This included things like streaming video and audio, browsing the web, writing content, and other mundane workday tasks.Īt the extremes, I could deplete the battery in about 7 hours if I tried to create a worst-case scenario, and I could eke out the full 18 hours that Microsoft rates the model at by sacrificing some screen brightness, volume, and performance.Īlso: The 5 best portable power banks: Top up your mobile devices

The result was an average of about 10 to 14 hours with mixed use. That left me to time the battery life the old-fashioned way.

A stat that usually pops up in short order was just absent here. One annoying quirk I ran into was the unwillingness of Windows 11 or the Surface Laptop 5 to provide a battery life estimate in hours and minutes. The passive drain of the Surface Laptop 5 while in sleep mode was among the smallest I've seen in a Windows laptop. If you see inaccuracies in our content, please report the mistake via this form. If we have made an error or published misleading information, we will correct or clarify the article. Our editors thoroughly review and fact-check every article to ensure that our content meets the highest standards. Our goal is to deliver the most accurate information and the most knowledgeable advice possible in order to help you make smarter buying decisions on tech gear and a wide array of products and services. ZDNET's editorial team writes on behalf of you, our reader. Indeed, we follow strict guidelines that ensure our editorial content is never influenced by advertisers.

Neither ZDNET nor the author are compensated for these independent reviews. This helps support our work, but does not affect what we cover or how, and it does not affect the price you pay. When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or service, we may earn affiliate commissions. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. ZDNET's recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping.

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