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
Display
Like Surface 2, Surface Pro 2 ships with 150% DPI scaling enabled for classic desktop applications. Unfortunately even under Windows 8.1 there are a lot of issues with DPI scaling in 3rd party applications and touch targets. Chrome for example is mostly unusable as a touch browser in classic mode.
There’s not much difference between the new 1080p panel in Surface 2 and what’s in Surface Pro 2. Both feature a laminated cover glass and the same increase in color gamut. The end result is a big improvement over the previous generation, but not quite up to the level of color accuracy we’ve come to expect from cheaper tablets.
Surface Pro 2's display does get substantially brighter than the panel in my Surface 2 review sample. One thing I don't have a good feel for is just how much variation there is between panel suppliers into the Surface lines.
It really is a very good display, it just could be better.
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chizow - Monday, October 21, 2013 - link
MBA had class-leading size and dimenions when it launched and still does, Surface Pro isn't even close to competitive tablets. There's clearly room for improvement, see: every review that mentions the same clunky form factor.mfergus - Monday, October 21, 2013 - link
Other Tables aren't competitive with Surface Pro performance either. I don't think its fair to compare the thickness of a Surface Pro with ARM tablets. Sure I'd like it to be thinner but I don't expect a much more powerful tablet to be as thin as tablets with phone SoC's.doobydoo - Monday, October 21, 2013 - link
But the Surface Pro isn't competitive with other tablets in battery life. I don't think it's fair to compare the performance of a thin tablet with a fat one with less battery life.Sure I'd like iPad to be faster but I don't expect a much much better battery life and form factor to match the performance of a chunky laptop/tablet.
mfergus - Monday, October 21, 2013 - link
Cute comment, but I also wouldn't expect a thin tablet to match the Surface Pro's performance. There's going to be drawbacks for either one.Vi0cT - Monday, October 21, 2013 - link
However Sony's VAIO Tap 11 gets pretty close.nerd1 - Tuesday, October 22, 2013 - link
What are you smoking? Class-leading size? There are plenty of 13" ultrabooks with almost the same dimension as 11" MBA. What are you comparing surface pro to? iPad?chizow - Monday, October 21, 2013 - link
Oh yeah, they also didn't update the finish of the Pro chassis, unlike the Surface 2 which got a smaller chassis with a different color finish, less smudge prone, again indication they had leftover Pro stock from last year.sweenish - Monday, October 21, 2013 - link
I like how MS had to have had leftover shells because they "reused" it (while looking the same, it is better built; see the engadget review), but when Apple does the same thing it's because they're industry leaders.Grow up.
doobydoo - Monday, October 21, 2013 - link
Why can't what he said be true? You need to grow up.The Surface is chunky and that is undesirable. Many people will not buy because of it. Hardly anyone will have avoided the Macbook Air because it is bulky.
B3an - Monday, October 21, 2013 - link
I have to agree. I'd really like a Surface Pro, MS are really on to something with this idea, but it's still too thick and heavy. I was hoping with Haswell they could atleast get it slightly thinner/lighter. I'll just have to wait another year for Broadwell.