Microsoft Surface Pro 11 Review: Best Surface Yet

July 12, 2024

The new Microsoft Surface Pro 11 delivers on its hype.

Verdict

Thanks to Surface Pro 11 and Windows-on-Arm I now am a true believer in this architecture because it is just as fast and as compatible as it was claimed to be, it has excellent battery life, and finally, Windows is only going to get better with new AI-powered apps that will only improve with time. Some of the Surface Pro 11’s idiosyncrasies carry over from the previous generations ndash; and some new ones get added ndash; but from the screen to its sleek appearance and a new keyboard, this detachable 2-in-1 is the first actual rival the iPad Pro has ever had and Apple should be concerned.

Pros & Cons

Pros

Fantastic performance
Long battery life.
Fully-functional OS
Optional OLED display
New Flex keyboard is (almost) perfect

Cons

People requested native ARM versions of many applications that are not yet available.
Right now, most built-in AI features appear as if they are simply phoned-in.
Integrated Surface Pen we can often get trapped and is somewhat challenging to be removed on the keyboard.

A Three Minutes Review on Microsoft Surface Pro 11

Alright it has been a long day for her and it is time for me to stick my neck out and eat some humble pie.

If we rewind to last year’s technology forecast, I laughed at the idea of Microsoft designing its own Arm chip for its Surface devices and let’s not even talk about my terrible view on Windows-on-Arm based on the limited number of devices that actually came to the market, they all were trash.

If I had less integrity, I could say, ‘what I meant was Microsoft will be designing its own chips like Apple does with the M-series and getting them fabbed by TSMC and not collaborate with Qualcomm for the Latest Microsoft Surface Pro 11. ’ Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite SoC in the Surface Pro 11 is the new SoC that was designed in unison with Microsoft to run the new era of Copilot+ AI PCs featuring Surface Pro and Surface Laptop. Yes, functionally it may be different from Apple’s endeavor but in terms of substance it is not and what Microsoft is doing is way better what Apple is doing and the Surface Pro 11 is as good an example of it out of this new gen of laptops coming into the market.

Initial Criticisms

In order not to overshadow the positive aspects of the model, which will be described below, I will immediately note all the weaknesses that I found in this laptop.

First, this is not a tablet does not apply because it refers to the first of five points of differentiation the authors made in the cited article. This is Win 11 Pro which is a complete OS, and the idea of making a keyboard an optional extra that starts at $139. 99 / £129. 99 / AU$239. 95 is absurd, and then to make the Surface Pro Flex Keyboard with included Slim Pen which featured in this review, will cost you an additional $449. 98 / £439 / AU$499. 95. This is somewhat offset by a starting price of $999. 99 /£1,049. 99 / AU$1,899. 99 ? even adding the price of the keyboard, it’s going to be less than many of the other Hybrid laptops out there, but always having to add on a keyboard for a laptop PC will always rankle.

Second, Microsoft PRISM does rather well as an emulation layer here letting you run a great many Win x86 apps on the Snapdragon X Elite without much or any real [performance] penalty that you’d notice most of the time but there are apps which simply do not run, at least not in the way you want them to, not yet. It is also obvious that application, which is executed through emulation, will have a lower performance than application which is developed specifically for Arm architecture like the one in the Snapdragon X Elite.

Last but not least, the so praised AI functions of Copilot+ laptops are still kept to the minimum. As with most Requiem books, Recall has been held back for a few months (which is fine, honestly), and Studio Effects and Cocreator are competently done but can often come off as somewhat of a gimmick. If you will purchase this laptop with high expectation on the future of AI PCs today then you will be lagging behind. True AI applications are now hypothetical, they do not exist yet, but are expected to arrive soon.

Introduction

Microsoft has again released a darling series of the detachable 2 in 1 laptop in the Surface Pro 11 that comes as a contender for the market. This review focuses on the features of this device, or priorities of Microsoft’s strategy, the advantages and the disadvantages of the performance, and the reasons why it might be the best Surface ever.

