A safe upgrade for IT workers

I can take this Surface Pro 10 as it is, because we know Microsoft has some interesting consumer-oriented Surface hardware on the horizon. The company has invited the media to an event in Seattle on May 20 (the day before the Build conference kicks off), where we expect to see some consumer-oriented Surface devices powered by Qualcomm’s new technology. Snapdragon X Elite chips. It makes sense for Microsoft to take a bigger risk with consumer hardware instead of machines that IT staff have to manage.

Microsoft

The Surface Pro 10 for Business is basically just a chip upgrade over the previous model, but it’s still a thin, light and well-designed Windows tablet.

Pros

• Fast and efficient Core Ultra chips
• The NPU can handle basic AI tasks
• Slim design
• A solid 13-inch screen

Cons

• There are no significant design changes from previous models
• Only two USB-C ports
• Keyboard case and stylus sold separately
• Kickstand makes placement awkward

$1,200 at Microsoft

What’s New in Surface Pro 10 for Business?

Equipped with both Surface Pro 10 and Laptop 6 for Business Intel’s new Core Ultra chips. These are the company’s first processors to include an NPU to perform AI tasks. Granted, there aren’t many AI-driven features in Windows 11 yet, but we expect Microsoft to sell some new AI capabilities at Build.

For now, having NPU means you can use Windows Studio Effects, which can spice up your video chats with blurred backgrounds and other features. By tapping into the NPU instead of the CPU or GPU, Windows 11 can handle these tasks more efficiently without slowing down the rest of your system. Who wouldn’t want that?

Design-wise, the Surface Pro 10 is almost identical to the Pro 9 – the 13-inch 120Hz PixelSense display returns, and Microsoft still relies on its pebbled base to support the tablet. But at least the company has launched a new 1440p webcam with a wider field of view, which should lead to clearer video chats.

What’s so good about the Surface Pro 10?

Despite the lack of updates, the Surface Pro 10 is still a reliable and capable hybrid tablet. It offered fast performance, great display and great battery life. Here are my favorite things about him:

• Intel’s Core Ultra 135U chip is slightly faster than the 12th generation processors used in the Surface Pro 9: it reached 5772 points in PCMark 10 compared to 4010 points compared to its predecessor.

• That Core Ultra chip’s NPU also makes the Pro 10 more future-proof. It will apparently be ready to tackle AI features (developers like Adobe and Audacity are already working on a few).

• Microsoft’s PixelSense display still looks fantastic, with bold colors and enough brightness to use outdoors in direct sunlight.

• While I’d like to see a newer design, its case still feels shockingly thin and sturdy. Despite running Windows 11, it feels like an iPad.

• The Surface Pro 10 lasted 12 hours and 19 minutes on the PCMark 10 Modern Office battery test. That’s better than the vast majority of ultraportables we’ve seen this year, and only an hour less than the latest Dell XPS 13.

What’s wrong with the Surface Pro 10?

For a machine starting at $1,200, though, the Surface Pro 10 falls short in a few key ways:

• There are very few ports for accessories for the “Pro” device.

• His trademark stand is now just a pain to live with. It’s still awkward to hold in your lap, and it also makes the Pro 10 impossible to use on small surfaces (like my beloved standing desk laptop riser).

• It’s a Surface Pro keyboard yet sold separately and still over $140 (there are more expensive models if you want to really punish yourself). No one will ever buy a Surface tablet alone! Microsoft’s failure to recognize this basic truth has haunted these systems since their inception.

• This could be interrupted by the upcoming consumer-focused Surface Pro 10. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite chips are Arm-based, so they’ll have to run the Arm version of Windows 11 and rely on emulation for older apps. But their NPUs offer 45 TOPS (trillions of operations per second) for AI tasks, while Core Ultra chips only hit 10 TOPS on their NPUs. These differences may not matter as much for next year, but the Snapdragon Surface Pro 10 could be more future-proof as we see more AI features roll out.

Should you buy a Surface Pro 10 for business?

At this point, it’s best to wait and see how Microsoft’s new consumer-oriented Surface hardware performs. Pro 10 or Laptop 6. But as I said at the beginning, these systems are not really intended for consumers. They exist to give IT staff a way to update their inventory without significantly changing their workflow.