Microsoft this week unveiled the long-rumored Surface Laptop 4. As expected, it packs a host of updated components into a sleek chassis that bears a striking resemblance to the Surface Laptop 3.

While there are no groundbreaking revisions when comparing the Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 to the Surface Laptop 3, the new Surface Laptop promises upgraded performance over the previous model, better battery life, more configuration options The new Surface Laptop promises to be the best of both worlds. [Because while the Surface Laptop 3 offered a choice of AMD or Intel processors, there was one important limitation. That is, if you want a 13.5-inch Surface Laptop 3, you are limited to Intel chips

. If you look back at our Surface Laptop 3 (15", AMD) review and compare it to our Surface Laptop 3 (15", Intel) review, you will see that we praised the Intel model for its speedier performance.

The Surface Laptop 4 may not. In any case, AMD fans may rejoice in the fact that Microsoft now offers a choice of either AMD or Intel chips in all Surface Laptop 4 models.

So what else is new? To find out all you need to know, you need to read on.

The new Surface Laptop 4 will cost at least $1,000, with an MSRP of $999.99 for the entry-level 13.5-inch model.

This is the same as the starting price of the 13.5-inch Surface Laptop 3 (currently on sale for $769), making this a fairly straightforward comparison. If you want to spend more money, you may want to buy the newest model. If you want to save money and value the design over the substance of the Surface Laptop, consider looking around for a bargain on last year's model.

You may notice minor differences in appearance, but in general, the new Surface Laptop looks almost identical to the older Surface Laptop. In our reviews, we consistently praise the Surface Laptop 3's slim, ergonomic chassis and comfortable keyboard. We would have liked to see a more radical redesign of the hardware, but it looks like we will have to wait and see.

It should be noted that Microsoft is offering Surface Laptop exterior options (Cobalt Blue, Matte Black, Platinum, and Sandstone.) In our review of the Surface Laptop Go, we noted that this cool metallic blue hue lends elegance and class to the device.

We had hoped that Microsoft would have found a way to make the bezels on the Surface Laptop 4 significantly narrower than the previous model, but unfortunately that does not appear to be the case. However, we are pleased that the company has managed to incorporate Dolby Atmos Omnisonic speakers into its latest Surface Laptop design, and we are eager to hear what they sound like in person.

The new Surface Laptop 4 can be configured with Intel 11th generation (Core i5 and i7) or AMD Ryzen Microsoft Surface Edition processors (4000 series) oct-core CPUs, depending on processor preference

This was the case last year.

While this is an overall improvement over last year's model, it is somewhat disappointing that Microsoft could not find a way to incorporate the latest AMD Ryzen Mobile 5000 series chips.

To be fair, the Ryzen 5000 chip for laptops only debuted this year, and Microsoft probably needed to lock in configuration options early enough that the Ryzen 4000 mobile chip made sense.

Improved battery life is a major selling point for the new Surface Laptop 4, with Microsoft claiming the longest battery life of any Surface product to date.

Officially, the new Surface Laptop 4 is supposed to last up to 19 hours on a single battery charge, but of course if you play games or do other heavy-duty computing, you'll soon be getting less than that.

By comparison, the 15-inch Surface Laptop 3 model we reviewed was sold with a promised battery life of up to 11.5 hours. However, our testing showed that the AMD variant lasted about 8.5 hours, while the Intel unit lasted a solid 9.5 hours in our web-surfing-based battery tests.

The Surface Laptop 4 is a straightforward evolution of the Surface Laptop line and should be good news for those who have been considering purchasing this lightweight and elegant notebook.

That said, we were expecting more of a revolution in terms of design, and the lack of the latest and greatest components (specifically, the AMD 5000 series CPU and the absence of Thunderbolt 4 connectivity) is a bit disappointing.

We are eager to spend some quality time testing the new Surface Laptop 4.