I was present at Microsoft’s launch event in New York where Microsoft unveiled the new Surface Book and the Surface Pro 4. Between the two devices, the Surface Book caught my attention more than Surface Pro 4 and I was pretty much convinced on picking one up. I’m very much a Mac guy and haven’t used Windows as a primary computer for a few years so I decided to pick up a used Surface Pro 3 to get myself re-familiarized with Windows.
In the interest of full disclosure, I did purchase the Surface 3 Pro when it was originally released but sold it within a month. More than the hardware, I found Windows 8 to be a confused mess and just couldn’t get used to it. But then Microsoft released Windows 10 which I played with and liked and hence, went ahead with the decision to give Microsoft another shot.
The Surface Pro 3 with Windows 10 turned out to be quite a good experience. The performance was zippy and the battery life was good. I also enjoyed not shifting between my Mac and an iPad during work and evening hours. So I asked a friend that was visiting the US to pick me a Surface Book. As expected, the units were all sold out but Surface Pro 4 was available so I asked them to pick that up instead and here I am with the Core i5 version with 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD.
The Good
1) The new keyboard cover is fantastic. I really like what Microsoft has done with the keys as well as the trackpad. I can type faster and more accurate, and using the trackpad is much smoother than the previous cover. Yes, this cover can also be used with Surface Pro 3 and I would highly recommend all SP3 users to buy the new cover
2) The subtle increase in screen size and reduction in thickness and weight is noticeable and makes the Surface Pro 4 easier to use as a device. I would like to see a thinner and lighter device but considering the power it offers, I’m find with the way it is.
3) The new Surface Pen is better to use and provides a more natural experience than the one with the previous model. The lag is barely there and the feel of pen on the surface is much nicer thanks to the new pins. I also like how it magnetically attaches and stays on the side of the Surface Pro 4.
The Bad
1) The fans on the Surface Pro 4 seem to work a lot harder than the Surface Pro 3 which is surprising considering that Intel’s new Skylake processor are supposed to run cooler. They’re obviously kicking in because the unit is getting hotter- and the Surface Pro 4 definitely feels hotter than the Surface Pro 3.
2) There is a recurring popping sound coming out of the Surface Pro 4’s speaker. It’s not a huge problem but definitely very annoying. The noise is just random- at times, it plays when I’m about to start a video or something but many times it just pops when I’m browsing the web with no audio whatsoever.
3) The Keyboard/Trackpad on the cover randomly stops working when I resume from a standby. It’s not very frequent- 7 out of 10 times, both work but then either the mouse or the trackpad doesn’t work the rest of the time. I haven’t see both not work.
The Ugly
1) Battery life on the Surface Pro 4 is abysmal. Where I was getting almost 5-6 hours on the Surface Pro 3, I’m lucky if I get four hours with the Surface Pro 4.
2) For whatever reason beyond my comprehension, the back light levels on my Surface Pro 4 keep fluctuating. I can’t exactly call it flickering but one minute everything nice and bright and then suddenly the screen becomes darker. That’s super frustrating. Also, I can see bleeding from the bottom edge of the screen.
I’m trying to give Windows 10 and Microsoft a fair shot- but my initial experience makes me want to run back to my MacBook which isn’t as powerful but has a much better battery life and lets me work uninterruptedly. While the Surface Pro 4 might be ready as far as hardware is concerned, clearly, a lot of work is needed fixing drivers and optimizing it. I just hope that Microsoft does that before I get frustrated to the point where it goes up on sale.
