Going Pro – Surface Pro Review [Updated 2022]

Since its launch in 2012, the Microsoft Surface has been working towards becoming your go-to computing device as a professional. It quickly detached itself from the leisure time tablet section of the iPad, the Samsung Galaxy or the Nexus tablets. The Surface Pro, specifically, is Microsoft’s vision of the professional’s notebook – tablet-looking, but with laptop mentality. The Surface Pro wants to be a work tool, running a full Windows operating system to support heavier applications like CRM and ERP software. At the present moment, Surface has nine product lines now. Ther are intentionally differentiated yet when you look at them and work across them, you can see they are connected through a core set of experiences. In this blog post, we looked at the Surface Pro to show why everyone’s going Pro.

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Looks

The Surface Pro might not seem that good-looking; it’s awkward to try to fit it in either the tablet or the laptop categories because it IS a hybrid. It looks rigid compared to the round, sleek design of current tablets, and it’s quite a bit heavier than said tablets as well since it packs the power of a laptop in approximately 12” x 8”. This may not be smaller than the new and very handy ultrabooks that range between 11” and 13”, like the Dell Inspiron 11 3000 2-in-1 series or the Lenovo Yoga 900, a 13” 2-in-1. However, as you may know, these consumer-friendly products are not recommended for the business environment. Still, to note here, rather, is that the Surface IS more portable than a laptop, weighing less than 2.5 lbs (including the keyboard) while less than half of an inch thick. Generally, this is where business-recommended laptops start and in bigger casings. Microsoft’s own newest laptop, the Surface Book, is one pound heavier with only a couple of inches larger. But, before jumping the gun to replace your laptop with a Surface, there is one more consideration. Unfortunately, the Surface takes the “lap” out of laptop – you will need a table to type up larger pieces. Some will say it’s doable, yet logically, the kickstand is intended for a flat surface, while tablet-mode is recommended for any other situation.

Storage

Naturally, a small device can pack a limited amount of storage. However, the Surface Pro 8, has arrived at having the same storage customizations: starting at 128 gigabytes (GB) and up to 1 terabyte of internal storage. This is the case for other professional laptops produced by competitors such as Lenovo and Dell. To note, storage can be eventually upgraded via a micro SD card that, currently, can add a maximum of 512GB. However, given the general migration towards cloud-based storage, internal disk space might not turn out to be as valuable as it seems.

Speed

Firstly, the combination of features selected will affect the overall speed of any computer – the processor (Intel Core) and memory (RAM), but ultimately it’s the applications run that will determine how fast a Surface Pro can be. The more windows that are open, the slower it will run. That said, the Surface Pro does pose considerable limitations no matter how pro it can be. How intensely you use certain applications (i.e. CRMs, ERPs, Adobe Creative Suite) will determine if you would benefit from downsizing to a Surface; considering the amount of memory needed, high use of such applications renders it impossible to use a device as physically small as the Surface (or any other laptop in its size category).

Battery

Most tests place the Surface Pro 8 battery life around 14-15 hours. Keep in mind that during office time, the Surface Pro can recharge in its docking station while you can continue to work on a secondary display.

Cool features

Since our reference point are laptops, the Surface benefits from all its tablet features, like the touchscreen and the use of a stylus – this is a plus, as these features have not yet become standard. As an avid note-taker, you can press the top button of your stylus to open One Note (the note-taking app) or press it twice to take a screenshot. Furthermore, you can train your Surface to recognize your handwriting to transcribe your notes. Naturally, there are other pen tricks, including programming your stylus buttons to your liking. On a different note, as a portable device, you may want to use it in presentations. You can connect your Surface to a wireless display via Bluetooth – this requires purchasing an adapter, yet it takes the guesswork out of connecting your laptop to a secondary display. 

Cost

The overall cost of the Surface Pro 8 may seem alarming at first. It starts at $1399 and can rack up to $3500 in features – excluding keyboard, docking station and others bells and whistles. However, a stark competition, the Lenovo Yoga prices around $2000 for features* that the Surface would end up being $500 less. That said, going pro does become a possibility for anybody.

*Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 128G disk space

When you buy Surface—any Surface—you are investing in a device that was intentionally designed for the future of work.

Contact us with questions, concerns, or if you’d like further material on any of the products and features mentioned.