The HP 15" Laptop is a solid budget-friendly option with a larger screen and more ports, making it versatile for general use and suitable for light engineering tasks. Its battery life is decent, and it's quite portable for its size. However, it lacks the performance power and premium features of the Surface Laptop 6.
On the other hand, the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" offers a significant performance boost with its more powerful processor and dedicated graphics, ideal for more demanding tasks like gaming, 3D rendering, and machine learning. It also boasts a higher-resolution touchscreen with superior color accuracy and a faster refresh rate, which is great for creatives and professionals. The Surface Laptop is more expensive but justifies the cost with its premium build quality, better keyboard, and additional security features like facial recognition.
If you prioritize performance and premium features over cost, the Surface Laptop 6 is the way to go. However, if you're looking for a more affordable laptop for everyday tasks and don't need top-tier performance, the HP 15" Laptop is a practical choice. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the HP 15" Laptop
The HP 15" Laptop has no clear advantages over the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5".
Advantages of the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5"
Good for general use
Good for engineering and design
Good for software development
Good for content creation
Good overall display quality
Good overall build quality
Very good portability
Very good speakers
Good keyboard
Key differences
General Use
6.7/10
7.7/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2256 x 1504
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
250.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
400.0 nits
6.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
9.0 Hours
6.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
7.8/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
8.6/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" is good for general use, while the HP 15" Laptop is only fair.
PerfectRec’s General Use Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for general productivity, web browsing, streaming, video calls, and running a wide variety of apps and programs.
Gaming and AI
5.9/10
6.6/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.2/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2256 x 1504
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
8.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.0/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" is only fair for gaming and AI, while the HP 15" Laptop is poor.
PerfectRec’s Gaming and AI Score strongly emphasizes graphics processing capability, while also taking into account other factors that impact suitability for gaming and AI work.
Engineering and Design
6.2/10
7.7/10
5.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.5/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.2/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" is good for engineering and design, while the HP 15" Laptop is only fair.
PerfectRec’s Engineering and Design Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for graphic design and 3D rendering work.
Content Creation
6.9/10
7.7/10
5.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.5/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2256 x 1504
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" is good for content creation, while the HP 15" Laptop is only fair.
PerfectRec’s Content Creation Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for photo editing, video editing and other content creation tasks.
Software Development
6.7/10
7.7/10
5.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.5/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2256 x 1504
6.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" is good for software development, while the HP 15" Laptop is only fair.
PerfectRec’s Software Development Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for software developers.
Screen Quality
6.3/10
7.8/10
15.6in
SIZE
13.5in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2256 x 1504
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
250.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
400.0 nits
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" has a better screen than the HP 15" Laptop for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
PerfectRec’s screen quality scores take into account various important factors that are relevant for different use cases.
Battery
6.0 Hours
9.0 Hours
The HP 15" Laptop has 6 hours of battery life. The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" has 9 hours of battery life.
Battery life estimate is based on a mix of common use patterns. More portable and higher performing laptops tend to have less battery life.
Portability
Good
Very Good
15.6in
SIZE
13.5in
3.7 lbs
WEIGHT
3.0 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" has very good portability, while the HP 15" Laptop has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
6.0/10
7.4/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" has good build quality, while the HP 15" Laptop has only fair build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$378
$1,200
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
The HP 15" Laptop has a price of $378 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" costs $1,200.
"Chances are high that the HP 15 is one of the first laptops to pop up when you search for an inexpensive notebook. Indeed, its price tag is very tempting for many, and of course, this is the reason for its popularity. However, the HP 15" suffers from poor performance due to low power consumption. On the bright side, one of the good things about it is the port selection. On the inside, this includes two SODIMM slots for memory, an M.2 PCIe x4 slot for storage, and a SATA drive bay. However, the TN panel, and mediocre input devices are not ideal."
Get a great deal on the HP 15" Laptop or the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5"
About HP
HP, also known as Hewlett-Packard, is an American technology company that develops personal computers and computer peripherals. In the laptop industry, HP is known for its entry level Essential series laptops, its mid-range Pavilion, Envy, and Victus series, and high-end Omen and Spectre series, in addition to its business-oriented EliteBook, ProBook, and Dragonfly series laptops. HP laptops generally undercut other mainstream competitors in terms of price, placing itself as the value-oriented mainstream brand.
About Microsoft
Microsoft is an American technology corporation. Microsoft is best known for their Windows operating system and Surface laptop series. The Surface Laptop is their standard notebook offering, while their Surface Go, Surface Pro, and Surface Studio are their 2-in-1/tablet offerings in order of increasing capability. Although Microsoft charges a premium price tag for their laptops, buyers can expect a well integrated and packaged device since Microsoft develops the Windows operating system.
This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec laptops team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest laptop information and makes it digestible for you.
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