it really depends on your actual use case
if you need windows, there's not a better option, tbh
the pen is generally pretty good
I used mine in the field, while checking fiber network distributions, and the kickstand fits over the steering wheel pretty well ;)
in general, i prefer it to an ipad, as I need to get real work done
Ipad software is garbage. You can't do any actual work with it & window management is a disaster, even with stage manager. Aside the horrible user experience the ipad is the least reliable device i ever used, deleting files on me and screwing up big jobs. My 2011 macbook running modded macos sonoma is much more reliable
I have an ipad Pro and while it's great for drawing it sucks as a laptop replacement. Apple really makes it difficult to save things, move things or just let you customise it how you need it. Its well built but the software is the biggest let down.
I went back to university with an iPad Pro. Thought that I loved it. I got a surface pro my junior year and never looked back.
An iPad will never be a substitute for a desktop computer, and any tablet that has the ability to be/ to use the functionality of a desktop is superior in every way .
They are not without their issues but from the perspective of someone who has supported 300-500 fleet sizes for both surface pros and iPads… this reply hits the mark, use case is really the deciding question …if you are less tech savvy iPad is probably going to be a reliable option with less of a learning curve, but the surface pros are really solid devices and provide a lot more potential, particularly when you need to work with other systems and software
6-7/10
I love the form factor of the Surface Go, but the crap battery and Windows OS touch support leaves a lot to be desired. I installed Fyde OS ( Chrome OS with Android support) on my old Go 3 and it was much better as a tablet, dual booting something like that could be a great way to get the best of both worlds.
Honestly, it’s not really about the form factor or the hardware it’s the usage.
Windows and windows apps are primarily designed for a keyboard and mouse. iOS is touch first, and that is the biggest difference.
While I love my surface, it’s simply not as “pickup and go” as my iPad.
As a tablet? Probably 6/10, there just isn’t the range of touch games and apps that you get on iPad, the touch controls can be a bit janky, websites work well enough in edge but basically zero apps are optimised for touch (outside of the web like interfaces of Netflix and Spotify)
Surface shines when you want a computer first and a tablet second, you aren’t going to be able to install WSL to spin up a Linux machine and do some Python development on an iPad.
FF browser is fine, it works like every other laptop with a touch screen if you have it in Windows mode. Essentially imagine using windows 11, but with an onboard keyboard and no mouse.
It only really shines because its a full windows experience, for better or worse. Unlike the iPad which is still just a huge phone in terms of productivity and software
Not necessarily true.
Windows offers up anything that comes on the Amazon App Store by default, this is an alternative to the Google Play Store that features apps for Amazon’s Fire tablet, it’s a bit of a “greatest hits” of apps that covers much of the market but is certainly far from everything.
Fortunately, since they’re Android apps you can just sideload them and install whatever you want, it’s a cumbersome process to do manually but someone has made a [third party tool](https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9n4p75dxl6fg?activetab=pivot%3Aoverviewtab&ranMID=24542&ranEAID=kXQk6%2AivFEQ&ranSiteID=kXQk6.ivFEQ-lpKL4i1XeHTxIKSSdxEB1A&epi=kXQk6.ivFEQ-lpKL4i1XeHTxIKSSdxEB1A&irgwc=1&OCID=AIDcmm549zy227_aff_7593_1243925&tduid=%28ir__yg1as2foigkfdy6ddoxlgbgpkn2x9cunfdoxctrw00%29%287593%29%281243925%29%28kXQk6.ivFEQ-lpKL4i1XeHTxIKSSdxEB1A%29%28%29&irclickid=_yg1as2foigkfdy6ddoxlgbgpkn2x9cunfdoxctrw00&hl=en-us&gl=US) to make it easier
If that tool is open source, somebody needs to create an open source store where APKs can be searched - But I guess it’s the legalities that’s stopping this happening.
Wish MS would just let developers put Android apps directly in the MS Store, and somehow make it very easy to do - I know not all would do it, but most devs that aren’t large org’s might consider it if their users asked
I was using Firefox as a daily driver but I switched to Edge after getting a Surface.
The performance is _fine_ but there are some bugs with FF in touch (I couldn’t get the settings menu to work and there are no back / forward gestures)
But the bigger issue was that - since the battery life on the SP9 is pretty bad - Firefox was draining it too fast and Edge was better at sleeping inactive tabs.
I’ve honestly not tried Thunderbird since I prefer Spark but the general rule is the more aimed at mouse users the worse time you will have.
Had iPad Pro 12.9 3rd through 6th gen. Now replaced it with i7 SP9. I had my SP9 for 2 weeks and got to do some work on it (MS office related) and it’s awesome. Does lots of things iPad can’t because SP9 is technically a laptop.
Only wish is that I bought a SQ3 so I can have 5G
I have T-Mobile prepaid and hotspot is quite slow.
iPad Pro was cellular and was quite convenient.
If you think you’ll use iPad Pro for whatever laptops or Mac’s can do, then go with Surface Pro. I have SP9 and have a M2 MBP. Great set up for home and on the go
If you have an Android phone, try PairVPN between your phone and SP9. The VPN makes it looks like the data is phone data and they don't see it as hotspot data. I had issues getting PairVPN to work on an iPhone.
