03 Nov
Blog

Microsoft Surface Duo 2 Review: A Great Second Impression

The Microsoft Surface Duo 2 has a unique design with two screens.

Microsoft Surface Duo 2

RRP $ 1,499.00

“The Microsoft Surface Duo 2 resolves almost every concern we had with the original. It's a quirky phone that is fun. "

advantages

  • Marked camera upgrade compared to its predecessor

  • Large aspect ratio for reading and multitasking

  • Software is largely repaired

  • Top tier flagship specs

  • Superior multitasking skills

disadvantage

  • Poor lowlight camera performance

  • Awkward to hold for camera use

  • There are still a few software bugs that need to be fixed

You only have one chance to make a first impression. But if your second impression is good enough, you can undo a lot of damage. A year ago. Microsoft has tried to create a new class of mobile devices with the Surface Duo that lives somewhere between the phone and tablet. It is designed for multitasking professionals who need to prepare a presentation before a meeting or put the finishing touches to a contract before it is sent to the lawyers. To fit into that category, Microsoft created the Surface Duo – and it failed quite spectacularly.

This year, Microsoft released the Microsoft Surface Duo 2, which is a pretty big correction in course while still trying to fill the same niche. The Microsoft Duo 2 is still a device for power users and multitaskers who want to get things done. It's a flagship for those who have a hell of a lot of on-demand disposable income. I am a writer and blogger. I am not the target audience for this phone. But that doesn't make it any less fun to use.

I've been using the Surface Duo for three days since it was released, which isn't enough time for a full review, but it's enough time to get a pretty good idea of ​​what Microsoft is trying to do. This is just a hands-on review that will remain something of a living document as I really put this phone through its paces over the coming days and weeks.

The Microsoft Surface Duo 2 is intended for business people who do business tasks.Adam Doud / Digital Trends

Design and display

As with the first generation Microsoft Duo, the workmanship on this phone is exquisite. You have two 1892 x 1344, 90 Hz screens with up to 800 nits of brightness. They are connected by a thin hinge and there is a bit of curved glass on the hinge side. (We'll talk about the meaning in a moment). The polycarbonate ring that runs around the outside of the screens and the camera bump are the only knock we have on the design. It looks good but feels downright cheap. Occasional hairs can get caught in the seam between glass and plastic, which does not look nice.

When you use this phone people will notice and ask you about it. Be prepared.

On the hinge-free side there is a power button with an integrated fingerprint sensor and volume rocker. There is a single USB-C port on the bottom. The hinge itself is a 360 degree hinge that allows you to put the phone in many different positions, such as: B. in tent mode, tablet mode, laptop mode and more. On the back there are three camera sensors in a camera mound large enough to be shown on some topographic maps. It's not subtle.

The Microsoft Surface Duo 2 is the thinnest 5G phone in the world.Adam Doud / Digital Trends

The two screens are curved on the hinge side, which gives you what Microsoft calls a viewing bar. The two curves form a notification window that can show you which notifications you are waiting for, your battery level and the time. I found this to be of limited use in my short time with the device. Personally, I prefer to put the phone open on the table so I can see everything.

The big screen is both a blessing and a curse. The 4: 3 aspect ratio gives you plenty of screen space when reading or scrolling. It's pretty refreshing to read in bed or scroll through the latest Twitter crisis. But the size of the screens serves as a disadvantage when doing something with one hand or taking a photo. Remember that to take a photo you need to have the phone open, but not open so that the second screen is blocking the camera module. I found it most convenient to take photos by opening the screen 90 degrees and resting the lower half on the palm of my hand while leveling the camera. It's not particularly convenient, but honestly, when you have a phone like this one, you have to compromise.

Overall, however, I am more satisfied with the design than I expected. This is a beautiful phone and Microsoft knows it. When you use this phone people will notice and ask you about it. Be prepared.

software

Last year, Microsoft really dropped the ball in the software department. It had an extra year to weed out bugs and peccadillos and it's safe to say it's showing, but there is still work to be done here. When using this phone, it is important that you are as conscious as possible when using gestures. Also, note that Microsoft has changed some of the gestures to suit what it wants to do.

Usually when you're using an app in landscape mode on an Android phone, the gesture still shows up from the bottom. That is not the case here. Microsoft had to change that in order for the dual screens to work. Every time you use an app with the phone in landscape mode, the swipe gesture to multitask and return to the home screen is instead swiped in from the right side. It's a strange, if necessary, change, and hard to get used to.

