Customer Ratings & Reviews

Microsoft Surface Pro 12" laptop: Great device for most people that need a tablet and a real computer too! I was a bit afraid of getting a snapdragon device, having heard of software compatibility problems with last year's Snapdragon chips, being this is an ARM based chip and not x86 Intel or AMD. I am coming to this device mostly needing a tablet. I have an iPad 11" and have also owned a Microsoft Go 2 Surface 10.5" tablet. I read a lot on my tablets, and while the surface line are better at being PCs they aren't quite as good as standalone tablets due to the Windows 11 operating system not being a tablet first design. If all you need is a tablet, go for an iPad, you can get one for a lot less than any surface. To really make this Microsoft Surface Pro 12" shine, you unfortunately need to purchase at least the Surface keyboard, adding at least another $150 to the asking price. The Surface Pro 12" is also a bit too high in asking price in my opinion, however if you can get it discounted, yes I got mine on sale, it is absolutely worth it, if you need both a tablet and a pretty good windows 11 PC as well. Just keep in mind, I think most people will need at least the keyboard with this 12" tablet for it to be useful as a windows 11 PC. You could always get a secondary bluetooth keyboard, but I do have to say having the Microsoft Surface keyboard here does provide screen protection while on the go. It however does not work via bluetooth, so you cannot separate it via the magnet lock on the bottom of the tablet and keep working. There are two USB-C ports on the side of the tablet (no charger included, but they do include a usb-c cable). So far, I have had no real compatibility problems with this being a non intel / AMD x86 based device. There are now quite a few native apps one year after Microsoft partnered Qualcomm/Snapdragon on these Surface devices. This very device however, I think is a much better experience than the launch of the Surface 13" devices in 2024. This one runs totally silent, no fans, and with just a great 12" screen size. This screen is not OLED, but I think it looks great, including being brighter. I was not a fan of the OLED one in the 13", it just didn't get bright enough for me. While using this 12" as a reading device/tablet, I think the size is great. I mostly read comic books, and there are a few app options to choose from that are even native to ARM chips on the Microsoft Store. I personally use the app called "COVER" and it is great for reading DRM free .cbr comic books. For me, the 256gb entry level size of storage with the device is good enough, I mostly just keep a handful of documents for reading on my tablet locally. When I am on the go travelling or even need more space, I have a portable USB-C drive for saving files to, should I need significantly more space. All in all, this is what I think Microsoft should have launched with in 2024. My only other gripe is that they should have just included the keyboard considering the MSRP of the tablet itself. The other great thing on this device has been the battery life. I feel it is pretty close to the battery life I get on an iPad Air 11”. All in all, very happy with this purchase. It offers a lot of functionality once you get at least the keyboard with it.

The latest Surface Pro at glance on its hardware is compact and efficient for mobility thanks to 12” size format. It has the following components (mostly extract from its specification): - Memory of 16GB LPDDR5x RAM (usable 15.6GB) - SSD 512GB - WiFi 7 (802.11be) - Bluetooth 5.4 - Processor: 8-Core Snapdragon X Plus @3.30 GHz 3.24 GHz - NPU: Qualcomm® Hexagon™ with 45 TOPS - Graphics: Qualcomm® Adreno™ GPU - PixelSense LCD Display - Touch: 10-point multi touch - 2 USB-C for: Charging Data transfer DisplayPort 1.4a with support up to two 4k monitors @60Hz Surface Thunderbolt™ 4 Dock and other accessories Supports fast charging with minimum 45W charger via USB-C®16 Surface Pro 12-inch Keyboard connector - 1080p Full HD front facing camera - 10mp rear facing camera - Wireless charging for Surface Slim Pen (it has to purchased separately unless it is bundled) - Battery: Up to 16 hs of local video playback / Up to 12 hours of active web usage -Size: L 10.8 inch / W 7.47 inch / H 0.30 inch / Weight 1.5 lbs without keyboard -Audio/Mic Dual Studio Mics with voice focus It comes with preinstalled Window 11 Home, and for the amount of update needed information, the pre installed version is 24H2 installed on 03/15/2025. Hence depending on when it is purchased, at starting point there is some large updates needed to keep the OS to the latest and at optimum point of the hardware. On the software side and experience, noticeably can’t distinguish between regular notebook on Window OS and the Surface Pro with attached keyboard in the sense of Microsoft experience. With attached keyboard, performing web browsing, writing documents and using spreadsheet feels working ia regular notebook at high level. In Tablet mode without the keyboard, in the beginning of holding with both hands. It provides almost same or similar to the look and feel of tablet with keyboard. It hide the access to the menu in a discrete mode that doesn’t take space in the screen and responsive as touch across menu selection, open browser and navigate or search and play with multimedia. Listening and Watching movie experience does feel superb considering its size and in the context of its built in hardware components. Sounds does feel some level of immersive and surrounding while watching a move in a silent environment. Back to the tablet mode, although its experience seems seamless, but this seems only in the context of notebook like to tablet with keyboard. Using It with table mode in both hands, often activates selection of objects for floating menu option, or part of screens showing option to select when any of them were intended, and having to change the way to hold. Now, on Copilot, it comes with pre installed application and with its specific application box to type and get answer is embedded across any other functional application installed in the surface pro. Its easy access from any point of any other application seems the biggest benefit of the latest Surface Pro. Ability of Copilot to respond to the questions seems more of how well works at the behind the network and interaction with the hardware then comes together with training data being able to compose response that make to the user. But from the latest Surface Pro side it has to do with how easy to access to it that makes different to previous models. Now, what I wish it would do better: 1. Weight, despite of 1.5lbs, still feels heavy and bulky. 2. Pen attachment spot at first seems logical and cool. But for use case of using with both hand or right handed person, more it being used, it feels bit uncomfortable having to remove the pen and try to find somewhere else to move. 3. Touch experience is bit odd and continuously have to find a way not to see floating menu or uninteded selection. 4. Screen: light reflection on the screen overcome what ever on the screen impacting the task of the moment. To conclude, the latest Surface Pro 12” version is handy to perform quick work related task, more for entertain with multimedia and movies experiences with easy access to copilot.