Design

The hardware of Microsoft Surface Pro 11 is a combination of sleekness and utility. It comes in a rather eye-catching Sapphire Blue color that is halfway between blue and purple. They retained the traditional kickstand from Surface line with the ability to set it at different angles which is suitable for different activities. The build of the case is lightweight and rigid at the same time which gives it a rather prestigious feel.

Display

The battery of the Surface Pro 11 is extended and has a size of 13 inches with the OLED technology and 2880 x 1920 pixels. The screen frequency can be ‘overclocked’ up to 120Hz, thereby presenting great color accuracy; it is able to cover 162. 7% the sRGB color and 115. 2% of the DCI-P3 color spaces. This also comes with great brightness levels with a high of 878 nits for HDR content.

Performance

The Surface Pro 11 is powered by the mobile processor Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite SoC and that certainly offered great performance for most tasks. It may not beat the latest models of Apple M-series chips when it comes to benchmarks, but it does a splendid job at casual and professional usage. Prism emulation is integrated to run the x86 apps with no problem, however, native ARM apps will perform even better.

Battery Life

Another aspect of the form which is a major advantage of the Surface Pro 11 is the battery life. During power usage tests, it gets about 14. 5 hours of local video play and more than 12. 5 hours of web browsing. This makes LGGram 16z one of the best in battery life gamming to Windows laptops especially with OLED in its fold.

AI Features

This Surface Pro 11 has a few AI utilities that are included as proof of concept for AI PCs. The Studio Effects feature enables the blurring of the background in the videos on the device, while Cocreator is useful for creating clear image models from drawing in the Microsoft Paint. Although at the moment these features are very limited and some of them seem more like a toy than an actual implementation of AI, they at least give a suggestion of what is likely to come in the future.

Price and Availability

As for the Ac( Microsoft Surface Pro 11), it is quite affordable for the features being offered, starting at $999. 99. But, at the same time, the presence of the keyboard and the Slim Pen can add the costs by a substantial amount. Nonetheless, this makes it a preferred choice thanks to the efficiency and adaptability of the keyboard.

Keyboard and Accessories

On hardware front, new Surface Pro Flex Keyboard is much better when it comes to typing comfort. Nevertheless, it is not easy to pull out the Surface Pen from the keyboard area. The only let down is that the keyboard is offered as an accessory and not bundled with the laptop.

Software and OS

In the present version of Surface Pro collection named Surface Pro 11, the software rendering platform is Windows 11 it provides a full-scale desktop environment. This puts it in a class of its own vis a vis other Tablet devices such as the iPad Pro that uses mobile operating systems. It can run almost any software that is required in professional and even personal life, making it highly versatile.

Connectivity and Ports

It has onear USB-C port, Surface Connect port, and a 3. 5 mm headphone jack in the Surface Pro 11. It has wireless connectivity options of Wi-Fi 6E, plus Bluetooth 5. 3 to guarantee that you are always connected at optimum speeds. Nonetheless, one drawback of the design is the absence of Thunderbolt port on the product.

Camera and Audio

Primary Camera or the shooter is a 10MP module, whereas the secondary snapper is 1440p resolution wide-facing camera perfect for business meetings. The sound output as well is good, with two far-field studio microphones as well as better standard speakers that delivers sound quality that is loud and clear.

Comparison with iPad Pro

Their Windows 11 OS gives the Surface Pro 11 a more potent computing edge than that of its competitor, Apple iPad Pro. Amid all these interfaces, the iPad Pro offers some superiority in terms of performance as well as the range of applications available while the Surface Pro 11 is more flexible, has longer battery life, and a much better screen. Which one will be preferred does depend on the particular application made out of the system and the needs and likes of the user.

Final Verdict

In adding up, the Microsoft Surface Pro 11 is a massive leap in Windows-on-Arm communications. The elegance, needful functionality, the noteworthy duration of device’s battery, as well as the general flexibility put it on the list of top 2-in-1 laptops. All things being said it must be mot that it is a viable sollution for anyone wanting a potent and versatile computing solution that has but a few minor drawbacks.

Get yours today! 🎉📦