Microsoft - Surface Pro 7 - 12.3" Touch Screen - Intel Core i7 - 16GB Memory - 512GB SSD - Device Only (Latest Model) - Platinum

I've been a fan of the Microsoft Surface Pro lines since its inception. Not much of a difference between the Surface Pro 6 and this Surface Pro 7 though. Appreciate the newly added USB-C port but Microsoft should've already had it on the Surface Pro 6. Overall, great product all around.

I have been eyeing the Surface for a few generations and when it came time to replace my iPad and my laptop (both of which were very old) I thought that the Surface would be the perfect choice and I was totally right. I've built my own computers and this is still probably the coolest computer/laptop/2-in-1 that I have ever owned. Pros: It's light. The touchscreen is sufficiently responsive/sensitive and the resolution and image quality are great. The performance and battery life are pretty good as well. Cons: The only two cons that I have is that it seems to get a little hot sometimes and for some reason the charging cables tend to look like a tangled mess and don't like to fold up nicely when putting it away.

I had a lot of problems trying to replace my nearly 3 year old Dell XPS13. First of all it was an i7 with a terabyte SSD and 16 GB RAM. 4K HDR screen was gorgeous. I didn't NEED a replacement, but I'd never kept a laptop that long, and I missed the tablet format of my Spectre X360's I had before it. So first I tried a Surfacebook, but it wouldn't work with my Dell WD15 USB C dock. I finally got the multimonitors to work, but it didn't have enough power to charge. I didn't want multiple plugs and I didn't want to buy a dock for it. Then I tried a different version of this, the i5 base model Surface Pro 7. I already knew the format, I have a Surface Pro 4 that my son and I use for building Lego sets, since we like the electronic instructions rather than the paper. But that Surface Pro 7 also didn't work well with the multimonitor setup with that Dell WD15 dock. Then I tried the 2020 Spectre X360 15" with the discrete video option. Yes, still issues with the dock and multi monitor. So then I finally tried the new 2020 Spectre X360 14 inch. When that didn't work well with the Dell dock, I purchased a Thunderbolt 3 dock that should've worked well with it, and still had issues. I finally saw they had a really great sale on these higher end Surface Pros, so it was worth getting this and simply buying the Surface Dock 2 and bypassing issues with my Dell dock. And it's been a nearly perfect result. It is a bit of a performance hit for the lower power i7 this has, but for my needs, the things I do like transcoding video files are not a constant, so I don't mind the performance drop. The 4k HDR screen was nice, but I don't watch movies on these, so I didn't really lose anything there. I do require something I can use on my lap on the couch though since I do a lot of work at home at night as well, and the Brydge Pro 12.3 really DOES turn this into a laptop for all intents and purposes, finally a keyboard that's weighted enough that this acts like a laptop in your lap, no kickstand needed. It's so great having something with no fan noise. This is dead silent. The form factor is great for someone like me who takes it to work and back home every day. The tablet functionality is outstanding, whether using fingers or the pen, it gives so many more possibilities than normal laptops. Unlike the HP Spectre X60 15 inch, this is NOT a burden to hold and use as a tablet. I've had SSD based systems for years now, the last five laptops I've had were all SSD, all my desktops and my media center are SSD, so I'm used to fast booting systems. Yet this still boots quicker than any other system I have or ever used. I don't sleep anything, always power off, so I still have a very quick boot. I've had a few issues with a couple programs I use such as Eseecloud for my home external cameras, and even with the dock 2 designed for these, I get weird issues with the mouse moving between one of the monitors and this screen. But considering all the things I run on here, that's small potatoes. The power brick isn't too bad, but I found a USB C to surface port charging cable that I can use with a small USB C wall wart that puts out 90 watts. FAR easier to carry that with me, and the one that shipped with this is permanently under the couch and used when I am home. The screen gets very dark if you want, FAR darker than the XPS could, which I appreciate at night. Battery life is a bit of a letdown, but still better than my Dell was doing after nearly 3 years of use. I would've loved the battery life of the Surfacebook but I didn't want to pay the premium for the hardware when I could get this on such a great sale and have basically the same experience. I have no need of discrete graphics and it seemed pointless to spend extra money for something I never needed to use. I'm glad I finally am done searching for a new laptop. Between the Brydge keyboard I can leave at home on the stand by the couch and the typecover for when I'm anywhere else and don't need this on my lap, I have the best of all worlds.

I purchased the Surface Pro 7 because of the screen flickering issue of my Surface Pro 4. The SP4 has served me well for 3.5 years, but the hardware/software demand for video conferencing due to COVID-19 has made the flickering issue unbearable. Hence the SP7. To be honest, I replaced the SP4 with a SP7 mainly because of my investment (a.k.a., sunk cost, ouch!) in the accessories: type cover, back cover, pen, SP dock, mini DisplayPort to VGA/HDMI adaptors, etc. It makes sense for me to stay with the Surface Pro line and save money on replacing the peripherals. As for the SP7 itself, it is a fast, sleek, and wonderful machine. I like its portability, light weight, and high resolution screen. Before COVID-19, I ran around town with my SP4. I taught in area colleges and university with my SP4. I wrote academic papers on my SP4. I watched YouTube on my SP4. I played Solitaire (alas!) on my SP4. I ran statistics analysis on my SP4. I held video conferences on my SP4. Since COVID-19, I've been doing much of the same tasks on my SP7 except that I couldn't run around town as much as before. With heaving video conferencing, SP7 does heat up pretty quickly. The fan is noisy. The redeeming grace is that once the machine cools down and the fan stops, I can enjoy a more quiet working environment. There is no doubt that it is a costly machine. And Windows 10 feels old. But one wants to consider the total cost of ownership when considering a "workhorse" tablet computer: accessories, portability, connectivity, etc.

Set up is easy and just a matter of following the step by step instructions. The surface is small and compact but packs plenty of power. The only downside is that you need to buy the keyboard separately and you really do need the keyboard. Be careful because the Bestbuy website gives some bad advice on compatible keyboards and you may end up with the wrong one