Microsoft Surface Laptop's Snapdragon X Elite outlasts the MacBook Air on our battery test
With each new era of laptop CPUs comes the question of battery life. Will Qualcomm's Snapdragon X chipset's response be satisfactory?
We saw massive improvements when AMD pushed into gaming laptops in 2020, producing an 11+ hour battery in the Asus Zephyrus G14. Then Apple launched its own M-series chips, which rocketed MacBooks into the stratosphere with 16+ hours.
But does Qualcomm do the same with its Snapdragon X Elite X1E80100 platform?
I'm happy to say that the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition kicked butt with its new CPU, delivering numbers to rival even modern MacBooks. This push from Microsoft is the greatest yet, so let's see if its laptops can become as universal as its own operating system.
Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition: Battery life
On the Laptop Mag battery test — which continuously surfs through webpages over wifi at 150 nits of brightness — the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition lasted 15 hours and 44 minutes.
That beats the MacBook Air 13 M3, which clocked in 15 hours and 13 minutes.
For context, the MacBook Air places fourth on our laptops with best battery life page and number one on our best laptops page. Dethroning this absolute king in terms of battery life is no small feat.
What about its other competitors? Well, it demolished the Dell XPS 14, which lasted 10:58 (at most). The Asus Zenbook 14 OLED (Q425M) managed only an 8-minute difference, so I'd say it's comparable with the Surface Laptop. However, the MacBook Pro 14 (M3, 2023) achieved a whopping 17:16.
Regarding the average premium laptop, the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition survived it several hours ago, as it died around 11:05. The average is still great. Still, the Surface Laptop is in that high-tier of battery life, sipping champagne with the king.
If the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition excels in more than battery life, it'll easily find a place on our best battery life ranking.
Bottom line
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition, and therefore the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite X1E80100, is killing it in battery life. With any luck, Qualcomm can continue its victory lap over major competitors throughout its visit to laptop land. Who knows? Maybe Qualcomm is here to stay.
However, where does this put the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition on a smaller scale? In our performance benchmark story, I laid out the facts: The new Snapdragon X Elite chip beats the MacBook Pro M3 in some critical tests. Between battery life and performance, is the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition the laptop you should buy?
I can't say until I finish my Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition review, so stay tuned for that and more.