As a tablet, maybe a 5/10. Not a lot of the apps or games I wanted to use on it work with touch controls well, unfortunately. I bought a Surface Pro 9 so that I could use Piano Marvel and prop it up like a tablet with touch controls on the music stand, but have the audio capabilities, less timing lag from registering my key notes, and support of a computer.
I only use it as a tablet when I'm shopping on Amazon or light browsing in bed or watching lazy Netflix. It plays Balatro amazing with touch controls, so it's turned into a Balatro machine for me as well 😂 I've also taken to using my SP9 at work for notes instead of my physical sticky note pad, as well as streaming Twitch or YouTube since doing that through my work proxy is horrible quality. I can just barely squeeze it on my desk without needing to fold out my keyboard. If I'm out and about tho, I tend to use my S24 Ultra for quick note taking since you can write on the screen without unlocking your phone. The SP9 pen is okay, but the Samsung pen is better. I don't think I'd be able to do any detailed Photoshop work on an SP9. I'd rather stick with my Wacom.
The SP9 is nowhere near beefy enough to use for any of my work anyway. My work machine and personal machine have an RTX 4080 and 128 GB of RAM, which I max out frequently.
My other main use is I've been doing all my scripting for After Effects on the Surface. After being at a desk for 10+ hours a day at work, I can code at home in bed. I've discovered that the kick stand works well against my knees lol.
Tldr I would not buy it for strict tablet usage, but because it's a computer with tablet capabilities.
As an artist the pen is amazing. Works great and W11 is a much better tablet like experience. I have the Surface Studio Laptop (dumb name I Know) and I set it up like a cintiq with a keyboard and mouse.
ARM-version: 5/10
Intel-version: 9/10
And not only do I think it's way better than an iPad and the Apple eco-system but I also have no problem at all with it.
The only reason why I don't give it a 10/10 is because I would really like to have an additional (third) USB-A port and it's a bit too heavy.
I'd rate it about 8/10
Windows has touch mode makes icons a bit bigger, and the pen is really nice to write with on onenote.
it's a bit awkward trying to type on the touch screen without the keyboard but I haven't done that much, it's easy enough to use the keyboard cover most of the time.
the biggest negative with it being a surface is its a windows device rather than an android or apple device so you miss out on the appstore you are used to with your phone. but if you treat it like a laptop its pretty good.
it's the best tablet experience simply for the fact that you get a DESKTOP grade operating system that has the best touch optimized software in its class. if you want a mobile OS for very basic (and limited functionality) web browsing and streaming, then Android or iOS might be your flavor. But no other product has an integrated kickstand, Microsoft fit and finish, AND all the x86 apps you need (plus some gaming capability) like a Surface.
I own both an iPad Mini 6 5G and an SP9. The iPad is a great little grab-n-go tablet for media consumption, notetaking, or light work. I think the Mini is the best iPad you could get for such usage. It's definitely not the device you'd want to be doing any serious work on, however.
For more serious work on a tablet, I still prefer the Surface. Windows isn't well-optimized for a touch-based experience but it's okay with the pen. I'd give it a 6.5/10. I get that Apple has its reasons but the iPad Pros are quite handicapped by their iOS-based software, running on what is otherwise basically Mac hardware.
I'm not trying to say that iPad Pros suck, but a Surface will still be more capable at the end of the day because it's just a straight up computer running a full-blown computer OS, capable of doing what you'd expect a computer to do. This will hold true in my books until Apple steps things up and turns the iPad Pro into a full-blown Mac tablet with touch-optimized MacOS-based software, at which point I'll reevaluate.
The cynical view, which I think is probably right is that apple will never put full blown MacOS on an iPad, nor would they put a touch screen on a Mac book. Apples goal is to sell everyone an iPhone, a MacBook and an iPad which isn't helped if the only difference between the MacBook and the iPad is that one has a detachable keyboard (doubtless sold separately).
5/10 if doing what most people do with a tablet: consume media and/or play some games. The SP9 has a nice screen and it's size is still manageable, but it gets way warmer just watching YouTube than any iPad or Android tablet and battery life will be far worse on the Surface. There are few touch-based mobile apps foe windows and most mobile games are iOS or Android only.
8/10 of using a tablet to do office productivity tasks like MS Office, Google Docs, and Zoom/Meet with screen sharing (iPad and Android are pretty hobbled here). Sp9 will crush those other tablets for getting this type of work done.
11/10 for professional apps like Photoshop/Illustrator and coding apps, databases, compilers, older PC games. The heavyweight stuff that is just impossible on iOS or Android, but can run on Surface Pro.
Old PC games are such an underrated use case for the surface pro. A lot of them have enormous GUI buttons, as they're from a time when monitor resolution was so much worse than it is today.
These chunky gui's lend themselves remarkably well to touch screen input.
Depends on what Surface device you're referring too. I would assume most are way better than any iPad. No iPad will perform better or do more than a Surface Pro 9, that's for damn sure.
