Surface Pro 3 Review

[Fabri91]

Interesting review.

I use a Dell Venue 11 Pro, which is sort of similar to the reviewed device (its form factor is more similar to that of the Surface Pro 2, though), and I agree that a "real" detachable keyboard, with hinge, might be a better solution.

 

Regarding the taskbar, I've found that with devices equipped with a 16:9 aspect ratio, or anything that isn't the old 4:3, it's convenient to pace it on the side, which is also nice when switching between apps with a touch screen, since it is then possible to switch between desktop/metro apps with minimal hand movement (see attached image).

 

Also, if you want to see some truly botched apps regarding high DPI compatibility, try Adobe Reader or Dropbox (see attached image).

 

[Crt]

Man, this review was brutal on the Surface Pro. That cussing though.

Hey Linus, is there any reason why you switched from the Acer Aspire S7 392 13.3" to the Dell XPS 12? Was it because the screen can flip backwards in a tablet mode or is it because of battery life and keyboard travel length?

[Z-Stern]

I liked the review but I have three problems with this one:

 

first: I would have appreciated if you had mentioned the docking station in the review (I know it’s not out yet), even if it is not made to replace a desktop, it might interest some people.
 

Second: as a college student, the product appeals to me: being able to carry something with full desktop compatibility, a decent keyboard and a pen to take notes with that won’t break my shoulders… I don’t know, the surface seems to be a good product in that perspective. I agree that you should be able to put the pen somewhere though

 

Third: You compared it to the dell xps 12, but I don’t know much about the product apart from what it says on the official page of dell… and that it is resilient to water…

 

Bonus: If  pole is made the poor kid will end up being named something like “banana fight” 

[wilsoneku]

The pen actually stores really well on the front of the cover when you're carrying it around. So far, as a student I've been loving the my Surface Pro 3. My only gripes are that 1. Yes, some HiDpi scaling is horrendous with many 3rd party apps, and 2. The type cover is a super, super power cat hair magnet. 

  

[steffen_anywhere]

Well, overall I found that even though @LinusTech was very hard on the Surface Pro 3, all his criticism was well explained and made sense. It really is not the product for him. It would not be the product for me either. I have an iPad Mini and I think that it is all the tablet I need. I actually use it almost as much as my laptop for school because it just is so light, portable and handy to use as a textbook and whatnot.

 

This thing is more like a laptop and I think the way that Microsoft puts it against the MacBook Air (even at launch) is just plain stupid. They are a large corporation of their own. They do not need to tell people "Hey our product is so much better than the MacBook Air because it has a touchscreen, because this, because that,.." They also did this for the RT Surface when they hated against the iPad on their website.

 

What they do not seem to understand is the fact that the Surface Pro will likely not impact Apple's MacBook Air sales in any way. And then there's the statements "The laptop is obsolete..." Microsoft is just so great at these horrible sales pitches. They are here, trying to be innovative when the completely missed the phone and tablet revolutions.

 

The Surface Pro is a great product from an engineering point of view, kudos to the engineers for the hardware design. But Microsoft is just making such a big deal about it that it makes them look extremely unprofessional when you see the flaws that the surface has.

 

I am not even gonna start on their general tendency to f*ck up launch keynotes...XBox One... So yeah.

 

Semi-rant over. Great video Linus, very detailed and I just think that it is great how much effort you actually put into being able to judge the product from a user's point of view by actually using it as your main driver for some time. Already found this very impressive about your iPhone 5S review.

[WiiManic]

The pen actually stores really well on the front of the cover when you're carrying it around. So far, as a student I've been loving the my Surface Pro 3.

 

Would you be able to expand on how you are finding it, if its not too much trouble?

I'm actually really interested in one and mainly for note taking. 

All the pen comments I can find are "reduced parallax", "its great" then they scribble a couple times on the screen and I'm none the wiser on how notes look on it...

It would be helpful to have something more substantial than someone writing the word hello in huge letters and doing some swirl, like actual productive work/notes.

[Floppy Kant Fish]

 microsoft should have moved the windows logo on the right up abit and put a small track pad on the edge with a small switch on the side to turn the trackpad on and off. I have a windows 7 tablet (Asus Ep121) and pressing small objects are hard even with a pen, i think a small trackpad would fix this issue.

 

Making a small buldge on the back of the tablet would make it easier to hold on to and allow for space to put the pen insde of the tablet.

[marioo1182]

Good review, but I'm still left a little unsure If I want it.

