Surface Pro w/ Qualcomm ARM Cyber Monday deal - any good?

[zandor]

I just noticed the Surface Pro with the Qualcomm ARM chip is on sale for Cyber Monday. I haven't been tracking these things so I have no idea if this "deal" is really a deal or not. $900 for a Surface Pro with Snapdragon X Plus, 16GB ram, 512 SSD & a keyboard.

Any thoughts on the price or Windows on ARM in general? I've been thinking I'd like to pick up some sort of tablet. I have a 5yo thin & light laptop I keep around so I have something to take on trips, but other than that I barely use it. I think I'd get a lot more use out of something I could hold in my hand on a couch. Obviously it won't be good at gaming, but my laptops never are and I don't want them to be because that would make them heavy. I can wait until I get home to play the AAA stuff at 4k.

 

[Aurelius]

I just noticed the Surface Pro with the Qualcomm ARM chip is on sale for Cyber Monday. I haven't been tracking these things so I have no idea if this "deal" is really a deal or not. $900 for a Surface Pro with Snapdragon X Plus, 16GB ram, 512 SSD & a keyboard.

Any thoughts on the price or Windows on ARM in general? I've been thinking I'd like to pick up some sort of tablet. I have a 5yo thin & light laptop I keep around so I have something to take on trips, but other than that I barely use it. I think I'd get a lot more use out of something I could hold in my hand on a couch. Obviously it won't be good at gaming, but my laptops never are and I don't want them to be because that would make them heavy. I can wait until I get home to play the AAA stuff at 4k.

If you’re going to use something for handheld tasks… I’d grab an iPad.

Windows still really needs a trackpad and keyboard. That and the Surface Pro isn’t going to sit all that well on your lap; the keyboard is really meant for a desk or airline tray.

If you wanted a laptop for casual use that happened to turn into a tablet, the SP11 would be dandy. But for videos, casual games and browsing… yeah, I’d rather get an iPad Air M2 as it’ll have a UI that’s actually designed for tablets, plus a better tablet-native app ecosystem.

 

[cpufrost]

I like mine. The haptic trackpad in the flex keyboard is as close to mac as you can get.

Using on a lap has ALWAYS been an annoyance with the Surface devices.

One thing I can say over the years of ranch living with herding dogs is these surfaces are pretty durable!

As for iPads, the M4 (I have the 11" 5G) is unstoppable. I wish I could put MacOS on it though!

 

[stevenlee]

If you’re going to use something for handheld tasks… I’d grab an iPad.

Windows still really needs a trackpad and keyboard. That and the Surface Pro isn’t going to sit all that well on your lap; the keyboard is really meant for a desk or airline tray.

If you wanted a laptop for casual use that happened to turn into a tablet, the SP11 would be dandy. But for videos, casual games and browsing… yeah, I’d rather get an iPad Air M2 as it’ll have a UI that’s actually designed for tablets, plus a better tablet-native app ecosystem.
I like mine. The haptic trackpad in the flex keyboard is as close to mac as you can get.

Using on a lap has ALWAYS been an annoyance with the Surface devices.

One thing I can say over the years of ranch living with herding dogs is these surfaces are pretty durable!

As for iPads, the M4 (I have the 11" 5G) is unstoppable Funny Names for Streaming Profiles. I wish I could put MacOS on it though!

I was intending to buy a Surface Pro 11 with the new Snapdragon X Elite chip and was too excited, but after seeing the initial reviews both here and on YouTube I have actually decided to wait another year!. Damn I was so excited for this, but seeing how the GPU currently sucks to be honest (my workflow won't be that GPU dependant even, but I don't like buying a device that nearly costs 2,000€ here in Europe with the keyboard included that feel so weak on that side) plus the whole ARM emulation and native ARM apps thing will probably take a hella amount of time to be stable. I also heard the OLED panels have some issues for some people.

That said, I believe Microsoft and Qualcomm have come very close to matching Apple MacBooks with this launch, and I think next year's model will be even better. Plus, with Intel's Lunar Lake and AMD's Zen 5 shipping by the end of this year, who knows what other options might be available. In the meantime, I've bought a tablet for watching Netflix and taking notes, and I'll revisit the Surface Pro next year. What are your thoughts?

 

[Aurelius]

I was intending to buy a Surface Pro 11 with the new Snapdragon X Elite chip and was too excited, but after seeing the initial reviews both here and on YouTube I have actually decided to wait another year!. Damn I was so excited for this, but seeing how the GPU currently sucks to be honest (my workflow won't be that GPU dependant even, but I don't like buying a device that nearly costs 2,000€ here in Europe with the keyboard included that feel so weak on that side) plus the whole ARM emulation and native ARM apps thing will probably take a hella amount of time to be stable. I also heard the OLED panels have some issues for some people.

That said, I believe Microsoft and Qualcomm have come very close to matching Apple MacBooks with this launch, and I think next year's model will be even better. Plus, with Intel's Lunar Lake and AMD's Zen 5 shipping by the end of this year, who knows what other options might be available. In the meantime, I've bought a tablet for watching Netflix and taking notes, and I'll revisit the Surface Pro next year. What are your thoughts?

There is that new ASUS ROG Flow Z13 gaming tablet, but that feels like overkill.

My hunch is that the Surface Pro 12 will be iterative, using a newer Snapdragon X chip but not including major design changes. Windows certainly isn't about to become truly touch native.