I will focus in this review on the hardware, there were (and are) quite a few problems on a software level, but that's the fault of Windows, and those issues are probably nothing new to people who regularly use Windows operating systems.
I bought it as both a replacement for my old laptop and as a tablet I could use instead of pen and paper in uni.
The Good:
-light and comfortable as a tablet without needing to compromise on the functionality of a laptop
-has good specifications considering the price and form factor
-ASTONISHINGLY long battery life
-built very well, other than the keyboard cover and a screen protector I'm not going to bother with a case of some kind
-built-in kickstand is very sturdy and can handle a wide range of angles
-screen looks fantastic in terms of image quality
-the screen's aspect ratio makes productivity great
-the speakers are better than I expected, nothing that's good enough for high quality audio, but it's more than enough in terms of clarity and volume to view videos where the audio quality isn't as critical as it is for audiophiles listening to FLAC files, so more than adequate for netflix or youtube.
-the type cover surprised me with how good it is, granted it's not as good as a mechanical keyboard or a thinkpad keyboard, but for a keyboard cover it's VERY GOOD, feels as good as a typical laptop's keyboard.
It also connects very easily without messing about with bluetooth or cables, and even lights up!
-I've heard a lot of criticism of the fact it's not very comfortable to use on your lap (like you would a laptop), but I've had no trouble with it, it's obviously not as stable as an orthodox laptop, but I have no complaints.
The bad:
-very intrusive screen glare, I use it for note taking in uni and when it's lying horizontal on the table it reflects the lights in such a way that it obstructs my view of the screen, I haven't tried using the device outside.
-palm rejection works very well with the exception of the very edges of the screen, if I want to write on the very border of the device in such a way that my palm is resting on the bezels, the line I'm trying to draw jumps all over the place.
-speaking of bezels, they are gargantuan, making the device uglier.
-absolutely not serviceable in any way, shape or form, this might not come as a surprise to anyone, but I'm disappointed I can't open it up in any way other than pulling out the screen a la smartphones, the surface pro x can have it's SSD changed and it's a shame the same isn't true about this device.
-the micro SD slot is only capable of UHS-I speeds, so while it's perfectly fine for mass storage of videos or photos, it's no good for running heavy programs off of it, which would have been a huge plus considering how un-upgradeable the surface pro is, so you either pay a lot more for the models with higher SSD volumes or get an external SSD which gets in the way of mobility.
-while this is subjective, the keyboard joins the awful trend of making the up and down keys half sized so that together they're as big as the left or right keys.
-I wish Microsoft would ditch the proprietary port for an additional USB-C port, granted you can still charge the surface pro with the usb-c port, but it's not as fast.
-no flash on the back camera, in a product like the surface pro the camera is meant to take pictures of documents, notes and whiteboards, no flash means lighting up a document you're trying to take a picture of is much more difficult, especially when you consider the fact the surface pro itself is big and blocks out plenty of light.
The Neutral: (things that are worth consideration before buying)
-the cameras are not great, I didn't write this as a con because it's not meant to be used to take beautiful photos by any stretch of the imagination, but if for whatever reason you were counting on it, that's probably not the product for you.
-The passively cooled models feel VERY hot VERY quickly under medium to high loads, to the point where anyone would be alarmed on most laptops, But having monitored the thing with temperature monitoring software the cpu sits on very reasonable temperatures (35-40c on idle and light loads and up to 65c on heavier loads, I've never gotten it to 70c) so this is probably just a side effect of the passive cooling.
I'm writing this review in winter, so the warmth is actually fairly pleasant, but I don't know how well it would handle very hot summers like we get here.
Despite writing many cons here I'm very pleased with the device, it does what it's meant to and more than I expected and I strongly recommend it to anyone who wants a tablet type device for taking notes and lazy internet browsing but doesn't want to give up the functionality of a proper laptop.
That is assuming you don't do anything very demanding on your laptop like high level gaming or running AI training.
| Standing screen display size | 12.3 Inches |
|---|---|
| Screen Resolution | 2736 x 1824 |
| Max Screen Resolution | 2736 x 1824 |
| Processor | core_i5 |
| RAM | 8 GB LPDDR4 |
| Memory Speed | 1600 MHz |
| Hard Drive | 256 GB SSD |
| Graphics Coprocessor | Intel Iris Plus |
| Chipset Brand | Intel |
| Card Description | Integrated |
| Graphics Card Ram Size | 8 GB |
| Wireless Type | Bluetooth |
| Average Battery Life (in hours) | 10.5 Hours |
