Why I recommend this Windows tablet for business travel over the iPad and Lenovo Yoga

There was a lot of hype surrounding PC Copilot+ in 2024. When they first appeared announced in MayMicrosoft has been clear about how well they work, how they’re better than the MacBook Air M3, and all the new features they come with. So far, it seems consumers have responded to the hype and believe the company has finally created a new product. Windows is worth the price on the arm machine.

This summer, I had the opportunity to experiment out one of these machines: Microsoft Surface Pro 11th editionand I had a question in mind: does it live up to the hype? Now that I’ve had a chance to try it out, I can confidently say that this device lives up to the hype in some ways and not in others.

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It starts with the model’s hardware. The Surface Pro houses Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon X Elite, which, if the hype is to be believed, would make this laptop a “MacBook killer.” It certainly works well enough. Browsers run smoothly, even with multiple videos playing and multiple tabs open. First-party software and some third-party apps also work quite well.

However, I had some difficulty testing the hardware correctly. The Snapdragon X Elite chip is so new that many of the usual benchmark tests we use at ZDNET still don’t work as intended. Geekbench is one of the few that did, achieving a score of 14,564, placing this processor above the MacBook Air M3 but below the MacBook Pro M3. While this suggest The new Surface Pro is better than Apple’s hardware, it’s hard to say without proper testing.

We have to wait until the developers update their benchmark software to get a clearer picture. Additionally, as Windows releases more updates to optimize performance with new chips, we should see increased performance and efficiency over the next few months.

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Regarding the performance of third-party apps on your new Copilot+ PC, you may have heard that some apps run slowly, crash, or don’t work at all. Thankfully, Microsoft’s Prism emulator allows many such applications to run on Windows on Arm PCs (similar to how Apple’s Rosetta allows you to run non-native apps on MacOS), although not everything works perfectly yet.

As a Copilot+ PC, its AI capabilities are a big part of the device’s appeal. But in reality, I found most of the available features to be a bit disappointing. Word content Cocreator AI Image Generator is of low quality. Live subtitles takes place slowly and is often inaccurate. Studio effectsOtherwise, it’s pretty good. It improves on the already great 1440p webcam by improving lighting during video calls, centering the camera, and blurring the background, among other features.

Speaking of work, pro users will love the stunning PixelSense Flow touchscreen. It is a 13-inch OLED screen with an image resolution of 2,880 x 1,920 pixels. PixelSense even has a 120Hz refresh rate for velvety-smooth visuals. And with all the software improvements, image quality is nothing short of amazing.

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The speaker system on the Surface Pro is also surprisingly good, as I fully expected the sound to be tinny but the output has decent bass. The drivers won’t fill the room, but you can watch the movie and feel like you’re part of the action.

Accessories also play an important role in the Surface Pro ecosystem. I had a chance to try it out Thin pen surface and Flexible keyboardI like both very much. In my experience, tablet keyboards are often low quality, so I wasn’t expecting much, but Microsoft did a great job with this one. The new generation has a sturdier design made from carbon fiber, resulting in a light but sturdy product that provides a great typing experience.

Also: How we test laptops at ZDNET in 2024

As for the pen, I love its precision. This accessory follows my sloppy writing on the screen perfectly, and that level of precision extends to the illustration. Every stroke and scribble is depicted with precision. In addition, the flat tip of the pen also serves as a convenient button. Double-tapping it opens an app configured for instant access.

One of the best qualities of this laptop is its battery life, which is absolutely phenomenal. I Take our usual quiz run YouTube live stream at 720p resolution and 50% brightness. At its peak, the Surface Pro lasted just under 13 hours on a single charge, just short of Microsoft’s intended 14-hour battery life. In real-world use, this device will easily last multiple days on a single charge.

ZDNET Buying Tips

Microsoft’s 11th Surface Pro version is a great computer for professional artists who want a high-performance machine with a brilliant display. The era of Windows on Arm laptops has finally arrived, and I can’t wait to be a part of it.

The price of the device starts at $999.99. My review unit with the 12-core Snapdragon X Elite chipset, 16GB RAM, and 1TB SSD costs $1,699. However, it’s important to note that those prices don’t include accessories like the Flex keyboard. They cost more and aren’t exactly cheap, with the Flex keyboard and Slim Pen set costing $449.