📦 UNBOXING: Inside the box, you’ll find the Surface Pro 12 and a USB-C cable. It doesn’t include a USB-C power adapter, but you can purchase an official Microsoft Surface 45W charger separately, or use another charger you have on hand. Microsoft says for best performance, you’ll want to use a 27W charger, but fast charging will require a 45W charger. Other than that, I can appreciate that the packaging uses recycled content and is paper-based. 💪 BUILD: The Surface weighs in at 1.5 lbs which is on the heavier side for tablets, but there’s no doubt that it is still lightweight and easy to hold in one hand. The enclosure uses a minimum of 82.9% recycled content, including 100% aluminum alloy and 100% rare earth metals, and a 100% recycled cobalt battery. One notable element about this enclosure is that because it uses a lower power ARM-based Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus chip, it uses a fanless design which means no intake or exhaust fans. This makes it more like a traditional tablet, but one that runs Windows on ARM. More notably, is that it has a kickstand which sits flush when not in use, feels very sturdy, and can angle to 165 degrees, so you’ll have a large range of positions you can use it in without having to hold it in your hands. Aesthetics aside, kickstands are very useful on tablets, and it’s nice that Microsoft has one native to the enclosure instead of relying on case manufacturers to add one. 🔌PORTS: On the right edge, you’ll find 2x USB-C ports—both share the same feature set which is limited to USB 3.2, but they both support power delivery, and each one can be connected to a 4k60Hz display, for a total of 2 external displays. While not technically a port, there is a special magnetic connector on the bottom edge for the Surface Keyboard, if you opt to purchase one. Additionally, on the rear of the tablet is a dedicated space to magnetically charge the Surface Slim Pen 2nd Edition—another separate purchase. 🔧 EXPANSION & UPGRADES: A bigger downside to the Surface Pro 12 is that there is no option to expand or upgrade the system. The storage is 512gb of soldered UFS flash storage, and the RAM is 16GB of soldered memory, as well. Since there are no SD card slots, your only option for removable storage is through USB-C. 📺 DISPLAY: The display is a 2196x1464 resolution “PixelSense” LCD touchscreen display with a maximum refresh rate of 90Hz. By default it is set to 60Hz, likely to save battery life. While my personal preference might be OLED, I do feel this is a good quality display, and its most notable shortcoming is its inability to represent black as well as an OLED panel. It’s able to reach 400 nits maximum (typical) making it generally favorable in bright lighting conditions, but the display is also Anti-reflective, (ISO 9241-307 certified), so it’s designed more intentionally for bright conditions. However, it is also capable of getting quite dim, so you won’t have to worry about getting blasted with light while using it in the dark. In addition to its capacitive touchscreen support, the Surface Pro 12 is also designed to be used with the Surface Slim Pen 2nd Edition. In my experience, both of these ways of interfacing with the display are quite responsive. 📹​ WEBCAM & MICROPHONE: At the top front edge of the Surface Pro 12 display (landscape orientation) is the 1080p Surface Studio Camera which supports Windows Hello facial unlocking. An LED illuminates whenever the camera is active, which I can appreciate. The image quality of the front-facing camera is serviceable, but not particularly competitive. Considering most tablets and phones these days will have 5MP or higher front-facing cameras. But when compared to laptops, the Surface Pro 12 isn’t very far off (which really just demonstrates that the state of laptop webcams is still mediocre in 2025). Low Light performance is decent for a video call, but you’ll still get the most out of this camera under better lighting conditions. The rear-facing camera tops out at 2160p, making this rear camera better suited to capturing pictures of whiteboards, documents, and some occasional video, but it’s certainly not going to replace your smartphone. There isn’t a flashlight, so lower light photos will yield more noise. 