Trying a Surface Pro 7 Plus

[toktik]

Last week, I picked up a Surface Pro 7 Plus (8GB memory and user-replaceable 128GB NVME SSD), Surface keyboard, and pen. I had been thinking about the smaller Surface Go, but the Pro was available for about the same price (one day sale). I have an iPad Air (3rd generation), but I am not satisfied with the operating system.

I plan to use the Surface Pro for basic tasks such as web browsing, email, editing text documents, e-book reading, and note taking. So far, I am pleased with the Surface Pro. The version I got is an 11th generation i3, and it seems perfect for my purposes. I have been getting about 12 hours of battery life, which is better than I expected. I have a desktop for photo and video editing tasks, so the i3 has not been a problem for me.

The system came with Windows 11 Home, and I have found the operating system works well using the Surface Pro either with or without the keyboard attached. The latest Surface Pro, version 8, is also using 11th generation Intel chips, but I expect the performance of the Surface line to greatly improve once 12th generation chips are used.

 

[ElliotV]

Last week, I picked up a Surface Pro 7 Plus (8GB memory and user-replaceable 128GB NVME SSD), Surface keyboard, and pen. I had been thinking about the smaller Surface Go, but the Pro was available for about the same price (one day sale). I have an iPad Air (3rd generation), but I am not satisfied with the operating system.

I plan to use the Surface Pro for basic tasks such as web browsing, email, editing text documents, e-book reading, and note taking. So far, I am pleased with the Surface Pro. The version I got is an 11th generation i3, and it seems perfect for my purposes. I have been getting about 12 hours of battery life, which is better than I expected. I have a desktop for photo and video editing tasks, so the i3 has not been a problem for me.

The system came with Windows 11 Home, and I have found the operating system works well using the Surface Pro either with or without the keyboard attached. The latest Surface Pro, version 8, is also using 11th generation Intel chips, but I expect the performance of the Surface line to greatly improve once 12th generation chips are used.

How does it compare to the iPad for reading books? Note taking?

 

[bmoag]

I hope your Surface is a more reliable product than mine.

I have praised the 7 in earlier posts but now, about two years in, my enthusiasm for its reliability has been cooled by real world experience. On a recent trek to remote overseas locations the keyboard would not reliably connect and there were numerous throughput problems such that I was mostly unable to use it for its intended purpose--basic 8bit jpeg processing of raw images, all of which was checked and seemed to be working before I left.

A Pearl: the Surface turns out to rely greatly on the internal SSD for virtual memory, 8gb is just not enough for Win 11 and even 8 bit image processing. So keep at least 20gb of the SSD empty or get a bigger SSD as you cannot add RAM. On the plus side you can off-load program and document storage to a micro SD, which works at a speed comparable to a mechanical hard drive.

The Surface is a niche product. It is not an iPad substitute as it is too heavy and bulky for prolonged handheld use in consumption mode (what the iPad excels at doing) and its finger touch controls are more limited and less sensitive than the iPad. Those considering a Surface might be better served by a small laptop that can fold into tablet form, except the Surface has a superior, higher resolution screen.

Microsoft keyboards are wonky at best and shoddily made such that the wires in the flexible connector easily break with normal attachment/detachment from the tablet. I have been through two of them, the next will be a third-party Bluetooth keyboard rather than another Microsoft keyboard. Pearl 2: the keyboard connectors require frequent cleaning for invisible dirt blocking their connection to the tablet.

When I get the time/energy I am reverting to Windows 10. Windows 11 has stripped many small tablet oriented features that add to a loss in overall usability. The Surface is a glaring example of why X86 Windows needs to branch out to ARM where touch and traditional input methods can be combined, rather than the touch only interface of the iPad Pro.

 

[toktik]

How does it compare to the iPad for reading books? Note taking?

I mostly read technical documents, and I find the Surface Pro about equal to the iPad for those tasks. I think Apple Books is the best program I have used for reading EPUB and PDF, but Aquile Reader (Windows program) is an excellent alternative for EPUB documents. I also have Acrobat Pro, so I can use that for PDF reading. I recently migrated from Firefox to Edge, and the Windows version of Edge offers more research-related features than the iPad version.

I think both Surface Pro and iPad are great systems, but for the things I want to accomplish, I believe the Surface Pro is a better solution at this time. I am using the Surface Pro as a tool for education and research. The multitasking capabilities of Windows are important for how I use the system. If Apple decides to use MacOS on the iPad Pro series, I expect the Surface Pro will have tough competition.

 

[toktik]

I hope your Surface is a more reliable product than mine.

I have praised the 7 in earlier posts but now, about two years in, my enthusiasm for its reliability has been cooled by real world experience. On a recent trek to remote overseas locations the keyboard would not reliably connect and there were numerous throughput problems such that I was mostly unable to use it for its intended purpose--basic 8bit jpeg processing of raw images, all of which was checked and seemed to be working before I left.

A Pearl: the Surface turns out to rely greatly on the internal SSD for virtual memory, 8gb is just not enough for Win 11 and even 8 bit image processing. So keep at least 20gb of the SSD empty or get a bigger SSD as you cannot add RAM. On the plus side you can off-load program and document storage to a micro SD, which works at a speed comparable to a mechanical hard drive.