The Microsoft Surface Duo 2 has a number of apps optimized for this, including Amazon Kindle.Adam Doud / Digital Trends

As for bugs, despite the fact that I've only been using this phone for three days, I've already seen a few oddities that made me shake my head, including a case where I got stuck on a blank home screen and had to boot Restart the phone to get everything back to normal. One constant irritation is the software keyboard's insistence on covering the text field I type in in chat apps like Teams or Slack. This wouldn't be overly irritating, except that I found this behavior most often in Teams, Microsoft's own software, and suggests poor optimization or just a simple oversight.

Fortunately for the keyboard, it's not bad. Microsoft uses its own Swiftkey keyboard that is pretty accurate when it comes to typing and autocorrection. I also installed Gboard to play around with. Gboard works fine, and in fact, I enjoy typing with Gboard in 4: 3 aspect ratio, but when you open an app across multiple windows, Gboard won't be shared while Swiftkey does it automatically. Both keyboards work pretty well in laptop mode, with the keyboard taking up the bottom of the screen while your text field taking up the top half. I was pleasantly surprised that Gboard worked as well as it did in this pose.

The Microsoft Surface Duo is a great device for multitasking.Adam Doud / Digital Trends

Microsoft has also designed its apps to work well when they span both screens. Outlook opens your message list on the left, while your messages are displayed on the right. Microsoft has also partnered with a few third-party apps like Asphalt 9, Kindle, and TikTok, so they all use both screens – with varying degrees of success.

Microsoft has also partnered with a few third-party apps like Asphalt 9, Kindle, and TikTok, so they all use both screens – with varying degrees of success.

Microsoft has come a long way when it comes to software, but there is still work to be done. I shouldn't have to restart a phone due to an error in the first 48 hours. Needless to say, this part of the phone requires a ton of more testing before I'm happy with the overall performance.

Performance and battery

Speaking of performance, it should come as no surprise that this phone works quite well. The Snapdragon 888 and 8 GB of RAM ensure that everything runs smoothly and efficiently. There weren't any stutters or lags that I noticed even while playing Call of Duty Mobile. I haven't had a chance to put heavy loads on the phone, such as running benchmarks, but I haven't had any complaints about performance so far.

The Microsoft Surface Duo 2 is almost too big for a car holder. Almost.Adam Doud / Digital Trends

The battery life isn't bad. My standard battery test includes GPS for 30 minutes at 75% brightness, streaming Netflix over WiFi at the same brightness for 30 minutes, and playing Call of Duty Mobile for 30 minutes at maximum brightness. After all that, the phone came in at 76% which is the lowest of the phones I've tested using this method so far including the iPhone 13 Pro which got 81%. I spent the rest of the day off charging and ended up at 20% before bed. All in all, that's not a bad thing. I've used both screens quite a lot during the day and was surprised it lasted that long.

camera

The camera sensors are a 12-megapixel wide-angle sensor with optical image stabilization (OIS), a 12-megapixel dual telesensor and an ultra-wide 16-megapixel sensor with a 110-degree field of view. They're an improvement over the original Surface Duo cameras, but that was a very low bar. Unfortunately, the camera hump prevents the Surface Duo 2 from lying flat when you fold one screen behind the other, but like most other flaws in smartphones, you get used to it.

The cameras are definitely an improvement; But let's face it, a potato would be an improvement over the first generation sensor. This camera module was built in-house by Microsoft. There are three cameras on the back and one on the front. The cameras are pretty average on most points, with a few surprises. The term I would use is "social media good," which means that the photos you get here are usually good enough for social media, but probably not much more.

The Microsoft Surface Duo uses both screens in the camera app.Adam Doud / Digital Trends

There are a few issues here in terms of software and performance. The camera is often quite slow to take photos. Missing moments to capture, I ended up with a dog's back rather than its head. That was too bad. I also often had to rotate photos that I had taken because the camera was in the wrong orientation. That quickly became annoying.

As for the camera itself, it worked admirably during the day. The color rendering between the three sensors is very close, and you won't notice a significant change in color. Portrait mode in particular seems to be quite good. It's one of the best I've seen, even when stacked against the iPhone 13 Pro. The camera is able to blur the background without capturing anything in the foreground other than a few strands of hair. That was a pleasant surprise when it came to the camera.

