Microsoft’s new Surface Pro, the first hybrid Copilot+ PC tablet, doesn’t look too different from its predecessors. It’s still a sleek and solid tablet with a kickstand. But thanks to the slim bezels, the screen looks a little more impressive, and when paired with the $350 Surface Pro Flex keyboard, which lets you type wirelessly, it might be more useful on the go. Like the Copilot+ AI PC, its real value is under the hood, thanks to the 45TOPS neural processing unit in Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite and X Plus chips.
It’s hard to make a final decision about the Surface Pro just yet without fully testing its AI capabilities. Perhaps Microsoft’s Rollback feature, which can instantly undo everything you’ve done on your computer, can be really useful. In a short demo, I was able to delete several days of computer usage, including doodles from people attending the launch event. You may find some value in the NPU-enabled features in Photoshop and other applications. But there wasn’t much to see during my short hands-on session.
Honestly, it’s a little disappointing. This Surface Pro, which Microsoft is calling the 11th edition, was also an opportunity to rework the tablet’s outdated kickstand and overall design. Thinner screen bezels are not enough. The new Surface Pro Flex keyboard is also surprisingly expensive at $350 ($450 with the Slim Pen). Its upgrades are useful: You can detach it from the Surface Pro and still type, and it also has a more modern touchpad. However, this is not a standard feature for the Surface Pro, it’s just an added upgrade. The wireless typing experience was responsive in my tests, but the Flex Pro Flex Keyboard also feels a little flimsy on its own without the weight of the tablet holding it down.
Microsoft’s existing typing covers, the $140 Surface Pro Keyboard and the $180 Surface Pro Signature Keyboard, are still available and more attractive for the price. A recent set of computers was the perfect opportunity for the company to tie a keyboard cover to the Surface Pro, but unfortunately, that’s not happening yet. (I’ve been asking Microsoft about bundling keyboards with Surface tablets every year since they debuted—I guess I’ll have to keep asking.)
The Surface Pro starts at $999 with a Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus chip, 16GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD. You can also buy the OLED model, which includes the Snapdragon X Elite chip, for $1,500. This model can also be configured with up to 1 TB of storage and 32 GB of RAM.
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