App compatibility, brilliant battery life

Microsoft's new Surface Pro Flex Keyboard lets you type and use the trackpad without having to physically connect the accessory to your Surface Pro 11th Edition.

Jordan Novett | CNBC

When Microsoft unveiled its new line of Windows PCs in May, it said the computers were “designed for AI” and equipped with new chips from Qualcomm that were more energy efficient than previous Intel processors.

The first of the so-called Copilot+ PCs to hit the market is the Surface Pro convertible tablet, which can handle more intensive computing tasks and boasts longer battery life than laptops with Intel processors. It's similar to the strategy Apple embarked on when it began equipping its MacBooks with custom, less power-hungry Arm-based chips in 2020, and the move has been a big success.

But what Microsoft ultimately released with the Surface Pro represents a nice upgrade over its predecessor, and it's a bit of a stretch to think that it will usher in a new era of AI computing — at least for now.

The Surface line of computers isn't a big business driver for Microsoft: The company reported $1.07 billion in device revenue, which includes Surface PCs, in the first quarter, but that was just a fraction of its total revenue of $61.86 billion.

I've been reviewing the Surface Pro for two weeks now, and here's what you need to know about it.

What do you think?

The Surface Pro's hardware is high-end. Microsoft sent us a review unit with Qualcomm's 12-core Snapdragon X Elite chip, a 512GB solid-state drive, 16GB RAM, and an OLED display. The device starts at $999, but this model costs $1,499.99. Web browsing performance is great — Google released an Arm version of Chrome for Windows in March — and productivity software and some video games, like Retrowave World and Poly Bridge 3, ran without a hitch.

The display is crisp and bright, and the 120Hz refresh rate makes scrolling smooth. The touchscreen is responsive, and the iconic kickstand that supports the display is still sturdy. Beneath the kickstand is a compartment to protect your SSD, making it easy to replace or upgrade your hard drive.

In my early testing, the Surface Pro had over eight hours of battery life; Microsoft promises up to 10 hours of web browsing. The Surface Pro 9, released in 2022 with Microsoft's Arm-based SQ3 chip, touted up to 19 hours of battery life, but reviewers still found app compatibility problematic. And unlike previous Arm-powered Surface PCs, such as 2019's Surface Pro X, this model can run a wide range of applications, so buyers won't have to make any major compromises when it comes to compatibility.

That's because Microsoft has introduced a new emulator called Prism to enable these new computers to run programs designed for Intel and AMD chips.

The Surface Pro maintains the familiar kickstand design.

Jordan Novett | CNBC

Almost every day, developers show off smart software that leverages AI models for a variety of purposes. In most cases, programs use servers in data centers to perform the heavy lifting. But increasingly, developers are delegating some of the processing to the user's phone or computer. Copilot+ PC is ideal for this new type of software, thanks to its Neural Processing Unit (NPU). This architecture allows the rest of the chip to perform other tasks, resulting in longer battery life.

Microsoft has built some of its own artificial intelligence features into Windows 11 that take advantage of the NPU. If you want to join a video call, open the Settings app on your Surface Pro Copilot+ PC and turn on an option called “Eye Contact.” This will make it appear as if you're looking straight into the webcam during the call, even when reading a text. Apple has a similar simulated eye contact feature for FaceTime calls on the iPad.

In Paint, when you enable co-creation mode, you can create an image based on what you draw on the screen or a description you type in. Your computer's NPU outputs the image, but only after Microsoft sends a text prompt to the cloud to make sure you're not trying to create something harmful or offensive.

It was fun to see how Cocreator interpreted my suggestions, but the results were not very impressive. I preferred to press the Copilot key on my keyboard, which brings up a window to chat with Microsoft's Copilot, and ask them to create an image in the text chat. But Copilot offers limited free credits for image generation, and once you exceed them, it slows down the processing of your requests. On the other hand, the Paint feature is consistently fast.

The AC adapter included in the box magnetically fastens to Microsoft's proprietary Surface Connect port – familiar to anyone who's bought a Surface device in the last decade – and conveniently allows you to charge it through either of the two USB-C ports.

The Surface Pro can connect up to three monitors at 4K resolution, while the MacBook Air with the M3 chip can drive a single external display at up to 6K resolution at a 60Hz refresh rate.

The $999 tablet doesn't have a headphone jack, and, per tradition, doesn't come with a keyboard either — after all, the iPad still doesn't come with a keyboard.

The standard Surface Pro Keyboard, which magnetically attaches to the bottom of the Surface Pro, sells for $139.99, or if you also want a model with Microsoft's Slim Pen stylus, it will cost you $279.99.

Microsoft sent me their new Surface Pro Flex Keyboard, which comes with a Slim Pen. The set costs $449.98, which is more expensive than a regular attachable keyboard because it connects via Bluetooth. Microsoft promises that the accessory will give you 41 hours of continuous typing. It charges while attached to your Surface Pro.

Some users may find it useful to detach the keyboard and use the tablet at a distance. This accessory didn't seem like a huge upgrade from the good old Surface Pro keyboard.

Pressing the Copilot key to the left of the arrow keys will bring up a window for chatting with Microsoft's multipurpose virtual assistant.

Jordan Novett | CNBC

What's wrong?

The biggest AI features coming to this new Surface Pro and other Copilot+ PCs aren't available yet.

When Microsoft announced Copilot+ PC in May, executives spent a lot of time talking about Recall, a feature that lets you search your PC's activity by typing just a few words and then displays matching results. The company delayed the release and said it would turn Recall off by default after security researchers found that screenshots captured by the feature could allow hackers to access users' personal data.

On the other hand, some applications, such as Google Drive and ExpressVPN, still don't work on these new computers, at least for now. And as Windows on Arm gains early adoption, you might find that even if a classic version of an app is available in Microsoft's app store, you'll find a native Arm version on the developer's website. (For example, the media player VLC.) But in principle, software isn't much of an issue for Surface PCs, which boast long battery life.

Microsoft also scaled back Copilot's privileges to control PCs on the device, making it more similar to accessing chatbots on the web. When the company introduced Copilot to Windows 11 last fall, the assistant could open programs, switch to dark mode, and disable Bluetooth.

Replacing the solid-state drive in your new Surface Pro is easy.

Jordan Novett | CNBC

Should I buy it?

If you can guarantee that the apps you need will run on an Arm-based machine, the 11th edition of the Surface Pro is worth considering — which is more likely than it was five years ago.

The battery life is good, and I like how easy it is to upgrade or replace the storage. The screen is great too; it's definitely an upgrade over the previous model. Microsoft made the right decision by moving to Arm-based processors. However, even though the company is touting this as an “AI PC,” the biggest AI features aren't there yet.

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