The Surface Laptop 3 15 has a few highlights. Firstly, the fact that the cheaper Ryzen 5 3580U can come within just an arm's reach of the more expensive Core i7-1065G7 in CPU horsepower is a notable feat for AMD. Factors like battery life and fan noise have barely changed since the Surface Laptop 2 which means that the AMD-powered Surface Laptop 3 can offer faster performance than the last generation model without the usual repercussions. Keep in mind that while we haven't tested the Core i7 Surface Laptop 3 15 ourselves yet, it's going to have to really impress since it retails for $500 more (!) than the AMD Ryzen 5 version.

The second notable highlight is the uncommon 3:2 touchscreen. The panel is crisp and relatively bright with full sRGB coverage. Unfortunately, Microsoft doesn't offer factory calibration options a la the Gigabyte Aero 15 or Razer Blade and so an end-user calibration is required to get the most out of the display.

Almost everything else about the Surface Laptop 3 is merely average or disappointing considering the high price point. This larger 15-inch Surface Laptop was Microsoft's chance to address the poor connectivity options of the 13.5-inch Surface Laptop, but nothing has really improved. The mini DisplayPort is now gone which pushes users to invest in the separate $200 Surface Dock. The USB Type-C port lacks both Thunderbolt 3 and Power Delivery meaning that you'll have to carry the proprietary AC charger with you everywhere you go. In contrast, users can use a single universal USB Type-C charger between the Dell XPS 13, XPS 15, Huawei MateBook X Pro, HP Spectre x360 13, smartphone, or tablet for superior versatility. (Update: USB Type-C charging now works after updating our Surface Laptop 3 unit.)

The thick bezels, slow NVMe SSD, slow black-white response times, and lack of Wi-Fi 6, LTE, fingerprint reader, and webcam privacy shutter all contribute to a barebones flagship laptop that feels outdated in spite of the great display and processor performance. The Surface Laptop 3 15 may be for you if you value its super-light 3:2 form factor and don't mind the limited connectivity, but you can do a lot better for $1500.