Most cameras these days can work very well if the light is good. If the light isn't good, a camera can glow or, in the case of the Surface Duo, fall behind. The nightly photo samples I took were all pretty bad except photos from the main camera sensor. Again, this is usually the case when it comes to a typical phone camera set. The selfie camera is very poor, with focus problems and excessive pixelation in the dark behind the subject. Avoid selfies at night.

On the video side, none of the cameras can record stable videos despite optical image stabilization, which makes any kind of movement almost nauseating. Recording a video while walking is erratic and jarring regardless of the resolution or the software Microsoft is using under the hood. All cameras are pretty bad at night. This is common, unfortunately even the best cameras struggle mightily when recording video at night.

Price and availability

The Microsoft Surface Duo 2 is available from $ 1,499.99 on Microsoft.com and in retail stores such as: Best buy. It is available in the US, UK, Canada, France, Germany, and Japan. The phone starts shipping today.

Our opinion

It's a cliché to say this about second generation hardware, but this is how the first generation duo should have been. But the reason it's a cliché is that it's true so often. I posted my wish list for improvements from the Surface Duo to the Surface Duo 2 and Microsoft ticked all the boxes. The phone is more powerful and comes with a much improved camera set.

Then we come to the price. Microsoft is charging $ 1,500 for this phone, which is quite a lot, especially after the ball was dropped with the first generation. But since Microsoft fixed most of the bugs in the previous generation, it's not difficult to justify this price. This is a pretty good phone in a mostly new form factor. It's a pioneer in the Wild West, breaking new ground for mobile devices. That deserves a lot of recognition.

At the same time, this phone doesn't offer the perfection that the price tag demands. The hardware is awesome. The software is very good. The camera is no match for a modern flagship, but that's probably fine for the customers Microsoft is targeting. All of the above statements come with the caveat that I will need even more testing time with the phone before I can make my final judgment.

Is there a better alternative?

Secure. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 is only $ 300 (around 20%) more than this phone and has better software and a better set of cameras. One could argue that the Surface Duo 2 is better than the Fold 3 in terms of hardware, but that's more subjective. The Fold 3 is aimed at a different audience than the Duo 2. Microsoft wants this to be your productivity powerhouse, while the Fold 3 is meant to be a multimedia tablet that fits in your pocket (and admittedly has a lot of productivity potential). . But who these companies imagine as users of their devices are two different things. Microsoft wants the business power user. Samsung wants everyone.

How long it will take?

Despite the standard one-year warranty, a smartphone is a piece of hard hardware that needs to be protected. Most smartphones are glass sandwiches, but the duo is a glass sandwich on a glass sandwich. Plus, it's hard to find a good case for it. That's enough to make anyone nervous. On the plus side, when a screen breaks it doesn't fold, so it's probably not that expensive to replace. But it's fair to say that there are some question marks here that I can only answer after a long time with the device.

Should I buy it?

It's just beginning of my review, but I'll say yes – if you fit into Microsoft's audience. These are business people who want to get things done on the go and who are also heavily invested in Microsoft services. You can buy this phone even if you have a lot of disposable income lying around. While it's expensive, the tech, beauty, and productivity here make this a good buy … if you can afford it.

Editor's recommendations



06 Oct
Blog

Microsoft Surface Go 3 Review: A Surprisingly Likable Tablet

Microsoft Surface Go 3 is sitting on the table.

Microsoft Surface Go 3

RRP $ 400.00

"The affordable Microsoft Surface Go 3 isn't a performer, but it's still fun."

advantages

  • Excellent workmanship

  • Superior display for a budget device

  • Excellent support for Active Pen

  • Small and light

  • Surprisingly good real world performance

disadvantage

  • Can get expensive

  • Mediocre battery life

  • The keyboard and touchpad are tight

The third generation is usually when Surface products catch on.

The Microsoft Surface Go is the smallest and cheapest Surface you can buy – the Surface Go 2 landed on our lists of the best budget laptops and the best 2-in-1s. It wrinkles the usual premium status of the Surface line and still offers a lot of what makes the Surface so attractive.

I have the high-end configuration of the Surface Go 3 with a 10th Intel Core i3-10100Y CPU. That configuration costs $ 630 with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of solid-state storage (SSD) – not too cheap compared to a budget range that has steadily improved over the years. Although the Surface Go 3 doesn't quite keep its promise of significantly improved performance, it still has its charms.