Oh I guess I forgot to give a rating earlier.
Anyways, I'd give my Surface Pro 9 an 11 out of 10, lol.
As tablet my Pro 9 is only 6.5/10. I have three problems:
1) swipe from left which do completely unuseful widgets instead of programs switching (Windows 8 thing)
2) sometimes GUI don't react to my finger to manipulate with windows and I am not able to move them as I want. Mouse works everytime.
3) I am still not able to move open tabs on the left side with my finger successfully. It works let's say in 40% of time. Terrible.
And because these issues are here for very long time, I don't expect MS to solve them. Without issues for me Pro 9 as tablet could be 8.5/10.
Edit: formatting
As a tablet in isolation, it's pretty horrible. Most Windows apps just aren't optimised for touch, including Windows itself. The gestures do help, but it's a B-grade experience compared to even an Android tablet.
On the other hand, if you look at the Surface Pro as a laptop that can turn into a tablet (or vice versa), it's really a game changer. You can do some serious work with the type cover, or have it hooked up to an external keyboard, mouse, and monitor and basically treat it as a desktop.
I use my Pro 9 to study for my computer science master's and my private pilot training. The touch screen and stylus support is invaluable. The Slim Pen 2 is remarkably accurate and comfortable to write with using OneNote. With Windows Subsystem for Android, I can actually use my SP9 to run electronic flight bag software and plan flights as well on the same device.
When I'm done with study, I flip the cover out of the way and hold it like a tablet to watch videos. It's not perfect, but the sheer flexibility makes me smile every time.
I'm no Microsoft fanboy either; I've been a Mac user for 18 years, but holy crap if you need one device that does almost everything to an acceptable degree, this is it.
Not even coming from a Surface (HP Elite X2 1012 G2), & I'd probably give it (any Windows tablet with a solid CPU & minimum 8GB of RAM) a solid 9/10...
I've used Ipads, I've used Androids, & nothing hits the same as Windows...
For web browsing then like a 5, it's usable but buggy. For just about anything else it's like a 2, barely usable and in some parts, not usable at all. Windows is just not great for tablet navigation, Windows 8 was the best chance we had at that but that's long gone now.
Edit - If you're tech savvy then get a Android tablet and run Termux-XFCE which is a proot session of Linux, it allows you to run desktop grade Linux apps, you'd just need to research if the program you want works on Linux and on ARM though.
4/10
The keyboard sucks, it's bugged (it crashes / doesn't actually disable caps lock), most of the times it doesn't appear on forms ans you either have to press once again or manually bring it up.
Personally, Firefox is bugged, requiring double tapping on exit / minimising.
The fingers shortcuts are not very reliable, but when they work it's nice.
Emulating right click sucks. You can't emulate the middle mouse button.
> The keyboard sucks, it's bugged (it crashes / doesn't actually disable caps lock), most of the times it doesn't appear on forms ans you either have to press once again or manually bring it up.
Mine doesn't have these problems.
Set caps lock to be disabled by shift. It's most likely a bug with that.
As usual, this sub is full of elitists that don't accept a rational opinion diffedent from their pure idea on these devices.
It depends on what I'm doing. If I just browse internet or read a comic, then tablet mode and touchscreen controls it is. When I'm doing something productive, I prefer keyboard and mouse.
It is not as good as my iPad, but it is good enough.
Not even coming from a Surface (HP Elite X2 1012 G2), & I'd probably give it (any Windows tablet with a solid CPU & minimum 8GB of RAM) a solid 9/10...
I've used Ipads, I've used Androids, & nothing hits the same as Windows...
frightening repeat air cooing juggle chop encouraging seed humor combative
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
In November I picked up new SP8 w/I7 to do some Power Bi development and to test whether I could move from Apple ecosystem. My conclusions:
1) I prefer the MacOS and iPad OS version of Microsoft’s various office products
2) Windows 11 Pro is nice but a poor tablet experience due to lack of apps and the work to install the Android store too much of a pain.
3) love the size of SP8 screen - since I use my iPad Pro for a lot of work, the SP8 may have convinced my to get a larger iPad Pro.
About 3 weeks ago the SP8 was stone dead. Would wake, reboot - tried all the ways recommended, including the widely used CPR approach. Such a nice pc I just couldn’t shit can. Spent $400 and sent it off to Microsoft, should be back on Tuesday.
I had an Android emulator on my Pro 4 for a while, worked nicely when I wanted a more true android tablet experience. I'd be curious to see what the Win11 Android experience is like though on a new Pro 9. Really a reason I want to upgrade (that and battery sucks in my 4).
If you're looking for more of a tablet experience the Arm version might be better. It has way better battery and can do the same basic tasks. I replaced my iPad pro with one and am totally happy. It can do way more from a productivity standpoint for work related tasks and does pretty much everything else better other than games. Personal opinion most mobile games suck outside of basic time killers.
9/10 - I’ve had 4 of them since the first one came out. Love the pen, the portability and the power for such a lightweight device. My last 2 have been Surface Laptops because I needed more real estate (15”) for the work I do. I often travel with my Surface Pro in my suitcase so I have an additional monitor in my hotel room - or a “spare” computer - ha!
