Microsoft Surface Pro 9, 8 or X - Signature Type cover - Black - and Slim Pen 2 - Black - bundle

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The Surface Pro 8 is more than powerful enough for everyday use. Using it as my work laptop, I never had any issues, even when running a quite frankly ridiculous number of tabs in Chrome and doing some basic image retouching work in GIMP.

To compare it to other PCs, I ran the Geekbench 5 benchmarking test where the Microsoft Surface Pro 8 scored 1,142 in single-core and 4,133 in multi-core. That’s lower than other similarly priced PCs like the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 and the Huawei Matebook 14s, but it’s not that far off either. On 3DMark’s Timespy test, it scored 1,328 so the Microsoft Surface Pro 8 should cope fine with video games. I wouldn’t recommend using the 10MP rear camera to take stills as your phone will almost certainly capture better images. But the ability to capture video in 4K with the rear camera is useful, especially if you’re recording a presentation for work. The 11th generation octa-core Core i7-1185G7 processor in our review model gives the Surface Pro 8 a useful turn of speed. In our 4K media benchmark, it scored 134 points, almost double the score of the 10th generation Core i7-powered Surface Pro 7, which scored 68 points. System software and updates use significant storage space. Available storage is subject to change based on system software and updates and apps usage. 1 GB = 1 billion bytes. 1 TB = 1,000 GB. See Surface Storage for more details.The Geekbench 5 CPU test told a similar tale with the Pro 8 easily outstripping both the Pro 7 and Pro X Surface tablets and the chipset even has performance enough to allow a little light gaming, the Metro Redux benchmark returning an average frame rate of 57fps at 1,920 x 1,080 (although only 22.3fps at the native resolution of 2,880 x 1,920). The GFXbench Car Chase benchmark also shows good performance at 1080p.

Some older devices will be limited to support for 1,024 levels of pressure due to limitations of earlier MPP protocols, but for the most part, all these devices will support the Surface Pen. It's also worth noting that the Surface Laptop lineup, as well as the Surface Pro 3, do not support magnetic attachment for the pen. All the others let you store the pen on the side in some way. The internal hardware has been upgraded too, you’ll now get an 11th Gen Intel Core CPU with Intel Iris Xe Graphics and choice between 8GB, 16GB or 32GB of RAM. The Microsoft Surface Pro 7 had 10th Gen Intel Core CPUs, Intel UHD or Iris Plus graphics and the RAM varied from 4GB to 16GB. But the flipside, when paired with a Type Cover, and the Slim Pen 2 its Windows 11 software lets it function much better as a full fat laptop replacement than its Apple rival, making it better for office use. Design Although the Microsoft Surface Pro 8 has had a significant physical update, if I said it was all-new, I’d be lying. It’s very similar to the Surface Pro X.

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Microsoft quotes the Surface Pro 8 as offering 16 hours battery life, and during testing I found that it is possible to get that much use out of the device under certain conditions. Surface devices traditionally have fairly utilitarian designs, with Microsoft tending to make minor refinements, rather than outright changes year-on-year. This changed with the Surface Pro 8 and its contemporary design boost, but the new Surface Pro 9 reverts to type with no visual differences, sans a new Forest green colour option. Tactile signals with Microsoft Surface Slim Pen 2 can be experienced on some applications on Surface Pro 8 running Windows 11. Microsoft Surface Slim Pen 2 sold separately.

The first reason for this, as we've mentioned, is the design. For the Surface Pro models, starting with the Pro X, Microsoft removed the magnetic attachment from the side of the tablets. Instead, you're supposed to store the Surface Slim Pen 2 inside the Surface Pro Signature Keyboard, where it also stays charged. At the same time, the Surface Laptop Studio and Laptop Studio 2 are designed to store the Surface Slim Pen 2 on its underside, and with the Surface Duo 2, you can attach the Slim Pen 2 magnetically to the outside using the Surface Duo 2 Pen Cover. All of these options also charge the pen at the same time. Starting with the Surface Pro X, Microsoft made some significant changes to the design of its devices, and, to go along with it, the accompanying pen. While you can use the original round Surface Pen, the Surface Slim Pen 2 is ideal if you have one of these: How long the battery will last is dependent on a variety of factors, the chief of which is what processes you are running and what screen settings you’re using. I only got 16 hours when I completely shut down all superfluous settings and lowered the screen brightness to levels most people wouldn’t find comfortable using. Weight not including Microsoft Surface Pro Signature Keyboard and Microsoft Surface Slim Pen 2 (sold separately).However, ramp the settings up and throw a few more demanding workloads at the Surface Pro 8 and it’ll drain its charge a lot faster. Playing graphically-intensive tasks, like 3D modelling in Blender, I managed to drain the battery in less than 3 hours. The 120Hz screen setting also sheds around 2-3 hours off the device’s life, even if you’re just doing basic office work and web browsing. And battery life isn’t all that impressive, either. The Surface Pro 8 ran for 7hrs 16mins in our video rundown battery test, four minutes shy of the Surface Pro 7, which kept going for 7hrs 20mins. That’s despite the Surface Pro 8 having a bigger battery (51.5Wh versus 43.2Wh). That’s enough to see you through a full day of work, but the iPad Pro and Galaxy Tab S7 Plus, not to mention countless regular laptops, can do much better. One of the biggest updates Microsoft has made to the Surface Pro 8 relates to its screen. It hasn’t updated the panel to use Mini LED tech, like the stuff seen on the new iPad Pro. It hasn’t even made the jump to OLED. All of these options will technically work on any modern Surface device, and in fact, on a lot of modern Windows laptops. Many of these devices, including any Surface PC released after the Surface Pro 3, feature the Microsoft Pen Protocol (MPP), which all these pens support. Prior to that, Surface devices used Wacom technology, so these pens won't be compatible, but any of these is technically functional for other devices. However, there are some things to be aware of. The Surface Slim Pen 2 is ideal for newer devices If you need a laptop for work, and therefore video calls, the Microsoft Surface Pro 8 has a high-quality front camera that is detailed with balanced colours. You won’t be plagued with graininess from your webcam. You can use the front camera to log into the PC as well through Windows Hello facial recognition. Meanwhile, the rear camera takes shots that are actually useable. It still won’t match your smartphone camera but for a tablet, it’s really good.