Microsoft Surface Pro 2 Review
by Anand Lal Shimpi on October 21, 2013 12:01 AM EST- Posted in
- Tablets
- Microsoft
- Mobile
- Surface
- Surface Pro 2
Final Words
Surface Pro 2 is a good improvement over its predecessor. The platform is quicker, quieter and boasts longer battery life as well. The new kickstand is awesome, as are the new touch/type covers, and the new display is a big step in the right direction. If you were tempted by the original Surface Pro, its successor is a solid evolution and that much more tempting.
I really like using Surface Pro 2 and Windows 8.1 in general as a productivity focused tablet OS. The screenshot below really helps illustrate what I would love to do on most tablets, but what I can only do (well) on a Surface:
Writing an article on the left, touch enabled web browsing on the right. Switching between both applications is seamless, and I’m just as fast (if not faster) from a productivity standpoint on Surface Pro 2 than on a traditional notebook/desktop – at least for this usage model. There’s really something very compelling about having the best of both worlds in one system. I literally can’t do this well on any other tablet, and ultimately that’s what Microsoft was trying to achieve with Surface. You can do it with Surface 2, you can just do it a lot better with Surface Pro 2.
When Surface Pro first launched, it wasn’t just a good device, it was arguably the best Ultrabook on the market. Surface Pro 2 launches into a much more competitive marketplace. I don’t know if I can make the same statement about it vs. Ultrabooks today. That’s not a bad thing as it is still a very different type of device, but it does make for a more difficult buying decision.
Surface Pro 2 isn’t the perfect notebook and it isn’t the perfect tablet. It’s a compromise in between. Each generation, that compromise becomes smaller.
What I was hoping for this round was an even thinner/lighter chassis, but it looks like we’ll have to wait another year for that. Battery life is still not up to snuff with traditional ARM based tablets, and Surface Pro 2 seems to pay more of a penalty there than other Haswell ULT based designs – I’m not entirely sure why. Parts of the rest of the world have moved on to things like 802.11ac and PCIe based SSDs. Microsoft appears to be on a slightly strange update cadence with its Surface lineup, and for the brand’s sake I hope we see that rectified next round. It’s not enough to just put out a good product, you have to take advantage of all technologies available, when they are available. Just like last year, my recommendation comes with a caution – Surface Pro 2 is good, I’m happier using it than I was with last year’s model, but the Broadwell version will be even better. What’s likely coming down the pipe are improvements in the chassis and in battery life. You’ll have to wait around a year for those things, if you can’t, then this year’s model is still pretty good.
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JumpingJack - Monday, October 21, 2013 - link
I believe he was making an "emperor's new clothes" type argument.beggerking@yahoo.com - Monday, October 21, 2013 - link
you should shut up until Air gets a touchscreen, or ipad gets a full OSXbackbydemand - Monday, October 21, 2013 - link
And when it does it will be "magical" and "innovative"KPOM - Monday, October 21, 2013 - link
I don't see the Air ever getting a touchscreen, or iPad ever getting OS X. I do see Apple's push to get the iPhone and iPad 64-bit processors as the first step in a massive improvement in iOS. Witness that everyone who buys an iOS device now gets Pages, Numbers, and Keynote. While they aren't up to Office standards, it's a sign that Apple wants to make iOS a "real" operating system. It's a logical strategy. iOS has a bigger market share than OS X.Therefore, Apple appears to be making a play to scale its mobile OS up to more powerful devices. It's starting from Apple's position of strength.Likewise, Microsoft is starting from its position of strength. Windows (for PCs) has a bigger market share than Windows Phone/Mobile ever did. Therefore, Microsoft is attempting to scale its PC OS down to mobile devices.
teiglin - Monday, October 21, 2013 - link
Thanks for the reviews as always. Never thought I'd see Penny Arcade cross-pollination in Anandtech!I'm still rather conflicted on your recent uptick of "on time" reviews--I know it's important (to OEMs and readers both) to get the reviews out right away at embargo lift, but I do miss the obsessive completeness of your dates-be-damned-we'll-finish-when-we-finish reviews. I do hope you'll consider putting off some of your full reviews and make sure you get every single test done that you want to run--I really miss your bevy of wifi quality tests, for example. Personally I like when you post quick impressions early but then follow on with the comprehensive review later.
takeship - Monday, October 21, 2013 - link
Another solution would be for someone do a moments after NDA expiry pod review, and then follow that up a few days/week later as necessary with a full fat review from one of the other writers. If I remember right, wasn't that done with the 2013 Mac Book Air review a few months ago? Best of both worlds. It may be a bit redundant, but most of us would read them both anyways.guste - Monday, October 21, 2013 - link
Completely agree with this post. I currently use a mid-2011 11.6" MBA and as a university student, the use cases of the Surface Pro 2 are really compelling. I've already seen a few of the original Surface Pros around classrooms and labs and so I pre-ordered one to give it a go. I was really hoping for a bit more here. I expect nothing useful from most other sites, but there's always a lot of meat on the bone here, so to speak.Anand, is there any possibility of you revisiting the Pro, with a more thorough follow-up?
frostyfiredude - Monday, October 21, 2013 - link
Are we the same person? I'm in the exact same boat here considering moving from the 11" 2011 Air to a Pro2 after having seen some classmates and profs pickup the original Pro. I've heard the phrase "this is the best purchase I've made in a long time" quite a few times in response to queries on the device.I'm in engineering so the pen will be awesome for technical drawings and all the graphs in our notes, something which has made the Air significantly less useful than expected.
guste - Monday, October 21, 2013 - link
We must be the same person, as I'm also in engineering (physics)... Or, more likely, there are a few of us that are looking for something life a bit easier.I came really close to getting the Pro last year, but that battery life was abysmal and frankly, I couldn't justify getting a new computer after one year anyway. The mid-2011 Air is still a fantastic machine and I've come to admire Mac OSX to the point that I'm a bit apprehensive about going back to Windows on a full-time basis. I think that's where my desire for a top notch Anand review is coming from and why I'm a bit deflated at the moment. It's not going to stop me from trying out the Pro for the next couple of weeks and making my own determination, but I'm still holding out hope for a follow-up.
guste - Monday, October 21, 2013 - link
Looks like Anand will be going more in-depth:https://twitter.com/anandshimpi/status/39214496614...
It may take some time though, as he's just flown out to cover the Apple event.
What concerns me is the conversation that follows the initial tweet, about the power optimization of Mac OSX vs. Windows. Some guy is comparing a 1366x768 MBA to the 1080P screen with a digitizer on the SP2. Power optimization is undoubtedly worse under Windows, but both he and Anand compared apples to oranges without batting an eye.