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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aliase - Monday, October 21, 2013 - link
wow, you guys actually tear-down it before ifixit did.unkinected - Monday, October 21, 2013 - link
I've been trying forever to find any info on connected standby. According to a MS whitepaper (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/ha... page 7), Windows already supports this for ALL platforms:"All client versions of Windows support Connected Standby on capable hardware—both ARM and x86/x64 systems."
So shouldn't that mean the Surface Pro 2 already supports this? Unless the hardware is not up to snuff, in which case no software/firmware update is ever going to address this. There's no clear documentation anywhere online, was hoping you guys could clear it up.
unkinected - Monday, October 21, 2013 - link
And further to the point...with Connected Standby enabled, I'm wondering how much battery life I get when idle.synth0 - Monday, October 21, 2013 - link
Dear Anand,I generally like your reviews, however I fail to understand your slashing remarks regarding the battery life of the new Surface Pro.
Regarding the battery life, you say, and I quote:
"...seems only good for around 6 – 7 hours on a single charge..."
"Battery life is still not up to snuff with traditional ARM based tablets"
I just can't grasp how can an adequate reviewer compare a desktop designated CPU (designed for ULTRABOOKS) to a ARM devices (which are primarily designed for PHONES), and EVEN so: Surface manages to give 85% of battery life of Galaxy Tab 3, while providing 5-10 times faster CPU & GPU performance (really!).
Answers, please...!
YuLeven - Wednesday, October 23, 2013 - link
I agree with your statement.This tablet has a full blown Intel haswell chip clocking inside. Whats the point in comparing it to weak, small ARM core's battery life?
aritai - Monday, October 21, 2013 - link
Ditto here. Even better with a 3rd (or even a 4th or a 5th) screen using a usb3 hub plus a video adapter.http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0086359SG
because "it's also (just) a (high performance) PC"
ccd2 - Monday, October 21, 2013 - link
I'm not sure MS has gotten used to the speed with which tech devices like convertibles are improving. The Pro was groundbreaking last year. This year it has competition. Next year, the competition will be even stiffer. Broadwell has the potential to be a game changer for the OEM that puts it all together. My thought is that Dell could be the big winner. The XPS 12 was been a nifty idea in need of better hardware. It's already a pretty decent laptop, just not a compelling tablet. Make the XPS 12 thinner and lighter and it might be as good a compromise as anything out there. And that does not take into account what Sony or someone else will do with Broadwell. MS needs to look at Google and the reasons for its success in its devices so far: aggressive improvements coupled with aggressive pricing. The Surface Pro 2 shows that MS has not yet learned that lesson.Will Aitchison - Monday, October 21, 2013 - link
I'm really curious to see how the Dell Venue 11 Pro will stack up against the Surface Pro 2 in terms of build quality and pricing when it comes out in a few weeks. I know it's a busy time of the year for everybody but I really hope somebody at Anandtech gets a chance to review it.I'm holding my breath for more configurability - I'm okay with a 128GB SSD, but I wouldn't want to settle with less than 8GB ram. I also think they may have made the right choice with their choice of the Y sku i5's. Hopefully they can offer up some strong competition - I'm really interested to see what they come up with.
kyuu - Monday, October 21, 2013 - link
Amazon currently has 3 of the Venue Pro 11 SKUs listed: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-...It looks to start at $550 for the model with an Atom. Moves up to $650 for the Pentium, then $850 for the model with a Core i5. There's supposed to be a Core i3 option as well, which I'd guess will fall in at the $750 mark, given the way the pricing is structured. Atom model comes with 2GB of RAM, all the others with 4GB.
So you're not going to get better specs, and the Core i5 model is only $50 cheaper. I'd pay $50 more for the better chassis and accessories, myself. It is interesting if you're looking for a cheaper tab that doesn't use Atom (with the Pentium and Core i3 options).
Will Aitchison - Monday, October 21, 2013 - link
Kudos for finding pricing information, I had been looking earlier and had not found it. I agree with your sentiment about paying a little extra for the premium build quality that MS has been delivering. It also appears that Dell is charging extra for the stylus, effectively bringing the two devices close to the same price point if that functionality is important to you.I still find myself hoping that some competing company can actually deliver the product I'm really looking for. Microsoft is so infuriatingly close with the Pro 2, but I can't help but feel they did not iterate the device enough this round, and it needs one more revision. For the premium price point it's difficult to make the investment in something which doesn't feel quite ready.
As an aside, a big part of why I'm interested in the Venue 11 Pro is the Transformer style keyboard and power dock, although this is definitely a matter of personal preference.