There’s no distortion when you crank up the volume, and the tonal balance is really rather good. It’s a great match to the punchy speakers, which fire upwards through the keyboard tray and have been optimised for Dolby Atmos this time around. The IPS panel delivers impressive clarity, whether you’re scrolling through spreadsheets or streaming blockbusters in bed. The 2256×1504 resolution means you’re getting a lot more pixels than a typical Full HD panel, giving a real edge over lots of similarly-priced machines. Just make sure to do it indoors, as brightness is only average, and the glossy finish can make reflections a real pain. It’ll mean thicker black bars when watching movies, of course, but the vibrant colours and great contrast will have you absorbing the content instead of bemoaning the letterbox. The Surface Laptop 4 will comfortably sit two documents side-by-side, with the extra vertical space needing less scrolling than the 16:9 competition.

Microsoft’s fondness for 3:2 aspect ratio screens shows no sign of fading, but given how productivity-friendly they can be, we’re not surprised.

Surface laptop 4