Excellent! I've been waiting for a review of this. Planning to upgrade from a Surface Pro 2 to this during holiday shopping season or earlier next year.
I own a tablet which I also use for work. creating spreadsheets is not an issue with my tablet. Not having a problem in downloading apps and games and has a great specs and performance too! I got it from: http://www.consumerrunner.com/top-10-best-tablets/
Brett, any comments or tests on the reflectivity of the new screen? As I use my SP3 outdoors a lot as a tablet for work, the reflectivity of the screen was a big issue. It was significantly worse than many other of its peers, and worse yet, completely unusable in portrait with polarized sunglasses. I'm really hoping they addressed these issues with the SP4.
It's a bit brighter at least. But have you tried to use a screen protector on the SP3? It really should reduce reflectivity if you buy a matte protector.
The one I have on my surface pro 3 works perfectly with the pen, and the screen clarity is even improved in my opinion (no finger prints). On the Ativ smart pc (wacom) it had some impact on the pen, but on SP3 (n-trig) the pen works perfectly with the screen.
I haven't personally used the tablet, but they thinned the display stack, moving the screen closer to the surface of the glass. This usually results in less reflectivity (it's something a lot of the phone OEM's talked about a few years ago). Combine that with the slight increase in brightness and it should be a little better in sunlight.
AFAIK, the only screen type that doesn't have any polarization are AMOLED and CRT.
All LCD panel types, MVA, PVA, IPS, AHVA, TNT, etc. use a polarizing film layer, and they're usually oriented so that you can use them in landscape mode.
That may be true of many devices, but the iPad Air 2 is one of the better devices I've personally used outdoors in direct sunlight, and it has no orientation that doesn't work just fine with polarized glasses. We've actually tested many of the 'outdoor readable' tablets and most of them aren't even as good as the new iPad.
Well that certainly exceeded my expectations, this looks like the device to recommend to anyone with the money to buy one. $1600 isn't terribly overpriced, but it's a shame that there isn't a lower-priced version with Iris graphics. It would be nice if Intel could bring down the cost of Iris in future iterations.
Right, the tray price of the i5-6300U (no Iris) and the i5-6360U (Iris) is $19 difference. While I'm sure there is more to it than that, it sure seems like we could have gotten some cheaper Iris models.
Was there extensive load testing done to look for signs of throttling under very extended loads? I'm wondering if the Surface Book (as is actually thinner) is display some throttling compared to the SP4 due to the slightly lower numbers?
Panos said "Twice as powerful as the Macbook Pro". That's definitely not true of the CPU, but it also looks like the GPU isn't there either. Seems like he was, indeed, just doing some meaningless addition of CPU, GPU, and G5 chipset. Disappoint.Other than that detail it seems pretty sweet, good battery life, trackpad, keyboard, touch, everything. Just high cost
That "Twice as fast" was in reference to Graphics performance of the dGPU version of the Surface Book, in fact they could have stated 3 times as fast. It was also a way for Microsoft to poke fun at apples far fetched and borderline outright misleading claim that the Iphone 6s was "faster than 80% of the laptops out there" .. Its hard to say MS or Apple are being totally honest.. but at least Microsoft Surface book does have some benchmarks that substantiate the claim in specific circumstances. Remember Surface book is going after the Graphics tablet market... so their "Twice as fast" claim..even if its dGPU related, IS relevant. I dont think Apple can substantiate their claim about the 6s.. its been proven otherwise by many websites, comparing Like with Like results in laptop vs phone still shows even the fastest phones are a few years behind mid range laptops in terms of performance.
Great review, as I have expected. <a href=http://theunshut.com/2015/10/21/the-microsoft-surf... would add</a> the problem with lapability on these machines: the Surface Pro 4 and its predecessors are meant to be used on a table. They're not very comfortable on your lap because of the Type Cover support, and that makes them a bad choice in that situations. I use the laptop a lot on my couch and on the bed, before sleeping, and that is a problem :/
Are you using a keyboard in bed? I normally do tablet things on the couch and in bed and fold the keyboard back in favor of the touchscreen and onscreen keyboard. That said, when I needed the keyboard, I had no problem using them in bed or on the couch. Sure, it's not as comfortable as a standard laptop, but it is usable.
That's a common misconception. I would not expect the battery life to be significantly different except maybe slightly better on the heavy workload. The maximum TDP is 4.5 W it's not a measurement of how much power the CPU draws most of the time. I've seen many people make this same mistake. At the end of the day, it's the same CPU architecture and will likely be very similar in idle power draw.
Actually I thought AnandTech earlier commented that it should get better battery life under light load. Idle TDP is significantly lower. I'd be interested to see some test results as well on that.
I agree that in theory what you are saying is true. What I am looking for is data on what happens in practice. Modern chips are so complex in reality that I find it best to measure what they do rather than think about what they should do.
Ignore my idle TDP comment since that was Intel quoted average. I cannot find much info on TDP characteristics yet. Still should get better battery life but only a test could tell. Hopefully we'll see that here in future post...
Wow, that's awesome the base model is fanless! I assumed it still had a fan. Awesome the i7 model has what's really not a joke GPU too, and that a much more reasonable 128GB is standard! I think that base model is going to steal sales from the "regular" Surface 3...you go from 10.8 to 12.3", get a higher DPI, get a more powerful CPU and GPU, and it comes with Windows Pro too, which if you want it (I do for Bitlocker and remote desktop support) is sort of a $100 upgrade right there.
Port your Unlimited app to Windows already, Marvel! (It would work through a web browser, but...)
I like the design of the cooling system for the fan-ed models too...really damn clever.
Geez, I like just about everything about these. These are literally EXACTLY what I've wanted since the first tablets were ever announced, since the first time I used a PalmOS device back in the 90s :-) I can't believe how much improvement the whole line has seen in just a few years!
That's exactly what happened for me. I was going to buy my mother-in-law a maxed out Surface 3. This had been the plan for the past month. Then SP4 m3 appeared. I just pre-ordered the SP4 m3 about an hour ago. I know she's going to be 100x happier with it than the S3.
I really appreciate the quality of this review. I was looking over other Surface Pro 4 reviews today, and I was astounded at how poor the quality of the testing was in every review I've read before this one. Most didn't even bother to benchmark it in any way, and one claimed you had to throw the pen away when the battery ran out.
The main thing I'd like to see more on is how easy it is to use the Windows Desktop with the pen, in situations where there's no surface for a mouse. Most of the Windows software I use is unaware of the touch interface and does poorly with finger presses. Hopefully a pen addresses that.
I use a Surface Pro 2, and the pen is a godsend for desktop stuff. Apps & websites that aren't touch-aware treat the pen like a mouse input, works really well.
It works well for me on a SP3. The pen is much more precise than my stubby fingers! A webpage with many fill fields and controls on a 12" screen needs accuracy of touch. One problem: When a text input field is accessed without the cover the on screen keyboard is set for handwriting. There's no way for pen input of controls and an onscreen keyboard with keys. I've used the MS feedback form to ask for an option for pen control and onscreen keyboard with keys (not a writing surface) without response. There's many people using the SP3 and pen this way.
Do you have a comment on the relative efficiency of the Skylake GPU against Qualcomm and Imagination Tech solutions? It seems like absolute performance is obviously better, but performance per watt might be a lot worse? It's hard to say without knowing the total power envelope for the GPUs in the respective packages, though. Any input from our experts at Anandtech (or the commenters)?
Well, remember the chip's TDP is 15w -- which is going to be quite a bit more than most tablets. Honestly, I think it will be really interesting to see some benchmarks of core m skylake vs the arm tablets...
"It is a 2x2:2 802.11ac card, and it appears to be the exact same card used on the Surface Pro 3."
Great, so it's going to require a restart every other day when your wireless starts transferring slower than dial-up for no apparent reason. If there was *one* piece of hardware they seriously needed to re-evaluate in these great devices, it was the crapola wireless cards they put in them.
