A very old cliche says Microsoft gets things right the third time, which could be true for the new smart, silver Surface Pro 3.



Where last October’s Surface Pro 2 was merely tweaked and speed-bumped, the third version, launching in the UK on 28 August, answers almost all the complaints made about the February 2013 original.

Compared with the Surface Pro, the Pro 3 has a 40% bigger 12in screen with 50% more pixels, but it’s also a third thinner at 9.1mm and 120g lighter at only 800g, with a solid build quality.

Where the original Surface kickstand had one rest angle, and the Surface Pro 2 had two, now it has a range of 22 to 150 degrees. Its detachable Type Cover keyboard is also thinner, but it now has backlighting and a 63% bigger trackpad.

The new squarer screen (with its 3:2 ratio) is more balanced than the old design, with the relocated Windows Key at the bottom of the screen making it easy to use held vertically.

The new pen technology makes using the Pro 3 as a notepad replacement easy. Photograph: Microsoft Photograph: Microsoft

The touchscreen technology has been improved to make it much easier to use the Surface Pro 3 as a replacement for a notebook and pen. Just click the pen-top and the tablet almost instantly turns on with a blank page in OneNote.

The size and weight are impressive for a full PC. It is thinner than an Apple iPhone 4S and the screen alone only 120g heavier than the original iPad.

The Surface Pro concept

Like the the original Surface Pro, the Pro 3 is a multifunction device. With the Type Cover attached it’s a Windows 8.1 laptop; but it works well too as a graphics tablet.



The Surface Pro 3 works as a desktop replacement if you add the docking station, supporting full size USB keyboards and mice, and multiple display screens.

The docking station turns the Pro 3 into a desktop computer. Photograph: Microsoft Photograph: Microsoft

The drawbacks

Surface Pro 3 is both thin and light for a full PC. Photograph: Microsoft Photograph: Microsoft

Every multifunction device - even the humble smartphone - involves making some compromises compared with buying several dedicated devices. Most obviously, while the Surface Pro 3 is small for a full-spec laptop, it’s big for a tablet.

The laptop compromise depends on keyboard quality and “lappability”. Although the Type Cover is very nice for something so thin, it’s not as good as the keyboards fitted to decent laptops. It will work with any standard PC keyboard, but those don’t provide such a neat, portable package.

Using the original Surface Pro on one’s lap was a challenge. The new version is much better because you can raise the keyboard and vary the angle of the kickstand.

However, the tablet form factor means it will never be as comfortable as a laptop. The weight isn’t under the keyboard, spread across your thighs; it’s in the screen, and the kickstand means you need a couple of extra inches beyond where a laptop hinge would be.



I don’t need “lappability” (I take trains with tables, or use the Surface Pro 3 in tablet mode with on-screen keyboard), but if I did, I’d go for a hybrid laptop with a detachable screen.

As with all thin laptop designs, there’s also some compromise on performance. Chips in ultra-thin PCs can’t run as hot as they can in spacious desktops, which means you won’t get the same continuous speed for movie editing or playing heavyweight games. In normal use, I barely got the Surface Pro 3 warm, but it’s obviously going to get hot if you stress it.

The niggles

The Surface Pro 3 is a major advance on the Surface Pro, but it’s not perfect. The most annoying thing is the Windows key, which has been moved to the right hand side of the screen, where it is all too easy to press by accident. If I owned a Surface Pro 3, I’d be looking for a tweak to turn it off.

While the Type Cover is usable – and vastly better than the Touch Cover, which has been dropped for the Surface Pro 3 – I’d still like a better option. Perhaps one day Logitech will provide one.

Type Cover attached, the Surface Pro 3 becomes a laptop. Photograph: Microsoft Photograph: Microsoft

The Surface Pro 3’s 12in screen is the right size: not too big for a tablet but not too small for a laptop. The 2,160 x 1,440 resolution screen means you can’t see individual pixels, but it makes Windows 8 features very small. In fact, they’re not very finger-friendly even with the standard 150% scaling. (For comparison, the MacBook Pro with Retina Display does 2560 x 1600 on a 13.3in screen, but it’s twice as thick and much heavier.)

There’s a USB 3 port, which is particularly useful if you plan to get a third-party USB 3 hub, but perhaps it could have had a Thunderbolt port. Maybe next time?

Finally, there’s the four-cell, 42 watt-hour battery. Microsoft reckons you’ll get about nine hours of use for light work with Wi-Fi on, and most people should find it lasts all day. (If not, the charger is tiny.)

Some laptops last longer, because they have bigger and heavier batteries, but some sacrifices come from being ultra-thin and ultra-light.

Pricing

The Surface Pro 3 costs from £639, including the £44.99 pen. The Type Cover costs an extra £109.99 and the Docking Station £164.99.

Verdict

The Surface Pro 3’s kickstand will hold the tablet in multiple positions on a desk or balanced on a lap. Photograph: Microsoft Photograph: Microsoft

Microsoft describes the Surface Pro 3 as “the tablet that can replace your laptop”. That’s definitely true, though people who work with it mostly on their lap (which is bad for your spine), would be better off with a traditional laptop.

It also says “the new 12-inch Pro 3 is the best of a laptop, best of a tablet”. However, there are high-end Windows tablets with touch screens, better keyboards and better battery life, albeit they’re not as thin or as light.

There are also much slimmer and lighter tablets – such as the Sony Xperia Z2 tablet and iPad Air – though they are not full PCs. It all depends what you need.

The Surface Pro 3 wins if you want both a laptop and a tablet in a single device, and it becomes unbeatable if you also want pen operation and/or a tough device.



The Surface Pro 3 should be the first choice for pro photographers and some graphics professionals, and a variety of field workers. It would also suit people who spend a lot of time on planes. But those are not mass markets.

For business it takes large enterprises years to change, and they’re still deploying Windows 7, not Windows 8. It would be a terrific device for education as well, but schools can’t afford it.

So, while the Surface Pro 3 is lovely prestige product, and much better than the Surface Pro 2, I don’t think it’s going to give Lenovo, or Apple, any sleepless nights. It has a strong appeal, but it doesn’t look wide enough.

Pros: Works as a touch-tablet, ultraportable laptop (with Type Cover), a pen-operated slate, and a desktop PC (with Docking Station) Cons: Compromised weight, battery life and “lappability” compared to separate devices (fewer compromises than the Surface Pro 2), expensive if you don’t need the features

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