 

I see your problems, but like you said maybe you weren't the target audience?

I looked and saw "Sweet, I can write up notes in lectures digitally". I guess the thing I was most excited about was the Pen and the associated improvements like reduced parallax. 

Typing up some notes is fine, but I kinda need pen and paper or some form of different input for any calculations/equations/drawings. 

 

For me, my use case of the Surface seems to be mainly stylus based input, with occasional typing for some smaller things.

I'm just going to need to find somewhere in the UK that actually has this thing on display and get a decent look/play with it.

This is exactly me. I'm going to be starting freshman in Electrical Engineering and thought why carry around textbooks, a laptop, and notes, when I could just get the surface. Stylus will be my main use too.

 

One thing Linus forgot is that they include Windows 8.1 Pro.

[marioo1182]

 microsoft should have moved the windows logo on the right up abit and put a small track pad on the edge with a small switch on the side to turn the trackpad on and off. I have a windows 7 tablet (Asus Ep121) and pressing small objects are hard even with a pen, i think a small trackpad would fix this issue.

 

Making a small buldge on the back of the tablet would make it easier to hold on to and allow for space to put the pen insde of the tablet.

If it had a bulge in the back it wouldn't lay down flat with the keyboard folded over or removed, making note taking very difficult. 

[wilsoneku]

Would you be able to expand on how you are finding it, if its not too much trouble?

 

Well I haven't actually done much substantial note taking with it yet since it's summer break for me right now, but here's something I just threw together because I have nothing better to do right now. Writing on this will take some getting used to. I'm still in the learning curve since this is my first Surface product, so just take that into account. 

Note: Again, I haven't used the pen much yet , so this is a very, very rough page of "notes". Don't take this as a model of how everyone's notes are going to look like. There's a of of better examples online, but there are just mine. Also, I don't have neat handwriting, so just take that into account too. 

[WiiManic]

Well I haven't actually done much substantial note taking with it yet since it's summer break for me right now, but here's something I just threw together because I have nothing better to do right now. Writing on this will take some getting used to. I'm still in the learning curve since this is my first Surface product, so just take that into account. 

Note: Again, I haven't used the pen much yet , so this is a very, very rough page of "notes". Don't take this as a model of how everyone's notes are going to look like. There's a of of better examples online, but there are just mine. Also, I don't have neat handwriting, so just take that into account too. 

 

Wow, cheers man. 

I've really wanted to see what it looks like and I kept not being able to find anything.

It seems pretty good from this though, atleast as good as I was expecting.

[Samthepengu1n]

yours wife got pregnant

congratz!

wil you now be reviewing a bunch of baby tech

 

here's a replacement for your one m8

http://www.amazon.com/VTech-Touch-Swipe-Baby-Phone/dp/B00CS16EJU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1404420501&sr=8-3&keywords=baby+tech

ps: great review

[GoodBytes]

For print screen: Fn+Space does print screen
Fn+Alt+Space does print screen on the focused window as well.

The keyboard magnet is so strong on my Surface Pro 2, once I snap the cover and where there was with a peace of dirt or something, and it made a dent on the metal of my device.


The idea of the microSD card, is for extended storage like your phone, beside from tear-down pictures, there is no room on the system board for anything larger, let alone another USB port. Maybe with Broadwell having more integrated component it would open this door, but so far that is the case. So I guess, that's the excuse.

 

Wacom pen on the Wacom Cintiq is not any really better than the Surface Pro 2. Sure it takes 2048 pressure level compared to 1024, but it still can't track properly on corners, and the device has NO keyboard. 13.3inch, 3.9lb, 25 ms response time (yes, VERY slow, and that is what Wacom shows, so it's probably worst in real life, as it is always the case), 1080p, has a 3rd gen Core i processor which is more power hungry. The 1.799$ is a special price, the normal price of the device is 1,999$. So assuming you miss out on the special, the Surface Pro 2 or 3 is cheaper.

 

The Surface Pro 3 uses N-Trig pen which has it's ups and downs over Wacom's. For one you don't need to calibrate it, and it works great on corners. Sure it supports only 256 pressure levels, but this is a high-end N-Trig digitize (unlike what Sony was putting in their systems). Also, more and more programs are said to make their software high-DPI aware, including Adobe starting with PhotoShop. Yes, I agree that is it is retarded in Microsoft part to not have updated many of their system related panels to be high DPI aware. Hopefully Windows 9 will correct that.