🔊 SPEAKERS: The stereo speakers are front-firing and actually sound pretty good in my opinion. They get decently loud, deliver a decent frequency range, but aren’t going to be particularly bassy. That being said, I would not call them tinny. They’re surprisingly better than a lot of laptop speakers, but they won’t beat out an iPad Pro in my opinion, since that has quad speakers. ⚡ PERFORMANCE: This is a fanless system, which means that if you’re putting a heavy CPU + GPU load on it, it will produce quite a bit of heat without any way to actively cool it down. So it’s really not designed for high-performance tasks, but I don’t imagine most folks will want it for that kind of work, anyhow. After installing all software updates out of the box (including Windows + Microsoft Store), the performance is reasonably good for a lot of apps. But the first boot didn’t leave a great impression since tons of software needed updates out of the box and were fighting for limited resources. So temper your expectations until you have a system with all its updates installed and you’ve performed a couple restarts. Compatibility for Windows on ARM is still not perfect, as my decade-old Canon printer still doesn’t have ARM64 drivers, and while Windows itself theoretically has ways to emulate some applications, it is still unable to emulate drivers. So if you plan to do things mostly in a web browser, then the Surface Pro 12 will definitely have you covered. Gamers need not apply—compatibility is still imperfect, gaming performance isn’t great, and some games’ anti-cheat mechanisms simply cause the game to crash because they don’t allow emulation. However, you can always look at “worksonwoa” to see if popular applications and games are working on ARM, but in my experience, 2D titles are more likely to play well without significant performance issues. I also connected the Surface Pro 12 with my Caldigit TS4 dock, which supports USB 3.2 devices like the Surface Pro 12. My supported peripherals connected without an issue, but only one of my two displays appeared. My primary display is 5120x2160, and that connected to the Surface Pro 12 at 60Hz—which was definitely impressive for such a small device. My secondary display is 2560x1600, and I had to connect it directly to the Surface Pro 12 via a separate USB-C cable, as it was never picked up via the Caldigit dock. So while the Surface Pro 12 does support DisplayPort 1.4a, this doesn’t necessarily guarantee that Multi-Stream Transport (MST) will yield expected results. Meanwhile, my other devices have no issue with this same setup. Regardless, I appreciate that the Surface Pro 12 has such a small footprint and can be used as a portable workstation for lightweight tasks. 🔋 BATTERY: Battery is actually pretty good on the Surface Pro 12. While I haven’t conducted any scientific testing, I do think I can achieve a full day of use with a mixture of video playback and web browser use. Another really important element is that the Surface Pro 12 actually has good standby time. I left the screen locked and came back to it the next day to find no battery drain. I’ve used at least one other Snapdragon-powered Windows laptop and found at least some battery drain overnight, but the Surface Pro 12 is doing something right here. 🧐 CONCLUSION: The reality of the situation is that this is a pretty expensive “premium” device, and its use-cases are limited due to its hardware. Putting the user experience of Windows aside, the Surface Pro 12 is a much more complete experience when paired with the Surface Pro 12” keyboard. Windows itself has a way to go in terms of delivering a good user experience with only a touch-screen, but the Surface Pro 12 does feel to me like Microsoft is looking at what their competitors are doing in terms of hardware, and putting some of the best ideas into this new iteration of the Surface Pro. So if you’re looking for a Windows tablet that is small, supports a detachable keyboard and pen, has solid battery life and your apps work on ARM-based Windows 11, the Surface Pro 12 is honestly in a unique enough position to be worth considering.

