S is going to have some great benefits
02:20for certain users. It's just that it's not for you. You should probably do that free
02:23upgrade to Windows 10 Pro. The screen is good. I brought a spider there to get some readings
02:28on the panel. It's not a controlled environment, but color accuracy seemed pretty good. I'll
02:32have to double-check these numbers in my full review. The webcam supports Windows Hello,
02:36so you can log in with your face, and the image quality isn't bad. The drive speeds
02:40are not as I expected. So, during the presentation, they mentioned that they were using onboard
02:44SSDs, so SSDs that were baked right into the motherboard to provide better power efficiency
02:50and better speeds. They're using Toshiba drives, and they are pretty power efficient, especially
02:54for the smaller drives. Read speeds aren't bad. The smaller capacity drives are slower,
02:59but the write speeds, these numbers are disappointing to say the least. That 128 gig drive in particular,
03:05I wasn't able to try all the different configurations, so some of those numbers are pulled from Toshiba's
03:09spec sheet. It's not that the write speeds are super terrible, it's just that for a device
03:14that's launching in mid-2017, you want something a little bit faster. I was just hoping for
03:18something a little bit faster. Now, this laptop, it's obviously not designed for everyone.
03:23There are plenty of laptops out there that are geared for everyone. This thing is not.
03:27It's geared for someone who's looking for really good build quality and a unique aesthetic,
03:31and I think in that front, they've nailed it. But the question is whether or not it's
03:35worth it, and this is where it gets a little confusing. Microsoft launched this thing at
03:40the base model for $1,000, which on paper, $1,000 for a brand new Microsoft Surface laptop
03:46doesn't seem that bad, and then you look at the specs, and then you're like, WTF, this
03:50seems really expensive. When you compare this $1,000 base model to the competitors, it's
03:54just not a compelling purchase. It's made well, and it looks super cool, but the specs
03:59aren't there, and the other thing, unless you have a really undemanding workflow, 4
04:03gigs of RAM and 128 gigs of storage is going to feel anemic, to say the least. The mid-tier
04:08model, priced at $1,300, that's the good one, and I think Microsoft knows this. That's
04:12the one that's going to sell the best, because that's the one they have all the different
04:15colors for, and it's priced the most competitively. When you compare pricing for that one, there's
04:20still a premium to be paid for the Microsoft Surface branding, but it's a more comparable
04:24value to its competitors, and at that configuration, I think it is worth it, because you're getting
04:28ridiculously good build quality, and if you happen to have an educational discount, it
04:32gets even better. Now, in terms of the i7 models, I mean, they're better performers,
04:36but I just don't think they have as good of a value as that mid-tier model. Hope you
04:39guys enjoyed this video. I'll be doing a full review, but I hope, because of this video,
04:43you guys have a better understanding of why Surface laptops are priced the way they are.
04:47Thumbs if you liked this video, subs if you loved it. I'll see you guys next time.