The Mercury News

Topic >> Windows 10 PCs that let you sign in with your face or finger

Reviews and ratings are from CNet.com.

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Microsoft Surface Pro 4

The good: The Surface Pro 4 fits a larger screen with a higher resolution into a slightly slimmer body than last year’s model. The pen and keyboard cover are also improved, and this is one of the first mobile systems shipping with Intel’s latest processors.

The bad: Microsoft still refuses to include the Type Cover keyboard by default, forcing a separate purchase. Battery life still isn’t enough for a full day.

The cost: $538.99 to $899.00

The bottom line: A host of small refinement­s cements the Surface Pro 4’s position as the best-in-class Windows tablet _ so long as you’re prepared to pay extra for the required keyboard cover accessory.

HP EliteBook x360

The good: Solid constructi­on and powerful components inside being a relatively slim and light body. Includes useful ports missing from many similar systems. Fantastic battery life.

The bad: Audio is tuned for conference calls, but poor for music and movies. The remote management app was hard to set up and lost its connection. It’s a profession­al laptop, so you’re paying pro-level prices.

The cost: $1,599.00

The bottom line: HP’s EliteBook x360 is a pricey profession­al hybrid that has crossover appeal for anyone looking for useful features and a great design.

Microsoft Surface Studio

The good: The Surface Studio has a fantastic 28-inch screen with excellent color, mounted on smooth hinges that fold down to an artistfrie­ndly angle. The excellent Surface Pen stylus returns and the new Surface Dial shows promise. Every model has good-to-great dedicated graphics hardware.

The bad: Surface Studio is extremely expensive, and doesn’t include the flashy Dial accessory by default. It skips newer graphics chips that support VR hardware. Support for the Dial is limited right now, and even compatible programs don’t always use it in a practical way. A couple of frontmount­ed USB ports or a Thunderbol­t connection would’ve been nice.

The cost: $3,499.00 to $3,699.99

The bottom line: Microsoft’s ambitious love letter to creative profession­als is the touchscree­n iMac of your dreams _ albeit crazy expensive and running Windows.

Dell XPS 15 (2017)

The good: The Dell XPS 15 has a beautiful, high-resolution and accurate broad-gamut display, and it incorporat­es the Nvidia GTX 1050 gaming GPU, which raises playtime performanc­e in general-purpose laptops.

The bad: The webcam is in a terrible location at the bottom of the display, and the fan can get loud.

The cost: $1,699.99

The bottom line: Powerful with a great screen, the Dell XPS 15 delivers solid gaming and affordable mobile workstatio­n-class performanc­e in a relatively compact package.

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