Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 leaked specs put MacBook Air to shame

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The Surface Laptop 4 will come with a choice of AMD and Intel CPUs

Microsoft Surface Laptop 4
(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Consumers shopping for the upcoming Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 will have their choice of the latest Intel Tiger Lake-U and AMD Ryzen 4000 CPUs, according to a benchmark test leaked online. And based on early leaked specs, Microsoft's next laptop could pose a serious threat to competitors like the new MacBook Air 2020.

Twitter user @_rogame posted a screenshot from the 3DMark 11 test, which purports to show graphics scores from a 2.7GHz Intel Tiger Lake-U processor, which has a 4.3GHz boost clock four cores, and eight threads. The test Surface Laptop 4 also appears to have a 256GB hard drive and 16GB of RAM. 

According to the results posted online, the Intel processor hit a mark of 8412 on the 3DMark 11 Physics test, and 5540 on the Graphics test. 

While not confirmed by the benchmark leak, there have also been rumors that the Surface Laptop 4 will also come with AMD Ryzen 4000 CPU. Either would be a big improvement from the Surface Laptop 3, which is available with an Intel Core i5 or i7 processor (for the 13-inch model) and an AMD Ryzen 5 or Ryzen 7 processor for the 15-inch model. 

In our Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 review, we were disappointed with the performance of the AMD Ryzen 5 3580U processor in our 15-inch unit. The Surface Laptop 4 could also help Microsoft better compete with Apple, as our friends at Laptop Mag found the new MacBook Air's 10th-gen Intel Core i5 processor to deliver underwhelming performance compared to the competition.

Based on the release date of the Surface Laptop 3, we wouldn't expect to see the Surface Laptop 4 hit shelves until sometime this fall. But with the coronavirus pandemic affecting all aspects of life, we wouldn't be surprised to see some delay in the release of Microsoft's notebook.

Currently on Microsoft's site, the Surface Laptop 3 is available at a starting price of $999 for the 13.5-inch model with an Intel Core i5 processor, a 128GB hard drive, and 8GB of RAM. The 15-inch version also starts at $999 with an AMD Ryzen 5 3580U chip, 8GB of RAM, and a 128GB hard drive.

Mike Prospero
Mike Prospero
U.S. Editor-in-Chief, Tom's Guide

Michael A. Prospero is the U.S. Editor-in-Chief for Tom’s Guide. He oversees all evergreen content and oversees the Homes, Smart Home, and Fitness/Wearables categories for the site. In his spare time, he also tests out the latest drones, electric scooters, and smart home gadgets, such as video doorbells. Before his tenure at Tom's Guide, he was the Reviews Editor for Laptop Magazine, a reporter at Fast Company, the Times of Trenton, and, many eons back, an intern at George magazine. He received his undergraduate degree from Boston College, where he worked on the campus newspaper The Heights, and then attended the Columbia University school of Journalism. When he’s not testing out the latest running watch, electric scooter, or skiing or training for a marathon, he’s probably using the latest sous vide machine, smoker, or pizza oven, to the delight — or chagrin — of his family.