I haven't had any issues with my SP3 and two different routers. Please don't assume that it's a widespread problem just because it happens to you and a few others. Think about all the users who have an SP3 and don't complain because everything's fine. Try switching your router. Also try connecting on the 5GHz band instead of the 2.4GHz band (if your router supports dual bands) since the 2.4 band is more prone to interference from microwave ovens, portable phones, remote controlled toys and other devices that operate around that frequency. Even if you don't have these, your neighbors might and could affect your connectivity. Another thing to play with is the channel your router is using. People often leave this on default and this can lead to very bad connectivity when a bunch of routers around you suddenly are more heavily used during peak times. There are apps (both desktop and mobile) you can use to determine the best channel to use at your particular location and at a certain time. If you do use one of these, just make sure that you are comparing the actual band (2.4/5) you will be using with the SP3.
Yes select the band. the single feature they added to the driver at around fix attempt 12.
It's a high end device and it derps along on my 5Ghz (after setting it on a separate SSID because it has no clue on dual homed 2.4/5 routers) at 70 something megabit maximum while a 2 year older laptop is jamming out with 200+ megabit transfers. That's best case when it's not loosing connection out of sleep or maxing out at under 10 megabit. (on 1.8 acres with little to no signal bleed from the neighbors) The chip is terrible. stop apologizing for it.
I was never able to use the 5ghz band in my router with my SP3, the internet was so slow, slower than dialup. I have an Asus 4x4 2400ac. I also experience the same problem at my office with a diferent router.
The "midrange" model(i.e., the one in the review) seem like the one to get. I was originally looking at the i7 model with 8GB RAM and a 256GB SSD because of the better graphics, but I´m not sure if it´s worth the price difference.
I´m glad they improved the display and made it more accurate. I work in graphics design so a color accurate display is very important to me.
Nice Review. I might be looking for something to replace my SPro2
Just a quick #correction. The Surface Dock first appeared with the Surface Pro 2 model. It wasn't available at launch, but came out 2 months later or so. I have one. :)
What is the implication of having a 'white point' of ~7.3K when the target is ~6.5K while having the other criteria with a dE= ~1.5? Is a recalibration necessary?
Wow, now that is a great product, no wonder Dell and HP are agreeing to sell it, they must have been extremely worried when they saw pre-production versions...
If they had an 8GB version that was under $1000, I would really have thought about getting this. It's obviously a great machine, but it's out of my price range once configured with a reasonable amount of RAM.
Great review Brett! So much better than those on other websites that were published today... I was afraid that after Anand left it would be difficult to see the same quality reviews on such devices, but I am happy to see that the great standards are kept. Will an i7 model be reviewed? Or at least benchmark be added like for SP3? That would be great, I am really curious to see how see if the i7 is as silent as the i5 and does not throttle like the SP3 one, and thus show a consistently better performance, not to mention the better GPU.
Many would also be interested in m3 battery life and how it compares to previous i3. Also since it's fanless it's bit different so question is if it gets hot. I wonder why the A/C charger is less watt for the m3?
Sooo since we have you and NO ONE has answered it yet, what RAM is the surface using? I've looked at half a dozen reviews and no one has said whether it's DDR3 or 4.
Great review - I like how you've expanded your comparison across more tiers of devices. I'm constantly trying to judge "do I need to put the tablet or phone down and use my PC as it's much faster?". I'd recommend you expand it a bit and show the tiers on each test, such as high end desk top, ultra portables, surface, phones.
"Core i5 with a 256 GB SSD and 8 GB of RAM - for $1299. That is the price of a good Ultrabook"
I keep being puzzled by this kind of statement lately. I just bought an Asus UX305LA, not the Core M version, an i5-5200U with 256BG SSD and 8GB RAM. It cost me $750. It's built of aluminum. Most reviews praised everything in the Core-M UX305 except the CPU power. The i5 version hast it all: CPU, RAM, SSD.
Why are most tech sites still pretending one needs $1K+ to get a decent ultrabook? The UX305LA costs $250 less and it's a great ultrabook for a great price.
I just don't get it. Is Asus being shunned or something? Somebody please explain.
Because you're not measuring by the same metrics. Sure, you got an i5-5200U with a 256GB SSD and 8GB of ram for $750. But it's also not in a tablet form factor, weighs almost 3 lbs, no touch screen and no native stylus input. By that note I could get a full mobile i7 with a discrete GPU and a 17" monitor for less than $1000 too, or a powerhouse desktop that blows them all away for less than $800.
You're focusing on compute power per dollar, they're focusing on portability and form factor. You're not going to get sub-2lbs with a touch screen and this kind of processing power for less than $1000.
Hmmm, that makes a lot of sense, thanks. I definitely am thinking on compute power per dollar terms. I guess once ultrabooks got to Macbook Air levels of portability, that's portable enough, for ME. So, once that point was reached, I don't need to pay more and started thinking of performance per dollar. I could use something more portable, but 2.6 pounds is light enough for my use.
You perfectly clarified why I think how I think. Thanks for letting me see that :)
Never bought or looked into surfaces much, but this is damn impressive. The form factor is the best I've seen, performance is surprisingly good, the screen seems fantastic, and storage is blazing fast.
There are some downsides though. At this price, DDR4 should be used (what's the difference, $10?) that would put graphics performance up another notch. Also, at least 1 USB C should exist. And battery life is good, and better at heavy loads, but if it was better at everything jt would feel better.
As it is right now, pricing is ridiculous in the sense that they charge $200 to go from 8 to 16gb RAM, or $400 to go from 256gb storage to 512gb. The margins on those upgrades must be 50-80%.
Ridiculous pricing scheme aside, the i5 with 8gb and 256gb is a decent value, the m3 model is pretty cool, and if you are willing to pay top dollar, the highest end models can't be beat. I think the surface exemplifies what is possible in 2015 the same way the MacBook Air did around 2012.
You're definitely paying a premium for the hardware, but the SP3, the macbook air, etc are all competing in the same premium product space. It's just the nature of the beast, though I guess we have to stop calling it the "apple tax" these days.
I was thinking the same thing about a benchmark for the pro 4 i7 6650U Iris 540 256gb 16gb ram. I pre order one. I was looking at the high end low end and this was the one
So we all know that IGZO technology was created by Sharp. However, I remember reading that Samsung made an investment in Sharp a few years ago. But are you sure that this is a really a Samsung branded IGZO screen, and not a Sharp screen? Does it perhaps come out of a joint venture factory, or did Samsung perhaps license the IGZO process and are producing it in their own factory?
How is Windows 10 the worst part of it? I have a hard time imagining that you'd rather use Windows 8.x or 7 since both are significantly less usable as either desktop or tablet OSs, least of all as both.
Does the USB port on the Surface Pro 4 charger charge mobile phones that support Qualcomm Quickcharge?
The charger for the Surface Pro 3 doesn't.
It just cycles the charge on and off if the phone is requesting a lot of current and the phone never charges. Got it confirmed by MS support that it wasn't working with some phones. My own testing limited it to not supporting Quick charge supported devices. A shame as it was really handy not to have to bring my phone charge as well the surface charger when travelling before I upgraded to a Quick charge enabled phone. Initially my Surface charger did charge my new phone, but the Surface charger itself failed quickly after the upgrade. My replacement charger MS sent me very quickly didn't charge my new phone. But it charges any phone or USB device not quick charged enabled.
Have tested with a few different SP3 chargers in stores that has shown this to be the case across the board.
What about power to drive external monitors through the dock? I have a pair of 24" 1440 line monitors on my desk. I presume that I would need the i7 to have enough muscle to drive them.
Nah, the regular GPU will drive those just fine in the Windows UI. The windows UI takes almost zero GPU horsepower, it only really performs basic operations that are probably largely done in fixed function hw anyways.
I have literally no use for one of these, but damned if i don't want one...