Purchased this product for my new job. Good device for those who work cloud-based work and mainly use PDFs. Face recognition is very hit or miss, which is not fun because of the price, but it’s not the reason why I bought the device. Overall a good option for those who late looking for a desktop/tablet.

I initially wanted the Mircrosoft – Surface Pro – Copilot+ PC – 12” Touch-Screen – Snapdragon X Plus- 16GB Memory – 256GB UFS – Device Only (Latest Model) – Platinum to use as my primary tablet for art. It turns out that it is way more useful and can be a laptop tablet in one. The Surface Pro is very light and has a long battery life. Taking it on the go is nice because it's so easy to bring it with the keyboard and pen all in one. I can use it throughout the day and charge it for a couple hours in the evening and it’s good to go. The Surface Pro is lighter than my ipad, BUT it has been next to impossible for me to find a protective case for it... (Probably because it is still so new). I will keep looking. Luckily, the keyboard that coordinates with the surface pro acts as a keyboard/protective case in one. The Surface Pro stays cool when I use it for standard functions and for drawing. There is not a fan to add noise or bulkiness. I have noticed that when I am playing Roblox it heats up some on the upper half of the Surface Pro. If I’m not using it for gaming, then it is fine. Microsoft Copilot has been very useful too and it’s easy to access on the keyboard or the Surface Pro’s lower tool bar. I added a new art app that was confusing and not very user friendly for beginners, so I used Co Pilot to get info on how to access the brushes that I downloaded. It worked like a charm. There are 2 USB-C ports on the Surface pro that can be used for charging, etc. I do have a multiport adapter that I can use if I need additional connections. That should be kept in mind if this Surface Pro is needing to be connected to anything other than a USB-C.

I was one of the early adopters and actually used a Surface Pro in 2012 before switching to an Ipad which was overall superior even then because it was a tablet trying to be a tablet versus a PC trying to be a tablet. I also revisited the Surface Pro in 2021 when deciding between upgrading to the M1 iPad Pro and used the Surface for several months before eventually again switching back to the iPad Pro 12.9" M1 I still use to this day because of the same problem. So now here we are again in 2025 and enter the new Arm based Surface Pro 12. Microsoft has really gotten good with boxing and presentation. It hints at Apple's presentation while retaining their own custom look and feel. Inside the box you get your Surface Pro tablet and a charging cable along with a quick start guide and that's it. The power adapter, keyboard and stylus/pen are NOT included so be warned. Luckily after testing, the Surface can plug into just about any USB-C charging port from a USB strip to even Apple's various USB-C chargers and more. With every iteration of the Surface since I first tried it, they have become more polished and slick looking. The build quality is excellent and it feels like an iPad type device in your hands. I will need to get a grip style case for mine because the bezels are small and it is slippery. Plus when picking it up and using it my hands do tend to touch the touch screen accidentally. I have this same problem with my iPad too and require a case. I am a heavy Microsoft product user for decades and upon first start up like their previous products you are basically met with, well, Windows. In this case Windows 11. You set up and sign in just like you would on a Windows PC which is fine. After setup, you are presented with a touch version of Windows 11 and now this is where I am experiencing the same issues as with the Surface from 2012 and 2021. Using it for a few days it looks and feels like a Windows laptop that is trying to also function as a tablet. When connected to the Microsoft keyboard and stylus (sold separately for both), it is a light, portable easy to use Windows laptop. They keyboard and stylus make it a joy to use and when closed, it is small and sleek and easy to slip into a backpack or small messenger bag. The battery life on ARM is impressive and as a ultra light laptop I couldn't ask for more for day to day light use. I love the rear kickstand because it can be positioned in any position now versus the older versions that had preset positions. I do have the Microsoft keyboard and pen and it locks on quick and easy to the surface and I love how the pen snaps onto the back or front bezels even. As a portable laptop device with pen support, it is good. My only complaint is I wish the two USB-C ports on the left side were a little lower when in laptop mode and/or an additional port on the other side for versatility but it is only a minor nuisance. On the other hand, this is a 2 in 1 device so as good as it is in laptop form, it is just mediocre in tablet form. I find the stylus to be good for drawing and some functionality but in the end I want to hold and use my finger(s) for navigation and function. Compared to the iPad, it feels clumsy and unintuitive. I found myself having to use the stylus for better control versus my iPad that "just works" with finger usage but also works fantastic with the Apple Pen. I use my tablet in my recliner or when I need to pull up technical documents and I'm just not getting the same ease of use or fluidity with the Surface. I've also used Android tablets in the past and even now time to time and they are also much more intuitive to use than the Surface. The whole Windows desktop and approach is really made for a mouse and keyboard and in hand held touch form it is a clumsy, awkward experience. Hardware wise, the pixel sense screen is beautiful and bright. The Snapdragon 8 core CPU is powerful enough but it is the entry level model. Power wise, it is on par with the Apple M1 CPU in my ipad Pro released 4 years ago according to GeekBench 6. Being an ARM processor, this is also another problem. With my previous Surface Pro units equipped with Intel processors, I could run the same software as my PC and laptop which made integration a breeze but this time you need ARM specific versions as Intel versions are not compatible. Luckily there are many of the programs I use that have ARM versions but unfortunately a few older/custom programs I use do not. This seems to be a transition phase for Microsoft, so make sure the software you want to use has arm based versions. The Surface is not meant for any real heavy CPU and especially heavy GPU use. I know Microsoft is very much all in on Copilot+, but I have yet to overtly find a need for it during my use on the desktop, laptop or Surface. In summary, I very much like the hardware and form factor strides Microsoft has made but in the end the hardware without the proper software support is a non starter. In the case of the Surface Pro 2-1, the lack of ARM support for some of my programs along with still feeling as if this is just Microsoft Windows 11 in "touch form" instead of a true Windows tablet version (Think a proper "SurfaceOS") means I will be going back to my iPad Pro for my basic day to day tablet usage but I am not giving up on the Surface and will continue to use it in tandem when afforded the ability to continue to see how it stacks up but for now, it is not fully usable in my daily work/home flow.