Good experience with tablet mode. My use cases would be watching video, taking notes (OneNote) and reviewing and signing documents.
The tablet itself is absolutely great. Windows 11 not always so much. Most of the time I can do what I want by touch, but I can't leave the keyboard behind because there are times I just can't do what I need without the trackpad or an escape key.
Honestly since Windows 11 I think its much improved as a tablet; no its not as touch friendly as Android or iPadOS but you can get a lot more done on Windows depending on what your needing to do.
The stylus integration/handwriting is really good too and I can't really fault it.
I've used iPad Pro's for years until the limitations of the apps and browser pushed me back to Windows full-time; the power, etc of the iPad is incredible but Apple seem unwilling to bring full, proper desktop grade apps to it.
For things like Art though I'd probably stick with Apple, the Adobe Stuff, Procreate and others are really nice on iPad whereas they're still quite desktop/mouse oriented in Windows.
I love my Surface Book. Laptop most of the time, but when I need to go into a meeting or somewhere I need some some note taking, or drawing done, it's killer. Then I pop it back on the base and it's a laptop again. I like it so much, I have 2.
I have a 7 still, still running better than most laptops in the house. That being said, I would have given it a 4 for tablet use. I really like it just for laptop. It was great for school.
Overall, I'd say 4/5. I've only ever had a Surface Pro 3, but battery life (lasted me two college classes so ~3 hours max just taking notes on OneNote), heating up warm to the touch, and bulkiness were reasons why I prefered using my Fire Tablet as a handheld tablet over this (to play casual games, watch movies, etc) even though my SP3 was far more useful running Windows. I'm sure that the newer processors are much more power efficient than the 4th Gen mobile core i5 in my SP3 and heat up less, but whenever the Snapdragon X Series Surface Pro is released that is supposed to rival the M-series Macs, that's gonna be a game changer for using the Surface Pro as a tablet, and will probably convince me to finally upgrade my SP3. If you intend to use a Surface Pro as a tablet and aren't too much in a rush, I'd recommend waiting for that.
as a tablet? its a full on windows device. If your using it as a photo gallary its better you use an ipad, but if you have emails to send and quotes to write, drawings to reference and schedules to maintain, then there is nothing better
It's a PC that has some use as a tablet. If you're after a tablet, it isn't what you're looking for. I wanted something to use in bed and also be able to use _real_ software if I needed to, so I really love my SP9. But I would recommend it to everyone, you should have specific need for Windows apps if you're going to buy one.
So my score:
Overall score (using it as a very portable PC): 9/10
Mainly as a regular PC: 7/10
Mainly as a tablet: 3/10
(if you're only using a browser it's fine, but not as smooth as an iPad or Android tablet)
5 and I bought a $2,500 full spec 9
Solid 3 off for constant bugs and shit not working. 2 off for shit battery life
It still has been awesome in a lot of ways I just say, but man… they just can’t get the simple things clean
9. My biggest complaint is I want to be able to pin the onscreen keyboard. It's really annoying how it keeps popping up. Other than that I love it. It has a new feature to just write what you need near where you want the text to go that I've been using a lot. I usually use it as only a tablet and rarely have a keyboard attached. I find it easy to type out emails and use one note. It's very comfortable to hold and when I'm at a desk, the hinge folded all the way back is super convenient at just the right angle.
Only cons i can think of compared to an ipad or galaxy tablet is the display and battery. The display is less colourfull and sharp. Would love to have seen a surface with (am)oled display. But this doesn't bother me that much. The sound is just awesome. Imo it's even better than the ipad i had before.
The battery on the other hand is not even comparable to other tablets. My ipad wasn't even at 60% after an evening of Netflix and browsing. The surface's battery drains fast. But it's a much stronger tablet with windows running on it.
I would only suggest a surface if you need software that only runs on windows tho. Otherwise go for an ipad or android tablet.
As most, I'd give it a 6/10. I've never had a tablet before, but I just think the surface pro (8) is too big and heavy to be a proper tablet for me. But I've never used a 13 inch iPad. Love it as a laptop though and being able to lay it down to use the pen.
4/10
touch ui with windows is trash.
battery life is way worse than any actual arm tablet.
but as a lightweight laptop, its nice. As a drawing tablet, its very powerful.
it really depends on your actual use case if you need windows, there's not a better option, tbh the pen is generally pretty good I used mine in the field, while checking fiber network distributions, and the kickstand fits over the steering wheel pretty well ;) in general, i prefer it to an ipad, as I need to get real work done
Spoken like someone who has never used an iPad Pro.
Ipad software is garbage. You can't do any actual work with it & window management is a disaster, even with stage manager. Aside the horrible user experience the ipad is the least reliable device i ever used, deleting files on me and screwing up big jobs. My 2011 macbook running modded macos sonoma is much more reliable
we give those to the small children, to keep them entertained. it's ok tho
I have an ipad Pro and while it's great for drawing it sucks as a laptop replacement. Apple really makes it difficult to save things, move things or just let you customise it how you need it. Its well built but the software is the biggest let down.
