This exact configuration on best buy NEW is 1049.99 and open box from 911. So this isnt too bad of a price. Its a hard sell though at any price. These surfaces need keyboards that are often sold separately. The form factor is the selling point but realize it is not enjoyable in your lap while in your lap or tummy in bed. In bed, your most creative ideas happen. Writing a novel, doing excel spreadsheets for financing etc, opening up an etsy store, light programming, messing around with AI when bored. Take all this into consideration. I had a 7+ pro for a few weeks before deciding to return it at best buy.
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Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank Dr.Wajahat
04-13-2024 at 08:13 AM.
Quote
from nsing007
:
Battery life?
According to the review on notebookcheck[notebookcheck.net]: "Microsoft has reduced the battery capacity from 51.5 to 47.7 Wh, but overall the runtimes are very similar to the old Surface Pro 8. At a brightness of 150 cd/m² (corresponding to 62% of the maximum brightness on the review device). In the video test, almost 9.5 hours was possible, and 7.5 hours for the Wi-Fi test. Our Wi-Fi test runs for just over 5 hours on maximum brightness.
As soon as you switch to 120 Hz mode, the runtime again drops noticeably. We have listed the values for the three scenarios in the table below. You should therefore avoid 120 Hz mode when on the road."
This exact configuration on best buy NEW is 1049.99 and open box from 911. So this isnt too bad of a price. Its a hard sell though at any price. These surfaces need keyboards that are often sold separately. The form factor is the selling point but realize it is not enjoyable in your lap while in your lap or tummy in bed. In bed, your most creative ideas happen. Writing a novel, doing excel spreadsheets for financing etc, opening up an etsy store, light programming, messing around with AI when bored. Take all this into consideration. I had a 7+ pro for a few weeks before deciding to return it at best buy.
This exact configuration on best buy NEW is 1049.99 and open box from 911. So this isnt too bad of a price. Its a hard sell though at any price. These surfaces need keyboards that are often sold separately. The form factor is the selling point but realize it is not enjoyable in your lap while in your lap or tummy in bed. In bed, your most creative ideas happen. Writing a novel, doing excel spreadsheets for financing etc, opening up an etsy store, light programming, messing around with AI when bored. Take all this into consideration. I had a 7+ pro for a few weeks before deciding to return it at best buy.
The keyboard is a killer at $299 extra (or was it $250) and without the KB it's a pretty bad device as a tablet itself since the machine is not really a tablet-friendly OS. Then there is the pen too but overall it is a nice package but outfit it all is an extra $400 or so for kb and pen. 3rd party KB and pen exists but not as nicely integrated into the power and connectivity connectors (BT sucks and will have a delay) compared to the instant-on keyboard connections.
keyboard too soft to be stable to type on your lap also. This is something that people will have to get used to.
I recommend checking your local Costco. Mine had the i5/16GB/256GB with the older keyboard for $799.99. I checked another Costco in my area and they weren't selling surfaces so YMMV.
The rest of the specs seem nice, until you hit those vestiges that remind me of a mid-tier machine from 2013. I at least had a 16gb/512gb laptop back then. But what can we say, shrinkflation? Applications are always getting smaller and more efficient, right?!
The keyboard is a killer at $299 extra (or was it $250) and without the KB it's a pretty bad device as a tablet itself since the machine is not really a tablet-friendly OS. Then there is the pen too but overall it is a nice package but outfit it all is an extra $400 or so for kb and pen. 3rd party KB and pen exists but not as nicely integrated into the power and connectivity connectors (BT sucks and will have a delay) compared to the instant-on keyboard connections.
keyboard too soft to be stable to type on your lap also. This is something that people will have to get used to.
And by "get used to", you mean always use on a table because there's no "getting used to" a form factor that simply is unusable anywhere else.
And by "get used to", you mean always use on a table because there's no "getting used to" a form factor that simply is unusable anywhere else.
lol. I meant being able to balance it very carefully. Yes, table is always best because the keyboard is too light weight and typing on it would flex the machine left and right. lol
but you're right.. table is always best. I've used it in bed but I'd have to be on my stomach and surface and keyboard is flat on a firm bed.
Damn... I don't think it was that bad. Full brightness maybe?
