Microsoft's Surface Laptop 4 packs much faster Intel processors

Microsoft has introduced the Surface Laptop 4, the latest version of its mainstay portable, and it’s good news if you crave more performance – and don’t mind a tried-and-true formula.

The new system provides 11th-gen Intel Core processor choices that provide a roughly 70% performance boost compared to their equivalent options in the outgoing model. You can also expect up to 19 hours of claimed battery life, although that’s likely to dip in real-world use. You can now configure the 13.5-inch Surface Laptop 4 with Microsoft’s customized version of an AMD Ryzen, too, but it’s still the old Zen 2-based chip rather than a modern Zen 3 CPU.

See also: The best Surface laptops and tablets

 You’re otherwise looking at a very recognizable machine. The Surface Laptop 4 uses the same 13.5- and 15-inch touchscreens, Hello-capable 720p webcam, and mix of USB-C and USB-A ports. It’s still a solid design, but you won’t get the thinner bezels or Thunderbolt ports found on rivals like the Dell XPS 13 or Apple’s MacBook Air.

The Surface Laptop 4 will be available on April 15 in the US, Canada, and Japan. It starts at a $999 price for a 13.5-inch edition with a Ryzen 5, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. Spare no expenses and you can pay up to $2,299 for a 13.5-inch model with a Core i7, 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD, while its 15-inch equivalent will cost $2,399. Orders made before April 15th include a free pair of Surface Earbuds.