Alas, i've got my christmas gift to myself money earmarked for a desktop upgrade to Skylake (need something to power the 980ti i just dropped way too much money on lol).
it would be nice to have a keyboard case for the surface pro 4 to use it as laptop as well. a keyboard with an extra battery and storage that can be attach like the surface book
well to be accurate I guess it came out around the time of the SP2 (and worked with the original SP). Still before the SP3. We've been using them in the office with our SP2s, and we got the whole thing before the SP3 came out
"24 Watt(Core m3) or 36 Watt (Core i5/i7) A/C Adapter with 5 Watt USB port"
Does that mean only with i5/i7 you have an extra USB port in the charger? I assume though SP3 charger also works with SP4 or you could buy it separately.
Not even the slightest bit true. I really wish people would stop saying this. My wife uses her iPad for work all the time - and for things that PC's can't or don't do well at all, like capturing video and taking photos.
Which benchmarks? Because even going the most charitable route and assuming everything Apple stated about it is true, it's still trounced by the Surface Pro 3 in CPU compute. It does beat the SP3 in graphics workloads, but seeing these numbers I'm certain that the SP4 is more powerful than the iPad Pro.
(I assume that the iPad Pro is roughly 2x the peformance of the iPad Air 2, which is what Apple stated)
I'm talking strictly about chip performance. The web script tests show iPad Air 2 trailing about 50% yet those tests are too software dependant to be a good indicator of chip potential. Yet, despite of that the claimed 80% CPU performance buff by the A9X should make it comparable to these results.
From the Manhattan and T Rex numbers though, we can see that iPad pro (around double the iPad Air 2 GPU performance) should score higher than this Surface model.
Sure. But then again i play final fantasy 14 on my i3 surface pro 3. The ipads pro may have "more" gpu power but i can run REAL games on my SP3. Steam. Enough said.
Really interested in the Iris model with 64MB eDRAM. Intel said 128MB was overprovisioned, so if it gets close to Iris Pro performance that would be neat.
Thanks for a great article - read several SP4 reviews in the last few days from different websites and none came close to factually addressing the major issues and questions as well as yours.
Agreed. Anandtech has always gone into an in-depth look from a hardware perspective. I feel most "reviews" no a days are more tech blog style reviews which focus on general daily use.
What a wonderful review, thank you. And the technical knowledge level of your commenters here is out of this world. This looks like a true PERSONAL computer at last. I find myself at a crossroads here. I am a gamer but I find myself drifting towards PS4 for hardcore gaming and PC for indy and classic titles. Should I get this? I travel a lot and I would love to carry my personal PC with me. I never lug my Alienware with me as it's too cumbersome and my company supplied laptop (X1 Carbon) won't allow me to install anything. Looking at this and Surface Book. Does this allow for a decent gaming experience (pre 2000 and indies) as well as productivity? Any thoughts?
Thanks Brett, I have been looking forward to this review.
I know that you don’t have an i7-6650U version to test, and said that you would if you got a chance. But just wanted to let you know that I too am interested in seeing this.
In particular I think it would be interesting to see what effect the Iris 540 has on the DOTA 2 throttling test.
Brett, Could you comment on using this as a laptop. Meaning actually sitting on the couch and having it in your lap, or even with one ankle over your knee.
I'm just curious if it's too awkward due to the weight in the back and the kickstand design. Thanks.
I'll join the chorus of congratulations - thanks for giving us the detail we crave on this impressive machine.
Just one question - so far I've only ever used passively-cooled tablets because I just can't abide fan noise at night. You say the fan on this i5 version only comes on when doing heavy work, but could you also comment on how quickly it switches off afterwards, and whether (say) watching a 1080p video for 30 or 90 minutes makes it kick in? If it's completely silent in all tablet use cases, I'll definitely plump for it over the m3 version (esp. if the battery life is about the same).
The Surface continues to get more interesting. Unfortunately it still runs Windows, which is a nonstarter for many of us. We can only hope Apple continues to keep pace a little ways back in its new post-Jobs role of follower.
How is the Surface a non-starter because it 'still runs Windows'? Wouldn't Windows make your laptop/desktop a non-starter as well?
I used to live by the iPad and high-end Android tablets, but after buying a cheap Bay Trail Atom tablet, there's no way I'd go back to ARM-based tablets for doing any serious work on the go.
From a business point of view, the iPad Pro doesn't make much sense, A lot of high end software are used in Windows and having an x86 based tablet to use those same programs that's used on desktop/workstations makes more sense in getting the job done while on the go. I haven't seen doctor offices use iPads yet, there's one down the street from me that use those Lenovo Yogas or similar.
The Blackberry Playbook was supposed to be what the Surface is now, the iPad is a bit of a "toy" in comparison.
Thanks for an excellent review Brett, would be interesting to see the battery life tests with m3 version, hopefully you can get hold of it later and add the data to the table and also a pipeline post.
Dude when i read your comment i went straight to pcmag.com. OMG what a disappointment that was. And the nonstop ads on my phone( Company issued iphone 6 which i hate btw. I was happier with my $35 lumia 635). Anandtech in my opinion is a good as it always has been. If you dont like the reviews here just go away.
What is taking so long on the Surface Book review? Pretty much everyone else has theirs out. The Surface 4 review should have come out AFTER that. That's no where near as significant of a release.
Core m3 -Performance should be quite a lot better and actually not far off from i5 SP3 -Battery life is probably similar to Core i5 versions. Ideally it should be better but lets see how good Intel does with it -This is going to get stiff competition from the A9X chips. It'll probably get beaten in graphics but be better on CPU
Core i7 with Iris 540 -30-40% faster in graphics than Core i5 with HD 520. Closer to 30% if eDRAM affects TDP available to CPU/GPU too much, 40% if it doesn't. On the Iris Pro chips the 128MB costs them 3W, 3W is a lot for a 15W chip -10-15% better than Core i5 CPU, with ~5% due to eDRAM -Battery life might end up somewhat worse. eDRAM adds 0.25W power to idle power.
Thats right, Skylake has a huge improvement with powergates. It can disable most parts, which are currently not utilised, including the extra 24 execution units and eDRAM in the HD 540, which means no differance between HD 520 and HD 540 during light tasks.
BTW, for the graphics, the lower precision support on OpenGL ES I think adds ~30% to the performance. Skylake does support 16-bit FP, but I can't tell for sure if it uses them on Windows. That's a point to keep in mind when comparing against iPad Pros.
It seems based on GFXBench results Intel is optimizing their software/hardware stack for mobile benchmarks. That's why there's a big gain for Skylake. And why Core M performs relatively good.
I'm also interested to see a update review for the m3 version. Would like to see what the performance is like and if battery life is improved. That's probably the version I'd be looking at as the fanless design is super appealing to me.
Comprehensive and thorough review. I missed a mention of one thing though - the fact that the rear camera of the SP4 is now auto-focus, unlike the ludicrous fixed-focus version in the SP3.
It is at last possible to take clear photos of documents with a Surface Pro device.
I was really looking forward to ordering one until I saw all this hell breaking loose. Gives me bad flashbacks of the SP1 I had to send back due to bug overload. Hope 3 versions later it would be better, but maybe not...
SP4 was pretty good. I didn't have any real issues with it. There was one issue with the pre-production units which was fixed for release, and the release one has not exhibited that issue.
Great review. As usual, you guys delve deeper than the competition. One question: did you have any success connecting the SP4 to external high resolution (ie > 1920 x 1080) displays? I just picked one up and for the life of me can't get it to drive my display higher than 1920x1080 even though my SP3 drives it at 2560x1080.
As of 11/6/2016 with newest insider Windows 10 and appropriate drivers, this product does NOT deliver. Not only does the USB controller not function correctly, it does not support dual 4k monitors as advertised. I have spent hours and hours with Microsoft technical support and they are unable to help me. I just called one last time, and they said there isn't even an ETA on it being fixed. I will change my review if their engineers can ever get the product's issues resolved. Until then, I would stay FAR away from this device. If I could give "0" stars, I would have done so.
iPad Pro GFXBench 3 Offscreen results: Manhattan = 84 FPS, T-Rex = 166 FPS. As you can see from above, it beats the mid-level Surface Pro 4. I'd love to see a full shootout between the two.
