Surface Pro 7 review : Is it the best tablet on the market ?
By: Mika Danzo
Tags: Windows, Microsoft, PC, Tablets, Computers

Microsoft’s Surface Pro 7 is the latest addition to the Microsoft Surface Pro range. As with its predecessors, this 2-in-1 touchscreen tablet has an excellent image due to its durability and reliability with one small advantage, an internal upgrade of the 10th generation Intel Ice Lake 10 nm chip as well as the in place of a USB-C port. Here is a recap that will help you understand why it is considered a real favorite by many users.

If you’re looking for a device that you can think of as a full-fledged computer while functioning as a tablet, then the Surface Pro 7 would be your best bet. It is also a very serious competitor to the iPad Pro, which is also characterized by its versatility and performance.

PRESENTATION

A real revolution when it was released in 2012, thanks to the idea of ​​combining a PC and a tablet, Microsoft’s Surface Pro has continued to sell until today. While the computer has of course evolved technically over the years, the format has remained the same. The Redmond firm still offers a tablet with a keyboard and stylus sold separately. Today, Microsoft’s catalog includes the Surface Pro X, adopting the same format but equipped with an ARM CPU, as well as a full-fledged laptop PC, the Surface Laptop 3. The Surface Pro 7 seems to be the compromise between two products.

This 12.3-inch tablet has a 10th generation Intel Core processor whose integrated Iris Plus graphics circuit promises a small reserve of graphics power. The latest innovation is the presence of a USB Type-C port, which is entering the machine for the first time. It remains to be seen if Microsoft has taken care of its Surface, and if it still has its place in the market in 2020.

The additional graphics should serve digital artists well as well. Overall, this is a significant boost in performance that seasoned users are sure to see, but the average user is unlikely to notice. Zoom on this complete tablet:

Performances

The Surface Pro 7 is the first of its kind to use one of Intel’s new 10 nanometer (nm) processors (CPUs) in all specifications, and the numbers certainly show it. With that in mind, expect a much faster device to handle both daily and more common tasks, not to mention the stronger graphics potential now with Intel Iris Plus graphics on an Intel UHD graphics processor (GPU). . The latter should contribute to stronger media streaming, especially at higher resolutions, as well as a slightly expanded gaming profile.

The 2018 Surface Pro 6 used a 14nm Intel Core processor, which was good for the job (and arguably still is), but this new processor reduced that transistor size to 10nm, which means more transistors in the same overall processor matrix space. Basically more transistors lead to better performance, and it shows in the numbers. For example, the Surface Pro 7 gets an impressive 25% increase in the Geekbench 4 multi-core test on the Surface Pro 6. Likewise, the Cinebench graphics test sees a 15% increase in performance in Pro 7 compared to Pro 6, hitting the almighty 60 frames per second mark.

Keyboard and touchpad

The detachable Type Cover keyboard and touchpad (~ 10.2 × 5.3 cm) are back with no changes from previous generation models, aside from a few new color options. Indeed, the biggest updates are largely internal. The Surface Pro 7 ships with Intel’s new Ice Lake-U processor, which is expected to deliver much faster integrated graphics performance than the outdated UHD Graphics 620. We find the key feedback to be smoother than on most Ultrabooks, especially since the base flexes more easily when typed, but this is not uncommon on detachable keyboards. Like any new laptop, it will take a few days to get used to the feel of the keys on the keyboard and small touchpad.

If you want to take advantage of the cover, be sure to order the tablet pack with keyboard. This is because the Surface Pro 7 is not automatically sold with it.

Battery life

When it comes to lasting power, however, we don’t see the same levels of battery life as the previous generation Surface Pro and its 14 nm Intel Core processor. In our testing, the Surface Pro 7 lost over two hours, compared to the 8 hours and 45 minutes the 2018 Pro 6 achieved in our local battery test. Likewise, the Surface Pro 7 topped the PCMark 8 battery test by more than 45 minutes, with the Pro 6 recording 4 consecutive hours last year.

You would normally expect battery life to increase when switching to a supposedly more efficient processor architecture. However, the Core i5 and i7 versions of the newer Intel processors have significantly improved graphics performance, which could come at the cost of battery life.

Hardware and software vendors — of which Microsoft is a part — have for half a decade worked together to optimize their products around Intel’s 14nm silicon. They probably had a fraction of that time to prepare and adjust to Intel’s new 10 nm chips, which could explain why the Surface Pro 7’s battery life is worse than that of the previous model.

Our opinion on the tablet

The Microsoft Surface Pro 7 is the company’s most powerful Surface tablet to date. However, that power boost seems to come at a cost over battery life — at least for now.

If you’re ready to wait for those battery life improvements, and you don’t necessarily need to stay connected all day, then by all means go for the most technologically advanced Surface. . But be aware that these technological gains aren’t exactly massive and come at the expense of other aspects of performance, especially the battery.