Microsoft Surface Pro 2017 Review No pen to describe
The 2017 model of the Surface Pro has several improvements over its predecessor. The kickstand folds out a little further, the hardware has become faster and the battery life is considerably better. Unfortunately, the improved stylus is no longer included and the Type Cover, which you are almost obliged to buy, is priced at 150 euros. The biggest competition comes at the time of writing from the Surface Pro 4, which has dropped considerably in price and also comes with a stylus.
Pros
- Fast processor
- Improved battery life
- High brightness and contrast
Cons
- Pricey upgrades
- Stylus is no longer included
At the beginning of May, Microsoft announced a whole new Surface product: the Surface Laptop. The Surface Laptop received a lot of attention, but Microsoft had more news to come and two weeks later the new Surface Pro was announced. Although it is the fifth generation of Microsoft’s own tablet, the manufacturer simply calls the device “Surface Pro”. This 2017 model has been improved on a number of points and is, for example, equipped with a Kaby Lake instead of a Skylake processor. In this short review we list the differences and see how the upgrades work out for performance and battery life, and of course we look at the price.
Appearance and operation
The 2017 model of the Surface Pro is barely distinguishable from the outside from its predecessor, the Surface Pro 4. The tablet has the same light gray magnesium housing, with the signature kickstand, with the mirrored Microsoft logo in the middle. That kickstand has a new hinge and can be opened a little further than before, to a maximum angle of 165 degrees to be precise. With that you have had the external changes immediately. Not a problem as far as we’re concerned, because the housing was and is sturdy and feels solid. Moreover, the weight is not too bad at 787 grams for a tablet of this size, although it is not nice to use it in one hand for too long.
The Surface Pro therefore comes into its own better as a laptop replacement. However, you have to buy a keyboard for that. Keyboards can be connected via Bluetooth or USB, but the most elegant combination is surely with a Type Cover, which clicks magnetically to the housing. Little has changed on the keyboard itself since the Surface Pro 4 , but there is now a version with Alcantara covering or with a fingerprint scanner. For the last two versions you pay 180 euros, while the standard Type Cover costs 150 euros. We think these are quite expensive accessories, which you are more or less obliged to purchase; after all, with only the touchscreen you limit yourself very much in the use of this tablet with i7 processor.
Another accessory is the stylus. It has been improved and now supports 4096 pressure levels, while there were 1024 with the Surface Pro 4. The stylus was simply included with previous Surface Pro models, but with the 2017 version it has unfortunately become an accessory of 110 euros. The stylus has a rubber tip and an ‘eraser’ at the top, with which it glides easily over the screen. The pen weighs 22 grams, is made of metal and, as far as we can judge, works comfortably and accurately. You can ‘stick’ the pen magnetically to the left side of the tablet.
Most connections are on the right side, where Microsoft has limited itself to a USB-A and a mini-displayport connection. To charge the tablet and possibly connect a Surface dock, Microsoft uses its self-developed magnetic connector. Another micro-sd reader is hidden under the kickstand. This is a handy way to expand the storage, especially for the basic model with a 128GB SSD.
Benchmarking
The 2017 model of the Surface Pro has been given Kaby Lake processors. For consumers, these are the Core m3 7Y30, the Core i5-7200U and the Core i7-7660U. What is new is that Microsoft has improved the cooling system in such a way that the i5 version can also be cooled passively. Just like the i5 version, the i7 processor officially has a tdp of 15 watts, but while running benchmarks it appears that the Surface Pro is configured in such a way that the processor consumes 23 watts continuously.
A higher maximum consumption also means that a processor can maintain its turbo clock for longer. The i7 also ticks at 3.8GHz during Cinebench single and multi, making it the fastest mobile dual-core processor we’ve tested so far. Faster laptops do of course exist, but then you have to switch to a quad-core processor and they consume so much that they are usually not built into tablets. As an illustration, we have added the Asus FX502 with quad-core i5 processor to the table.
For the SSD test we have slightly less material to compare than for the other benchmarks, because we recently exchanged AS-SSD for PCMark Storage. However, it should be clear that the PM971 NVMe SSD in the Surface Pro is nice and fast and that the performance is about as high as that of a 1TB SSD in the Surface Book.
Screen and battery life
Of course we also look at the screen and the battery life. Compared to the Surface Pro 4, the screen is unchanged. The resolution of the 12.3″ screen is still 2736×1824 pixels, which produces a nice sharp image. The screen is neatly laminated and we find the 3:2 aspect ratio works better for all content except video than the usual 16:9 screens.
The screen measurement shows that a high brightness and an excellent contrast are achieved. The calibration of the screen is somewhat disappointing. The gray values are displayed a bit too blue and we also see some deviations in the primary and secondary colors. It’s nothing serious, but this Surface Pro costs almost 2500 euros and for that money we actually expect a deviation of ≤ 3ΔE.
Finally, the battery life has increased considerably compared to the Surface Pro 4. This is partly due to a slightly larger battery, but on the other hand the hardware is apparently well optimized. The battery life is considerably higher during browsing, while it has more than doubled when watching video. The Surface Laptop lasts even longer with an equally large battery, but the screen resolution is lower, which means a lower load on the GPU.
Conclusion
It doesn’t show on the outside, but the 2017 version of the Surface Pro has been improved on several points. The hinge can move a little further, the processor has become faster and the battery life has improved considerably. We will not miss the stylus, but those who would like to use the new stylus will have to pay 110 euros for it. Moreover, a Surface tablet is not complete without Type Cover, which costs 150 to 180 euros, and that comes on top of the 2500 euros that the separate tablet costs for the model we reviewed.
A 2017 Surface Pro is therefore not cheap and that is exactly where the shoe pinches, because a Surface Pro 4 has dropped considerably in price and is now available for 1700 euros . For that money you do get a shorter battery life and a slightly slower processor, but the stylus is simply included. The 2017 version of the Surface Pro is an upgrade over its predecessor, except for the stylus. However, if that predecessor is no less than 800 euros cheaper, we would keep that money in our pocket and just buy a Pro 4.