Could we maybe get an updated review of the core i7 version specifically? I want to know how well the thermals are handled with the iris pro (crystalwell) graphics.
^This! I'm basing my purchase decision on what Anandtech has to say about the i7 and thermals! I have the original Surface Pro and had my eyes set on the SP3 until I saw the review here.
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Shadow7037932 - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
Excellent! I've been waiting for a review of this. Planning to upgrade from a Surface Pro 2 to this during holiday shopping season or earlier next year.boozed - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
Okayhasseb64 - Thursday, October 22, 2015 - link
Okay?aoshiryaev - Monday, October 26, 2015 - link
Okay!theduckofdeath - Tuesday, November 10, 2015 - link
Okay...zeeBomb - Wednesday, November 11, 2015 - link
OKAY.Der2 - Wednesday, November 11, 2015 - link
ykaOjuliustaylor - Saturday, November 14, 2015 - link
I own a tablet which I also use for work. creating spreadsheets is not an issue with my tablet. Not having a problem in downloading apps and games and has a great specs and performance too! I got it from: http://www.consumerrunner.com/top-10-best-tablets/zhenya00 - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
Brett, any comments or tests on the reflectivity of the new screen? As I use my SP3 outdoors a lot as a tablet for work, the reflectivity of the screen was a big issue. It was significantly worse than many other of its peers, and worse yet, completely unusable in portrait with polarized sunglasses. I'm really hoping they addressed these issues with the SP4.Luc K - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
It's a bit brighter at least. But have you tried to use a screen protector on the SP3? It really should reduce reflectivity if you buy a matte protector.digiguy - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
Yes, a matte screen protector is a must. I couldn't imagine my SP3 without and it makes it usable outdoorsbaggodonuts - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
Won't the matte screen protector interfere with text clarity, stylus accuracy and factory color calibration though?digiguy - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
The one I have on my surface pro 3 works perfectly with the pen, and the screen clarity is even improved in my opinion (no finger prints). On the Ativ smart pc (wacom) it had some impact on the pen, but on SP3 (n-trig) the pen works perfectly with the screen.illustrious toilet seat - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
Which matte screen protector are you using?MrPhilo - Saturday, October 24, 2015 - link
Yeah what make?i4mt3hwin - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
I haven't personally used the tablet, but they thinned the display stack, moving the screen closer to the surface of the glass. This usually results in less reflectivity (it's something a lot of the phone OEM's talked about a few years ago). Combine that with the slight increase in brightness and it should be a little better in sunlight.MrPhilo - Saturday, October 24, 2015 - link
JsjsheueIII-V - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
Seems a bit odd that they'd have the polarizing film oriented that way.meacupla - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
AFAIK, the only screen type that doesn't have any polarization are AMOLED and CRT.All LCD panel types, MVA, PVA, IPS, AHVA, TNT, etc. use a polarizing film layer, and they're usually oriented so that you can use them in landscape mode.
zhenya00 - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
That may be true of many devices, but the iPad Air 2 is one of the better devices I've personally used outdoors in direct sunlight, and it has no orientation that doesn't work just fine with polarized glasses. We've actually tested many of the 'outdoor readable' tablets and most of them aren't even as good as the new iPad.Walkop - Sunday, October 25, 2015 - link
The iPad Air 2 has a anti-reflective coating on the display. That's why it's so good at being anti-reflective.Look at DisplayMate's reviews for ideas on display reflectance. They do indepth testing.
Penti - Thursday, October 22, 2015 - link
LGs WOLED uses a polarizer. It's only when the OLED sub-pixels generates the color itself they are not needed.Zizy - Monday, October 26, 2015 - link
Are you sure? LG has color filters, but they don't require any polarization for that.Nokia does use polarizers on OLEDs as well though, but these are used to minimize reflections.
nathanddrews - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
Well that certainly exceeded my expectations, this looks like the device to recommend to anyone with the money to buy one. $1600 isn't terribly overpriced, but it's a shame that there isn't a lower-priced version with Iris graphics. It would be nice if Intel could bring down the cost of Iris in future iterations.jordanclock - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
So you want a cheaper version with the top-end CPU?mkaibear - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
Or alternatively an i5-6360U? The top-end CPU isn't the only chip with Iris Pro.nathanddrews - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
Right, the tray price of the i5-6300U (no Iris) and the i5-6360U (Iris) is $19 difference. While I'm sure there is more to it than that, it sure seems like we could have gotten some cheaper Iris models.nandnandnand - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
GT3e isn't even the best Skylake graphics. Where is GT4e?Brett Howse - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
That's not on 15W parts.nathanddrews - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
Maybe we'll see a mobile Xeon Surface Pro Drafting Edition? For the low, low price of $3,999.tipoo - Friday, October 23, 2015 - link
These use 15W CPUs, Iris Pro is still exclusive to full wattage models, not 15-28W ones.tipoo - Friday, October 23, 2015 - link
There is however an Iris with 64MB eDRAM for this, which the top end SP4 gets.limitedaccess - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
Was there extensive load testing done to look for signs of throttling under very extended loads? I'm wondering if the Surface Book (as is actually thinner) is display some throttling compared to the SP4 due to the slightly lower numbers?With the SP3 i3 test (http://www.anandtech.com/show/8287/first-look-the-... there was no throttling under 1 run of the DOTA 2 test (assuming the same test) but further passes exposed this.
Also wondering how the orientation of the device may affect behavior as this was on the features talked about for Skylake.
Any chance of testing the pen latency as was done with the SP3 review? (http://www.anandtech.com/show/8077/microsoft-surfa...
limitedaccess - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
Just realized there was more data regarding thermals but in a different section.randomlinh - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
" the Surface draws heat draws heat" - I believe there's an extra "draws heat" on the cooling section :)tipoo - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
Panos said "Twice as powerful as the Macbook Pro". That's definitely not true of the CPU, but it also looks like the GPU isn't there either. Seems like he was, indeed, just doing some meaningless addition of CPU, GPU, and G5 chipset. Disappoint.Other than that detail it seems pretty sweet, good battery life, trackpad, keyboard, touch, everything. Just high costtipoo - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
Whoops, that was for the Surface Book, but still true.Tigashark - Monday, November 9, 2015 - link
That "Twice as fast" was in reference to Graphics performance of the dGPU version of the Surface Book, in fact they could have stated 3 times as fast.It was also a way for Microsoft to poke fun at apples far fetched and borderline outright misleading claim that the Iphone 6s was "faster than 80% of the laptops out there" .. Its hard to say MS or Apple are being totally honest.. but at least Microsoft Surface book does have some benchmarks that substantiate the claim in specific circumstances.
Remember Surface book is going after the Graphics tablet market... so their "Twice as fast" claim..even if its dGPU related, IS relevant.
I dont think Apple can substantiate their claim about the 6s.. its been proven otherwise by many websites, comparing Like with Like results in laptop vs phone still shows even the fastest phones are a few years behind mid range laptops in terms of performance.
javipas - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
Great review, as I have expected. <a href=http://theunshut.com/2015/10/21/the-microsoft-surf... would add</a> the problem with lapability on these machines: the Surface Pro 4 and its predecessors are meant to be used on a table. They're not very comfortable on your lap because of the Type Cover support, and that makes them a bad choice in that situations. I use the laptop a lot on my couch and on the bed, before sleeping, and that is a problem :/ymcpa - Monday, October 26, 2015 - link
Are you using a keyboard in bed? I normally do tablet things on the couch and in bed and fold the keyboard back in favor of the touchscreen and onscreen keyboard. That said, when I needed the keyboard, I had no problem using them in bed or on the couch. Sure, it's not as comfortable as a standard laptop, but it is usable.Dawgmatix - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
Any data on the battery life of the core m3 version? With 4.5w tdp I would expect better battery life than the I5.Brett Howse - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
That's a common misconception. I would not expect the battery life to be significantly different except maybe slightly better on the heavy workload. The maximum TDP is 4.5 W it's not a measurement of how much power the CPU draws most of the time. I've seen many people make this same mistake. At the end of the day, it's the same CPU architecture and will likely be very similar in idle power draw.Luc K - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
Actually I thought AnandTech earlier commented that it should get better battery life under light load. Idle TDP is significantly lower. I'd be interested to see some test results as well on that.extide - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
No, the iidle TDP is going to be almost the same. It's the same silicon guys...What Brett said is exactly correct. There will be some difference in battery life under heavy CPU load, but that's about it.