New hardware always gets my blood pumping and when it's a Microsoft product, it either works out very well, or it's a hot mess. Surface PCs have been around for quite a while and usually, since they're made by Microsoft, they're very well adapted to the Windows environment. Now, this Surface Pro is a bit different in a big, big way. Let's dive into it. At first glance, you wouldn't think that the Surface Pro with its 12" screen is anything more than a pretty tablet. But it is so much more and it starts with its specifications. What stands out is the use of an ARM architecture CPU/GPU/NPU combo. If you're not very familiar with these terms, let me help you out. Windows (and most PCs) have been running on the good old x86 CPU architecture, such as CPUs made by Intel or AMD. The type of architecture used is meaningful as the operating system has to be able to communicate in its own language with a set of hardware that understands that language (I'm simplifying a lot here). There are other types such as RISC, ARM and others. The "CPU" chosen for this Surface is the first ARM CPU I've ever seen used on a Windows device (outside of VM, but that's another story). You might actually know who makes this CPU: Qualcomm. Their CPUs are currently running most of the higher-end Android smartphones and tablets. The model used in this device is the Snapdragon X plus, which is near the top-tier of their offering. It includes different types of processor cores (8 in total), each set designed to handle specific workloads, including graphics (GPU) and AI cores (NPU). The Snapdragon X plus packed in the Surface Pro is actually fairly good. It can handle most tasks flawlessly and can adjust power consumption depending on the load, resulting in lower battery usage, extending the charge significantly. In terms of memory, you'll be granted 16 gigs of RAM and 256 gigs of NVMe storage. For a tablet PC, that's not bad at all, but I would have liked at least twice the NVMe storage as you might hit the limit pretty quickly if you work offline a lot. If most of your tasks rely on online services (Office 365 for instance), this shouldn't be an issue. But a SD card slot would have been a welcome addition. The screen is probably one of the best I've seen on a mobile device. It's beautiful and has gorgeous contrast, the vivid colors and deep blacks are amazing. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought it was an OLED screen. The screen is obviously a touch screen with a great response and it's quite precise. The Surface Pro is very well made and feels very sturdy (the body is a metal alloy). It features the typical built-in stand (I love this feature) and 2 Type-C connectors which can be both used to charge the device using a 45W charger. I recommend that you get the charger made by Microsoft to avoid issues later on. The sound is good for such a small device as well. Everything is not all rainbows and butterflies. I have had two applications that wouldn't run on the Surface Pro. It might still be that Microsoft needs to work on compatibility a little more to get everything to run properly on an ARM CPU. Also, when the CPU switches between efficient and performance cores, you can sometimes feel a little drag. It's not a lot, but it's noticeable. Last but not least, the battery holds a decent charge but it drains a bit too fast when you use CPU heavy software. In conclusion, I was impressed with the Surface Pro. Adding the keyboard and most importantly (for me at least) the stylus turned this portable device into an excellent, on-the-go graphics design and drawing tablet. It can handle most jobs, but falls short in terms of gaming (it really can't handle much more than simple 2D games). But this is a productivity workhorse and if that's what you're looking for, you won't be disappointed. Nice job, Microsoft!

