Microsoft Surface Pro 8 13" 256GB Windows 11 Tablet with Intel Core i7-1185G7 - Graphite

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I've been thinking about getting a Surface Pro for several years, but was always conflicted on just how I would use it. Is it a laptop replacement? Is it a tablet? Can it be both? The Surface lineup fills an interesting niche in the Windows PC market -- one that takes the most important elements from the laptop and tablet experiences and combines them into a slim, portable, and powerful device. The Surface Pro 8 is the result of several years of refinements by Microsoft and appears to be the best Surface Pro device yet. === DESIGN & CONNECTIVITY === - Microsoft has based the Surface Pro 8 design on the Surface Pro X. Compared to the Surface Pro 7, the Pro 8 is almost identical in size but has a 13-inch display (compared to the previous 12.3-inch panel). The bezels around the Pro 8's display are much slimmer, allowing for a larger screen without increasing the overall dimensions of the device. The bezels on the left and right sides of the display (in landscape mode) are quite slim, but those on the top and bottom are quite thick compared to high-end tablets. - The Surface Pro 8 now comes in a new graphite (black) color. It looks great and pairs nicely with the black keyboard (sold separately), but it is definitely a fingerprint and smudge magnet. I imagine the platinum (silver) color would not show as many fingerprints or smudges. - If you've never used a Surface Pro device, the kickstand takes some time to get familiar with. Having exclusively used standard laptops and iPad Pros with Magic Keyboards for the past several years, I often find myself forgetting to open the kickstand before I flip up the Surface Pro from the keyboard. Of course, if you forget to open the kickstand, the devices falls straight back onto your table. The kickstand also makes the Surface Pro a bit of a pain to use as a true laptop. You can use it on your lap if you're in just the right position, but this device is really meant to be used on a flat surface/desk. - There are only three ports on the Surface Pro 8: two Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports and the proprietary Surface Connect port, all on the right side of the device. The volume buttons and headphone jack are on the left side. While I wish there were one or two more USB-C ports, it hasn't yet been an issue in the couple of weeks I've used the Surface Pro 8. However, some users will certainly miss the microSD card reader that was present on the Pro 7. So, you might have to carry some adapters with you and make sure to pair as many accessories as you can via Bluetooth to keep the USB-C ports free. - The Surface Pro 8 comes with a charging brick that connects via the proprietary Surface Connect port. The Surface Pro 8 can also be charged via one of the USB-C ports with a charger capable of delivering at least 65W. The proprietary charging brick isn't too large, but it's just one more thing to carry around. I prefer to charge via USB-C since I always have a capable USB-C charger with me, but the downside is that this takes up one of the two precious USB-C ports. - Build quality is excellent, with minimal flex and no squeaking. I do worry that the graphite finish might easily scratch or chip if not property protected. Otherwise, this is a very solid and lightweight design. === DISPLAY & SPEAKERS === - New to the Pro 8 is a screen with a 120 Hz refresh rate, though Windows 11's default refresh rate out of the box is 60 Hz. To change this, you'll need to navigate into the system's advanced display settings. This was likely done to conserve battery life out of the box, but it also means that you'll have to constantly change this refresh rate setting manually if you want to take advantage of the feature while maximizing battery life. Unlike other high-end tablets, the refresh rate is not adaptive -- you either always have 60 Hz, or always have 120 Hz. The benefits to 120 Hz are immediately noticeable once it's enabled, which much smoother scrolling and fluid animations. - The display has a resolution of 2880 x 1920 and supports Dolby Vision. According to Microsoft, it can achieve a brightness of about 450 nits. In my experience, the display gets plenty bright in both bright and dimly-lit rooms. - The display also features a technology called Adaptive Color, which adjusts the display's color tone to the ambient light around you. It works quite well and can be easily disabled as needed via the display settings menu. - Unlike other high-end devices, this display does not support the full DCI-P3 color gamut, which may be a turn-off for content creators. However, to my eyes, the display looks great. Colors are vivid and contrast is very good with excellent black levels. - The speakers of the Surface Pro 8 are hidden behind the top bezel of the device. Overall, the speakers are pretty good, but not great. Most content at medium volumes sounds clear with no distortion, but the speakers really suffer at higher volumes with noticeable distortion. The speakers are just fine