Also really the battery draw is dominated by the screen, not the CPU.
Walkop - Sunday, October 25, 2015 - link
It isn't dominated by the screen when you have a 15w chip under heavy load.Dawgmatix - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
I agree that in theory what you are saying is true. What I am looking for is data on what happens in practice. Modern chips are so complex in reality that I find it best to measure what they do rather than think about what they should do.Strunf - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
It works at lower frequency among other optimizations. It should offer better battery life in real world use.Luc K - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
Ignore my idle TDP comment since that was Intel quoted average. I cannot find much info on TDP characteristics yet. Still should get better battery life but only a test could tell. Hopefully we'll see that here in future post...Cerif27 - Friday, October 23, 2015 - link
I would love to know that as well as for the i7 version. I have an i7 preordered but if the battery life is even worse I might downgrade.randomlinh - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
Are there any NAND numbers on the 128GB options (or even just each storage option)?Oyeve - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
Nice! It's also good to see my Dell Venue Pro 11 does so well in these tests!Wolfpup - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
Wow, that's awesome the base model is fanless! I assumed it still had a fan. Awesome the i7 model has what's really not a joke GPU too, and that a much more reasonable 128GB is standard! I think that base model is going to steal sales from the "regular" Surface 3...you go from 10.8 to 12.3", get a higher DPI, get a more powerful CPU and GPU, and it comes with Windows Pro too, which if you want it (I do for Bitlocker and remote desktop support) is sort of a $100 upgrade right there.Port your Unlimited app to Windows already, Marvel! (It would work through a web browser, but...)
I like the design of the cooling system for the fan-ed models too...really damn clever.
Geez, I like just about everything about these. These are literally EXACTLY what I've wanted since the first tablets were ever announced, since the first time I used a PalmOS device back in the 90s :-) I can't believe how much improvement the whole line has seen in just a few years!
Stocklone - Thursday, October 22, 2015 - link
That's exactly what happened for me. I was going to buy my mother-in-law a maxed out Surface 3. This had been the plan for the past month. Then SP4 m3 appeared. I just pre-ordered the SP4 m3 about an hour ago. I know she's going to be 100x happier with it than the S3.GusSmed - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
I really appreciate the quality of this review. I was looking over other Surface Pro 4 reviews today, and I was astounded at how poor the quality of the testing was in every review I've read before this one. Most didn't even bother to benchmark it in any way, and one claimed you had to throw the pen away when the battery ran out.The main thing I'd like to see more on is how easy it is to use the Windows Desktop with the pen, in situations where there's no surface for a mouse. Most of the Windows software I use is unaware of the touch interface and does poorly with finger presses. Hopefully a pen addresses that.
Brett Howse - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
The pen works well for that.KateH - Thursday, October 22, 2015 - link
I use a Surface Pro 2, and the pen is a godsend for desktop stuff. Apps & websites that aren't touch-aware treat the pen like a mouse input, works really well.johneg - Wednesday, November 4, 2015 - link
It works well for me on a SP3. The pen is much more precise than my stubby fingers! A webpage with many fill fields and controls on a 12" screen needs accuracy of touch. One problem: When a text input field is accessed without the cover the on screen keyboard is set for handwriting. There's no way for pen input of controls and an onscreen keyboard with keys. I've used the MS feedback form to ask for an option for pen control and onscreen keyboard with keys (not a writing surface) without response. There's many people using the SP3 and pen this way.Drumsticks - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
Do you have a comment on the relative efficiency of the Skylake GPU against Qualcomm and Imagination Tech solutions? It seems like absolute performance is obviously better, but performance per watt might be a lot worse? It's hard to say without knowing the total power envelope for the GPUs in the respective packages, though. Any input from our experts at Anandtech (or the commenters)?extide - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
Well, remember the chip's TDP is 15w -- which is going to be quite a bit more than most tablets. Honestly, I think it will be really interesting to see some benchmarks of core m skylake vs the arm tablets...Der2 - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
Microsoft wins.EXCELLENT Review Brett! Wow, Skylake really did add great performance to the surface, and not to forget windows 10 onboard with a better display. Woo!
Mushkins - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
"It is a 2x2:2 802.11ac card, and it appears to be the exact same card used on the Surface Pro 3."Great, so it's going to require a restart every other day when your wireless starts transferring slower than dial-up for no apparent reason. If there was *one* piece of hardware they seriously needed to re-evaluate in these great devices, it was the crapola wireless cards they put in them.
Gunbuster - Thursday, October 22, 2015 - link
This! This! So much this. Did someone accidentally buy a billion Avastar chips back in the Surface Pro 1 days? It's incomprehensible.adrians - Thursday, October 22, 2015 - link
I haven't had any issues with my SP3 and two different routers. Please don't assume that it's a widespread problem just because it happens to you and a few others. Think about all the users who have an SP3 and don't complain because everything's fine. Try switching your router. Also try connecting on the 5GHz band instead of the 2.4GHz band (if your router supports dual bands) since the 2.4 band is more prone to interference from microwave ovens, portable phones, remote controlled toys and other devices that operate around that frequency. Even if you don't have these, your neighbors might and could affect your connectivity. Another thing to play with is the channel your router is using. People often leave this on default and this can lead to very bad connectivity when a bunch of routers around you suddenly are more heavily used during peak times. There are apps (both desktop and mobile) you can use to determine the best channel to use at your particular location and at a certain time. If you do use one of these, just make sure that you are comparing the actual band (2.4/5) you will be using with the SP3.Gunbuster - Friday, October 23, 2015 - link
Yes select the band. the single feature they added to the driver at around fix attempt 12.It's a high end device and it derps along on my 5Ghz (after setting it on a separate SSID because it has no clue on dual homed 2.4/5 routers) at 70 something megabit maximum while a 2 year older laptop is jamming out with 200+ megabit transfers. That's best case when it's not loosing connection out of sleep or maxing out at under 10 megabit. (on 1.8 acres with little to no signal bleed from the neighbors) The chip is terrible. stop apologizing for it.
Ngmk - Sunday, October 25, 2015 - link
I was never able to use the 5ghz band in my router with my SP3, the internet was so slow, slower than dialup. I have an Asus 4x4 2400ac. I also experience the same problem at my office with a diferent router.Luc K - Saturday, October 24, 2015 - link
I have 2 SP3's and I never had wifi problems with either one of them on various networks (only used 2.4 so far).Laxaa - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
The "midrange" model(i.e., the one in the review) seem like the one to get. I was originally looking at the i7 model with 8GB RAM and a 256GB SSD because of the better graphics, but I´m not sure if it´s worth the price difference.I´m glad they improved the display and made it more accurate. I work in graphics design so a color accurate display is very important to me.
