Microsoft Surface Pro (2017)
The latest iteration of the Surface Pro series is a great machine, but it’s less relevant than ever
There’s one word you will rarely hear from Microsoft when it talks about the new Surface Pro: “tablet”. Yes, if you remove the Type Cover (or just don’t buy it), the Surface Pro looks and feels like a tablet. But Microsoft doesn’t want you to think of it like that. It wants you to think “laptop”.
That’s possibly down to how people used previous Surface Pros in the real world. When you spot one in public, you’ll almost always see it with the Type Cover attached, like a regular laptop. Occasionally its owner will bring out the pen to mark up a PDF or sketch something, but most of the time there’s typing going on.
And that won’t change anytime soon. In fact, if you’ve seen the Surface Pro 3 or 4, then you’ve seen the 2017 Surface Pro. Design-wise, there’s so little difference between them that you’d be hard-pressed to spot the changes even if you put them side by side. The “PixelSense” screen is the same size (12.3in across the diagonal), adopts the same practical 3:2 aspect ratio as before and has the same resolution – that is to say, 2,736 x 1,824.
It performs just as well, too, reaching 442cd/m2 maximum brightness and delivering a cracking contrast ratio of 1,297:1 for solid, pleasing onscreen imagery. Colour accuracy is superb as well, with no
“In our battery benchmark, the Surface Pro lasted 11hrs 33mins, which is one of the best scores we’ve seen for a Core i7 machine”
weaknesses and an average Delta E of 1.26, which is superb. (Delta E is a measure of the inaccuracy of a display’s representation of various colours, so the lower the score, the better.)
One change that was expected by some but hasn’t made an appearance is USB-C support. The Surface Pro has the same ports as its predecessor: mini-DisplayPort, USB and the Surface Connect for power. This feels short-sighted, although I’ll admit that Microsoft’s Panos Panay’s quip that USB-C is currently “for people who like dongles” has an element of truth.
Unloaded with extras
As with previous versions of Surface Pro, what you get in the box is merely the tablet. You’ll need to pay extra for the Surface Type Cover and, now, the Surface Pen, which previously came in the box with all but the cheapest model. The Type Cover is a good keyboard in its own right, with keys that have a positive click to them and a small but responsive touchpad.
Microsoft has also made a minor tweak to the hinge. It’s now like the hinge on the Surface Studio and can be pushed down to an almost-flat 165 degrees, which is a comfortable angle for drawing. You might think this would make it easier to break as you lean on it, but I had a decent go at pushing it down hard (sorry Microsoft) and it took the weight happily. I wouldn’t jump or sit on it, but it’s robust.
The Surface Pen has enjoyed a good upgrade, too, now supporting tilt in the same way Apple’s Pencil does. This means you get a much more pencil-like experience when doing things such as shading. It’s also had its response time improved – down to 21ms – which should mean most people will never spot any lag.
Pressure sensitivity has been increased to 4,096 levels alongside a 12g activation force, which means you can press harder on screen. Microsoft
claims this is enabled by some particularly smart technology: effectively, the Surface Pen communicates directly with the Surface Pro’s screen hardware to draw. This obviously works with Microsoft’s own applications, but it’s also available via an API for developers to build in support for their own software.
The strengths and weaknesses of the Surface Pro form factor remain the same as always. This isn’t a device you’ll use on your lap unless you have unusually long thighs. At 5ft 8in and on the stumpy side, trying to put the Surface Pro on my lap at any angle other than almost vertical is impossible.
Need for speed
Microsoft pitches the Surface Pro’s performance as greater than the Surface Laptop and below the Surface Book with Performance Base (highend models with dedicated graphics).
Although we’ve yet to benchmark a Performance Base model, this sounds correct. The dual-core 2.5GHz Intel Core i7-7660U Surface Pro we review here delivered an overall score of 60 in our benchmarks, which puts it in the top echelon of 13in machines.
In practice, this means the Surface Pro will be more than good enough for everyone except the most demanding of users. If you’re thinking of doing CAD/CAM work on it, you’ll need to go for the top spec, but a Core i5 version will be fine for most.
And, whichever version you’re using, you’ll be able to use it all day without plugging in the power. In our battery benchmark, the Surface Pro lasted 11hrs 33mins, which is one of the best scores we’ve seen for a Core i7-based machine, and a huge improvement over the 5hrs 56mins we got in the same test for the Surface Pro 4. Microsoft has made a genuine all-day machine here.
Mind the price
The version we looked at, with a dual-core 2.5GHz Intel Core i7-7660U, a 512GB SSD and 16GB of RAM, will set you back £2,149, and that doesn’t include either the Type Cover (£149) or Surface Pen (£99). As you’ll probably want both, this adds an additional £248. Yes, if you want this machine fully loaded, you’re going to pay £2,397.
For almost exactly £1,000 less, you could buy a very similarly specified Dell XPS 13. That’s without a touchscreen, pen support and so on, but if you’re looking for something that will primarily be a laptop, it’s a much better deal.
Thankfully, the Core i5 model is much more reasonable, starting at £979 (£1,227 including the Surface Pen and Type Cover, 128GB storage and 4GB RAM), and there’s still a Core m3 version available for £799. If you can live with that amount of storage, that’s the model to pick.
But should you buy it? I’ve used the Surface Pro series since the third generation, and there’s no doubt this is the best one yet. It has good performance and great battery life and, because it’s both a tablet and a laptop, it’s a versatile machine.
However, I’m less sure you should buy one than I’ve ever been with any previous Surface Pro. Why? Partly, it’s because the Surface Laptop now exists and for many of the people who wanted a Microsoft-branded, well-designed machine, the Laptop is a better option. If you want the best performance and only occasionally use tablet features, the Surface Book with Performance Base is a better option. If you primarily want a tablet, then the combination of an iPad Pro (running Office) and a cheaper Windows laptop is your best bet.
The market for the Surface Pro feels like it’s shrinking. That doesn’t make the Surface Pro any less of a machine, and Microsoft is to be complimented for pushing the boundaries on what’s possible in this form factor; but the standout benefits of a Windows tablet with detachable keyboard are few.