Customer Ratings & Reviews

So, what can make a tablet even better and easier to use? A physical keyboard. It is no different with the awesome new Microsoft Surface Pro Copilot+ PC with the 12" touchscreen. Yes, the touch keyboard on the Surface Pro still works great by itself (especially if wanting to the overall thickness as minimal as possible), but I found the swipe to type not really functioning as well as some other differently-OS'ed devices I use. The Microsoft Surface Pro 12" Keyboard for Pro 12" with Slim Pen was just what I needed to get the top productivity I need when using a tablet. The keyboard is very nicely designed, with very low profile, backlit keys, along with a helpful track pad (yes, still helpful even with a touchscreen). It is very quiet when typing (which is my preference). There is a fully function key row along the top, with the option of having the F# keys as default or the assigned extra functions (volume control, brightness control, etc.), toggled with the normal Fn key near the bottom left. There is also a built-in Copilot key on the bottom right near the arrow keys (which is also affected by the Fn key selection). The backside is a suede-like surface. While it is soft to the touch, I ran into an issue where I sat it down on something a little sticky and it was a little harder to get it cleaned off. The keyboard will 'snap" into place on the bottoms side of the Surface (when the camera is at the top) and is held in place with strong magnets. To remove it, just twist off the Surface. If needing to switch into full tablet mode, the keyboard folds fully to the back and is held in place via magnets (even with the Slim Pen in its storage location - see below). Then when done using everything, the keyboard closes over (and helps protect) the screen and stays closed via magnets. It does give a little more bulk to it as the keyboard is almost as thick as the Surface itself, but still not too bad. The Slim Pen is definitely a nice touch! The Surface has a location on the top-back to store the pen via a decently strong magnet, where it also wirelessly charges it. Using it is very easy and has different writing/drawing to text/objects convertibility. Just hold the side button and draw a circle around what is to be converted, and a little menu will display, then select Ink to Text. It can read and convert cursive (even my bad cursive!) and it will even turn a drawn smiley into a smiley emoji (result may vary). And as with most smart touchscreen pens, it is pressure-sensitive and will draw thicker lines the harder it is pressed on the screen. To view how much battery is left in the pen (which normally shouldn't be an issue unless it is accidentally not stored for a long time, but even then it will disconnect after about 60 seconds of non-use, but instantly turns on/reconnects when picked up again), just open up Settings, then go to Bluetooth & Devices, and there will be a tile at the top with the battery remaining displayed. Oh, and as side note, if going through airport security, with the pointedness of the pen, it is better to have the pen still attached to the Surface or at least in the bin instead of leaving it by itself in in the backpack…. While using the Surface Pro Copilot+ PC by itself will be just fine, having this keyboard and pen for it just puts the usefulness over the top!

The pen and keyboard attachment is what brings the Surface Pro tablet full circle. The keyboard has a very nice soft touch feel to it that does let my wrists get sweaty and it is pleasant to the touch. The keyboard doesn’t feel cramped and I found the typing experience to be good enough for this type of form factor. Someone with larger hands may feel a bit cramped. The trackpad worked well and was responsive. Whether you’re a touch to click or like the physical press, both were very responsive. The feel of the trackpad is smooth and easy to use. Multi touch gestures for zooming and navigating is always nice to see and worked pleasantly. A few other nice touches were the now what seems to be standard copilot key. If you get a lot of use out of copilot, it’s nice being able to quickly tap the key to start a search, summarize a task, or help you through your day. The keyboard is backlit so using it in a dim lit room makes finding the keys very easy. It also connect magnetically to the bottom of the Surface Pro. The magnets are very strong. You can pick up the tablet and they keyboard just dangles. I wouldn’t worry too much about getting up and walking around with it hanging off. You’d really have to bang it against something for it to fall off. The slim pen designed for the surface pro, magnetically attaches to the back of the surface, which also conveniently charges the pen. I’m not one for taking hand written notes as much but I could easily see myself doing so with the slim pen. I fired up one note and doodled around with note taking and drawing. I like that the pen is force sensitive, you can double click the “eraser” to launch the note taking app of your preference (one note by default) and when your done, it doesn’t get lost by letting the magnets snap it to the back of the surface pro. I would say for the pen the only recommendation I would have is the write to text is very sensitive to exactly as you write it. I think Microsoft can adjust the software to assume proper capitalization and spelling, and if that isn’t your preference, have the option to turn it off. While the surface pro exists as a stand alone device, I don’t think windows is quite ready to live without the keyboard and trackpad. I highly recommend this as a companion to your surface pro.

I love the new Surface Pro 12" tablet, but I think a big reason for that would be the keyboard and pen combo. It sucks that they are not included with the tablet because they really do complete the whole package. Having the pen magnetically attached to the back of the tablet is better than having to dig it out of the keyboard, but there are times I wished that there was a different place to keep it. Although the magnet is very strong, there are still occasions where it can get knocked off. Also, because it’s on the back of the tablet, when wrapping the keyboard around to the back, it creates a tented effect instead of laying flush. The pen itself is really responsive. I’m very new to using a tablet with a pen, but it feels like a natural extension or evolution from a mouse. The magnetic connection of the keyboard to the tablet is great. It snaps quickly into place almost on its own and stays firmly in place. Sometimes I wonder if it’s too strong a connection, as I feel like I might be breaking the keyboard when trying to detach it. The keyboard offers a 5 stage backlight, which is nice, but almost overkill. I haven’t run across many occasions where the brightest setting was too much for what I needed. The trackpad is really responsive too. I know the tablet is touch enabled, but sometimes it's more fluid to just use the keyboards trackpad instead. Admittedly, I’m a late adopter of AI. It’s nice to have Copilot at my fingertips via the keyboard button or the taskbar, but I haven’t used it for much more than conversational searches.