blueknigh7 - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
Nice Review. I might be looking for something to replace my SPro2Just a quick #correction. The Surface Dock first appeared with the Surface Pro 2 model. It wasn't available at launch, but came out 2 months later or so. I have one. :)
Brett Howse - Thursday, October 22, 2015 - link
Sorry brain cramp there. Updated the text thanks!dafreak - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
What is the implication of having a 'white point' of ~7.3K when the target is ~6.5K while having the other criteria with a dE= ~1.5? Is a recalibration necessary?Speedfriend - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
Wow, now that is a great product, no wonder Dell and HP are agreeing to sell it, they must have been extremely worried when they saw pre-production versions...dqniel - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
If they had an 8GB version that was under $1000, I would really have thought about getting this. It's obviously a great machine, but it's out of my price range once configured with a reasonable amount of RAM.Gunbuster - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
Only thing not to like is they stuck with that abysmal Marvel Avastar WiFi.digiguy - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
Great review Brett! So much better than those on other websites that were published today... I was afraid that after Anand left it would be difficult to see the same quality reviews on such devices, but I am happy to see that the great standards are kept. Will an i7 model be reviewed? Or at least benchmark be added like for SP3? That would be great, I am really curious to see how see if the i7 is as silent as the i5 and does not throttle like the SP3 one, and thus show a consistently better performance, not to mention the better GPU.Brett Howse - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
Hopefully I can get an i7 for review but we'll see.Luc K - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
Many would also be interested in m3 battery life and how it compares to previous i3. Also since it's fanless it's bit different so question is if it gets hot. I wonder why the A/C charger is less watt for the m3?ragenalien - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
Sooo since we have you and NO ONE has answered it yet, what RAM is the surface using? I've looked at half a dozen reviews and no one has said whether it's DDR3 or 4.Brett Howse - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
Check again. It's listed in the spec table on page 1.johneg - Wednesday, November 4, 2015 - link
Yes, I'm interested in how quiet a i7 will be.Sweepr - Sunday, October 25, 2015 - link
First HD 540 Iris results here: http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=3778979...robl - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
Great review - I like how you've expanded your comparison across more tiers of devices. I'm constantly trying to judge "do I need to put the tablet or phone down and use my PC as it's much faster?". I'd recommend you expand it a bit and show the tiers on each test, such as high end desk top, ultra portables, surface, phones.euskalzabe - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
"Core i5 with a 256 GB SSD and 8 GB of RAM - for $1299. That is the price of a good Ultrabook"I keep being puzzled by this kind of statement lately. I just bought an Asus UX305LA, not the Core M version, an i5-5200U with 256BG SSD and 8GB RAM. It cost me $750. It's built of aluminum. Most reviews praised everything in the Core-M UX305 except the CPU power. The i5 version hast it all: CPU, RAM, SSD.
Why are most tech sites still pretending one needs $1K+ to get a decent ultrabook? The UX305LA costs $250 less and it's a great ultrabook for a great price.
I just don't get it. Is Asus being shunned or something? Somebody please explain.
Mushkins - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
Because you're not measuring by the same metrics. Sure, you got an i5-5200U with a 256GB SSD and 8GB of ram for $750. But it's also not in a tablet form factor, weighs almost 3 lbs, no touch screen and no native stylus input. By that note I could get a full mobile i7 with a discrete GPU and a 17" monitor for less than $1000 too, or a powerhouse desktop that blows them all away for less than $800.You're focusing on compute power per dollar, they're focusing on portability and form factor. You're not going to get sub-2lbs with a touch screen and this kind of processing power for less than $1000.
euskalzabe - Thursday, October 22, 2015 - link
Hmmm, that makes a lot of sense, thanks. I definitely am thinking on compute power per dollar terms. I guess once ultrabooks got to Macbook Air levels of portability, that's portable enough, for ME. So, once that point was reached, I don't need to pay more and started thinking of performance per dollar. I could use something more portable, but 2.6 pounds is light enough for my use.You perfectly clarified why I think how I think. Thanks for letting me see that :)
TallestJon96 - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
Never bought or looked into surfaces much, but this is damn impressive. The form factor is the best I've seen, performance is surprisingly good, the screen seems fantastic, and storage is blazing fast.There are some downsides though. At this price, DDR4 should be used (what's the difference, $10?) that would put graphics performance up another notch. Also, at least 1 USB C should exist. And battery life is good, and better at heavy loads, but if it was better at everything jt would feel better.
As it is right now, pricing is ridiculous in the sense that they charge $200 to go from 8 to 16gb RAM, or $400 to go from 256gb storage to 512gb. The margins on those upgrades must be 50-80%.
Ridiculous pricing scheme aside, the i5 with 8gb and 256gb is a decent value, the m3 model is pretty cool, and if you are willing to pay top dollar, the highest end models can't be beat. I think the surface exemplifies what is possible in 2015 the same way the MacBook Air did around 2012.
Mushkins - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
You're definitely paying a premium for the hardware, but the SP3, the macbook air, etc are all competing in the same premium product space. It's just the nature of the beast, though I guess we have to stop calling it the "apple tax" these days.Zoldyck - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
Great article, but would you mind adding graphics benchmarks of Surface Pro 4 i7-6650U , and how it compares to Surface Book with dgpu?jaime4272 - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
I was thinking the same thing about a benchmark for the pro 4 i7 6650U Iris 540 256gb 16gb ram. I pre order one. I was looking at the high end low end and this was the onedigiguy - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
See the reply by Brett to my similar question above....wintermute000 - Thursday, October 22, 2015 - link
wonder with that anemic GPU whether it would have been better to make it non-convertible and include an Iris Pro insteadLaxaa - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
Brett, how do you think the 256GB of storage will hold over time? And what's the available storage(after OS)?cbf - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
"Samsung IGZO Display"So we all know that IGZO technology was created by Sharp. However, I remember reading that Samsung made an investment in Sharp a few years ago. But are you sure that this is a really a Samsung branded IGZO screen, and not a Sharp screen? Does it perhaps come out of a joint venture factory, or did Samsung perhaps license the IGZO process and are producing it in their own factory?
Brett Howse - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
I'm sure this is a Samsung display.herbc - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
Having Win 10 is the worst part for me lol, way too pricey as well imo.Gunde - Thursday, October 22, 2015 - link
How is Windows 10 the worst part of it? I have a hard time imagining that you'd rather use Windows 8.x or 7 since both are significantly less usable as either desktop or tablet OSs, least of all as both.squngy - Friday, October 23, 2015 - link
Maybe he would prefer iOS?BMNify - Friday, October 23, 2015 - link
Apple users prefer iOS for productivity, Windows is too difficult for such people.[email protected] - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
3-5 times faster than icrap air 2. niceosxandwindows - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
Lol this has nothing to do with iPad air2.The competition is the iPad pro.
SAAB340 - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
Does the USB port on the Surface Pro 4 charger charge mobile phones that support Qualcomm Quickcharge?The charger for the Surface Pro 3 doesn't.
It just cycles the charge on and off if the phone is requesting a lot of current and the phone never charges. Got it confirmed by MS support that it wasn't working with some phones. My own testing limited it to not supporting Quick charge supported devices. A shame as it was really handy not to have to bring my phone charge as well the surface charger when travelling before I upgraded to a Quick charge enabled phone. Initially my Surface charger did charge my new phone, but the Surface charger itself failed quickly after the upgrade. My replacement charger MS sent me very quickly didn't charge my new phone. But it charges any phone or USB device not quick charged enabled.
Have tested with a few different SP3 chargers in stores that has shown this to be the case across the board.
Wonder if this has been fixed with SP4?
edstainless - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
What about power to drive external monitors through the dock?I have a pair of 24" 1440 line monitors on my desk.
I presume that I would need the i7 to have enough muscle to drive them.
Brett, what do you think?
extide - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
Nah, the regular GPU will drive those just fine in the Windows UI. The windows UI takes almost zero GPU horsepower, it only really performs basic operations that are probably largely done in fixed function hw anyways.Kutark - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
I have literally no use for one of these, but damned if i don't want one...Alas, i've got my christmas gift to myself money earmarked for a desktop upgrade to Skylake (need something to power the 980ti i just dropped way too much money on lol).
okashira - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
Seems like it's possible the Iris i7 Surface Pro might perform near to the dedicated graphics in the surface book...!jaime4272 - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
it would be nice to have a keyboard case for the surface pro 4 to use it as laptop as well. a keyboard with an extra battery and storage that can be attach like the surface bookMamiyaOtaru - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
"Surface Pro 3 was the first model to be offered with an optional dock"There's been a dock since the beginning http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/pd...
