With university back in session, students around the country are hunting down the best devices for study. In our Back to Uni Laptop Buying Guide, we shared some of the best Windows devices from Microsoft’s partners, but you might have noticed we didn’t include any of their own devices. After all, they offer some of the best Windows hardware on the market with their growing and evolving line of Microsoft Surface devices. But we thought it deserved its own guide entirely.
In this guide, we’re going to share the best Microsoft Surface devices for university students. With such a diverse range of devices to choose from, it can be hard to decide which one is best for your needs, but don’t worry - we’ve made sure to include an option for everyone!
Microsoft Surface Laptop 5
The Surface Laptop 5 is at the top of our list and that’s because it’s simply the best all-around Surface laptop for students. It has blazing fast speed and is made for multi-tasking thanks to the powerful 12th Gen Intel® Core™ i5/i7 processors. The impressive battery life of up to 17 hours also makes it perfect for long nights and lengthy study sessions! You have the options of up to 16GB of RAM and up to 512GB SSD, offering more than enough power and storage to tackle your studies.
All of this without sacrificing its polished and sophisticated style. The Surface Laptop 5 features a gorgeous 13.5” high-resolution PixelSense™ touchscreen display that makes multitasking all the more better, and scrolling through long documents a breeze. It has a remarkable keyboard and a stellar glass trackpad. It’s also sleek and super light-weight - perfect for students on the go!
Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio
If you need ultimate power and performance (in other words, if you’re a design, science, or engineering student) then the Surface Laptop Studio is the one for you. It’s the most powerful device in the Surface lineup and offers incredible speed and performance, while being infinitely flexible. Powered by quad-core 11th Gen Intel® Core™ H Series processors and a blazing NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3050 Ti laptop GPU, the Surface Laptop Studio is built to handle your most complex workloads without breaking a sweat. The option of up to 32GB of RAM and up to 1TB of SSD storage means you can have a device that’ll take anything you throw at it.
It features a bright and vibrant 14.4” PixelSense Flow touchscreen display with true-to-life colour and a refresh rate up to 120Hz and remarkable Dolby Vision. It also has a clever hinge that transforms this powerhouse laptop into a 2-in-1 device, so you can use it as a tablet when it suits you best. Additionally, it features new USB 4.0 ports with Thunderbolt™ 4 support and a whopping battery life of up to 19 hours!
Microsoft Surface Pro 9
The Surface Pro 9 is the best 2-in-1 option for students who want tablet flexibility, laptop performance, and great battery life, all in one ultra-portable device. Pro 9 devices with storage of 256GB SSD and above are built on the Intel® Evo™ platform, with 12th Gen Intel Core processors, delivering blazing-fast Pro performance. You have options of up to 16GB of RAM and up to 1TB of SSD storage, so even though it’s compact in size, it doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice elsewhere.
It features a high-resolution 13” PixelSense Flow touch display. This allows for fluid on-screen writing and a dynamic refresh rate up to 120Hz will elevate gaming in your off time. Flip open the kickstand to watch your lectures or favourites shows, and attach a Surface Pro Signature Keyboard to use it as a laptop. You can easily use or charge accessories, dock to high-powered displays, and transfer large creative files fast thanks to new Thunderbolt™ 4 ports.
Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2
If your main criteria is something that is sleek and light, the Surface Laptop Go 2 is a great choice! This is suited to students who don’t need a lot of power, but simply need a laptop that can take on all of the essentials with ease, such as taking notes, creating documents, writing assignments, streaming lectures and shows, and more. You won’t be using demanding apps such as editing software or be heavily multitasking, so having something ultra-portable is your top priority.
The Surface Laptop Go 2 is powered by 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i5 processor with 8GB RAM and up to 256GB of SSD storage. It has up to 13.5 hours of battery life, plus Fast Charging, which can get you back up to 80% in just over an hour. It features a 12.4" PixelSense™ Display touchscreen display and the ports you need, including built-in USB-C® and USB-A ports, Surface Connect, and headphone jack. It’s also the most affordable laptop option of the Surface range, so is perfect for those wanting a sleek and reliable laptop, without breaking the bank.
Microsoft Surface Go 3
Finally, we have the Surface Go 3. While this is a 2-in-1 device, we would recommend this for students who primarily want a tablet first, with the option to switch to laptop mode for typing and more efficiency for certain tasks. This device is optimised for digital pen and touch. Got an idea? Adjust the built-in Kickstand to the perfect angle for taking notes, drawing diagrams, and sketching with Surface Pen (sold separately). Prefer to type? Attach a Surface Go Signature Type Cover (sold separately) to convert it into a laptop.
It features a small 10.5" PixelSense™ touch display, meaning this device is super compact an easy to slip into your backpack and even your handbag. You’ll get up to 11 hours of on-the-go power, plus Fast Charging to take you from low to full in no time when you do need to plug in. Unlike the rest of the devices on this list which run on Windows 11 Home, the Surface Go 3 runs on Windows 11 Home in S Mode. This OS is designed for security and performance and exclusively runs apps from the Microsoft Store.
We hope this article helped you find the best Surface device for university! Make sure to check out some Microsoft Surface accessories to complete the package over at the Microsoft Surface brand store.