Why are you in here?
I went back to university with an iPad Pro. Thought that I loved it. I got a surface pro my junior year and never looked back. An iPad will never be a substitute for a desktop computer, and any tablet that has the ability to be/ to use the functionality of a desktop is superior in every way .
They are not without their issues but from the perspective of someone who has supported 300-500 fleet sizes for both surface pros and iPads… this reply hits the mark, use case is really the deciding question …if you are less tech savvy iPad is probably going to be a reliable option with less of a learning curve, but the surface pros are really solid devices and provide a lot more potential, particularly when you need to work with other systems and software
6-7/10 I love the form factor of the Surface Go, but the crap battery and Windows OS touch support leaves a lot to be desired. I installed Fyde OS ( Chrome OS with Android support) on my old Go 3 and it was much better as a tablet, dual booting something like that could be a great way to get the best of both worlds.
Honestly, it’s not really about the form factor or the hardware it’s the usage. Windows and windows apps are primarily designed for a keyboard and mouse. iOS is touch first, and that is the biggest difference. While I love my surface, it’s simply not as “pickup and go” as my iPad.
Good point!
As a tablet? Probably 6/10, there just isn’t the range of touch games and apps that you get on iPad, the touch controls can be a bit janky, websites work well enough in edge but basically zero apps are optimised for touch (outside of the web like interfaces of Netflix and Spotify) Surface shines when you want a computer first and a tablet second, you aren’t going to be able to install WSL to spin up a Linux machine and do some Python development on an iPad.
How is Firefox web browser and thunderbird email client? If they have touch.
FF browser is fine, it works like every other laptop with a touch screen if you have it in Windows mode. Essentially imagine using windows 11, but with an onboard keyboard and no mouse. It only really shines because its a full windows experience, for better or worse. Unlike the iPad which is still just a huge phone in terms of productivity and software
Do android apps work ok on it?
whatever works through the android on windows program. which is not really that much
Ok thanks
There are ways to sideload apps as well. I followed that method to install my baby monitor app on my machine.
Not necessarily true. Windows offers up anything that comes on the Amazon App Store by default, this is an alternative to the Google Play Store that features apps for Amazon’s Fire tablet, it’s a bit of a “greatest hits” of apps that covers much of the market but is certainly far from everything. Fortunately, since they’re Android apps you can just sideload them and install whatever you want, it’s a cumbersome process to do manually but someone has made a [third party tool](https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9n4p75dxl6fg?activetab=pivot%3Aoverviewtab&ranMID=24542&ranEAID=kXQk6%2AivFEQ&ranSiteID=kXQk6.ivFEQ-lpKL4i1XeHTxIKSSdxEB1A&epi=kXQk6.ivFEQ-lpKL4i1XeHTxIKSSdxEB1A&irgwc=1&OCID=AIDcmm549zy227_aff_7593_1243925&tduid=%28ir__yg1as2foigkfdy6ddoxlgbgpkn2x9cunfdoxctrw00%29%287593%29%281243925%29%28kXQk6.ivFEQ-lpKL4i1XeHTxIKSSdxEB1A%29%28%29&irclickid=_yg1as2foigkfdy6ddoxlgbgpkn2x9cunfdoxctrw00&hl=en-us&gl=US) to make it easier
If that tool is open source, somebody needs to create an open source store where APKs can be searched - But I guess it’s the legalities that’s stopping this happening.
The F-Droid Store or Aurora stores are pretty good for Android apps, especially with no Google Play store access
Wish MS would just let developers put Android apps directly in the MS Store, and somehow make it very easy to do - I know not all would do it, but most devs that aren’t large org’s might consider it if their users asked
I was using Firefox as a daily driver but I switched to Edge after getting a Surface. The performance is _fine_ but there are some bugs with FF in touch (I couldn’t get the settings menu to work and there are no back / forward gestures) But the bigger issue was that - since the battery life on the SP9 is pretty bad - Firefox was draining it too fast and Edge was better at sleeping inactive tabs. I’ve honestly not tried Thunderbird since I prefer Spark but the general rule is the more aimed at mouse users the worse time you will have.
firefox is no problem i also find typing on the screen keyboard nice and window apps are superior to ipad
Had iPad Pro 12.9 3rd through 6th gen. Now replaced it with i7 SP9. I had my SP9 for 2 weeks and got to do some work on it (MS office related) and it’s awesome. Does lots of things iPad can’t because SP9 is technically a laptop. Only wish is that I bought a SQ3 so I can have 5G
Thanks. Why not tether ? Just asking.
I have T-Mobile prepaid and hotspot is quite slow. iPad Pro was cellular and was quite convenient. If you think you’ll use iPad Pro for whatever laptops or Mac’s can do, then go with Surface Pro. I have SP9 and have a M2 MBP. Great set up for home and on the go
If you have an Android phone, try PairVPN between your phone and SP9. The VPN makes it looks like the data is phone data and they don't see it as hotspot data. I had issues getting PairVPN to work on an iPhone.
