December 22, 2025
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Best travel laptops: Working on the go with Surface
Remote work has redefined what it means to “go to the office.” From sunlit beach cafés to bustling coworking spaces, you can choose to work from anywhere. Digital nomads, college students, traveling families, and hybrid professionals alike are embracing flexible lifestyles, and the ability to work from anywhere is more possible—and more powerful—than ever.
That’s why portability and performance are essential and Surface Copilot+ PCs from Microsoft, deliver. With all-day battery life1, built-in AI experiences, ultra-portable design, and seamless Microsoft 365 integration, Surface offers the ultimate travel laptop and 2-in-1 PC for those who want the freedom to explore without sacrificing productivity.
What makes a great travel laptop?
Time zones, layovers, and deadlines: traveling can involve a lot of juggling. Choosing the best travel laptop starts with identifying the features that support life on the go:
- Lightweight and compact design: Surface Copilot+ PCs are ultra-portable, making them ideal for carry-ons and the corner table in a coffee shop.
- Long battery life: All-day battery life1 of Surface Copilot+ PCs means less time searching for outlets and more time focusing on what matters.
- Offline functionality: Stay productive using OneNote, Microsoft 365 apps, and Microsoft Edge—even without internet.
- Versatile connectivity: With Wi-Fi 7 and optional 5G3,4 on select Surface models, you can connect from almost anywhere.
- Built-in AI experiences: From Microsoft Copilot (your AI companion) to Cocreator and more, you can take a Surface Copilot+ PC almost anywhere while elevating your work and fueling creative ideas with Windows 11 AI experiences5.
Best Travel Laptops: Microsoft Surface
When it comes to choosing the best travel laptop, Surface is among the best. Compared to other travel laptops, Surface strikes the balance: powerful enough to handle demanding tasks and portable enough for life on the go.
Surface Copilot+ PCs are designed with portability, all-day battery life, and AI-powered productivity in mind—so you can stay connected, creative, and efficient wherever you go. And, when you choose the freedom of the road without compromise, Surface gives you a choice of travel companion: Surface Laptop and Surface Pro 2-in-1 PC.
Surface Laptop: The AI-powered laptop experience
Surface Laptop is a sleek, Copilot+ PC designed to help you do more from anywhere. With a built-in keyboard featuring the Copilot key6, a responsive touchscreen, and all-day battery life, Surface Laptop delivers power, style, and intelligence in one ultra-portable laptop. Choose from:
- Surface Laptop, 13-inch
- Surface Laptop, 13.8-inch
- Surface Laptop, 15-inch
Perfect for students and professionals alike, Surface Laptop offers a balance of performance and design—ideal for travel-friendly productivity.
Surface Pro 2-in-1 PC: The AI-powered tablet and laptop experience
Surface Pro is a versatile 2-in-1 Copilot+ PC: the only tablet with built-in AI, and a laptop when you need it. Detach a Surface Pro keyboard7 for a light, tablet-first experience, or reattach a keyboard for full laptop productivity. Choose from:
- Surface Pro, 12-inch
- Surface Pro, 13-inch
Local AI, global productivity, and secure to the core
Surface Laptop and Surface Pro are powered by Snapdragon® X Elite Plus processors with a turbocharged neural processing unit (NPU) that performs 45 trillion operations per second, enabling fast, local execution of AI-intensive tasks like image generation, real-time translations, and video call enhancements.
You can also use voice, touch, or a Surface Slim Pen7 to capture ideas, and take advantage of advanced AI tools. For example:
- Ask Copilot to suggest a meaningful gift to bring to a host family in Spain; a gift that’s thoughtful but easy to carry.
- Use Recall to find and open that Word draft of a journal entry you wrote during your overnight train ride.
- Try Cocreator to help develop your artist flare. Sketch a favorite work of art at a museum in Italy while Cocreator in Paint helps generate an interpretation of it.
Surface is secure to the core too, because it’s built with a Microsoft Pluton security processor--the highest security level available for a Windows device. You also have the advantage of the most advanced security capabilities built into Windows 11.
AI art created via Copilot
Battery management tips for travelers
Staying charged matters when you’re on the road. Here’s how to make the most of your Surface Copilot+ PC battery:
- Activate Battery Saver mode in Windows 11 to reduce background usage.
- Use the Surface 65W Travel Power Adapter7. It’s compact, lightweight, and designed for on-the-go charging.
- Charge via USB-C® using compatible power banks or in-seat ports.
With all-day battery life, Surface devices let you work from anywhere, minimizing the stress of finding an outlet.
Staying productive offline
Productivity doesn’t have to pause when the signal drops. Surface Copilot+ PCs help you stay productive even when Wi-Fi is out of reach. Here’s how to work and travel smarter:
- Use Microsoft 365 apps and OneNote offline to update docs, take notes, and create presentations.
- Sync key files with OneDrive before departure for offline access.
- Browse saved content with Microsoft Edge, so you can stay informed and productive.
Travel-friendly accessories
Boost your on-the-go setup with accessories built for mobility:
- Surface Pro keyboard: Includes a Copilot key, plus media, brightness, mute, and shortcut controls.
- Surface Slim Pen: Sketch, write, or interact with Cocreator and Copilot to bring your vision to life.
- Surface Arc Mouse7: Lightweight, ergonomic, and snaps flat for portability.
- Surface USB-C® Travel Hub: Expand connectivity with a compact multi-port solution.
- Protective sleeves and cases: Shield your device while in transit.
- Noise-canceling headphones: Fade out noisy environments and improve video calls with AI-powered enhancements.
Real-world use cases
From digital nomads navigating new countries to students splitting time between campus and travel, Surface adapts to your lifestyle:
- A university student uses Surface Laptop at a campus café, summarizing handwritten notes with Copilot and using Recall to quickly locate key files.
- A remote creative professional takes their Surface Pro abroad, using Cocreator to bring sketch ideas to life with Surface Slim Pen.
- A digital nomad relies on the combination of Surface Pro and Surface USB-C Travel Hub to manage client projects from the airport to an Airbnb.
Ready to work from anywhere?
Whether you're hopping continents, studying abroad, or managing remote work while chasing new adventures, Surface Copilot+ PCs are built to support your journey. With powerful AI features, long-lasting battery, secure logins, and a design that goes wherever you go, Surface can help you experience what it really means to work from anywhere.
Ready to travel smarter and work more productively? Choose Surface Copilot+ PC and set sail today.
- DISCLAIMER: Features and functionality subject to change. Articles are written specifically for the United States market; features, functionality, and availability may vary by region.
- [1] Battery life varies significantly based on device configuration, usage, network and feature configuration, signal strength, settings and other factors. See Surface Battery Performance for details.
- [2] Based on reports by MBO Partners.
- [3] 6GHz band not available in all regions.
- [4] Surface Pro with 5G only. 5G not available in all areas; compatibility and performance depends on carrier network, plan and other factors. See carrier for details and pricing.
- [5] On some devices, some Copilot+ PC experiences require free updates continuing to roll out through early 2025. Timing varies by device and region. See aka.ms/copilotpluspcs.
- [6] Feature availability varies by market, see aka.ms/WindowsAIFeatures When Copilot for Windows is not available or enabled on the device, pressing the Copilot key will launch Windows Search.
- [7] Sold separately.
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