It took about a week of adjusting to it, but for a travel business “laptop”, I’m completely sold on the Microsoft Surface Pro 12”. I look forward to using it – something I’ve rarely said about a computer. However, with the blurring of lines between a tablet and a full computer and the Windows operating system not quite being as friendly as it could be, it’s something to read more about before jumping into. At first, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from the Surface Pro 12”, being largely unfamiliar with its predecessors. I knew it was some type of tablet, but with Windows and that was about it. The big thing to get out of the way is that it’s NOT a tablet. It looks like a tablet and functions on a surface level like a tablet, but unlike my Pixel Tablet or the iPads I’ve used over the years, it’s definitely NOT a tablet. It took me a few days until I truly wrapped my head around it. What you have with the Surface is a laptop with the touchscreen and form factor of a tablet. The reason is simply the Windows operating system. There is nothing inherently wrong with the Windows operating system, but it’s not what I would consider optimized for a tablet environment. Comparatively with other tablets, everything is completely optimized for a touch-friendly experience from the operating system to the entirety of the apps allowed on it. They’re all made for touching and gesture-based navigation. Here, I found myself instinctively swiping things like I would my phone or other touchscreen devices to be met with anything but the desired and expected response. This isn’t a bad experience, per se, but something I had to work past a bit of a mental hurdle with. Once my brain finally understood that it’s a full Windows desktop experience but just in the appearance of a tablet, I was able to navigate my time with it far better. This was aided with the additional purchase of the keyboard and SlimPen add-ons. I’ve made a full review of those, but I consider the keyboard an essential component of the Surface Pro 12”. So essential I wouldn’t suggest that anyone even consider the purchase of a Surface Pro without it. The pen, while I do think works fantastically, is a bit more optional depending on your personal preferences. With the keyboard at hand, I can easily switch from more “computer” tasks, such as navigating my daily business emails, messages, and invoicing to more “tablet” activities, such as scrolling Reddit and social media. In essence, I’ve learned when to take advantage of the Surface Pro as a laptop replacement and when as a tablet replacement. In the box, however, there is no keyboard. You get the Surface Pro itself and a USB-C charging cable. I find the claim of lack of a wall adapter due to saving the environment slightly dubious, but the fact of the matter is you are likely to have a generic USB-C charger already. And if you don’t you can buy the official branded one or any other that pumps out 45W or more. There’s little in the box in terms of documentation – just a screen protector pointing out the buttons and ports. Turning it on for the first time was the same initial setup process as any other Windows based desktop or laptop. You must use a Microsoft account, and you will spend some time downloading updates and then more updates later, but it was an easy process. Physically, the Surface is a bit of a tech treat. It weighs a little over a pound, enough that it has a slight heft to it, but not enough that it felt uncomfortable to hold for extended periods. The screen is glossy, which may be a pro/con depending on if you’re using the SlimPen frequently and your preference and looks fantastic. The colors are bright and the touch screen is very responsive and it’s exactly what you want. There is a large bezel around all sides of the screen that, to me, feel like they aren’t in the way when holding it like a tablet, but when used as a laptop with the keyboard it makes me feel like I’m losing screen real estate. Looking around the device, you have just enough of everything. There’s only two inputs, but they’re USB-C and can be used for charging and even to connect to a monitor. There’s a front facing and a rear facing camera. I was able to have an extended zoom meeting with the front camera, and it looked great. Nothing amazing, but certainly nothing bad either. I’m not one to really take photos from a tablet, so I’ve little experience with the rear camera, but I’m also glad it’s there, too. Next to the rear camera is a slightly shallow recessed area meant for holding and charging the SlimPen attachment. On the top are buttons for power/standby and volume. The bottom has the connector for the keyboard. And the standout physical feature is the kickstand. I appreciate how solid it feels and that it runs the length of the entirety of the device. And, going backward 165-degrees, you’re really covered for whatever viewing angle you find best in the given moment. There are no fans on this device. This is by design, and I was cautious at first, but I have yet to have a situation to worry about it. With all the stress tests of daily use I put it through, including video calls, I never felt this the Surface Pro get above slightly warm to the touch. Color me impressed. Spec-wise, this isn’t a super high end computing machine, but for general use including office work, web browsing, and online video, you’ll be completely fine. You’re not really going to be doing gaming on here, but it’s a great opportunity to explore cloud gaming with XBOX. The 12” screen is a bit on the small side for a lot of work, but I couldn’t imagine holding it like a tablet with a screen any larger than that. 256GB of storage and 16GB is perfect for this device. If you’re doing a lot of graphic work on here, you may want to consider more storage. It’s important to note here that nothing about the Surface Pro is upgradable, so the only option for more local storage would be a USB-C connected external drive. The battery life on this has been fantastic. I’ve struggled to get the battery down low enough to necessitate needing to plug it in. This is definitely a giant pro worth mentioning as I could work the whole day on this and nearly all of the next business day without thinking about charging it. As for the computing experience itself, if you’ve used Windows then you’re set. There’s no difference here, for better or worse. I would have loved to see the option of going from a full desktop experience to one more tailored towards a touch-screen experience. Honestly, this is the biggest fault of the Surface Pro in my opinion. Windows seems just shy of being able to really do what you need it to in a tablet setting. The on-screen keyboard and its many options work just great… when it shows up. Too many times, I’ve clicked on an area where a text input is expected and just no keyboard shows up. This has been my experience with my other touch-screen Windows devices. However, getting past that quirk and my previous mentioned muscle memory from my phone touchscreen navigation, it’s as good as Windows always is. I wish Windows would let me customize all gesture actions, including edge swiping. It’s distracting having to navigate different gestures on different devices. Being a newer model, the Copilot and associated AI features are displayed in full force here. Copilot can answer questions, create images, translate things, and more. I’m impressed with these functions. I’ve only just scratched the surface (no pun intended) on how to truly take advantage of it all, but I like that it’s there. I’m curious to do more with the Recall feature, that basically can rewind your experience too early. As someone who may quickly and prematurely close out work at times, it’s nice to get back right to it. Knowing in advance the pros and cons of the Surface Pro as more of a laptop replacement in the size of a tablet will go a long way. It’s not going to replace my desktop for work, although you could easily use a dock to turn it into one, but in the living room, at the coffee shop or in other areas where I can work and play more casually but with a full desktop experience, the Surface Pro shines like no other.