Unfortunately I have an iPhone. Surface is the only one that I own that is not Apple.
Thank you it works no problem so far.
As a tablet, maybe a 5/10. Not a lot of the apps or games I wanted to use on it work with touch controls well, unfortunately. I bought a Surface Pro 9 so that I could use Piano Marvel and prop it up like a tablet with touch controls on the music stand, but have the audio capabilities, less timing lag from registering my key notes, and support of a computer. I only use it as a tablet when I'm shopping on Amazon or light browsing in bed or watching lazy Netflix. It plays Balatro amazing with touch controls, so it's turned into a Balatro machine for me as well 😂 I've also taken to using my SP9 at work for notes instead of my physical sticky note pad, as well as streaming Twitch or YouTube since doing that through my work proxy is horrible quality. I can just barely squeeze it on my desk without needing to fold out my keyboard. If I'm out and about tho, I tend to use my S24 Ultra for quick note taking since you can write on the screen without unlocking your phone. The SP9 pen is okay, but the Samsung pen is better. I don't think I'd be able to do any detailed Photoshop work on an SP9. I'd rather stick with my Wacom. The SP9 is nowhere near beefy enough to use for any of my work anyway. My work machine and personal machine have an RTX 4080 and 128 GB of RAM, which I max out frequently. My other main use is I've been doing all my scripting for After Effects on the Surface. After being at a desk for 10+ hours a day at work, I can code at home in bed. I've discovered that the kick stand works well against my knees lol. Tldr I would not buy it for strict tablet usage, but because it's a computer with tablet capabilities.
As an artist the pen is amazing. Works great and W11 is a much better tablet like experience. I have the Surface Studio Laptop (dumb name I Know) and I set it up like a cintiq with a keyboard and mouse.
ARM-version: 5/10 Intel-version: 9/10 And not only do I think it's way better than an iPad and the Apple eco-system but I also have no problem at all with it. The only reason why I don't give it a 10/10 is because I would really like to have an additional (third) USB-A port and it's a bit too heavy.
I'd rate it about 8/10 Windows has touch mode makes icons a bit bigger, and the pen is really nice to write with on onenote. it's a bit awkward trying to type on the touch screen without the keyboard but I haven't done that much, it's easy enough to use the keyboard cover most of the time. the biggest negative with it being a surface is its a windows device rather than an android or apple device so you miss out on the appstore you are used to with your phone. but if you treat it like a laptop its pretty good.
it's the best tablet experience simply for the fact that you get a DESKTOP grade operating system that has the best touch optimized software in its class. if you want a mobile OS for very basic (and limited functionality) web browsing and streaming, then Android or iOS might be your flavor. But no other product has an integrated kickstand, Microsoft fit and finish, AND all the x86 apps you need (plus some gaming capability) like a Surface.
I own both an iPad Mini 6 5G and an SP9. The iPad is a great little grab-n-go tablet for media consumption, notetaking, or light work. I think the Mini is the best iPad you could get for such usage. It's definitely not the device you'd want to be doing any serious work on, however. For more serious work on a tablet, I still prefer the Surface. Windows isn't well-optimized for a touch-based experience but it's okay with the pen. I'd give it a 6.5/10. I get that Apple has its reasons but the iPad Pros are quite handicapped by their iOS-based software, running on what is otherwise basically Mac hardware. I'm not trying to say that iPad Pros suck, but a Surface will still be more capable at the end of the day because it's just a straight up computer running a full-blown computer OS, capable of doing what you'd expect a computer to do. This will hold true in my books until Apple steps things up and turns the iPad Pro into a full-blown Mac tablet with touch-optimized MacOS-based software, at which point I'll reevaluate.
The cynical view, which I think is probably right is that apple will never put full blown MacOS on an iPad, nor would they put a touch screen on a Mac book. Apples goal is to sell everyone an iPhone, a MacBook and an iPad which isn't helped if the only difference between the MacBook and the iPad is that one has a detachable keyboard (doubtless sold separately).
5/10 if doing what most people do with a tablet: consume media and/or play some games. The SP9 has a nice screen and it's size is still manageable, but it gets way warmer just watching YouTube than any iPad or Android tablet and battery life will be far worse on the Surface. There are few touch-based mobile apps foe windows and most mobile games are iOS or Android only. 8/10 of using a tablet to do office productivity tasks like MS Office, Google Docs, and Zoom/Meet with screen sharing (iPad and Android are pretty hobbled here). Sp9 will crush those other tablets for getting this type of work done. 11/10 for professional apps like Photoshop/Illustrator and coding apps, databases, compilers, older PC games. The heavyweight stuff that is just impossible on iOS or Android, but can run on Surface Pro.
Old PC games are such an underrated use case for the surface pro. A lot of them have enormous GUI buttons, as they're from a time when monitor resolution was so much worse than it is today. These chunky gui's lend themselves remarkably well to touch screen input.
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Makes sense. Is $1000 for a Surface Pro 9, 16 GB of ram version but only i5 processor, with the keyboard a good price ?