for casual listening, but audiophiles will want to use headphones or an external set of speakers. === PERFORMANCE & BATTERY LIFE === - My particular configuration of the Surface Pro 8 is equipped with a quad-core Intel Core i7-1185G7, 16 GB of RAM, and 256 GB of storage. For the vast majority of users, this configuration of the Pro 8 offers ample performance for almost any task. I've used the Pro 8 for two weeks for a variety of tasks including photo editing in Photoshop, intense web browsing with dozens of open tabs, and word processing/spreadsheet creation with dual 1440p monitors via the Thunderbolt 4 ports. The Surface Pro 8 has not missed a beat and has powered through all of these tasks with no issues. - Since I'm a nerd, I ran the Geekbench 5 benchmark on the Pro 8, where it achieved a single-core score of 1,308 and a multi-core score of 5,405. These scores are right in line with (and in some cases, higher than) most high-end 13-inch Windows laptops from the likes of Dell and HP. Long story short: the Surface Pro 8 is no slouch and will provide great performance for quite some time. Gamers and video editors may want to look elsewhere. - The 256 GB SSD in this model is fast enough, but it is certainly not the fastest SSD I've used. A benchmark from CrystalDiskMark shows sequential read speeds of about 2200 MB/s and sequential write speeds of about 1000 MB/s. Certainly fast, but most mid-level M.2 SSDs achieve speeds at least 20-30% faster than this. - With the screen brightness set to about 50% and the refresh rate at 60 Hz, I was able to squeeze about 8.5 hours of battery life out of the Surface Pro 8 during my testing. That's decent, but pales in comparison to a dedicated tablet like the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. Battery life will suffer a bit more with 120 Hz enabled. - The Surface Pro 8 gets pretty warm on the back under heavy loads, especially towards the top of the device (above the kickstand). It's probably a good idea to keep the device propped up with the kickstand during intense tasks. === SOFTWARE AND OTHER THOUGHTS === - The front-facing webcam shoots 1080p video and doubles as a Windows Hello (facial recognition) camera. The camera is perfectly fine for basic video calls, but it does tend to wash out colors (at least to my eye). The Windows Hello feature works very well, and Windows almost instantly recognizes my face at the log-in screen. The rear camera seems a bit better, but I don't see myself using the rear camera very often. - The device ships with Windows 11 installed. It is very similar to Windows 10, except for the start menu. I use an app called Start11 to change the start menu back to the Windows 10 style. - Out of the box, my particular unit installed a ton of Windows and firmware updates. Be sure to set aside at least a half hour after you first turn on the device to get all of the initial updates installed. - The SSD is user-accessible and upgradable, but it is a rather obscure size (M.2 2230) and may be challenging to find an upgraded SSD that will fit. - Windows just isn't designed as a "tablet first" operating system. A keyboard and mouse are almost a necessity to fully utilize the Surface Pro 8, yet Microsoft does not include its Signature Keyboard with the Surface Pro 8 - it is a $180 accessory. I would not recommend the Surface Pro to those looking for a tablet as their primary experience. The Surface Pro is stuck somewhere between a laptop and tablet -- but the limitations of Windows mean that the best experience will always be had with a keyboard and mouse/trackpad. === OVERALL === The Surface Pro 8 is an excellent device and sits in its own category of Windows PCs. It has the performance paired with an excellent display to replace a traditional laptop. Its thin, lightweight design and kickstand make it arguably the most versatile Windows device on the market. However, I still struggle to see the appeal of a Surface Pro as tablet-only device. In my mind, the Surface Pro 8 (when paired with the optional keyboard) is a very capable and versatile Windows laptop with some tablet features that are nice to have when you need them. Maybe you'll detach the keyboard once in a while to watch videos, write notes, or draw something. But the fact remains that this device is severely neutered without the addition of the Signature Keyboard, and for this price, it should have been included. Microsoft has priced the Surface Pro 8 as if it were a full-fledged laptop, but then failed to include the most vital accessories (keyboard + trackpad) in the box. Regardless, if you can stomach the cost of the Pro 8 and the keyboard, you will be rewarded with a 2-in-1 device that doesn't sacrifice on design or performance.