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Microsoft's contempo Surface launches take been well-regarded by reviewers. While some devices are more niche than others, both the Surface Studio and the Surface Laptop have won accolades for beingness well-congenital hardware with strong attending to detail and very solid features. It'south therefore surprising to come across relatively weak reviews for Microsoft's new Surface Pro, which came out from nether embargo this forenoon.

Part of the trouble is Microsoft'due south own messaging. Unlike previous Surface Pro devices, which were unambiguously marketed equally tablets y'all could attach an optional keyboard to, Microsoft'southward take on the Surface Pro is that… it's a laptop. No, really. Hitting the landing page, and this is what yous see:

SurfaceProLanding

Is it, though? Surface Pro was never positioned every bit a laptop-first. And this makes even less sense now that Microsoft has a laptop SKU *and* Surface Book.

"This actually is the laptop," Surface squad leader Panos Panay said in an interview with The Verge. "This is how people want to apply it; information technology'due south how they are using it." So instead of seeing the Surface Pro equally a tablet, it'southward a keyboard-less laptop (unless you lot pony upwardly $130 to $160 for the keyboard).

The Microsoft pen, which was formerly included in all but the cheapest Surface Pro iv's, is now a separate purchase. The cost has likewise gone upwards, from $60 to $100. This makes the new Surface Pro effectively $100 more expensive than previous older models, and The Verge notes that the "full Surface experience" will run you $1,528 if yous purchase a Surface Pro and $one,299 for the same specs in the Surface Laptop. How much y'all care virtually a detachable keyboard will dictate which machine is a better fit, but the anemic $799 choice with 4GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and Core m3 processor isn't remotely attractive at that price signal.

Near of the Surface Pro's design is a carryover from the Surface Pro 4, with 1 USB 3.0 port, one mini DisplayPort, one microSD card slot, a headphone jack, and the proprietary Surface power connector. No USB-C, Thunderbolt 3, support for external GPUs, or other cutting-edge features are present. When it debuted, Surface seemed to exist a cutting-edge platform for demonstrating what the PC ecosystem could achieve, but MS isn't really pushing the envelope here.

CNBC's evaluation was blunt: "None of the upgrades justifies the cost you'll pay for a fully packed Surface Pro." The cheapest motorcar is over $i,000 with a keyboard and pen, while the top-cease system is $2,100 — again, for just the tablet. Laptop was more effusive in its praise, claiming "if yous want the all-time detachable out there, the Surface Pro is still the one to get." TechCrunch echoed the thoughts of nigh other reviewers, writing that "I'one thousand sure there are nonetheless people out there for whom the Pro still makes sense. Just I'm certainly not one. Nor are near of the people I've spoken to most the space over the final week. For those who actually practise find themselves switching back and forth betwixt form factors and don't mind the compromises that entails, by all means, this is a solid pick." Our sister site PCMag was more than optimistic about the product, application it Editors' Choice, only was yet disappointed by the lack of updated ports and lack of USB-C and/or Thunderbolt 3.

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The trouble isn't that the Surface Pro is a bad automobile; information technology'due south that yous're fundamentally looking at something like a Surface Pro four.5. Battery life is up and a few SKUs don't take fans that carried them last time around. Only at that place'due south not much here that'due south going to change your opinion. The display is still gorgeous, the pen is still of some niche utilize, and it's still nearly impossible to type with a Surface Pro in your lap due to the floppy nature of the Blazon Cover. Every previous Surface update has felt as if it moved the bar upwards in at least some small ways. The Surface Pro, according to multiple reviews, only doesn't experience like much of a footstep forward.

Ultimately, that'southward the conclusion almost reviewers take come to. If you lot have an older get-go or second-generation Surface Pro or oasis't owned one at all, the Surface Pro tin can make a great option, provided you understand some of the tradeoffs inherent to the system. Merely if you're still rocking a Surface Pro 4 (or perchance fifty-fifty 3), the battery life gains are going to be your but major reason to upgrade, assuming you aren't an artist in demand of Surface Pen.