Improved image and sound
The Surface Laptop 3 has a pleasant 15-inch 201ppi screen with a resolution of 2496×1664 pixels and shows razor-sharp images with vivid colors. The color space measured by us with Datacolor’s Spider 5 Elite is sRGB 98 percent, with AdobeRGB it’s 73 percent. Despite the fact that these values are certainly not bad, we secretly expected a better result from this flagship notebook from Microsoft. We experience, especially compared to devices in the same class, a fairly high backlight bleed from the bottom of the display. With normal use, this is not very noticeable because of the dark taskbar of Windows, but in the case of other uses, this could be experienced as annoying.
For the use of the voice assistant and to conduct intelligible conversations via Skype or other communication tools, Microsoft has chosen two highly sensitive far-field studio microphones. The Omni-sonic speakers with premium Dolby Audio are integrated in the areas to the left and right of the keyboard. Despite the fact that they do not have a grille, the sound quality is excellent. Conversations are excellent to follow and music sounds quite fine, although you can of course take it with a small grain of salt, as we’re still talking about laptop speakers here.
Microsoft’s designers have placed the Surface 3’s camera at the top of the screen so that the angle of view doesn’t create embarrassing images of thigs like a double chin or the inside of your nostrils. This bright 720p F2.0 HD camera has HDR support and features facial recognition, which follows the subject like a hawk. This camera is suitable for 3D face recognition via Windows Hello. In combination with the Instant On functionality, the user is recognised in a fraction of a second, and the authentication process is completed even before the user has fully opened the display. Moreover, the laptop’s data is optimally protected with firmware TPM.