My old Surface was getting laggy and wouldn't hold a charge, so this lightweight machine with Snapdragon processor is great. Holds charge under light use for 6 days or more. Very snappy performance. Overall very pleased. A couple of drawbacks. It is fairly bizarre that Microsoft doesn't include a charger with this unit. Since it requires a 65W or greater charger, that's an additional $40 or so bucks you need to plan for. Also, I didn't do enough research that ARM processors do have known incompatibilities with some legacy software and printers. Luckily all my critical legacy software is working, even though I got warning messages during installation. But I have yet to get my printer up working with the unit. I think I found a workaround by researching, but haven't had a chance to test it yet. This is just something to be aware of.

The Surface Pro is super sleek, lightweight, and great for both work and entertainment. Love how it switches between laptop and tablet. Screen looks amazing and performance is smooth. Battery is decent, just wish it lasted a bit longer. Overall, a really solid 2-in-1!

I like this device. much better than the previous gen. I like the removal of alcantara on the keyboard cover since it used to get very dirty and peel. I think the display is good but could be better. same with battery life. It's about as good as a macbook with m1/m2. the portability is great. i hope this device lasts a long time.

Great form factor, quiet and great size. Works very well for normal activites but struggles with intensive tasks like video editing and gaming. Great battery life but needs more screen brightness.

