Microsoft Surface Pro 4 Shines Despite Early Bugs

Microsoft’s Surface Pro 4 is more of an upgrade from the Surface Pro 3 than previously thought. One has to use the Surface Pro 4 to understand what an upgrade it is. For once, the Pro 4 is a device you can actually put on your lap and get a lot of work done. It may be uncomfortable for your lap since it wasn’t designed for it, but put it on top of a book, tablet case, or piece of cardboard, and it is just as comfortable as any laptop.

However, that’s not the most important part; the new Type Cover makes the Surface Pro 4 usable without having to purchase an extra mouse. Not only are the keys separated farther, but the trackpad, now made of glass, is excellent. If you want to get rid of the Type Cover and use the Surface Pro 4 as a tablet, you can do so without any extra stress. The thinner and lighter (than the Surface Pro 3) device shines as a tablet as well, especially when used to take notes.

The Surface Pro used for this article runs a sixth-generation Intel i5 processor, has 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD for storage. If Microsoft had delivered the version with the i7 processor as promised on launch day (or at least notified their customers before they drove to the store), this article would have used that version. In any case, the i5 version is more than powerful enough to get just about any task done. It’s noticeably faster than the i5 processor in the Surface Pro 3.

Then, there’s the beautiful 2,736 x 1,824 pixel resolution display, which has excellent viewing angles. The only negative thing about the screen is that it can use slightly more contrast and just a tinge of added color saturation. Still, the screen is sharper than the screen on the Surface Pro 3, and even the MacBook Pro. It’s not as sharp as the screen on the Dell XPS 13, but it also doesn’t have the visible coating, which looks like grease was spread in many different directions.

Many other websites are singing the praises of the Surface Pro 4 as well. Engadget believes the Pro 4 can really replace your laptop.

“With the Surface Pro 4, Microsoft’s surprising hybrid tablet journey finally makes sense. It’s as if Microsoft was laser-focused on fixing the issues we had with the Surface Pro 3.”

PCWorld loves the Surface Pro 4’s display.

“The Microsoft Surface Pro 4 breaks a number of tablet display performance records, including consuming a surprisingly meager amount of power for its size, display expert Ray Soneira says.”

PCWorld adds that the Surface Pro 4 also displays colors more accurately than any other tablet, including the iPad Air 2. It remains to be seen if the iPad Pro’s display can match that of the Surface Pro 4.

Despite all the positive feedback from the Surface Pro 4, there are some minor problems that can hopefully be fixed soon with a patch. On some web pages, the tint and brightness of the screen will change as you scroll. In some cases, the display will turn into complete black before returning to the website. It’s a definite display driver quality issue.

People have also reported battery life issues, although there really aren’t any — the Surface Pro 4 can last up to 5 or 6 hours with moderate to heavy use. Many thought the battery life would be improved since Microsoft is using the latest Intel Skylake processors for its laptop/tablet hybrid, but this isn’t the case. Still, the Surface Pro 4 offers more bang for your buck than any laptop or tablet that is currently available.

[Featured photo via Daryl Deino]