But yah, it never lasts more than say 5 hours for me and I'd be careful if I don't have charger with me and need to lower the brightness and not use it too much. It's a pain to have to worry about battery life or just have to carry a smaller brick usb-C charger works ok and a 30 watt GAN charger is small enough and not use the surface connector charger which is much bigger.
I have this configuration (i7, 16GB, 256GB). Great machine, limited only by the fact that it has crap Intel.
As for battery life, there are 3 main determinants.
The first is the screen refresh rate. If you want to save battery, switch it to 60 Hz instead of 120 Hz. 120 Hz is smoother but it sucks more battery.
The second is power mode. When you set it to Recommended, it's low power. In fact, the fan never kicks on. Least performance but good for battery and good for many tasks. When you set it to Better Performance, the speed ramps up and the fan can kick on. You can get big drainage in this mode but stuff like Photoshop will run better. When you set to Best Performance, it basically runs full speed with the fan kicking on right away and the battery will drain fast.
And the last determinant is the screen brightness. The brighter, the faster the battery drains.
Honestly, I feel the power mode is the biggest variable. This is my do everything machine. I take it everywhere including conferences where I can't plug in. If I know I'm not going to have access to an outlet, I leave it in Recommended. While performance won't be fantastic for hardcore stuff, it's fine for most things. And I can go a work day (8 hours+). If you hear the fan kick on, you know you're not in Recommended mode.
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Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank GTiceman
Depends on tasks. Teams/Zoom will destroy the battery real fast. Never going to be like a regular laptop.
Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank Dr.Wajahat
"Microsoft has reduced the battery capacity from 51.5 to 47.7 Wh, but overall the runtimes are very similar to the old Surface Pro 8. At a brightness of 150 cd/m² (corresponding to 62% of the maximum brightness on the review device). In the video test, almost 9.5 hours was possible, and 7.5 hours for the Wi-Fi test. Our Wi-Fi test runs for just over 5 hours on maximum brightness.
As soon as you switch to 120 Hz mode, the runtime again drops noticeably. We have listed the values for the three scenarios in the table below. You should therefore avoid 120 Hz mode when on the road."
keyboard too soft to be stable to type on your lap also. This is something that people will have to get used to.
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The rest of the specs seem nice, until you hit those vestiges that remind me of a mid-tier machine from 2013. I at least had a 16gb/512gb laptop back then. But what can we say, shrinkflation? Applications are always getting smaller and more efficient, right?!
keyboard too soft to be stable to type on your lap also. This is something that people will have to get used to.
lol. I meant being able to balance it very carefully. Yes, table is always best because the keyboard is too light weight and typing on it would flex the machine left and right. lol
but you're right.. table is always best. I've used it in bed but I'd have to be on my stomach and surface and keyboard is flat on a firm bed.
Crap. 3-4 hours with MS office and one note use.
Damn... I don't think it was that bad. Full brightness maybe?
But yah, it never lasts more than say 5 hours for me and I'd be careful if I don't have charger with me and need to lower the brightness and not use it too much. It's a pain to have to worry about battery life or just have to carry a smaller brick usb-C charger works ok and a 30 watt GAN charger is small enough and not use the surface connector charger which is much bigger.
As for battery life, there are 3 main determinants.
The first is the screen refresh rate. If you want to save battery, switch it to 60 Hz instead of 120 Hz. 120 Hz is smoother but it sucks more battery.
The second is power mode. When you set it to Recommended, it's low power. In fact, the fan never kicks on. Least performance but good for battery and good for many tasks. When you set it to Better Performance, the speed ramps up and the fan can kick on. You can get big drainage in this mode but stuff like Photoshop will run better. When you set to Best Performance, it basically runs full speed with the fan kicking on right away and the battery will drain fast.
And the last determinant is the screen brightness. The brighter, the faster the battery drains.
Honestly, I feel the power mode is the biggest variable. This is my do everything machine. I take it everywhere including conferences where I can't plug in. If I know I'm not going to have access to an outlet, I leave it in Recommended. While performance won't be fantastic for hardcore stuff, it's fine for most things. And I can go a work day (8 hours+). If you hear the fan kick on, you know you're not in Recommended mode.