Microsoft Surface Pro 6
THE BEST ONE YET, BUT ONLY JUST.
BEFORE MICROSOFT INTRODUCED the Surface Pro (2017) last year, the company explicitly said that there was no such thing as a ‘Surface Pro 5.’ Why? Essentially, a future Surface Pro would get a number again when it brought forth “an experiential change that makes a huge difference in product line.”
Now, the company has leapfrogged the ‘5’ moniker entirely in launching the Surface Pro 6. By that logic, you wouldn’t be out of line to expect a massive sea change – or at least one or two of the changes that have been requested for years.
While the Surface Pro 6 is inarguably the most powerful and longest-lasting (when it comes to battery life) Surface tablet yet, we have a hard time accepting that it’s worthy of the number. Aside from those marked improvements in performance, and a shiny new color scheme, nothing else about the Surface Pro has changed year over year … not even the USB 3.0 port. So, where does that leave prospective buyers?
The version we reviewed will cost you a cool $1,849 on account of the upgraded storage from 128GB on the base model to 256GB on the version we’ve reviewed. That’s quite a price hike for another 128GB of space.
From there, the tablet can be configured with an Intel Core i7 processor, up to 16GB of memory and as much as 1TB of SSD space. If you want the most souped-up version of this tablet, that’ll cost you a whopping $3,459.
Remember, as with previous Surface Pro devices, none of these prices include the Surface Pen nor the Type Cover and that, sadly, probably will never change.
Comparatively, the 12.9-inch iPad Pro calls
SAVE FOR THE GORGEOUSLOOKING, LOVELY-FEELING, NEW BLACK COLOR SCHEME, JUST ABOUT NOTHING HAS CHANGED ABOUT THE SURFACE PRO DESIGN FROM THE 2017 MODEL TO TODAY’S PRO 6.
for a slightly lower $1,529, which gets you a 2,732 x 2,048-pixel display powered by Apple’s A10X processor and with 64GB of flash storage. However, that too doesn’t include a keyboard or stylus, which call for another $299 and $199, respectively, if you buy them from Apple.
On paper, the Surface Pro 6 remains the better value in that you’re getting more of a full computer for only about 100 bucks (or quid) more. However, it’s definitely a closer race than it’s ever been.
Then, there’s the brand-new Pixel Slate, which Google wants $US599 for to start with, which is excellent in comparison on paper. However, the company wants another $US199 for its keyboard cover accessory, which is not so excellent, especially considering how both the iPad Pro and Surface Pro 6 dwarf it in terms of power.
DESIGN AND DISPLAY
Save for the gorgeouslooking, lovelyfeeling, new black color scheme, just about nothing has changed about the Surface Pro design from the 2017 model to today’s Pro 6. The tablet measures just 0.33 inches thin and weighs a mere 1.7 pounds – again, the same as last year’s model.
The tablet has all of the same ports and wireless connectivity options as before, not to mention the exact same Type Cover. The latter is a good thing, as there is very little – if anything – that needs fixing there. The Type Cover remains the most impressive accessory of its kind that we’ve tested.
However, we have to admit that we’re seriously let down by the absence of USB-C this time around, and it’s not even about any perceived benefits of the platform. Microsoft has been gating faster data transfers and wider docking capabilities behind its Surface Connect port for years, forcing folks who want that speed and expansion to pick up one of its $299 Surface Dock accessories.
Not even the included USB 3.0 is up to the latest standard, USB 3.1, which is twice as fast at transferring data than the former. This is no longer acceptable: it’s now costing consumers even more money than is necessary to unlock the full versatility of a device that Microsoft says can serve as their one and only computer.
On a slightly more positive note, the display is moderately improved in one area but otherwise unchanged. The Surface Pro 6 display now has a stronger contrast ratio of 1,500:1 compared to the previous model’s 1,300:1 figure.
This should be a boon to both content creators and consumers alike, with deeper blacks than ever and even brighter colors that certainly makes movies more impressive, and possibly makes media editing easier and more accurate for content creators.
It should come as no surprise that this year’s Surface Pro is more powerful and capable than the last. Much of that comes through the introduction of quad-core processing, thanks to Intel’s 8th generation Kaby Lake Refresh processors released earlier this year.
Of course, visual performance doesn’t increase much, if at all, in the Surface Pro 6 over the previous model, with the same graphics subsystem as before in this specification.
Microsoft has gone and somehow beefed up the lasting power of Surface Pro 6 by a considerable margin, particularly when it comes to video playback. Battery life through simulated general use, represented by the PCMark 8 test, remains essentially the same as before.
However, we’ve witnessed a gain of one hour and 47 minutes – nearly a two-hour increase – in our video rundown test on Surface Pro 6. That’s seriously impressive. Between the two figures, you should see a considerable increase in time away from the outlet from last year’s model.
The Surface Pro 6 is faster, longer lasting and now comes in a sleek, new black shell … and that’s about it. This is certainly a better product than last year, but only barely so for it to be worthy of being numbered ‘6’ much less ‘5’. If you already own a Surface Pro 2017, we’d say that this upgrade isn’t worth the cost. Otherwise, it’s still the best Windows tablet.