The Surface is a niche product. It is not an iPad substitute as it is too heavy and bulky for prolonged handheld use in consumption mode (what the iPad excels at doing) and its finger touch controls are more limited and less sensitive than the iPad. Those considering a Surface might be better served by a small laptop that can fold into tablet form, except the Surface has a superior, higher resolution screen.

Microsoft keyboards are wonky at best and shoddily made such that the wires in the flexible connector easily break with normal attachment/detachment from the tablet. I have been through two of them, the next will be a third-party Bluetooth keyboard rather than another Microsoft keyboard. Pearl 2: the keyboard connectors require frequent cleaning for invisible dirt blocking their connection to the tablet.

When I get the time/energy I am reverting to Windows 10. Windows 11 has stripped many small tablet oriented features that add to a loss in overall usability. The Surface is a glaring example of why X86 Windows needs to branch out to ARM where touch and traditional input methods can be combined, rather than the touch only interface of the iPad Pro.

Thank you for the feedback. I have heard of other people having some of the same problems you identified.

I plan to use the Surface Pro primarily as a tool for online education and research, along with related web browsing, document editing, etc. I hope the device holds up for a few years. I have a laptop that I can use for photo and video editing when away from home, so my use cases for the Surface Pro won't be as comprehensive as how you have used your Surface Pro.

 

[Austinian]

I plan to use the Surface Pro primarily as a tool for online education and research, along with related web browsing, document editing, etc. I hope the device holds up for a few years. I have a laptop that I can use for photo and video editing when away from home, so my use cases for the Surface Pro won't be as comprehensive as how you have used your Surface Pro.

Since you mentioned e-book reading, I should say that my very basic Surface Pro 2017 is a much better e-book reader than either the Kindle or the Kobo I used to have. The large, high-dpi screen is a pleasure to read on.

And as a bonus, it's my backup laptop when I travel. So far, I've had no problems with it except that it's not capable of running Windows 11; not a big deal until support for 10 ends.

 

[toktik]

I plan to use the Surface Pro primarily as a tool for online education and research, along with related web browsing, document editing, etc. I hope the device holds up for a few years. I have a laptop that I can use for photo and video editing when away from home, so my use cases for the Surface Pro won't be as comprehensive as how you have used your Surface Pro.

Since you mentioned e-book reading, I should say that my very basic Surface Pro 2017 is a much better e-book reader than either the Kindle or the Kobo I used to have. The large, high-dpi screen is a pleasure to read on.

And as a bonus, it's my backup laptop when I travel. So far, I've had no problems with it except that it's not capable of running Windows 11; not a big deal until support for 10 ends.

Yes, the Surface Pro is great for reading e-books. I recently started using Aquile Reader to access EPUB files I keep on OneDrive. I had been using Freda for e-books, but the interface is confusing (to me) and it does not have a good integrated dictionary.

 

[bastibe]

I love my Surface 7 pro. It is a terrific media consumption device, but with a real desktop web browser with extensions and ad blockers and everything. And in a pinch, it can even be a real laptop, with a command line and programming tools and everything. I don't have a laptop any more.

I thought I'd miss the iPad and its purpose-built apps. But it turns out I had it the wrong way around. I miss a file system, I miss floating windows and true multi tasking, I miss USB accessories, on the iPad. It's the iPad that now feels gimped and restrictive, not the Surface.

So when I had to return my work Surface, I ordered my own on the next day. Easily one of my favorite pieces of tech.

 

[toktik]

I love my Surface 7 pro. It is a terrific media consumption device, but with a real desktop web browser with extensions and ad blockers and everything. And in a pinch, it can even be a real laptop, with a command line and programming tools and everything. I don't have a laptop any more.

I thought I'd miss the iPad and its purpose-built apps. But it turns out I had it the wrong way around. I miss a file system, I miss floating windows and true multi tasking, I miss USB accessories, on the iPad. It's the iPad that now feels gimped and restrictive, not the Surface.

So when I had to return my work Surface, I ordered my own on the next day. Easily one of my favorite pieces of tech.

I'm still getting used to the Surface Pro, but it has been worthwhile. I got an Otterbox Symmetry case for it and also ordered a 512GB NVME to replace the 128GB it came with. The performance of my model is fine for how I use it, but when I switch to my MacBook Air M1 I'm shocked at how much snappier that laptop is. Each device has a purpose in my workflow, so I set my expectations accordingly.

 

[ken_in_nh]

I used a Surface Pro 3 with 4gb/128gb as my main light duty and travel machine for years, until I got a 7 plus this spring because of aging battery on my 3.

I had none of the bad experiences on my 3 that another poster did. I have replaced the keyboard more than once because of sticky keys, but those are no doubt because I have breakfast coffee and sandwich with the computer in my lap. Keyboards are pretty cheap on ebay, especially lightly used, but even new. And I never had any problem with keyboard connections that wasn't cured by just popping the connector apart then back together. No cleaning necessary.

Yes, it's not the same as my desktop editing rig, with 32gb ram and endless SSD and HDD storage, but either works fine for light lightroom editing. Not sure why someone would criticize 8gb on a lightweight machine? Win 10 or 11 does fine...

I did not have the VM slowdowns either. Maybe it's because I pay attention to what runs in background? (autoruns is a great program for sniffing things out...)