Microsoft Surface Pro 3 Review
by Anand Lal Shimpi on June 23, 2014 3:55 AM ESTFinal Words
When I reviewed the first Surface Pro I was intrigued by the idea, but felt it needed a few more iterations to get to the right point. In less than two years what we have in front of us looks very different than Microsoft's original vision for the platform. Display size, aspect ratio and even the mechanics of the whole thing are all quite different. The changes are for the better as Surface Pro 3 is a much better laptop and a much better tablet than any of its predecessors. The device no longer feels cramped and tiring to use as a laptop. The new Surface Pro no longer feels heavy to use as a tablet either. It's truly an improvement on both vectors.
Microsoft might be overselling the design to say that it truly is the only device you need. Like most compromises, Surface Pro 3 isn't the world's best laptop nor is it the world's best tablet. It serves a user who wants a little of column A and a little of column B.
The device's "lapability" is tremendously better than any of its predecessors. While I wrote all of the previous Surface reviews on the very Surface devices I was reviewing, this is by far the most comfortable one to use as a laptop. It's still not perfect, and you still need a fairly long lap to make it work, but the design is finally really usable as a laptop.
As a tablet the thinner and lighter chassis is much appreciated. The new kickstand remains one of the best parts of the design, enabling a flexibility unmatched by any other tablet. Tent mode in particular is awesome for tablet usage models.
Surprisingly enough the move away from Wacom to an active NTrig pen model comes with very few issues. The device could use some tuning of its pen pressure curves. Applying max pressure on the screen now distorts the LCD, something I'm never comfortable doing. But overall the new pen gives up very little and even improves performance and functionality.
The new Type Cover is awesome. The keyboard is probably as good as it's going to get, and the new trackpad is finally usable. The latter isn't perfect but it's so much better than anything that's come before it.
The device also launches with a far more polished version of Windows. With its latest updates, Windows 8.1 is a far cry from where it first started. I still think there's lots of room for improvement, but it's clear that Microsoft is marching towards a more cohesive vision of modern and desktop Windows UIs.
The downsides for Surface Pro 3 are obvious. Windows 8.1 remains a better desktop/notebook OS than a tablet OS. Yet in a device like Surface Pro 3 where you're forced to rely on touch more thanks to a cramped trackpad, I'm often in a situation where I'm interacting with the Windows desktop using the touchscreen - a situation that rarely ends well. As Microsoft improves the behavior of its modern UI apps, I would love to see a rethinking of what touch looks like on the desktop. If Surface Pro 3 exists to blur the lines between laptop and tablet, Windows 9 needs to do a better job of the same. The desktop needs to react better to touch and the modern apps need to feel even more integrated into the desktop.
On the hardware side, the device is a compromise. You have to be willing to give up some "lapability" in order to get a unified laptop/tablet device. Whether what you get as a tablet is worth the tradeoff is going to be up to how good of a tablet OS Windows 8.1 is for you. Personally I find that Android and iOS deliver better tablet experiences particularly when it comes to 3rd party applications. If everything you need on the tablet front is available in the Windows Store however then the point is moot.
Those users upgrading from Surface Pro 2 may notice a regression in performance, particularly when it comes to running prolonged CPU/GPU intensive workloads. In games, the difference can be noticeable. The simple fact is that in becoming a thinner device, Surface Pro 3 inherited more thermal constraints than its predecessors. While performance regressions aren't ideal, in this case I can appreciate what Microsoft has done. From the very beginning I wanted a lower TDP part in a thinner chassis. Had Microsoft done that from the start we wouldn't have seen any performance regression but rather a steady increase over time. From my perspective, Surface Pro 3 is simply arriving at the right balance of thermals and performance - the previous designs aimed too high on the performance curve and required an unreasonably large chassis as a result.
The remaining nitpicks are the same as last time: Microsoft needs to embrace Thunderbolt, and a Type Cover should come with the device. The display's color accuracy is good but grayscale performance needs some work.
Surface Pro 3 is easily the best design Microsoft has put forward. If you were intrigued by the previous designs, this is the first one that should really tempt you over. I was a fan of the original Surface Pro, and with Surface Pro 3 I think Microsoft has taken the hardware much closer to perfection. At this point the design needs more help on the software side than hardware, which is saying a lot for the Surface Pro hardware team. Personally I'd still rather carry a good notebook and a lightweight tablet, but if you are looking for a single device this is literally the only thing on the market that's worth considering. I don't know how big the professional productivity tablet market is, but it's a space that Microsoft seems to have almost exclusive reign over with its Surface line. With its latest iteration, Microsoft is serving that market better than ever.
