Why The Surface Laptop 5 Is Microsofts Hybrid Hero

The release of the Surface Laptop 5 last month showed that Microsoft's laptop has improved dramatically in key specifications. Notably, the AMD variant has been discontinued and this iteration of the Surface Laptop has transitioned exclusively to the 12th Gen Intel Evo platform and chipsets; That means Thunderbird 4 and Wi-Fi 6

Perhaps more interesting is what the Surface Laptop 5 represents for Microsoft.

The Surface line has always been a useful measure of how Microsoft views hardware integration with the Windows platform. The first Surface (now the Surface RT) came out in 2012 and helped define a 2-in-1 space, although it took several hardware iterations to get it right.

It's also worth noting that the first Surface used an ARM chip, and while later Surface models reverted to the x86 architecture, the Surface Pro X reverted Windows to ARM and the Pro 9 fully adopted the platform again. Microsoft made a breakthrough in ARM-based PCs, but never quite capitalized on it like Apple did many years later.

Microsoft has always been interested in talking about how you use Windows. In the Surface line, it has hardware tuned for this behavior, linking on-device software, blood-based services, and companion hardware combinations.

The corona pandemic has changed the way people work. During long periods of self-isolation, working from home has gone from being a good idea to the norm for a few people. As the world turns away from the immediate effects of the pandemic, hybrid businesses have become the new norm and Microsoft has begun using its Surface lineup to showcase the capabilities required for hybrid working.

It also looks more human and like all good things, it shows work. Along with the Surface Laptop 5, the Microsoft Surface team released a report on the world of work. Under the title The Office Reimagined: Not a Redesign, but a Redefinition, it addresses the so-called hybrid paradox:

“...When employers want to encourage personal presence, they start by understanding that people value flexibility and human interaction and move away from a one-size-fits-all approach.

Finding a balance between working from home and returning to the office has been a source of tension in the business world. It's not only a search for best practices, but also for the best equipment. The Microsoft Surface lineup has been at the forefront of consumer and enterprise device identification for the last decade. He also considered the personal aspect of the equation and the relationship.

Now read how Google's Android update improves the Microsoft Surface Duo...

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