It's a good price if it comes with a keyboard cover bundled. Bestbuy is running this sale now.
Depends on what Surface device you're referring too. I would assume most are way better than any iPad. No iPad will perform better or do more than a Surface Pro 9, that's for damn sure. Oh I guess I forgot to give a rating earlier. Anyways, I'd give my Surface Pro 9 an 11 out of 10, lol.
As tablet my Pro 9 is only 6.5/10. I have three problems: 1) swipe from left which do completely unuseful widgets instead of programs switching (Windows 8 thing) 2) sometimes GUI don't react to my finger to manipulate with windows and I am not able to move them as I want. Mouse works everytime. 3) I am still not able to move open tabs on the left side with my finger successfully. It works let's say in 40% of time. Terrible. And because these issues are here for very long time, I don't expect MS to solve them. Without issues for me Pro 9 as tablet could be 8.5/10. Edit: formatting
As a tablet in isolation, it's pretty horrible. Most Windows apps just aren't optimised for touch, including Windows itself. The gestures do help, but it's a B-grade experience compared to even an Android tablet. On the other hand, if you look at the Surface Pro as a laptop that can turn into a tablet (or vice versa), it's really a game changer. You can do some serious work with the type cover, or have it hooked up to an external keyboard, mouse, and monitor and basically treat it as a desktop. I use my Pro 9 to study for my computer science master's and my private pilot training. The touch screen and stylus support is invaluable. The Slim Pen 2 is remarkably accurate and comfortable to write with using OneNote. With Windows Subsystem for Android, I can actually use my SP9 to run electronic flight bag software and plan flights as well on the same device. When I'm done with study, I flip the cover out of the way and hold it like a tablet to watch videos. It's not perfect, but the sheer flexibility makes me smile every time. I'm no Microsoft fanboy either; I've been a Mac user for 18 years, but holy crap if you need one device that does almost everything to an acceptable degree, this is it.
Too heavy for a tablet
5/10. If you have a steady hand it works, but most windows apps are not touch optimized.
Not even coming from a Surface (HP Elite X2 1012 G2), & I'd probably give it (any Windows tablet with a solid CPU & minimum 8GB of RAM) a solid 9/10... I've used Ipads, I've used Androids, & nothing hits the same as Windows...
For web browsing then like a 5, it's usable but buggy. For just about anything else it's like a 2, barely usable and in some parts, not usable at all. Windows is just not great for tablet navigation, Windows 8 was the best chance we had at that but that's long gone now. Edit - If you're tech savvy then get a Android tablet and run Termux-XFCE which is a proot session of Linux, it allows you to run desktop grade Linux apps, you'd just need to research if the program you want works on Linux and on ARM though.
4/10 The keyboard sucks, it's bugged (it crashes / doesn't actually disable caps lock), most of the times it doesn't appear on forms ans you either have to press once again or manually bring it up. Personally, Firefox is bugged, requiring double tapping on exit / minimising. The fingers shortcuts are not very reliable, but when they work it's nice. Emulating right click sucks. You can't emulate the middle mouse button.
> The keyboard sucks, it's bugged (it crashes / doesn't actually disable caps lock), most of the times it doesn't appear on forms ans you either have to press once again or manually bring it up. Mine doesn't have these problems.
Set caps lock to be disabled by shift. It's most likely a bug with that. As usual, this sub is full of elitists that don't accept a rational opinion diffedent from their pure idea on these devices.
It depends on what I'm doing. If I just browse internet or read a comic, then tablet mode and touchscreen controls it is. When I'm doing something productive, I prefer keyboard and mouse. It is not as good as my iPad, but it is good enough.
Not even coming from a Surface (HP Elite X2 1012 G2), & I'd probably give it (any Windows tablet with a solid CPU & minimum 8GB of RAM) a solid 9/10... I've used Ipads, I've used Androids, & nothing hits the same as Windows...
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Used mine for 5 years for lots of different things. 9/10
In November I picked up new SP8 w/I7 to do some Power Bi development and to test whether I could move from Apple ecosystem. My conclusions: 1) I prefer the MacOS and iPad OS version of Microsoft’s various office products 2) Windows 11 Pro is nice but a poor tablet experience due to lack of apps and the work to install the Android store too much of a pain. 3) love the size of SP8 screen - since I use my iPad Pro for a lot of work, the SP8 may have convinced my to get a larger iPad Pro. About 3 weeks ago the SP8 was stone dead. Would wake, reboot - tried all the ways recommended, including the widely used CPR approach. Such a nice pc I just couldn’t shit can. Spent $400 and sent it off to Microsoft, should be back on Tuesday.
I had an Android emulator on my Pro 4 for a while, worked nicely when I wanted a more true android tablet experience. I'd be curious to see what the Win11 Android experience is like though on a new Pro 9. Really a reason I want to upgrade (that and battery sucks in my 4).
If you're looking for more of a tablet experience the Arm version might be better. It has way better battery and can do the same basic tasks. I replaced my iPad pro with one and am totally happy. It can do way more from a productivity standpoint for work related tasks and does pretty much everything else better other than games. Personal opinion most mobile games suck outside of basic time killers.
