Surface Laptop 5 15” vs. Surface Laptop 2: Which is better?

Here is a side by side comparison between Surface Laptop 5 15” and Surface Laptop 2 specs including CPU, RAM, storage, battery, display, and more.

Surface Laptop 5 15” Pros

Reasons that Surface Laptop 5 15” is better than Surface Laptop 2.

Significantly newer manufacturing

2022 vs. 2018

Much faster CPU performance

Intel Core i7-1265U inside Surface Laptop 5 15” has a 63% better multi-core CPU performance score than the Intel Core i7-8650U inside Surface Laptop 2.

Geekbench 5 multi-core score
Surface Laptop 5 15” - Intel Core i7-1255U
6,415
Surface Laptop 5 15” - Intel Core i7-1265U
6,336
Surface Laptop 2 - Intel Core i7-8650U
3,879
Surface Laptop 2 - Intel Core i5-8350U
2,982
Surface Laptop 2 - Intel Core i5-8250U
1,971
Supports larger memory

Surface Laptop 5 15” supports a larger memory capacity than the Surface Laptop 2. It supports up to 32GB versus 16GB of system memory on the Surface Laptop 2.

Max system memory size
Surface Laptop 5 15”
32 GB
Surface Laptop 2
16 GB
Supports faster memory

Surface Laptop 5 15” supports a faster memory speed than the Surface Laptop 2. It supports up to 5200MHz versus 1866MHz of system memory on the Surface Laptop 2.

Memory type and speed
Surface Laptop 5 15” - LPDDR5
5,200 MHz
Surface Laptop 2 - LPDDR3
1,866 MHz

Surface Laptop 2 Pros

Reasons that Surface Laptop 2 is better than Surface Laptop 5 15”.

About 20% lighter

Surface Laptop 2 weighed 2.76 pounds, 20% lighter than the 3.44 pounds Surface Laptop 5 15”.

WeightSurface Laptop 5 15”Surface Laptop 2
Pound
3.44 lbs.
2.76 lbs.
Kilogram
1.56 kg
1.25 kg

Prices

Here are the latest price updates and offers for both devices.

Surface Laptop 5 15” Price
Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 (2022), 15" Touch Screen, Thin & Lightweight, Long Battery Life, Fast Intel i7 Processor for Multi-Tasking, 16GB RAM, 512GB Storage with Windows 11, Platinum
Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 (2022), 15" Touch Screen, Thin & Lightweight, Long Battery Life, Fast Intel i7 Processor for Multi-Tasking, 16GB RAM, 512GB Storage with Windows 11, Platinum
By Microsoft
$1,249.00
$1,799.99 31% OFF
Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 15-inch Touchscreen, 1TB i7 32GB RAM with Windows 11 Pro (Wi-Fi, 3.6GHz Ten-Core i7-1265U, Newest Version) Black Metal, RL1-00001
Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 15-inch Touchscreen, 1TB i7 32GB RAM with Windows 11 Pro (Wi-Fi, 3.6GHz Ten-Core i7-1265U, Newest Version) Black Metal, RL1-00001
By Microsoft
$1,688.00
$2,399.00 30% OFF
Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 (2022), 15" Touch Screen, Thin & Lightweight, Long Battery Life, Fast Intel i7 Processor for Multi-Tasking, 8GB RAM, 512GB Storage with Windows 11, Platinum
Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 (2022), 15" Touch Screen, Thin & Lightweight, Long Battery Life, Fast Intel i7 Processor for Multi-Tasking, 8GB RAM, 512GB Storage with Windows 11, Platinum
By Microsoft
$1,199.99
$1,499.99 20% OFF
Surface Laptop 2 Price
Microsoft Surface Laptop 2 (Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB) - Platinum (Renewed)
Microsoft Surface Laptop 2 (Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB) - Platinum (Renewed)
By Microsoft
$249.00
$304.99 18% OFF
Microsoft Surface Laptop 2 Tablet 13.5" (2256x1504) Touchscreen Laptop Intel Core i5-8350U 1.7GHz, 16GB DDR4 RAM, 256GB SSD, Backlit Keyboard, Wi-Fi, Camera, Silver, Windows 10 Pro (Renewed)
Microsoft Surface Laptop 2 Tablet 13.5" (2256x1504) Touchscreen Laptop Intel Core i5-8350U 1.7GHz, 16GB DDR4 RAM, 256GB SSD, Backlit Keyboard, Wi-Fi, Camera, Silver, Windows 10 Pro (Renewed)
By Microsoft
$327.50
Microsoft Surface Laptop 2, 13.5" (2256 x 1504) Touchscreen, Intel Core i7-8650U Up to 4.2GHz, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, Backlit Keyboard, Windows 10 Home (Renewed)
Microsoft Surface Laptop 2, 13.5" (2256 x 1504) Touchscreen, Intel Core i7-8650U Up to 4.2GHz, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, Backlit Keyboard, Windows 10 Home (Renewed)
By Microsoft
$399.00