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] It's been a while since I last used a Windows based Tablet. The most recent one was a Dell model at my previous workplace. There's something about that convenience of having such a device to carry with you. We did have some older Surface Pro models that were in the process of being replaced due to age much like any other computer. They were nice solid units. Fast Forward to now and the new Pro 8 is quite the upgrade. From my daily usage, it really does what I need it to do throughout the day. The screen is really really nice on this unit. It gets very bright and the biggest bonus is the refresh rate. If you've never used a display with 120hz, you're missing out. The vast jump and difference in terms of feel and responsiveness is truly life changing. It might not sound like much, but everything is much much smoother. Scrolling through websites, responsiveness of the Surface Pen, it all works together. CPU, the new 12th Gen series processors make use of Intels new IGP the Xe series is such a massive step up over the previous Iris system. They're much better for 3D based tasks even enough to do some lighter gaming, whereas in the past, you really needed to have a dedicated Graphics Card. That's not to say you're going to be using one of these to play top tier AAA titles. The resolution is nice and quite high so it makes multi-tasking and productivity a breeze. There's even HDR support which is a major plus if you want to take some time out and watch a movie or a tv show on the go. Another quick thing to touch on is Windows Hello. The ability to unlock your tablet quickly without having to type anything is so great. It does have some limitations, so if you're wearing a mask like most of us are today, you'll need to remove it or use your pin/password. Aside from that, it's wonderful feature The unit does get a bit warm when under heavy load. It does remain relatively quiet but you can definitely tell when the fans ramp up. Performance is pretty darn good. As I mentioned earlier the new Intel Graphics are such a massive step up. That coupled with the responsiveness of the pen lends to an great usage experience. Now for Windows 11. That is a bit of a mixed bag. It does still work similarly to Windows 10, but visually it's different. It can also feel overwhelming to use with the change. I'm not a huge fan of the new taskbar and "start" menu. Things are easier to find though from the start menu. You can at least move it to the left side, though my preference has been to have the taskbar at the top of my display. Only having a week to play around with it though would give a bit of a jaded experience with it. In time with more use I'm sure it will grow on me. I'm waiting on using it on my Desktop PC for a bit of time though. I imagine within 6 months we may get more customization with things like the start menu. Again, time will tell how it pans out. Here's to hoping that this doesn't end up as another Vista.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] With the exception of not including an attachable keyboard, this is a 2-1 tablet with the operating system of a computer. It’s thin and portable making this a great device for on-the-go work. As an artist and amateur writer, this is a better choice for me than a typical tablet. I’ve never really liked writing/paint-shop applications using tablets/ipads and I didn’t like the hassle of converting app files to transfer to my main computer. About three years ago, I had purchased a 5th Gen Surface Pro and fell in love with the functionality of this type of tablet style computer and I was excited with given the opportunity to try out the new Surface Pro 8 with Windows 11. Compared to the 5th gen, the Surface Pro 8 has a larger display but the device is not much bigger. The display has less of a border which can be troublesome if you don’t lock the device to prevent pressing the display while holding it while repositioning on the couch or moving locations (something that I’m going to have to get use to). The display itself is definitely more vibrant than the 5th gen, with a refresh rate of 120 Hz. (In the photos with two Surface Pros, the 5th gen is on the right and the Surface Pro 8 is on the left). When using Corel Painter 2022 or Adobe Photoshop Elements 2020, the processor held up as expected without lag and the cursor kept close to the pen. I only had one glitch that continued to occur with Corel Painter where after a while of using, the color palette would be stuck on one color being displayed in the center triangle even though it would paint with the selected colors. This may be more of a Windows 11 compatibility with the program or just the program itself, though a little annoying it isn’t a show stopper. There are two Thunderbolt ports which I will admit is a far better connection than HDMI for display and USB for data transfer, but this also means that I may have to find another way of loading discs on here since I only have a USB disc reader. Battery life seems pretty good. From mostly surfing the web and Windows settings then a little time playing around with the photo editing software, I got around maybe 8 to 10 hours before I had to charge. I am still getting use to the locations of the settings and the overall appearance of things in Windows 11, but it does appear that there are a few features/settings missing that were available in Windows 10. To me it is as if Windows 11 is an attempt to appear more like a Mac operating system while