76 PCWorld JANUARY 2020REVIEWS MICROSOFT SURFACE LAPTOP 3 15-INCH (CORE i7)
keyboards: The
Surface Book series
still provides what I
consider to be the
premier Surface
typing experience.
The first-gen Surface
Book’s keys (with
1.6mm key travel)
extend upward from
the chassis, while the
top of the Laptop’s
keys are level with the
chassis. That means
the Laptop’s keyboard
actually rests in a
valley of sorts, stretching your fingers a bit
further. It’s a subtlety, but subtleties
distinguish good keyboards from great ones.
Microsoft also inexplicably rearranged the
function keys on the Surface Laptop 3’s top
row, moving the backlight key to the far left
and the screen brightness keys to the middle.
We like the small guide bumps that were
added, though.
The Surface Laptop 3’s touchpad is 20
percent larger than the previous model’s, and
it’s smooth and clickable across virtually its
entire surface—less than a finger’s breadth at
the top. To be fair, you’ll probably
unconsciously accommodate a trackpad that
isn’t entirely clickable, but it demonstrates
Microsoft’’s commitment to the basics.
Microsoft generally isn’t shy about audio,either. The Surface Laptop 3 sports a pair of
“omnisonic” speakers backed by Dolby
Audio Premium. Wandering through
Windows’ audio controls can be a bit of a
scavenger hunt. Are they in the included
Realtek audio app? Part of the Control Panel?
Regardless, these are speakers you may
actually enjoy—which is saying something for
laptop speakers. The Laptop 3 produces
bright midrange sound, and discernible
(though underpowered) bass.
Somewhat surprisingly, Microsoft
restrained itself on the Surface Laptop 3’s
extraneous crapware, although worthless bits
like Farm Heroes Saga make an appearance.
We wish Microsoft did more with the Surface
app that it bundles with Surface devices.
While it provides a nice summary of theIt’s probably time to freshen up Microsoft’s Surface app.