Availability

Surface Laptop 5 15”Surface Laptop 2
Released20222018
Release Date
  • Introduced: October 12, 2022
  • Pre-ordered: October 12, 2022
  • Released: October 25, 2022
  • Introduced: October 2, 2018
  • Pre-ordered: October 2, 2018
  • Released: October 16 2018
PricingStarting at $1,299.99Starting at 999$
Generations

Exterior

Surface Laptop 5 15”Surface Laptop 2
Dimensions13.4” x 9.6” x 0.58” (340 mm x 244 mm x 14.7 mm)12.13” x 8.79” x 0.39-0.57” (308.02 mm x 223.2 mm x 9.93 mm-14.47 mm)
Width: 12.13” (308.02 mm)
Depth: 8.79” (223.2 mm)
Height: 0.39 - 0.57” (9.93 - 14.47 mm)
Weight
  • Metal
    3.44 lbs (1.56 kg)
  • Intel Core i5 › 2.76 lbs (1.26 kg)
  • Intel Core i7 › 2.83 lbs (1.28 kg)
Colors
  • Metal
    Matte Black Platinum
Black Platinum Burgundy Cobalt Blue
Keyboard and Trackpad
  • Keyboard:
    • Full-size backlit keyboard with a soft-touch feel and full 1.3mm travel.
    • Large palm rest with premium Alcantara® material for maximized typing comfort.
  • Trackpad:
    • Larger size 115 mm x 76.66 mm, glass.
    • Supports up to Five-finger multitouch gestures.
  • Keyboard:
    • Full-size backlit keyboard with the soft-touch feel and full 1.5mm travel.
    • Large palm rest with premium Alcantara® material for maximized typing comfort.
  • Trackpad:
    • Larger size 105 mm x 70 mm, glass.
    • Supports up to Five-finger multitouch gesture.

Display

Surface Laptop 5 15”Surface Laptop 2
Size13.5 Inches13.5 Inches
Info
  • 15” PixelSense™ Display
  • Resolution: 2496 x 1664
  • Density: 201 PPI
  • Color profile: sRGB and Vivid
  • Individually color-calibrated display
  • Refresh rate: 60Hz
  • Aspect ratio: 3:2
  • Contrast ratio: 1300:1
  • Touch: 10-point multi-touch
  • Brightness: 400 nits maximum (typical). 5 nits minimum
  • Dolby Vision IQ™ support
  • Corning® Gorilla® Glass 5
  • Display Resolution: 2256 x 1504 (3.4M Pixels)
  • Display Density: 201 PPI
  • PixelSense™ Display
  • Aspect ratio: 3:2
  • Inking: designed together with Surface Pen
  • Touch: 10 points multi-touch
  • Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3
  • 10nm Oleophobic Coating
  • 100% sRGB color, individually calibrated

Ports

Surface Laptop 5 15”Surface Laptop 2
Left (3)
  • 1 x Thunderbolt 4
    40 Gpbs, USB 4.0 (40 Gbps), Power Delivery, DisplayPort
  • 1 x USB-A
    USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10 Gbps)
  • 1 x headphone jack
    Headphone/Microphone
Right (1)
  • 1 x Surface Connect
    Charging, Docking
Surface Laptop 2 Ports
Image Source: Microsoft
  • 1 x Full-size USB 3.0
  • 1 x Surface Connect™
    Supports charging and docking station.
  • 1 x Mini DisplayPort
  • 1 x Headset jack