 

 

My Surface Pro 2 notes in math class (all made in OneNote, thanks to handwritten to math conversion):

[Nick Paviour]

This has probably got to be one of his most negative reviews about a product. I'd like to see more reviews on products where the end result is a negative impact. I guess you can't know this until you've reviewed the item first though hey?

[Nick Paviour]

Man, this review was brutal on the Surface Pro. That cussing though.

Hey Linus, is there any reason why you switched from the Acer Aspire S7 392 13.3" to the Dell XPS 12? Was it because the screen can flip backwards in a tablet mode or is it because of battery life and keyboard travel length?

 

Think it was because he had to give the Acer Aspire back, but i'm not 100% sure.

[GoodBytes]

Oh and I forgot to mention,

While I can't validate this as I don't have the Pro3, only the Pro 2.  In the sound speaker options of Windows, you have a tab called "Enhancement" If you disable the option, you should get more front facing feeling sound.

When I disable is on my Pro 2, you can hear the speakers sound more like they are side mounted (which they are).

 

Linus can you confirm this?

[KDAWG14]

LAMBROs! ha

[menendez1293]

Got a Surface Pro 3 as it was the only tablet that meet my specific needs. The experience has been decent, but I did like the XPS12 better when I had it as a demo unit when they first came out. 

 

I actually already had the Surface Pro 3 not want to turn on, I have no idea why but after a little button pressing it decided to turn on about 5 minutes later.

[techie]

For all of Linus's gripes with the surface, it seems perfect for college. I handwrite all my notes, so the pen is great for me as I wouldn't have to carry all of my notebooks with me, and I always use my desktop pc for typing out large assignments, so the typecover would be more than sufficient for some minor bits & pieces. Great price also. Just need the scaling issues to be fixed and I'm all over this.

[Floppy Kant Fish]

If it had a bulge in the back it wouldn't lay down flat with the keyboard folded over or removed, making note taking very difficult. 

Im sure the buldge wouldn't be too large and there could be a second one on the opposite to balance it. The pen for the Ep121 is about 1 mm thicker than a pencil, I don't see why the buldge would be so big that the keyboard couldn't be folded underneath, if it still can't fit, MS should try to engineer a slimmer pen because its definitely possible by the looks of that pen.

[GoodBytes]

Im sure the buldge wouldn't be too large and there could be a second one on the opposite to balance it. The pen for the Ep121 is about 1 mm thicker than a pencil, I don't see why the buldge would be so big that the keyboard couldn't be folded underneath, if it still can't fit, MS should try to engineer a slimmer pen because its definitely possible by the looks of that pen.

And then everyone would complain how the pen is awful to hold, like on the Lenovo systems with thin pens it uses with their thin devices, making people go out and buy better, thicker, pens.

Larger the pen the better. Even Wacom's pro line pens for their tablets are really thick.

 

You can put the pen in your pocket, in your bag, or slide on the keyboard like wilsoneku did, shown on his post. It's seriously not an issue how some people make it up to be. What's funny, is that I find the people that don't care about the pen, are the ones complain the most about the lack of silo. Probably because they are afraid of loosing the pen as their rarely use it. Even the Wacom Cintiq Companion doesn't have a silo.

[pk-man]

I think this is the first time Linus has been so harsh on a product.  He was really trashing it.

 

I see two problems with the surface pro. First, because it tries to be half tablet, half laptop, it ends up being a "jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none" kind of product.  It just seems there had to be a lot small compromises in order to be able to do many things.  Secondly, it's the price.  Linus should've mentioned that the type cover (however good it may be) is a separate $120 accessory, which should've been included with all surface pros IMO.  By not including the type cover, it feels like a cheap money grab by Microsoft.

[GoodBytes]

I see two problems with the surface pro. First, because it tries to be half tablet, half laptop, it ends up being a "jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none" kind of product.

Welll.. not really. The device is powerful, it has a good cooling solution, it is actually quiet, it does have a good screen (the back light bleeding a common problem for all tablets, including the iPad. This is probably due the thinnest of the display it doesn't allow proper light shielding which takes room), the pen is solid and works very well, the device is thin and light, has long battery life, Windows store app is full of apps these days, multi-touch is extremely responsive, the track pad is decent (better than most laptops), the keyboard uses very close to standard size keys (and it has print screen!), the device comes equipped with stereo speakers, and actually pretty decent for a mobile computer, most are total crap, or really not loud, and has a solid battery life, oh and the system comes junk free, unlike all other laptops these days. ANd when I mean junk free, I mean junk free. You don't even have special software to make the special keys on the keyboard work, it uses Windows native calls, (why re-invent the wheel?) and is very fast due to the high speed SSD, and full speed DDR3 memory (max the CPU supports), and not the crappiest RAM money can buy, just to put "8GB" on the spec sheet, something that many manufacture does these days, including the SSD, where you question if it's really an SSD, or a 5400RPM HDD (true on low end devices).

