Contrast is also very good, although not quite as strong as some of the original Surface Book results which would be over 1800:1. The dynamic range of the display is also very impressive, with it achieving under 2 nits of brightness at its minimum setting. Brightness and ContrastĪt 486 nits, the Surface Laptop Studio is not quite out brightest device tested, but it isn’t far off. For brightness and contrast measurements the X-Rite i1Display Pro colorimeter is used, and for color accuracy testing the X-Rite i1 Pro 2 spectrophotometer gets the call. To test the display characteristics, we leverage Portrait Displays’ Calman software suite with a custom workflow.

For our testing, we stuck it in the most accurate sRGB mode. To facilitate those that prefer a bit more punch to the colors, Microsoft continues to offer choices between sRGB and Vivid modes, the latter offering more saturated colors. That may seem like a disadvantage for the Surface Laptop Studio, but with the state of Windows, even with the latest Windows 11 operating system, it really works best with sRGB. Microsoft continues to offer only sRGB gamut coverage, where some of their competition offer the wider Adobe RGB or P3 color gamuts. Though slightly less sharp, it is still a high-PPI display, and the lower resolution should help out on battery life significantly. The 2400x1600 3:2 aspect ratio display comes in at 201 pixels per inch, compared to 260 pixels per inch on the Surface Book 3.

One area where the 14.4-inch Laptop Studio falls a bit short compared to the Surface Book is pixel density. I have been fortunate enough to use a lot of high refresh rate displays over the years, and the additional smoothness in all tasks is very welcome. The 120 Hz option can be disabled to save power, but even if left in the default 120 Hz mode, the laptop will automatically lower the refresh rate when it can to limit the power usage. Microsoft is dubbing their new display the PixelSense Flow display, and that is because it now offers a 120 Hz refresh rate. If the Surface Laptop Studio is the successor to the Surface Book, it has a lot to live up to in the display department.

Surface laptop studio skin