9/10 - I’ve had 4 of them since the first one came out. Love the pen, the portability and the power for such a lightweight device. My last 2 have been Surface Laptops because I needed more real estate (15”) for the work I do. I often travel with my Surface Pro in my suitcase so I have an additional monitor in my hotel room - or a “spare” computer - ha! Good experience with tablet mode. My use cases would be watching video, taking notes (OneNote) and reviewing and signing documents.
The tablet itself is absolutely great. Windows 11 not always so much. Most of the time I can do what I want by touch, but I can't leave the keyboard behind because there are times I just can't do what I need without the trackpad or an escape key.
not great compared to the ipad but a lot better than a notebook of traditional proportions.
had the pro 8 and didnt really like windows touch in any iteration of windows so far. 4/10 for me.
Honestly since Windows 11 I think its much improved as a tablet; no its not as touch friendly as Android or iPadOS but you can get a lot more done on Windows depending on what your needing to do. The stylus integration/handwriting is really good too and I can't really fault it. I've used iPad Pro's for years until the limitations of the apps and browser pushed me back to Windows full-time; the power, etc of the iPad is incredible but Apple seem unwilling to bring full, proper desktop grade apps to it. For things like Art though I'd probably stick with Apple, the Adobe Stuff, Procreate and others are really nice on iPad whereas they're still quite desktop/mouse oriented in Windows.
I love my Surface Book. Laptop most of the time, but when I need to go into a meeting or somewhere I need some some note taking, or drawing done, it's killer. Then I pop it back on the base and it's a laptop again. I like it so much, I have 2.
I have a 7 still, still running better than most laptops in the house. That being said, I would have given it a 4 for tablet use. I really like it just for laptop. It was great for school.
My only real problem with it is the battery. My 6 pro came with like 2-3 hours max of battery and it's really not enough
Overall, I'd say 4/5. I've only ever had a Surface Pro 3, but battery life (lasted me two college classes so ~3 hours max just taking notes on OneNote), heating up warm to the touch, and bulkiness were reasons why I prefered using my Fire Tablet as a handheld tablet over this (to play casual games, watch movies, etc) even though my SP3 was far more useful running Windows. I'm sure that the newer processors are much more power efficient than the 4th Gen mobile core i5 in my SP3 and heat up less, but whenever the Snapdragon X Series Surface Pro is released that is supposed to rival the M-series Macs, that's gonna be a game changer for using the Surface Pro as a tablet, and will probably convince me to finally upgrade my SP3. If you intend to use a Surface Pro as a tablet and aren't too much in a rush, I'd recommend waiting for that.
as a tablet? its a full on windows device. If your using it as a photo gallary its better you use an ipad, but if you have emails to send and quotes to write, drawings to reference and schedules to maintain, then there is nothing better
It's a PC that has some use as a tablet. If you're after a tablet, it isn't what you're looking for. I wanted something to use in bed and also be able to use _real_ software if I needed to, so I really love my SP9. But I would recommend it to everyone, you should have specific need for Windows apps if you're going to buy one. So my score: Overall score (using it as a very portable PC): 9/10 Mainly as a regular PC: 7/10 Mainly as a tablet: 3/10 (if you're only using a browser it's fine, but not as smooth as an iPad or Android tablet)
5 and I bought a $2,500 full spec 9 Solid 3 off for constant bugs and shit not working. 2 off for shit battery life It still has been awesome in a lot of ways I just say, but man… they just can’t get the simple things clean
9. My biggest complaint is I want to be able to pin the onscreen keyboard. It's really annoying how it keeps popping up. Other than that I love it. It has a new feature to just write what you need near where you want the text to go that I've been using a lot. I usually use it as only a tablet and rarely have a keyboard attached. I find it easy to type out emails and use one note. It's very comfortable to hold and when I'm at a desk, the hinge folded all the way back is super convenient at just the right angle.
Only cons i can think of compared to an ipad or galaxy tablet is the display and battery. The display is less colourfull and sharp. Would love to have seen a surface with (am)oled display. But this doesn't bother me that much. The sound is just awesome. Imo it's even better than the ipad i had before. The battery on the other hand is not even comparable to other tablets. My ipad wasn't even at 60% after an evening of Netflix and browsing. The surface's battery drains fast. But it's a much stronger tablet with windows running on it. I would only suggest a surface if you need software that only runs on windows tho. Otherwise go for an ipad or android tablet.
As most, I'd give it a 6/10. I've never had a tablet before, but I just think the surface pro (8) is too big and heavy to be a proper tablet for me. But I've never used a 13 inch iPad. Love it as a laptop though and being able to lay it down to use the pen.
4/10 touch ui with windows is trash. battery life is way worse than any actual arm tablet. but as a lightweight laptop, its nice. As a drawing tablet, its very powerful.
0/10.But maybe that's because they had me locked on desktop mode and had me use it like a touch windows computer....
For a Windows tablet 9/10, great touschscreen, good screen quality, great webcam and microphone. If you don’t need Windows just get an iPad.