MamiyaOtaru - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
well to be accurate I guess it came out around the time of the SP2 (and worked with the original SP). Still before the SP3. We've been using them in the office with our SP2s, and we got the whole thing before the SP3 came outBrett Howse - Thursday, October 22, 2015 - link
Sorry my bad - forgot about that one. Updated the text. Thanks!8steve8 - Thursday, October 22, 2015 - link
too bad it doesn't charge with USB-C, then we could travel with only one charger.gnodeb - Thursday, October 22, 2015 - link
SP3 charger has spare USB port. So I do travel with one charger. I hope SP4 do the same.Luc K - Thursday, October 22, 2015 - link
On first page of the review it says this:"24 Watt(Core m3) or 36 Watt (Core i5/i7) A/C Adapter with 5 Watt USB port"
Does that mean only with i5/i7 you have an extra USB port in the charger? I assume though SP3 charger also works with SP4 or you could buy it separately.
superrakat - Thursday, October 22, 2015 - link
Brett, thanks for nearly perfect review. Finally someone who go into the finer details!But could you please update the DOTA2 benchmark test with CPU/GPU temperatures? It's really the only piece of the puzzle that's missing :)
pastafiend - Thursday, October 22, 2015 - link
I too would like to know just a bit more.When the GPU/CPU throttled after about 30 minutes was the game completely unplayable? Can it manage lower settings significantly longer?
darkich - Thursday, October 22, 2015 - link
Benchmarks suggest that the iPad Pro will outperform this.fackamato - Thursday, October 22, 2015 - link
But it's a tablet.The Surface runs a full OS.
Teknobug - Thursday, October 22, 2015 - link
iPad Pro should've been a Mac OS X in a tablet.Speedfriend - Thursday, October 22, 2015 - link
Really, which benchmarks? And an iPad is a toy, no one can do actually work on it.TEAMSWITCHER - Monday, October 26, 2015 - link
Not even the slightest bit true. I really wish people would stop saying this. My wife uses her iPad for work all the time - and for things that PC's can't or don't do well at all, like capturing video and taking photos.Gunde - Thursday, October 22, 2015 - link
Which benchmarks? Because even going the most charitable route and assuming everything Apple stated about it is true, it's still trounced by the Surface Pro 3 in CPU compute. It does beat the SP3 in graphics workloads, but seeing these numbers I'm certain that the SP4 is more powerful than the iPad Pro.(I assume that the iPad Pro is roughly 2x the peformance of the iPad Air 2, which is what Apple stated)
darkich - Thursday, October 22, 2015 - link
I'm talking strictly about chip performance.The web script tests show iPad Air 2 trailing about 50% yet those tests are too software dependant to be a good indicator of chip potential.
Yet, despite of that the claimed 80% CPU performance buff by the A9X should make it comparable to these results.
From the Manhattan and T Rex numbers though, we can see that iPad pro (around double the iPad Air 2 GPU performance) should score higher than this Surface model.
SaolDan - Friday, October 23, 2015 - link
Sure. But then again i play final fantasy 14 on my i3 surface pro 3. The ipads pro may have "more" gpu power but i can run REAL games on my SP3. Steam. Enough said.tipoo - Friday, October 23, 2015 - link
...There are no benchmarks of it yet? Apart from Apples __x faster numbers, and, well look at the 370X graphics chip about that.Fiernaq - Thursday, October 22, 2015 - link
Editing check: It looks like the i5-6300U has HD Graphics 520 instead of the HD Graphics 530 mentioned in the review. Specs do appear to be correct for the 520 though (24EU, 300-1000MHz).http://ark.intel.com/products/88190
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-HD-Graphics-520...
Brett Howse - Thursday, October 22, 2015 - link
Sorry that was a typo in the chart.tdogdfw - Thursday, October 22, 2015 - link
I'm pretty sure the Core I5 is using Intel HD520 graphics - not 530.Klaus.88 - Thursday, October 22, 2015 - link
I wonder if they will create a GPU dock with the Surface Connect port...tipoo - Thursday, October 22, 2015 - link
Really interested in the Iris model with 64MB eDRAM. Intel said 128MB was overprovisioned, so if it gets close to Iris Pro performance that would be neat.Mfgillia - Thursday, October 22, 2015 - link
Thanks for a great article - read several SP4 reviews in the last few days from different websites and none came close to factually addressing the major issues and questions as well as yours.sn_85 - Monday, October 26, 2015 - link
Agreed. Anandtech has always gone into an in-depth look from a hardware perspective. I feel most "reviews" no a days are more tech blog style reviews which focus on general daily use.GermanQR - Thursday, October 22, 2015 - link
What a wonderful review, thank you. And the technical knowledge level of your commenters here is out of this world. This looks like a true PERSONAL computer at last. I find myself at a crossroads here. I am a gamer but I find myself drifting towards PS4 for hardcore gaming and PC for indy and classic titles. Should I get this? I travel a lot and I would love to carry my personal PC with me. I never lug my Alienware with me as it's too cumbersome and my company supplied laptop (X1 Carbon) won't allow me to install anything. Looking at this and Surface Book. Does this allow for a decent gaming experience (pre 2000 and indies) as well as productivity? Any thoughts?soliloquist - Thursday, October 22, 2015 - link
Thanks Brett, I have been looking forward to this review.I know that you don’t have an i7-6650U version to test, and said that you would if you got a chance. But just wanted to let you know that I too am interested in seeing this.
In particular I think it would be interesting to see what effect the Iris 540 has on the DOTA 2 throttling test.
Dug - Thursday, October 22, 2015 - link
Brett, Could you comment on using this as a laptop. Meaning actually sitting on the couch and having it in your lap, or even with one ankle over your knee.I'm just curious if it's too awkward due to the weight in the back and the kickstand design.
Thanks.
asfletch - Thursday, October 22, 2015 - link
I'll join the chorus of congratulations - thanks for giving us the detail we crave on this impressive machine.Just one question - so far I've only ever used passively-cooled tablets because I just can't abide fan noise at night. You say the fan on this i5 version only comes on when doing heavy work, but could you also comment on how quickly it switches off afterwards, and whether (say) watching a 1080p video for 30 or 90 minutes makes it kick in? If it's completely silent in all tablet use cases, I'll definitely plump for it over the m3 version (esp. if the battery life is about the same).
patel21 - Thursday, October 22, 2015 - link
Brett, didn't read all the comments, but an interested in knowing what would be battery performance difference core m3 and i7BMNify - Friday, October 23, 2015 - link
Anandtech don't have m3 version with them, so we will have to wait till someone gets the m3 version and posts the results here.ABR - Friday, October 23, 2015 - link
The Surface continues to get more interesting. Unfortunately it still runs Windows, which is a nonstarter for many of us. We can only hope Apple continues to keep pace a little ways back in its new post-Jobs role of follower.BMNify - Friday, October 23, 2015 - link
Apple has made the decision for faithfuls like you, Get the ipad pro and be productive like a kid.Maximilian122 - Tuesday, October 27, 2015 - link
I´m glad the convinced Apple users finally have a real pen to write and don´t need those bulky pens on their iPad anymore.JMC2000 - Friday, October 23, 2015 - link
How is the Surface a non-starter because it 'still runs Windows'? Wouldn't Windows make your laptop/desktop a non-starter as well?I used to live by the iPad and high-end Android tablets, but after buying a cheap Bay Trail Atom tablet, there's no way I'd go back to ARM-based tablets for doing any serious work on the go.
Teknobug - Sunday, October 25, 2015 - link
From a business point of view, the iPad Pro doesn't make much sense, A lot of high end software are used in Windows and having an x86 based tablet to use those same programs that's used on desktop/workstations makes more sense in getting the job done while on the go. I haven't seen doctor offices use iPads yet, there's one down the street from me that use those Lenovo Yogas or similar.The Blackberry Playbook was supposed to be what the Surface is now, the iPad is a bit of a "toy" in comparison.