Internal Specs

Surface Laptop 5 15”Surface Laptop 2
Processor
  1. 12th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1255U
    10 cores, 12 threads, 1.70 → 4.70 GHz, 12MB SmartCache, 15W
  2. 12th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1265U
    10 cores, 12 threads, 1.80 → 4.80 GHz, 12MB SmartCache, 15W
  1. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8250U
    4 cores, 8 threads, 1.60 → 3.40 GHz, 6MB SmartCache, 15W
  2. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8350U
    4 cores, 8 threads, 1.70 → 3.60 GHz, 6MB SmartCache, 15W
  3. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8650U
    4 cores, 8 threads, 1.90 → 4.20 GHz, 8MB SmartCache, 15W
Integrated Graphics
  1. 12th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1255U
    Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics
    96 Execution Units, → 1250 MHz
  2. 12th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1265U
    Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics
    96 Execution Units, → 1250 MHz
  1. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8250U
    Intel® UHD Graphics 620
    24 Execution Units, 300 → 1100 MHz
  2. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8350U
    Intel® UHD Graphics 620
    24 Execution Units, 300 → 1100 MHz
  3. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8650U
    Intel® UHD Graphics 620
    24 Execution Units, 300 → 1150 MHz
Memory
8GB 16GB 32GB
5200 MHz LPDDR5 RAM
8GB 16GB
1866 MHz LPDDR3 RAM
Storage
256 GB 512 GB 1 TB
Removable M.2 NVMe SSD
128 GB 256 GB 512 GB 1 TB
Soldered BGA PCIe SSD
Fans Number1-

Connectivity

Surface Laptop 5 15”Surface Laptop 2
Wi-FiWi-Fi 6: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax compatible.
  • Wi-Fi 5: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac compatible.
BluetoothBluetooth Wireless 5.1 technology
  • Bluetooth Wireless 4.1 technology

Battery

Surface Laptop 5 15”Surface Laptop 2
Size
  • 47.4 Wh
    Nominal battery capacity.
  • 45.8 Wh
    Minimum battery capacity.
45.2 Wh
Battery LifeUp to 17 hours of typical device usageUp to 14.5 hours of typical device usage
Power Supply
  • 60W power supply with USB-A (5W) (65W total)
  • Supports Fast Charge (0-80% in about one hour)
  • 44W proprietary power supply
    USB-A output: 5W
    Surface Connect output: 39W

Software

Surface Laptop 5 15”Surface Laptop 2
OSConsumer models
  • Windows 11 Home
Business models
  • Windows 11 Pro
  • For Consumer: Windows 10 Home
  • For Commercial: Windows 10 Pro
Free upgrade to Windows 11
Built-in AppsConsumer models
  • Preloaded Microsoft 365 Apps
  • Microsoft 365 Family 30-day trial
  • Xbox Game Pass Ultimate 30-day trial
Business models
  • Preloaded Microsoft 365 Apps
  • Microsoft 365 Business Standard, Microsoft 365 Business Premium, or Microsoft 365 Apps 30-day trial
Microsoft Office 365 30-days trial

Camera & Audio

Surface Laptop 5 15”Surface Laptop 2
Camera
  • Windows Hello face authentication camera (front-facing)
  • 720p HD front-facing video camera
  • Windows Hello face authentication camera (front-facing)
  • 720p HD front-facing video camera
Audio
  • Dual far-field Studio Mics
  • OmniSonic stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos®
  • Dual microphones
  • OmniSonic stereo speakers with Dolby® Audio™ Premium