still holding the Windows functionality and not downgrading to the Windows 8 app-like interface. One of the biggest changes is to the Windows Explorer interface replacing the ribbon with simple icons and removing some of the options (screen shot included, you’ll also notice that I’ve already moved my task bar from pins being centered back to the usual left side). One downside is that the pen and keyboard is sold separately, but it is worth mentioning the functionality with the device. To compare the Surface pen that I had purchased three years ago which is styled more like a Wacom stylist, the Surface Slim Pen 2 glides better on the devices surface making it smoother to utilize in graphic design. The only complaint that I have is that the pen lacks the scale of pressure sensitivity and tilt that a Wacom pen has. I like that the Surface Slim Pen 2 has a built-in battery and will charge when docked in the keyboard charging tray when connected to the Surface Pro 8. I would like to see some improvements to the pen to be more geared towards artist, but the pen functions well enough and can be used for writing notes. The keyboard feels a bit sturdier than the model I purchased 3 years ago. Keys are still back lit and I’m glad that the back light function button has been moved to right next to the Esc button instead of in the middle of the function keys. This will make it so much easier to not have to guess which key that it is in the dark. There is an added bonus that the keyboard now magnetically latches to the Surface Pro when closed together and the track pad is a little bigger.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] The Surface Pro 8 provides you with the ultimate 2 in 1 experience. Its super light and portable, weighing under two pounds. It also has a responsive touch screen with a bigger and better 13" display. The least amount of bezels than previous models in the surface line, also make an impact on your experience. Signing in with Windows Hello is a breeze, by detecting your face instantly without issue. No more having to type in a password or pin, just pick up and go. One of the biggest new features this time around is a 120hz refresh rate, making for super smooth navigation,  which is especially noticable whilst pairing the new Surface Slim Pen 2. The slim pen 2 allows for ease of jotting down notes in class or drawing on your free time with nearly no latency thanks to this 120hz mode. This means making even the most fine detail, no problem at all. The default display is set to 60hz so keep in mind you'll have to switch to 120hz in the advanced display settings. Speaker quality and volume were surprisingly loud and clear, perfect for streaming videos and listening to music. Even at maximum volume there were no noticable popping or washed out tones. Nothing too crazy here but it does the job well. The 5MP 1080p webcam looks great and better than any I've experienced on other tablets/laptops. Perfect for any of your zoom meetings while working from home. Not to mention, you're getting the same durable kickstand that made Microsoft's surface line, so well known. This is great for multiangle viewing, writing and drawing. With 16gb of RAM, the Pro 8 can handle multitasking with ease. You'll be opening plenty of apps and programs with little to no load times and if you're worried about storage space,  you can easily upgrade the SSD. The battery is long lasting, even with brightness almost maxed and 120hz mode on, I was able to get around nine hours of constant use. This was with streaming plenty of music and videos as well as playing around with the pen on drawing apps. The only negative I found was the device can run pretty warm/hot when used for long periods of time. This isn't as  noticable when your connected to the keyboard in laptop mode. As for windows 11, I feel it's definitely an operating system built with touch screens in mind as opposed to others. It works seamlessly with the Surface like it was literally made for it. The interface is very simple and allows you key search apps, files, settings, ect.. that you're looking for and opens it instantly. This feature makes it perfect for less tech savvy users as well. Also Snap Layouts allow you to view multiple windows on the same screen with ease, taking multitasking to a new level. It definitely takes some getting used to when coming from Windows 10 or older versions but I do think it pairs perfectly with the Surface Pro 8 and is a great addition to the windows line. Overall, I'm extremely happy with my Surface Pro 8 and highly recommend to anyone looking for a ultra portable 2 in 1.

Great product! Easy to use, very responsive, and quick to setup. Only downside is Surface Pro Signature keyboard does not work with it unless the keyboard is physically attached to the tablet. Some photos on Bestbuy website and Microsoft website have the keyboard detached and nearby, leading me to believe it was wireless. Upon reading the tech spec for the keyboard I discovered the interface is actually magnetic. I guess it’s my own fault for not reading more carefully. Still love the new tablet though!