BMNify - Friday, October 23, 2015 - link
Thanks for an excellent review Brett, would be interesting to see the battery life tests with m3 version, hopefully you can get hold of it later and add the data to the table and also a pipeline post.Superlight - Friday, October 23, 2015 - link
Man ... Thanks for the PC Mag review. Anandtech has gone so far downhill :(((SaolDan - Friday, October 23, 2015 - link
Dude when i read your comment i went straight to pcmag.com. OMG what a disappointment that was. And the nonstop ads on my phone( Company issued iphone 6 which i hate btw. I was happier with my $35 lumia 635). Anandtech in my opinion is a good as it always has been. If you dont like the reviews here just go away.Klaus.88 - Friday, October 23, 2015 - link
I have to ask Anandtech: is it possible to have partial results of 3DMark benchamarks and similar? I need the graphic results.Thank you
Eleveneleven - Friday, October 23, 2015 - link
What is taking so long on the Surface Book review? Pretty much everyone else has theirs out. The Surface 4 review should have come out AFTER that. That's no where near as significant of a release.ezridah - Friday, October 23, 2015 - link
Read the beginning of the second paragraph:http://www.anandtech.com/show/9732/the-microsoft-s...
Eleveneleven - Monday, October 26, 2015 - link
So? He got that a week ago or longer. Where is his post production unit? A review should be up by now.Eleveneleven - Monday, October 26, 2015 - link
They're pretty much the only tech review site without a review on it. That looks really bad.val580 - Monday, October 26, 2015 - link
Yeah I mean I pay them a lot for Christ sake! Give my money back!IntelUser2000 - Sunday, October 25, 2015 - link
Guesses on the Core m3 and Core i7 with Iris 540:Core m3
-Performance should be quite a lot better and actually not far off from i5 SP3
-Battery life is probably similar to Core i5 versions. Ideally it should be better but lets see how good Intel does with it
-This is going to get stiff competition from the A9X chips. It'll probably get beaten in graphics but be better on CPU
Core i7 with Iris 540
-30-40% faster in graphics than Core i5 with HD 520. Closer to 30% if eDRAM affects TDP available to CPU/GPU too much, 40% if it doesn't. On the Iris Pro chips the 128MB costs them 3W, 3W is a lot for a 15W chip
-10-15% better than Core i5 CPU, with ~5% due to eDRAM
-Battery life might end up somewhat worse. eDRAM adds 0.25W power to idle power.
Klaus.88 - Sunday, October 25, 2015 - link
eDRAM is active only when there is something power demanding if I am not wrong.Maximilian122 - Tuesday, October 27, 2015 - link
Thats right, Skylake has a huge improvement with powergates. It can disable most parts, which are currently not utilised, including the extra 24 execution units and eDRAM in the HD 540, which means no differance between HD 520 and HD 540 during light tasks.Maximilian122 - Tuesday, October 27, 2015 - link
eDRAM will only use 1W in Skylake ULV but might be slower on ULV CPUsIntelUser2000 - Sunday, October 25, 2015 - link
BTW, for the graphics, the lower precision support on OpenGL ES I think adds ~30% to the performance. Skylake does support 16-bit FP, but I can't tell for sure if it uses them on Windows. That's a point to keep in mind when comparing against iPad Pros.It seems based on GFXBench results Intel is optimizing their software/hardware stack for mobile benchmarks. That's why there's a big gain for Skylake. And why Core M performs relatively good.
Klaus.88 - Sunday, October 25, 2015 - link
Even Broadwell architecture supported FP16 http://www.anandtech.com/show/8814/intel-releases-...The problem is that it lacked the driver support (so, useless). For what I know, Intel still does not provide FP 16 driver support at the moment.
Maximilian122 - Tuesday, October 27, 2015 - link
OpenGL ES is rather used by AndroidSweepr - Sunday, October 25, 2015 - link
First Iris (HD Graphics 540) results @ GFXBench 3.1 Manhattan Offscreenhttp://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=3778979...
60% faster than HD Graphics 520.
tamalero - Monday, October 26, 2015 - link
Any ideas if they fixed the pen lag when drawing digitally?My surface 3 sometimes lagged by mere fractions of a second, still affects drawing a lot.
sn_85 - Monday, October 26, 2015 - link
I'm also interested to see a update review for the m3 version. Would like to see what the performance is like and if battery life is improved. That's probably the version I'd be looking at as the fanless design is super appealing to me.gcoupe - Thursday, October 29, 2015 - link
Seconded.MattL - Wednesday, October 28, 2015 - link
Would love it if you guys could get your hands on a SP4 m3 model and see if it has any better battery life in your standardized tests.yvizel - Wednesday, October 28, 2015 - link
I second that.Any chance you will have a follow up?
gcoupe - Thursday, October 29, 2015 - link
Comprehensive and thorough review. I missed a mention of one thing though - the fact that the rear camera of the SP4 is now auto-focus, unlike the ludicrous fixed-focus version in the SP3.It is at last possible to take clear photos of documents with a Surface Pro device.
jsntech - Thursday, October 29, 2015 - link
Brett,Thanks for the review. Did you notice any of these issues being pretty widely reported?
https://www.reddit.com/r/Surface/comments/3qk5pt/s...
I was really looking forward to ordering one until I saw all this hell breaking loose. Gives me bad flashbacks of the SP1 I had to send back due to bug overload. Hope 3 versions later it would be better, but maybe not...
Brett Howse - Thursday, November 5, 2015 - link
SP4 was pretty good. I didn't have any real issues with it. There was one issue with the pre-production units which was fixed for release, and the release one has not exhibited that issue.CallsignVega - Sunday, November 1, 2015 - link
How in the world do people do detailed tests like this and not take the ten seconds to test for PWM dimming in the display?philipm785 - Tuesday, November 3, 2015 - link
Great review. As usual, you guys delve deeper than the competition. One question: did you have any success connecting the SP4 to external high resolution (ie > 1920 x 1080) displays? I just picked one up and for the life of me can't get it to drive my display higher than 1920x1080 even though my SP3 drives it at 2560x1080.Brett Howse - Thursday, November 5, 2015 - link
I recently got the dock to test out so I'll give it a try.Telex - Friday, November 6, 2015 - link
As of 11/6/2016 with newest insider Windows 10 and appropriate drivers, this product does NOT deliver. Not only does the USB controller not function correctly, it does not support dual 4k monitors as advertised. I have spent hours and hours with Microsoft technical support and they are unable to help me. I just called one last time, and they said there isn't even an ETA on it being fixed. I will change my review if their engineers can ever get the product's issues resolved. Until then, I would stay FAR away from this device. If I could give "0" stars, I would have done so.Telex - Friday, November 6, 2015 - link
Sorry, I am referring to the new Surface Dock with the Surface Book.barefeats - Friday, November 20, 2015 - link
iPad Pro GFXBench 3 Offscreen results: Manhattan = 84 FPS, T-Rex = 166 FPS. As you can see from above, it beats the mid-level Surface Pro 4. I'd love to see a full shootout between the two.damianrobertjones - Wednesday, May 18, 2016 - link
OMG! The iPad pro beats the Surface at a test! Can you please detail the tests that it DOESN'T beat the SP4?R3ds - Sunday, November 22, 2015 - link
Could we maybe get an updated review of the core i7 version specifically? I want to know how well the thermals are handled with the iris pro (crystalwell) graphics.Oleander - Tuesday, December 8, 2015 - link
^This!I'm basing my purchase decision on what Anandtech has to say about the i7 and thermals!
I have the original Surface Pro and had my eyes set on the SP3 until I saw the review here.
So, get on with it already! :-D
AlOyDy - Wednesday, November 25, 2015 - link
Same here, update with i7 throttling, noise, temperature and benchmarks (esp. GPU performance) would be much appreciated.