Which copilot laptop? Surface laptop 15-inch Vs Lenovo Slim 7x 14" Vs Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge 16"?

[bigboss]

I'm contemplating between the 3 laptops. I currently have a Surface Pro 7 but want a bigger screen to be able to see Excel sheets with rotas more easily. Touchscreen will be nice, although I've used it rarely on Surface Pro 7 (have used the Surface pen for signatures though which is a useful feature). From what I can see so far:

1) Lenovo is the cheapest, with slightly smaller screen. Not sure of the build quality as it's not a ThinkPad.

2) Samsung has the biggest screen and yet very light. Has eUFS storage instead of SSD. Is that an advantage of a disadvantage? My current phone is Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra. Is the integration useful?

3) Microsoft Surface laptop, perhaps the most vanilla of the three with no bloatware. I like the 3:2 aspect ratio for documents. I've chosen the 256GB version though, and wondered it'll be enough (bearing in mind I have Microsoft 365 with 1TB storage and my current laptop is using only 81GB space). It doesn't have surface pen support from what I can see.

What are your thoughts?

 

[abacus]

Do you really need a Co-Pilot Laptop? as currently a conventional laptop will probably be better.
Lenovo have always been good bang for the buck.
Stick with SSD.
The Surface is a looker; however, you can get better bang for the buck if you get something that is more conventional.
Are you tied to the Windows system, as the Apple laptops do a lot in a nice slim size, plus Apple tends to be less intrusive than Microsoft.

Bill

 

[jjbomber]

Samsung are on the Blue Light scheme for health workers, so you should get a good price on that one.

 

[bigboss]

Do you really need a Co-Pilot Laptop? as currently a conventional laptop will probably be better.
Lenovo have always been good bang for the buck.
Stick with SSD.
The Surface is a looker; however, you can get better bang for the buck if you get something that is more conventional.
Are you tied to the Windows system, as the Apple laptops do a lot in a nice slim size, plus Apple tends to be less intrusive than Microsoft.

Bill

Wife has a MacBook, so we already have an Apple laptop. Most of my work involves Teams and OneDrive, so Windows laptop makes sense. The main reason is the snapdragon processor and longer battery life.

 

[bigboss]

Samsung are on the Blue Light scheme for health workers, so you should get a good price on that one.

Thanks. Yes, getting a good deal on the Samsung. In fact, I'm getting NHS discount on Surface laptop as well, and student discount on the Lenovo (my son is a student).

 

[DCarmi]

I wouldn't get too worked up by integration between Samsung phone and notebook.

Windows itself does a decent job with 'quickshare' and 'phone link' and Android devices. You can also download Dex, should you feel the need. You can even use your phone as a second screen, if you are desperate enough.

I'm a bit of a fan of stylus support on a tablet but not so much on PC.

Do you get a work discount for Dell? Might be worth looking there, as well. I think NHS get 20% discount.

The other thing to maybe consider is getting an external monitor for home.

 

[bigboss]

I wouldn't get too worked up by integration between Samsung phone and notebook.

Windows itself does a decent job with 'quickshare' and 'phone link' and Android devices. You can also download Dex, should you feel the need. You can even use your phone as a second screen, if you are desperate enough.

I'm a bit of a fan of stylus support on a tablet but not so much on PC.

Do you get a work discount for Dell? Might be worth looking there, as well. I think NHS get 20% discount.

The other thing to maybe consider is getting an external monitor for home.

Dell only has the 13-inch version currently with Snapdragon. External monitor is a good shout which is what I seriously considered. But space is an issue, and more so portability.

 

[Rodolfo]

I've also used Surface devices since 2012 with the RT. A Surface Pro 2 upgraded to Win 10 still works -like new- as a nearly-daily dedicated music device. So, I would probably start and end with a Surface Laptop if I were shopping for a laptop, and I'd probably opt for a 13.5" model in black.

Since the beginning of laptops, I've always opted for the lowest-weight and highest battery-life + highest-quality combo (bought Sony Vaios for years until Sony sold its computer unit), so only a more or most portable lighter-than-Surface option would require a special consideration for me. Accordingly, the LG Gram would probably compete best with a Surface for me, and that is available in a broad set of size/weight options.

Those are my thoughts; enjoy your shopping and eventual selection.

 

[DCarmi]

Any particular reason why you want a copilot pc now? Rather than wait until they become more mainstream and cheaper?

There are bound to be several appearing in the next few months.

 

[bigboss]

Any particular reason why you want a copilot pc now? Rather than wait until they become more mainstream and cheaper?

There are bound to be several appearing in the next few months.

Basically I'm on medical leave in June post knee arthroscopy and have few things to sort in terms of designing rotas, completing SOPs etc. and I want a bigger screen (probably effects of aging!) The price isn't bad after NHS discount. Snapdragon PCs are power efficient.

I received Surface laptop with 15-inch screen yesterday, currently testing it. I'm loving it so far! The keys have a satisfying travel and I'm able to type faster with less mistakes. I watched Netflix last night and can see where the OLED screen will be useful. Dark scenes were ok but not brilliant. In reality, I'm unlikely to use the laptop to watch films..... although this may change given the screen estate especially when traveling (compared to 10-inch iPad). The laptop turns on when you lift the lid and battery life seems very good. It's good that you can charge the laptop via USB-C as well (in fact, only just discovered that even my old Surface Pro 7 could be charged via USB-C.....never needed it, so never tried before!). It is very quiet, I can't hear any fan noise. Only a strip of the bottom (where it connects to the screen) got slightly warm after few hours of use.

I've been using it since 9am including attending 1.5 hours of Teams meeting, and in 6 hours, battery is 56%. Nowhere close to claimed 22 hours (although video will affect it I presume) but still can easily go for 12+ hours.

The Lenovo is being shipped on Friday, should arrive by Monday latest I think. I've ordered the 32GB / 1TB version with OLED screen. I'll then decide which one to send back.

 

[bigboss]

(bought Sony Vaios for years until Sony sold its computer unit),

I loved my Vaio! Went strong for several years and it was lovely!! It's a shame Sony sold it.

 

[DCarmi]

How did you get on with the Copilot PC?
Just curious, you being an early adopter.

 

[bigboss]

How did you get on with the Copilot PC?
Just curious, you being an early adopter.

It's going well actually. It is fast and responsive. Phone link is more useful than I thought, as I don't need to touch my phone when I'm working. The only issue I've faced so far is that it found my printer on the network and supposedly connected to it, but the menu presented is all wrong (my printer can print dual sides but that option wasn't coming up) and it wouldn't print. I haven't downloaded the printer software on it though, was hoping it works straightaway like my android phone did.

 

[DCarmi]

I pleased you are getting on with it. I agree Phone link is good and has improved quite a lot of late. I use it all the time.

 

[bigboss]

Copilot is good. Has helped me quite a bit with my reports.

 

[DCarmi]

I've dabble a bit with Co-pilot and Bard(Gemini) for assistance with code, with somewhat mixed results. with time, I expect it will get better

 

[Rodolfo]

Being built into Bing, I'm dabbling with it myself almost daily, and it dazzles me regularly. The improvement I've noted is in how comprehensive/rich/thick its responses and interactions have become, are becoming.