 

But yes, you don't have a SD card reader, you only have 1 USB port, and its not for everyone.... but keep in mind that neither a laptop. Many, including myself, bough a laptop before, but that was because there was no choice... well there is this:

But those costs 3000$ to start for the based model, which at the time didn't even come with 4GB of RAM or even a 7200RPM HDD), and the CPU and all around internal, were complete shit, and to top things over, had horrible battery life. Cheaper options, didn't have a good pen technology, you would even have to fight with it. It was big, bulky, and teh system would get even thicker and heavier, with the second battery they usually support, which was a thick plate you add at the bottom of the system.

 

The Surface Pro is a device that is getting better at every iteration, which is really nice compared to most tablet manufactures and laptop manufacture these days, where once they find a product that kinda works, they just keep it as is, and just does minor tweaks, and just upgrade the internal to the new CPU, and adds more RAM, and such, they don't seek to continue to reach perfection as a goal, as it could lead to a miss step, and that is a risk, and risks are bad in the companies eyes, as it would not please their shareholders.

[marioo1182]

Im sure the buldge wouldn't be too large and there could be a second one on the opposite to balance it. The pen for the Ep121 is about 1 mm thicker than a pencil, I don't see why the buldge would be so big that the keyboard couldn't be folded underneath, if it still can't fit, MS should try to engineer a slimmer pen because its definitely possible by the looks of that pen.

I would rather the whole device just be thicker then personally. I mean does 2mm really make a difference in every day use?

And they did have a thinner one in previous generations, they decided to make it thicker for more comfort. 

[marioo1182]

Well, overall I found that even though @LinusTech was very hard on the Surface Pro 3, all his criticism was well explained and made sense. It really is not the product for him. It would not be the product for me either. I have an iPad Mini and I think that it is all the tablet I need. I actually use it almost as much as my laptop for school because it just is so light, portable and handy to use as a textbook and whatnot.

 

This thing is more like a laptop and I think the way that Microsoft puts it against the MacBook Air (even at launch) is just plain stupid. They are a large corporation of their own. They do not need to tell people "Hey our product is so much better than the MacBook Air because it has a touchscreen, because this, because that,.." They also did this for the RT Surface when they hated against the iPad on their website.

 

What they do not seem to understand is the fact that the Surface Pro will likely not impact Apple's MacBook Air sales in any way. And then there's the statements "The laptop is obsolete..." Microsoft is just so great at these horrible sales pitches. They are here, trying to be innovative when the completely missed the phone and tablet revolutions.

 

The Surface Pro is a great product from an engineering point of view, kudos to the engineers for the hardware design. But Microsoft is just making such a big deal about it that it makes them look extremely unprofessional when you see the flaws that the surface has.

 

I am not even gonna start on their general tendency to f*ck up launch keynotes...XBox One... So yeah.

 

Semi-rant over. Great video Linus, very detailed and I just think that it is great how much effort you actually put into being able to judge the product from a user's point of view by actually using it as your main driver for some time. Already found this very impressive about your iPhone 5S review.

Microsoft is not trying to deplete Macbook Air sales at all.

With back to school coming up many students purchase macs in general, Macbook Air being popular because of its mass.

 

Microsoft has been putting Onenote and their stylus at the center of attention, because you can much easier take notes and mark up .pdf textbooks. This being a great option for myself, as I will be getting one. I would agree as well though, this device is not for Linus.

I wouldn't say it is "[making] them look extremely unprofessional at all" however, this device is aimed at students and the business market (I mean it comes with Windows 8.1 Pro). 

The best selling device for business users and students is the Macbook Air! So of course it makes sense to compare that product to the surface because it is the best selling one. 

If Microsoft said don't buy a Macbook Air it sucks, that would be unprofessional. Comparing the product and saying Surface 3 Pro has this..., and Macbook Air doesn't, that is stating what one has and the other doesn't. It is called competition, it makes the market stronger, and if the Macbook Air is better, then Apple should handle those rejections made by the Surface 3 Pro.