Ports are one place where Surfaces skimp (like MacBooks), but you now get a USB-C port along with a good old-fashioned USB-A port. It might not be as flashy as the hybrid tablet-laptop design that made Microsoft's Surface brand famous, but the new Surface Laptop 4 is everything a laptop should be: slim and lightweight with an excellent screen and keyboard. Specs to look for: Apple M1, 16 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD If you want a Mac and aren't planning to edit video or otherwise tax it too much, this is the MacBook you want.
We also love how it now instantly wakes from sleep, just like your phone or tablet. The Air retains the slim and lightweight design with solid speakers, an excellent keyboard, and a good display. For example, Adobe already has M1 versions of Lightroom and Photoshop. If you're concerned about compatibility, well, more and more developers are releasing M1-versions of their apps.
Apple uses a tool called Rosetta to translate these apps to work with its own M1, and most of them run just as well if not better. Perhaps more surprising is the excellent performance, even in apps made for Intel-powered machines. Battery life is great, easily lasting more than a full workday.
Apple upgraded this 13-incher in November 2020 ( 9/10, WIRED Recommends), ditching Intel chips for its own M1 processor.