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Morawka - Monday, June 23, 2014 - link
Wow SP3's Sata SSD is hanging Neck and Neck with the MBA's PCIe Based SSD. just crazycarljoseph - Monday, June 23, 2014 - link
Pretty good review. If anyone wants to get their hands on a Surface Pro 3, some folks I work for are giving a couple away in a competition. https://msgooroo.com/surfacecompkhanov - Monday, June 23, 2014 - link
Surface Pro 3 costs as much as a well specced laptop. Any decent laptop has a user replaceable battery, and many people that own laptops have replaced the battery at some point, as they generally only last a few years at best.I can't see myself spending all that money on Surface Pro 3 then throwing the whole device out just because the battery has failed a few years later. In this price bracket, Redmond need to address this issue.
nerd1 - Monday, June 23, 2014 - link
Eh... none of apple laptops have user replaceable battery nowadays.drunken - Monday, June 23, 2014 - link
I got my SP3 on Friday, so far I love it. For my use case the SP3 is perfect - productivity/development work at home and the office (visual studio, sql server, office). I'll be getting 2 docking stations when they come out for a full desktop-like setup.If I'm out and about and need to do some fixes or minor work, then the portability and capabilities of the SP3 is perfect. It's not great to use on a lap but I could definitely make do for short periods of time.
I installed a start menu which makes it function basically like Windows Pro 7. My "real work" is done in desktop mode - no need to open any apps in Metro mode.
So far I have only used at as a tablet for consumption/games in bed or on the couch. The Netflix app is great. It is a bit heavy for a tablet but I'm willing to have that slight trade-off for the 2 in 1 package. I'm really trying to use it as two different devices.
beyondabraxas - Monday, June 23, 2014 - link
What about the glued in components/built in obsolescence/ impossibility to repair?I have a story for ya'll....
I dropped my SP1, barely 15 inches onto thick and fluffy carpet, thing is, it landed on the kickstand, and the kickstand tore off, when it did tear off -- thanks to the over gluing inside, the tabs of the kickstand peeled off some other black foil like stuff, which I'm assuming was battery related since after that I'd notice kinds of 'powder' and 'sweat' which would burn with my hands - I called M$ - since it was still under warranty, However, they wouldn't fix it for me since it was considered my fault for dropping it, which I'm totally fine with, losing a kick stand, no problem, my fault for that -- whats not my fault is the kickstand being so flimsy and attached to glue inside that it would peel stuff off, thats a product problem. The kickstand can be very easy to break off, if you do, you can be boned like I was. Anyways, I had to pay $300 (in goodfaith) for a refurb exchange two months ago, in this time, they're 'supposed to be' inspecting my device to verify my claims, thats the best they could do apparently - So far, I've heard nada - And this Refurb has been a shit experience all over again, since I'm assuming the battery in the refurb wasn't replaced, and has been giving me all kinds of hassle. Its been weaker than my old surface, I've spent hours trouble shooting with support on the phone, trying to solve the 'Plugged in - Not Charging' message I'm constantly faced with - The techs determined I should send it back in for another Refurb. I say fuck that - The amount of time and headache sunk into this thing is not worth it - Once mine dies, it dies - And I'm done with Surface thanks to their shoddy construction i.e. use of glue/built in obsoletion. I'd rather get a competitors product that allows me to atleast change the battery on my $1000+ device.
I really was one of the initial proponents of this device - My friend, an animation director was an early adopter and promoter, he was supposed to do commercials with them for it, not sure what happened to that - So he turned me onto this thing, I was all about it, its (was) the perfect device for an animator/artist. Now, this whole experience with battery related stuff has left such a bad taste that I'm done with this product line. Microsoft has had a history with shoddy electronics. Like my old Xbox360(s) RODing repeatedly. Screw supporting local american brands if thats the kind of build quality one can expect.
iFixit rightfully gave the Surfaces a repairability score of 1/10. Its non existant. All batteries die eventually - IQ or not. I gotta deal with my soon to be $1300 paperweight.
Sorry for rant - I've been a subscriber and follower of this sub for too long, contributer in its early days - now I just hate hearing about surface stuff considering my shitty experiences.
I know my post is about the SP1 - you can bet the SP3 is no different. They're annual products with no chance of repairability.
Gigaplex - Monday, June 23, 2014 - link
"While the Surface Pro 2 was never quite all that comfortable to use as a laptop, Surface Pro 3's display makes it substantially more laptop-like."Except that the old 16:9 aspect ratio matches most laptops. I've never seen a 3:2 aspect ratio laptop.
nerd1 - Monday, June 23, 2014 - link
16:9 is only good for watching videos, and for productivity task vertical space matters most. Due to the 3:2 aspect ratio, SP3 is easily on par with 13.3" laptops (It has slightly taller screen than 16:10 apple laptops BTW)seapeople - Monday, June 23, 2014 - link
Everything in the review was good, but it seems a bit clipped. For example, based on the specs, one of the big upgrades for the Surface Pro 3 was the camera. Considering that the camera is an important aspect of a tablet it would be nice to have it included in the review.Next, I know you hinted that recover from standby is long, but what about boot times, or hibernate?
What about real life multitasking? Can I watch a you tube video on half the screen and work on excel on the other half, or does this stretch the thermal limits? Sometimes it's hard to tell what running Pcmark42x means in real life.
Again, I think the review was good, but it didn't really go above and beyond, so to say.
MarcSP - Tuesday, June 24, 2014 - link
Totally agree on the camera. Why do not compare it to the rear camera of the MBA13? Oh, wait! :PSeriously, it would be good to have a few paragraphs about the cameras, as well as about the new speakers.