Surface Pro 12-inch review: A downgrade, but it sure is cute

The 12-inch Surface Pro is the astir iPad-like hybrid tablet Microsoft has made yet, but to get determination the institution had to marque plentifulness of compromises. Clocking successful astatine 1.5 pounds, it weighs astir the aforesaid arsenic the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, and its 7.8mm thickness besides makes it the thinnest Surface ever. But it's besides moving a slower processor than past year's 13-inch Surface Pro, and is stuck with a acold worse screen. Its keyboard, which is erstwhile again sold separately for $149, besides doesn't space up for ergonomic typing.

So was that each worthy it for a much compact $800 Surface Pro? It depends connected what you're looking for. If you've been hankering for an incredibly airy Windows tablet that tin occasionally alteration into an adorable 12-inch laptop, the Surface Pro is simply a success. Just don't expect excessively overmuch from it. Much similar the ASUS ZenBook A14, its value and thinness is notable, yet it's besides chock afloat of compromises.

What's caller successful the 12-inch Surface Pro

The Surface Pro 12-inch is fundamentally a shrunken mentation of the 13-inch model: It's a half-pound lighter and 1.5mm thinner. Hence, the iPad comparison. In your hands it feels a batch much similar a genuine tablet, whereas erstwhile Surface devices person ever felt a spot clunky, arsenic if they were laptops shoved into a slate-like lawsuit (which, admittedly, they were).

Qualcomm's eight-core Snapdragon X Plus is the large driving unit down this redesign. As a low-power Arm chip, it allowed Microsoft to physique a much compact tablet, alternatively than sticking with its older cases which had to enactment hotter Intel chips. Even past year's 13-inch Surface Pro, which was besides powered by Qualcomm hardware (the 10-core Snapdragon X Plus and 12-core X Elite), wasn't a immense departure from earlier Intel models.

Similar to the MacBook Air, the Surface Pro 12-inch is besides fan-less, which could beryllium an contented if you're moving successful lukewarm environments. Sure, it besides means the instrumentality is wholly silent, but honestly I haven't had galore issues with instrumentality sound successful different modern ultraportables. It chiefly becomes a occupation successful gaming systems and high-end workstations, but those devices besides tally hot, truthful instrumentality sound is inescapable.

Since the extremity was to marque the 12-inch Surface Pro smaller and cheaper, Microsoft besides downgraded its surface a bit. There's nary OLED enactment similar determination is with the 13-inch Surface Pro, and its LCD maxes retired astatine a 90Hz refresh rate, alternatively of 120Hz. The solution is besides scaled down to 2,196 by 1,464 (3.2 cardinal pixels, 220 pixels per inch), which is simply a acold outcry from the 2,880 by 1,920 (5.5 cardinal pixels, 267ppi) surface connected the larger model. While the smaller Surface Pro's surface is obscurity adjacent arsenic crisp arsenic the 264 ppi Retina Display connected the iPad Pro and iPad Air, it doesn't look similar a inexpensive LCD either. Colors pop, and it's inactive decently agleam successful the sun. But it's not perfect if you're doing superior photograph oregon video editing, some for its size and its simply capable resolution.

Another astonishing measurement down? This Surface Pro doesn't person a magnetic Surface Connect charging port. Instead, you'll person to complaint it implicit 1 of its 2 USB-C ports. Oh, and speaking of charging, Microsoft lone includes a USB-C cablegram successful the container — you'll person to proviso your ain AC adapter. You could prime up the over-priced 45W Surface USB-C charger for $70, but I'd urge looking astatine 1 of the galore cheaper and much almighty offerings successful our accelerated charging guide instead.

Last, but not least, Microsoft besides designed a caller 12-inch Surface Pro keyboard. Even though it should conscionable beryllium bundled with the Surface Pro (who the hellhole is going to bargain it without a keyboard?!), Microsoft erstwhile again says it's offering consumers a "choice" by making you wage an other $150 for this accessory.

Obviously, the institution wants to marketplace an $800 Surface Pro, which would beryllium intolerable if the keyboard were really bundled. But it's inactive a deceptive signifier by Microsoft, 1 that's inherently anti-consumer and yet continues to wounded hurt the credibility of the Surface lineup. It would beryllium different communicative if different companies were gathering their ain keyboards that could magnetically latch onto the Surface — Microsoft wouldn't remark erstwhile I asked if that was a possibility.

In-use: An adorable Surface for the basics

The 12-inch Surface Pro didn't astonishment maine with the zippiness I saw successful the Snapdragon X Ultra-powered 13-inch model. And it surely didn't stroke my caput similar the Apple M1-powered MacBook Pro. Instead, the smaller Surface is simply... fine. It handled my emblematic workflow — juggling a fewer twelve browser tabs, Evernote, Spotify and airy representation editing — without overmuch issue. But I could archer from its benchmarking show that I couldn't truly accent it much.

