Microsoft Surface Pro

STILL THE DETACHABLE TO BEAT.

THE SURFACE PRO has been endowed with a full motherboard redesign, a larger battery, an updated Intel CPU and a reconfigured thermal design... but ultimately, when you sit the new Surface Pro next to its predecessor, the Surface Pro 4, it’s rather difficult to tell them apart. The two share the same dimensions, utilise the same 2,736 x 1,824 PixelSense display, have the same array of connection interfaces, offer almost the same variety of display angles and are compatible with all the same Surface peripherals.

The Surface Pro sees the return of the 12.3-inch, 10-point multi-touch display at the 3:2 aspect ratio that the entire Surface family shares. The Surface Pro recieved a considerable motherboard revamp that accommodates three 7th-generation Intel CPU variations — the Core m3, i5 and i7 — and also freed up an extra 10% of space for the battery. In testing, this equated to a 17.9% increase to battery capacity and allows the unit to get 6 hours and 52 minutes of continuous movie playback using VLC. While the 2017 detachable has a 7th-gen CPU, it was less than 10% behind the 8th-gen i7 CPUs.

With three CPUs on offer, performance will depend on the Intel Core m3, the Core i5 or the Core i7 model you purchase. Additionally, 4GB, 8GB and 16GB RAM configurations and 128GB, 256GB, 512GB and 1TB storage options are available locally, giving you models that range in price from just $1,199 all the way to $3,999. We’ve seen the i7, 16GB RAM, 512GB PCIe SSD for as little as $2,804, which is a compelling offer if you can find it.