Misc

Surface Laptop 5 15”Surface Laptop 2
Inking
  • Designed for Surface Pen 
  • Supports Microsoft Pen Protocol (MPP)
    4096 levels of pressure Tilt sensing Best in class latency Paper feel 0.1mm precision
Supports Surface Pen
4096 levels of pressure
Tilt sensing
Best in class latency
Sensors
  • Ambient light sensor
  • Ambient light sensor
Security
  • TPM 2.0 chip for enterprise-grade security and BitLocker support
  • Enterprise-grade protection with Windows Hello face sign-in
  • Windows 11 Secured-core PC
  • HW TPM 2.0 chip for enterprise security
  • Enterprise-grade protection with Windows Hello face sign-in
In the box
  • Surface Laptop 5 15”
  • Power supply
  • Quick Start Guide
  • Safety and warranty documents
  • Surface Laptop 2
  • Power supply
  • Quick Start Guide
  • Safety and warranty documents
Warranty
  • 1-year limited hardware warranty
  • One-year limited hardware warranty
  • Commercial: Advanced Exchange warranty service with expedited device replacement
More-Supports Surface Dial
Supports off-screen interaction only

Key Features

Surface Laptop 5 15”Surface Laptop 2
At Glance
Released in Late
2022
3:2 2.5K
13.5”
1664p 60Hz
Weight
3.44 lb
1.56 kg
Up to
Intel Core i7-1265U
10C/12T, 1.80 → 4.80 GHz
Geekbench 5
1,336
Single Core
Geekbench 5
6,336
Multi-Core
With integrated
Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics
96 Execution Units, → 1250 MHz
Configurable up to
32GB
5200 MHz LPDDR5
Starting at
$1,299.99
i7, 8GB, 256GB
Released in Late
2018
3:2 2.2K
13.5”
1504p 60Hz
Weight
2.76 lb
1.25 kg
Up to
Intel Core i7-8650U
4C/8T, 1.90 → 4.20 GHz
Geekbench 5
1,106
Single Core
Geekbench 5
3,879
Multi-Core
With integrated
Intel® UHD Graphics 620
24 Execution Units, 300 → 1150 MHz
Configurable up to
16GB
1866 MHz LPDDR3
Surface Laptop 2 Ports

Comparison Summary

Surface Laptop 5 15” vs. Surface Laptop 2

Microsoft has released the Surface Laptop 5 15”, a 13.5-inch machine, in late-2022. It is powered by up to 10-core Intel Core i7-1265U with a boost clock speed up to 4.80 GHz. The laptop has an integrated graphics option up to Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics (96 Execution Units, → 1250 MHz).

On the other hand, we have the 13.5-inch Surface Laptop 2 was introduced by Microsoft about four years earlier in late-2018. It comes with up to a quad-core Intel Core i7-8650U with a boost clock speed up to 4.20 GHz. It has an integrated graphics option up to Intel® UHD Graphics 620 (24 Execution Units, 300 → 1150 MHz).

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Surface Laptop 5 15”1
12th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1255U1,754100.00%
2
12th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1265U1,33676.17%
Surface Laptop 21
8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8250U77143.96%
2
8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8350U86249.14%
3
8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8650U1,10663.06%
01,754

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

Surface Laptop 5 15”1
12th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1255U6,415100.00%
2
12th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1265U6,33698.77%
Surface Laptop 21
8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8250U1,97130.72%
2
8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8350U2,98246.48%
3
8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8650U3,87960.47%
06,415

Both Surface Laptop 5 15” and Surface Laptop 2 have the same 13.5-inch display size. In addition, the Surface Laptop 5 15” weighs 3.44 lbs. about 24% heavier than the 2.76 lbs. Surface Laptop 2. Moreover, measured at 13.4” x 9.6” x 0.58”, the Surface Laptop 5 15” is considerably bulkier than the Surface Laptop 2 at 12.13” x 8.79” x 0.57”.

Surface Laptop 5 15”Surface Laptop 2

Moving over to upgradability, Microsoft claims that the Surface Laptop 5 15” supports up to 32GB 5200 MHz LPDDR5 memory. However, it has an onboard memory module that is not upgradable by the users. Fortunately, it comes with a single removable M.2 SSD slot that users can replace and upgrade in the future.

For Surface Laptop 2, it supports up to 16GB 1866 MHz LPDDR3 memory. Like Surface Laptop 5 15”, it has an onboard memory module that is not upgradable by the users.

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