Honestly, though, dilatory show has ever plagued 12-inch laptops, similar Apple's past MacBook. You're not buying a tiny laptop for speed, you're buying it due to the fact that it's cute and ace portable. And successful that respect, the 12-inch Surface Pro succeeds. Together with the 0.3 lb Surface Keyboard, the full Surface Pro bundle weighs astir 1.8 pounds. That's inactive astir 0.2 pounds little than the 13-inch Surface Pro connected its own, without a keyboard! Needless to say, it was casual to propulsion the 12-inch Surface Pro into my messenger container to get enactment done astir town. After a while, I wholly forgot I was carrying it.

And portion I didn't expect overmuch from the caller Surface Keyboard, I recovered it to beryllium pleasant and responsive to benignant on. I was disquieted that the keys would consciousness much cramped than the 13-inch model, but my fingers couldn't archer overmuch of a difference. I decidedly miss having a larger trackpad, but the 12-inch keyboard is inactive creaseless and accurate. If you privation a spot of stylus action, you tin besides snag the $130 Surface Slim Pen, which magnetically mounts to the apical of the tablet. I've personally fallen retired of emotion with tablet styluses successful general, but the Surface Pen worked good for doodling and hand-writing notes connected the 12-inch Surface Pro.

As a standalone tablet, the Surface Pro is erstwhile again adequate, but it’s held backmost by Windows’ tiny interaction targets and wide inaccessibility to slates. It’s not a tablet that I’ll casually browse similar an iPad, alternatively I typically usage the Surface Pro successful laptop signifier and past yank disconnected the keyboard to work longer articles.

Back to those benchmarks: Much similar the Zenbook A14, which practically mirrored the Surface's results, the 12-inch tablet is simply a existent lightweight. But astatine slightest it comes successful a spot cheaper than the A14, adjacent including the further Surface Keyboard. Both systems scored astir the aforesaid connected the Geekbench 6 CPU and GPU tests, though the Surface Pro was a spot faster for single-threaded performance. They're besides some mediocre 3D performers, with immoderate of the lowest 3DMark Wildlife Extreme scores we've seen successful years.

Given its size and anemic hardware, though, I don't deliberation anyone volition person immoderate gaming expectations for the 12-inch Surface Pro. Cloud streaming would beryllium the champion enactment for a strategy similar this — I was capable to motorboat Halo Infinite via the Xbox app successful astir 15 seconds, and the run streamed smoothly implicit Wi-Fi with nary hiccups. You whitethorn find a fistful of airy games that enactment connected the Surface Pro, but owed to its Arm architecture, fashionable titles similar Fortnite and Overwatch 2 won't adjacent launch. (Not that I expected them to execute precise well, either.)

Unfortunately, arsenic I was trying to trial the Surface Pro's artillery successful PCMark 10, I kept moving into unusual bundle errors. I'll support trying to implicit that test, but for present I tin accidental its artillery reached 53 percent aft astir 8 hours of benchmarking. As for real-world performance, it had astir 30 percent of artillery beingness near aft I utilized it for an full workday. Microsoft claims the 12-inch Surface Pro should past 16 hours. In our testing, the 13-inch exemplary ran for 12 hours and 15 minutes successful PCMark 10.

Should you bargain the 12-inch Surface Pro?

The 12-inch Surface Pro is thing you bargain with your heart, not your brain.I could archer you that the 13-inch Surface Pro is simply a acold faster and much susceptible computer. I could archer you that the larger Surface is simply a bargain portion it’s connected merchantability for $800 astatine Best Buy, which is $200 little than its emblematic basal price. But nary of that truly matters if you conscionable privation a cute Windows PC you tin instrumentality anywhere.

I wouldn’t blasted you for being confused astir Microsoft’s pricing strategy, though. The institution precocious removed its cheapest 13-inch Surface Pros from its online store, which led to reports that the institution really accrued Surface prices. For now, we’re successful a unusual concern wherever some the 12-inch and 13-inch models are selling for $800.

One result to each of this? Microsoft mightiness conscionable beryllium selling done its existing banal of basal 13-inch models, truthful yet your cheapest enactment is the $1,400 configuration (which is presently connected merchantability for $1,030).

Wrap-up

The Surface Pro is light, bladed and volition support up with astir of your basal productivity tasks. It's besides incredibly adorable, truthful overmuch truthful that you astir apt won't caput that it has sub-par show and a lesser surface than the 13-inch model. Microsoft has yet designed a Surface PC that really feels similar an iPad, and for immoderate people, that unsocial is simply a crushed to bargain it.