As someone who’s accustomed to Windows, I’ve always been a big fan of the Surface line of devices. They’re sharp looking and functional. Not to mention the size. It’s essentially an iPad but in Windows form. While this is a terrific all around device, it’s still not without its shortcomings, which have plagued the Surface line for a while. If you desire a light and flexible Windows laptop, this should be towards the top of your list. IN THE BOX The first drawback, going back to the original Surface, is the fact that the keyboard isn’t included. It’s just a fact. While the Surface line has gotten somewhat “cheaper” over the years, it’s always misleading when you factor in the lack of accessories. Even worse, you no longer get a charger anymore. In the box is simple the Surface and a USB-C cable. Now, granted, the Surface could arguably get a pass given that 27W chargers (which most of us will have with our smart phones) can charge the device, it still stings a little bit when buying an $800 computer to not have a charger. SETUP Setup is similar to any Windows computer and your experience can vary depending on a number of factors. A straight new install (i.e. not backing up from old computers) can be pretty quick, but expect it to take some time. It took me about 2 hours to get up and running after taking into account the large Windows update out of the box. SPECS Here, you’re getting a 12” super sharp display, 256 or 512GB of storage, Qualcomm Adreno GPU, and an 8 core Snapdragon X Plus chip. As with most new Windows laptops, has a dedicated neural processing unit which is a specialized chip to accelerate AI tasks, taking them away from the CPU and GPU. This allows it to process AI tasks on the device, rather than relying entirely on cloud processing. For everyday tasks, it’s superlative. The Snapdragon X chip allows the device to run cooler and extend battery life when (generally speaking) compared to Intel chips. But you are sacrificing some features - namely compatibility - but more on that below. While AI features are getting pushed in all our devices, individual mileage will vary depending on your use of AI features. The most obvious one is the built in Copilot function. The free version allows for conversational AI and image creation. You’ll have to pay a monthly fee to get Copilot integration with 365 apps, as well as the latest AI models for conversations. DESIGN I’ve always been a fan of the Surface line. Like Macs, I think they’re beautiful and elegant products and scream premium. The Surface 12 inch continues that trend and just looks absolutely great. The big design change, if you can call it that, is the recessed pen storage area on the back. I admit I was a little concerned about that because I thought the pen would come off easily, but the magnets are really strong. The hinge is really stiff and the same time, easily movable. It has 160 degree movement on the hinge almost allows it to go from straight up to lying flat. It’s smooth and durable. FEATURES As stated earlier, one of the drawbacks of the Surface is the need to purchase what I believe to be, necessary accessories. The drawback is simply the price on the Surface itself isn’t the total that you will be paying. But putting that aside, you really need to invest in the Surface keyboard and slim pen to really get the most out of your Surface. I have both, and will be referencing them because I think that’s the best way to highlight the Surface’s features overall. The Copilot+ PC is Microsoft’s big push towards everywhere AI and that’s really the star of this Surface (to be clear, it’s not limited to Surface devices). But the Surface has a dedicated neural processing unit that allows the computer to process AI on the device itself, rather than in the cloud. A few things that stick out - again, these are available on any Copilot + PC - is recall, cocreator and copilot. Recall is a somewhat controversial feature whereby your PC takes screenshots of your computer and allows you to conduct a search as to what you might have been doing or what was visible on your screen. This feature is a gamechanger for me, I use it to search through old communications whether it be letters or emails. I use it as a search function across my entire device. Cocreator is hit and miss, but allows you to create images with image prompts. It’s cool, but the novelty wears off quickly. There’s also Windows Studio Effects that allows enhanced video chat quality and filters. But this is all subjective and depends on how often you’re on video calls and whether you have a dedicated setup. It has two USB-C 3.2 ports (with USB4/Thunderbolt support). Either port can handle charging, data transfer, and display port for connecting up to two 4K monitors. It utilizes Wi-Fi 7 (which I guess is future proofing, I don’t have WI-Fi 7) and Bluetooth 5.4. The big feature for me is battery life and the touchscreen. The battery life is phenomenal, in no small part because of the Snapdragon chip. I use this much like an iPad, where I just hit the power button to put it to sleep and then wake it up when I need it. It just always seems to hold a charge. The touchscreen is terrific and very responsive. It’s even better with the sold separately slim pen. I very much enjoyed writing and drawing on the screen with the slim pen, even though I’m not a creative type by profession. While the novelty wore off a little bit, I do enjoy writing and drawing with the pen when I’m just sitting on the couch and reading the news, surfing the web. It’s a fun way of input. DOWNSIDES The big downside is also the Surface’s biggest strength and that’s the Snapdragon processor. While it brings a lot of positives, including snappy performance and very long battery life, you sacrifice a lot of compatibility. Old drivers (mostly printers at my office) are tricky and won’t work, and some software we use at my office isn’t compatible with the Arm architecture. Luckily, there seems to be a concerted effort to expand the Arm ecosystem so hopefully this becomes an absolute non issue. As I’ve said earlier, one of the biggest complaints is that the keyboard and pen are sold separately. I’ll also say, the AI features aren’t unique to the Surface, so the only real selling point is the Surface hardware and form factor. CONCLUSION The Surface line continues to shine. This is an extremely portable, great looking piece of hardware that will go for several workdays. It’s a capable performer, and will tackle 90% of all tasks the average person might throw at it, with ease. It’s just a shame the keyboard, pen, and a charging brick wasn’t included.

I am very pleased with the laptop's efficient performance, especially its aptitude for academic work and multitasking. Its dimensions are well-suited for note-taking and other fundamental student activities. Nevertheless, for gaming, a laptop specifically designed for that purpose might be a more appropriate selection. I have noticed that it tends to overheat and battery dies down more quickly only when running downloaded games like Roblox and Honkai Star Rail. Beyond that, it is a laptop that I would suggest for students, given its impressive speed and artificial intelligence capabilities.

This works great if you need to work away from your normal space. I have a larger laptop and don't enjoy carrying it around. This is extremely convenient especially if you are in the 365 Ecosystem and can access what you need . Which is what drove me to leave my Samsung Tablet. One downfall this is heavy no way around it.

Lighter than previous model which is what I was looking for. Depending on what desk you’re putting it on it does disconnect from the keyboard and fall but other than that it’s nice.

I had to update my computer as my surface pro 7 crashed. At first I was kind of meh on it since the price is pretty high even considered returning it. But the quality of the screen and the battery life are perfect, I use it for both work and streaming and it is great.

Excellent product. Great processing speed, screen and features. Unfortunately, the package does not come with a charging block. Just a USB-c cable. This is a relatively inexpensive item that should be included to complete the package.

Lightweight and portable. Screen a little small but usable.

Still figuring it out. However after restarting the first time, I received a blue error screen that I could not get out of until I received a security screen allowing me to undo the restart. Other than that, the screen and color are beautiful. And has been able to perform what I need it to.