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Ultra 16
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Surface Laptop Studio
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What we think

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The PerfectRec laptop team Learn more
Updated January 10, 2024·

The LG Ultra 16 is a more budget-friendly option with a larger 16-inch screen, very good battery life, and a lighter build making it more portable. It also operates quietly and is well-suited for general use, though its performance for 3D work, machine learning, and engineering tasks is decent but not top-tier. Conversely, the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio is more expensive but offers more robust performance due to its dedicated Nvidia graphics card, making it a better choice for intensive 3D rendering, machine learning, and some gaming. It also features a touchscreen with a higher resolution, a more pronounced aspect ratio preferable for productivity tasks, and higher build quality, but has a shorter battery life and a smaller 14.4-inch screen. 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 LG Ultra 16
  • Excellent battery life
Advantages of the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio
  • Very good overall display quality
  • Very good overall build quality
  • Very good speakers
  • Very good keyboard

Key differences

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Screen Quality

6.2
Ultra 16
Surface Laptop Studio
8.0
16.0in
SIZE
14.4in
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
270.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
491.0 nits
The LG Ultra 16 has a better screen than the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio for software development, and content creation, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio has a better screen for general use, gaming and AI, and engineering and design.

Battery

17.0 Hours
Ultra 16
Surface Laptop Studio
8.0 Hours
The LG Ultra 16 has 17 hours of battery life. The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio has 8 hours of battery life.

Build Quality

6.5
Ultra 16
Surface Laptop Studio
8.5
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio has very good build quality, while the LG Ultra 16 has only fair build quality.

Cost

$1,000
Ultra 16
Surface Laptop Studio
$1,700
Product image
Product image

$500

$1,000

$1,500

$2,000

$2,500

$3,000

The LG Ultra 16 has a price of $1,000 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio costs $1,700.
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Key similarities

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General Use

7.7
Ultra 16
Surface Laptop Studio
7.4
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
270.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
491.0 nits
17.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
8.0 Hours
6.7/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
7.9/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.8/10
The LG Ultra 16 and Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio are both good for general use.

Gaming and AI

6.2
Ultra 16
Surface Laptop Studio
6.6
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.9/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.7/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio and LG Ultra 16 are both only fair for gaming and AI.

Engineering and Design

7.0
Ultra 16
Surface Laptop Studio
7.3
6.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.5/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.9/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio and LG Ultra 16 are both good for engineering and design.

Content Creation

7.7
Ultra 16
Surface Laptop Studio
7.4
6.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.5/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The LG Ultra 16 and Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio are both good for content creation.

Software Development

7.5
Ultra 16
Surface Laptop Studio
7.3
6.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.5/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
6.7/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The LG Ultra 16 and Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio are both good for software development.

Portability

Good
Ultra 16
Surface Laptop Studio
Good
16.0in
SIZE
14.4in
3.6 lbs
WEIGHT
4.0 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The LG Ultra 16 and Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio both have good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.

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How the LG Ultra 16 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio compare to other laptops

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Spec Comparison

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LG Ultra 16Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio
LG Ultra 16Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio

GENERAL

Price
$1,000
$1,700
Release Date
March 1, 2023September 1, 2021
Overall Dimensions
14'' x 9.8'' x 0.64''12.7'' x 9'' x 0.75''
Weight
3.63 lbs4 lbs
Width
14.02"12.72"
Depth
9.78"8.98"

INTERNAL

Processor
AMD Ryzen 7 7730UIntel i7-11370H
RAM
16 GB16 GB
DDR Memory Version
54
RAM Slots
00
Storage
512 GB512 GB

BATTERY

Battery Life
17 Hours8 Hours
Battery Capacity
72 Wh58 Wh

SCREEN

Diagonal Size
16"14.4"
Display Technology
IPSIPS
Resolution
1920 x 12002400 x 1600
Refresh Rate
60Hz120Hz
Display Brightness
270 nits491 nits

RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS

Build Quality Score
6.5/108.5/10
Portability Score
7.9/107.9/10
Gaming Laptop Appearance
NoNo
Premium Business Laptop
NoNo
Fan Noise Score
10/106.8/10

HARDWARE FEATURES

Keyboard Quality Score
6.8/108/10
Speaker Quality Score
7/108/10
Webcam
720p1080p
Fingerprint Reader
NoNo
Backlit Keyboard
NoYes
Number Pad
YesNo

CONNECTIVITY

USB Type-A
20
USB-C ports
12
USB-C Charging
YesYes
Display Outputs
12
Thunderbolt Version
N/A4

Shopping

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LG Ultra 16

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Dig into reviews and images

NotebookCheck

Sebastian Jentsch | October 2022
"Unlike the gram, the Ultra PC isn't designed to be as lightweight as possible. The 16-inch laptop is a whole 400 g (0.88 lb) heavier than its 16-inch gram counterpart partly because its chassis is not made of magnesium. Other than that, the Ultra PC seems like a copy of the gram – but with longer battery life, lower noise levels, and a clean, delicate look."

Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio

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Dig into reviews and images

PCMag

Tom Brant | October 2021
"There’s no doubt that the Surface Laptop Studio is groundbreaking. We’ve come to expect such things from the Surface lineup, so it’s always nice to see a product that exceeds our expectations. The pull-forward laptop-screen concept has been tried before, but never in a device that’s so stylish and packed with innovative features like a haptic touchpad and robust digital stylus support."

Get a great deal on the LG Ultra 16 or the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio

About LG

LG is a South Korean conglomerate company. While LG is mainly known for various products outside of technology, LG also develops laptops. Within the laptop industry, they are known for their thin-and-light Gram series, as well as their value-oriented Ultra series. LG laptops offer very thin and light laptops with phenomenal battery life, and are often on sale.

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.

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Why trust us

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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.

By the numbers

380
Laptops evaluated
48,640
Laptops stats compiled
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Proprietary Laptops ratings developed
125,295
Recommendations made
27,148
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About the laptop team

Joe Golden, Ph.D

CEO and Laptops Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.

Jason Lew

Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Jason is a staff expert and software engineer that has been making laptop recommendations for 7 years and moderates one of the largest laptop subreddits.

Chandradeep Chowdhury

Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.

Craig Russell

Laptops Expert
Craig is a UK-based laptops expert. Craig works in IT, where he recommends and supports laptops and PCs for clients and has been recommending laptops on Reddit for five years.

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