Microsoft Surface Pro 3 Review
by Anand Lal Shimpi on June 23, 2014 3:55 AM ESTBattery Life
Microsoft made no sacrifice in battery capacity in pursuit of Surface Pro 3's thin chassis design. The new tablet features an integrated 42Wh battery just like the previous two models. Charging duties are handled by an external 31W charger with a brand new magnetic connector. Microsoft never seemed to get a good MagSafe clone working in the previous models, so Surface Pro 3 abandons the previous design entirely in favor of something a bit more sensible.
The new connector no longer looks like an oversized MagSafe connector, and instead features a thin plastic insert that mates with the charge port on Surface Pro 3. Charge time hasn't changed, you can fully charge the device in around 2.62 hours:
The device-side connector features 40 pins but you only need 12 of them to charge the device. The remaining pins are used for Gigabit Ethernet, USB, DisplayPort (up to 4096 x 2304) and audio. Microsoft seems hell bent on avoiding Thunderbolt at all costs so instead of embracing the standard it has created a custom alternative of its own doing. The benefit to Microsoft's connector is it can obviously deliver more power than Thunderbolt can, the downside is that it can't send PCIe and thus you don't get support for any ultra high bandwidth external storage devices. I still would rather see Microsoft implement Thunderbolt as there's at least an existing ecosystem built around that but here we are three generations into Surface and if we haven't seen it by now I don't think we're ever going to.
The supplied power adapter includes a USB charge port capable of delivering 1A at 5V.
As Surface Pro 3 is designed to be both a laptop and a tablet I've run it through both our Windows laptop battery life tests and our tablet battery life tests.
Laptop Battery Life
As a laptop, Surface Pro 3 delivers comparable battery life to other optimized Haswell ULT designs. I threw in Sony's Vaio Pro 13 into the mix because it has a similar sized battery (37Wh vs. 42Wh) and is one of the most power efficient Windows Ultrabook platforms on the market. Surface Pro 3 manages to deliver similar battery life, which means it's a little less power efficient but the two are within the same range at least.
Compared to Surface Pro 1 and 2, Surface Pro 3 at worst delivers similar battery life and at best increases range on a single charge by up to 20%. We're looking at 3.75 hours - 7.6 hours of notebook usage on a single charge depending on usage.
It's worth noting that there's a substantial advantage in battery life if we look at the 13-inch MacBook Air running OS X. I only mention this because of Microsoft's insistence on comparing Surface Pro 3 to Apple's popular line of notebooks.
Tablet Battery Life
Tablet workloads are going to be far more display power bound than anything else. Here we see 7.58 - 8.03 hours of continuous usage, a slight regression compared to Surface Pro 2. Video playback remains more power hungry than web browsing, which is something I've noted in previous tablet-evaluations of Intel's Core silicon. I don't believe Intel's Core processors are very optimized for video decode power consumption. If anything is going to change with the move to Broadwell and Core M I suspect video decode power may be it.
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anandbiatch - Monday, June 30, 2014 - link
Don't forget that it can also replace your desktop.Why buy 3 devices when Surface 3 is perfect.
mkozakewich - Monday, June 30, 2014 - link
Or better yet, you're like me, and you saved on whatever a good tablet is worth by not having another tablet at all.It's always seemed a bit superfluous to me, like you just need a phone with a bigger screen sometimes. (Or in this case, a laptop that can fold up flat.)
Gunbuster - Monday, June 23, 2014 - link
Oh give it up and please point out a product that covers all the bases the SP3 does and is better. If you want a tablet get an ipad or a cheap $100 android. If you want a bad-ass laptop get a 6 pound alienware or a $3000 ultra-book. (Now lug around both of those) If you want a very portable convertible with pen input and detachable keyboard you get this. It is the best at what it was designed for. All compromise? Hardly.TEAMSWITCHER - Monday, June 23, 2014 - link
Did you read the article? I don't think the SP3 "covers" any bases, it merely "touches" them.PC fan boys may have found their MacBook Pro and iPad Air killer, but in general, Windows consumers are not conditioned to the premium pricing. Without a lower cost version of the same thing, there will be no mass adoption, sparking the next great wave Windows applications. This is a niche product.
Gunbuster - Monday, June 23, 2014 - link
What exactly are you arguing? Is it "all compromises" or "expensive"?TEAMSWITCHER - Tuesday, June 24, 2014 - link
It's not all compromises - but there are some. And yes it's as expensive as Apple gear. More so if you consider OS X updates are free. Will Windows 9 be free? I highly doubt that it will.PaulC543 - Tuesday, June 24, 2014 - link
Of course there are come compromises, please show us a laptop or tablet which has none. There aren't any.As for it being as expensive as Apple gear, true, and it has every bit the material/build/design quality as Apple gear, has several superior specs - screen quality/resolution, pen, and it saves you from having to buy two devices if you want both laptop/desktop level performance AND a tablet form factor.
Will Windows 9 be free? Probably not, but even if it's the typical $100 upgrade, spread over a 3 year version cycle that's about $30 a year. And even if you never upgrade the OS, Microsoft will support it with updates for 10+ years - far longer than you're likely to be using the Surface.
You're grasping at straws and your arguments are tired and desperate.
TEAMSWITCHER - Tuesday, June 24, 2014 - link
Oh come on. If Apple had created the Surface Pro 3 there would no end to the insults sprayed toward the Mac faithful for the cost (having to buy the keyboard separately)...the term "lapability" (or lack there of) ... the colors (pink? really?).I think its kind of fun to see the MS faithful strain themselves against a few well pointed concerns. Welcome to the premium device life...where you spend a lot of money for the little extras. Hopefully this will inspire some understanding for the Mac faithful...and vice versa.
PaulC543 - Wednesday, June 25, 2014 - link
"I think its kind of fun to see the MS faithful strain themselves against a few well pointed concerns"I'll totally agree that the prices of accessories is excessive. The keyboard covers should cost maybe $40/$60 each for touch/type, and even that would be pushing it. Most docks are in the $160-$200 range, so the Surface one isn't outrageous, but for that price, it should include a few extra ports.
But let's be honest, the cost of accessories is not what the Surface is primarily criticized for. It's criticized for being a utterly failed laptop, which it's not. It's criticized for being an utterly failed tablet, which it's not. It's criticized for being good at absolutely nothing, and by and large, all these criticisms come from people who've never actually touched one.
If Apple made the surface? You can't be serious. If Apple made the Surface, the tech-press would have fawned all over themselves to praise the hybrid form factor, defended the value of the device at any price, and declared the PC was clearly doomed in the face of Apple's demonstrated unending genius.
mkozakewich - Monday, June 30, 2014 - link
Actually, the tech press has shown themselves to be pretty obstinate in the face of dramatic technological upheaval. Look for some reviews of the original iPad, back when the idea of having 'a tablet' meant one of those really stupid inch-thick convertible HP notebooks with a trimmed-down version of Windows XP.Even the iPhone got lukewarm press, from what I remember. There were lots of complaints about the lack of 3G and the terrible reception from AT&T. There were also no applications for it.
In the end, if tech journalists are bashing something that doesn't fit into a specific category, I'd watch that very carefully and make my own decisions, because it's likely something new and wonderful.