Microsoft has announced the Surface Pro 7+ laptop. While this is not the Surface Pro 8 we were hoping for, it does offer some of the things we were hoping for. For starters, it has an 11th generation Intel Tiger Lake processor. It also has removable storage, something we have seen in other Surface devices.

Microsoft's claims are stronger than they were for the Surface Pro 7, so it appears that Microsoft has fixed the battery life issue. So could the Surface Pro 7 make the Best Laptops list? Let's see how this Surface for education and enterprise looks on paper.

Starting at $899.99, the Surface Pro 7+ will be available on January 15 according to The Verge, but may not be sold directly from Microsoft. According to Microsoft's product page, the Surface Pro 7+ is targeted at the business and education community, which means that one must "contact an authorized Microsoft reseller." This may change once the Surface Pro 7+ is released.

The $899 price tag is attached to a configuration with an 11th generation Intel Core i3 CPU, 8GB RAM, and 128GB of SSD storage; $1,149 offers a Core i5 CPU and LTE connectivity; $1,649 doubles the memory and storage on the i5 model to 16GB and doubles to 256GB, while $2,799 offers a Core i7 processor, 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. None of the configurations come with a Type Cover keyboard.

With one interesting exception, the Microsoft Surface Pro 7+ looks exactly the same as the Pro 7. It has the same 11.5 x 7.9 x 0.3-inch chassis, the same aluminum exterior, and the same chunky bezels. [However, it weighs 1.7 to 1.8 pounds, slightly heavier than the 1.6-pound Pro 7, so there is reason to be optimistic that Microsoft will improve battery life over the Pro 7.

Another notable feature of the Surface Pro 7+ is that it borrows one of the coolest features from the Surface Pro X and Surface Laptop 3.

Hidden in the back right corner of the tablet is a removable door for the 2.5" SSD; according to Windows Central, this door can be opened with a SIM tool, and for security reasons or upgrades, the drive can be replaced by loosening the Torx T3 screws The door can be opened with a SIM tool.

Microsoft's product page disagrees, stating in a footnote that "The hard drive is not user removable. Removal of the hard drive must be performed by a skilled technician and in accordance with instructions provided by Microsoft.

One of the biggest problems with the Surface Pro 7 was its short battery life, lasting only 7 hours and 52 minutes in our web surfing-based tests. This was significantly shorter than Microsoft's claimed "up to 10.5 hours."

The Surface Pro 7+ appears to correct this, with Microsoft now boasting a "up to 15 hours" lifespan, nearly 50% more durable than the Pro 7's claim.

How is that accomplished? Microsoft does not list the battery size of the Surface Pro 7+ on its website, but according to The Verge, Microsoft has upgraded the battery capacity from 46.5 Wh to 50.4 Wh. This is due to a change in internal component placement, Microsoft told the outlet.

The Surface Pro 7+ may have an aged look, but otherwise the Surface Pro 8 looks like it should. Because everyone should be able to get this notebook, not just business and education buyers. We don't believe that the average consumer wants to "contact an authorized Microsoft reseller" and there should be no need to do so.

We are eager to try the Surface Pro 7+ soon and see if it is as good as Microsoft claims. If so, our expectations for the Surface Pro 8 will be high