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Microsoft Surface Go 3 stand.Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

Especially at its entry-level price of $ 399, the Surface Go 3 is an impressively built tablet. Made of magnesium, it is soft but solid to the touch, showing that it was made with meticulous tolerances. It's far better built than most budget laptops, on par with the Apple iPad for $ 329, while it vastly outperforms the Lenovo IdeaPad Duet for $ 279. In fact, I'd keep the build quality of the Surface Go 3 with the Lenovo ThinkPad X12 Detachable, which starts at over $ 1,000.

For aesthetics, think of a Surface Book 7, only smaller. The Surface Go 3 is the same color and shape, has slightly more rounded but still familiar corners, and shares the oversized bezels of its bigger brother. The stand, which can be used excellently, is similar. It can be folded out from the center back of the case and extends into a comfortable angle for using the (unfortunately) optional Surface Pen. It's a modern device in every way except for the large bezels, which look old-fashioned compared to many current laptops.

Microsoft Surface Go 3 connectivity. a single USB-C port, a 3.5mm audio jack, the Microsoft Surface Connect port for power and connection to a proprietary hub and microSD card readerMark Coppock / Digital Trends

While the Surface Go 3 is a small device, it's not as small as it could have been with smaller bezels. Even so, at 9.65 x 6.9 inches, it's almost identical to the iPad (9.8 x 6.8 inches, with its own large bezels on each end). And the Surface Go 3 has a larger 10.5-inch display compared to the 10.2-inch panel on the iPad. However, at 0.33 inches, it is thicker than the iPad at 0.29 inches. Some of that extra thickness will most likely accommodate the integrated stand. The Surface Go 3 is also slightly heavier than the iPad at 1.2 pounds versus 1.09 pounds.

Connectivity is limited as you can imagine with such a small and thin device. You get a single USB-C port, 3.5mm audio jack, Microsoft Surface Connect port for power, and connection to a proprietary hub and microSD card reader. Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0 perform wireless tasks.

power

Microsoft Surface Go 3 tablet mode.Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

The Surface Go 3 offers an Intel Core i3-10100Y CPU, which is a step up from the 8th generation Core m3-8100Y of the previous generation, but not in this way. It hardly beats its predecessor (we'll get to that in a moment) in objective tests, and yet the Surface Go 3, subjectively, strangely enough, doesn't feel that slow.

I haven't used the Surface Go 2 so I can't directly compare the two, but the Surface Go 3 did well most of the tasks I asked it to do. That surprised me because I expected it to feel a lot slower. If I didn't open too many tabs in Edge or had too many apps running in the background, the Surface Go 3 worked just as well as many other budget laptops I've used.

Sure, some things are slower – it takes an extra split second to view an email, opening Edge with multiple standard tabs suffers from some additional initial loading times, and opening new apps with a full complement of running programs was a bit delayed. But overall, I was impressed with the subjective performance of the Surface Go 3. It's not as fast as an iPad, but then again, a fully functional operating system runs in Windows 11. Speaking of which, the Surface Go 3 is configured in Windows 11 S mode, which limits apps to those available in the Windows Store. To install our test suite, I left S mode, which was trivial.

Surface Go 3 lets you get your work done; just moderate your expectations when it comes to medium to heavy workloads.

Now for these benchmarks. In Geekbench 5, the Surface Go 3 managed a disappointing 920 in single-core mode and 1,704 in multi-core mode. These are some of the slower results in our database, and just ahead of the Surface Go 2's 868 and 1,626. We don't have any comparisons to this particular CPU, but even Chromebooks running the Android Geekbench 5 app with similar processors are twice as fast. In our Handbrake test, which encodes a 420MB video as H.265, the Surface Go 3 took a lethargic 612 seconds, just nine seconds faster than the Surface Go 2. These are the two slowest machines in our database. The next slowest laptop is the Lenovo Yoga C640 with a Core i3-10110U, which took 397 seconds to complete the process.

I ran PCMark 10 and the Surface Go 3 achieved 2,611 points in the Complete test, the lowest score in our database and well below the next lowest. However, we haven't tested many comparable laptops since using this benchmark. Surface Go 3 scores were consistently low, including essentials, productivity, and content creation. The latter result was miserable.

However, as I said, the real world performance is better than these benchmarks suggest. Surface Go 3 lets you get your work done; just moderate your expectations when it comes to medium to heavy workloads.

Geekbench 5 (single / multiple) Handbrake
(Seconds)		 PCMark 10 3DMark time spy
Microsoft Surface Go 3 (Core i3-10100Y) 920/1704 612 2611 320
Microsoft Surface Go 2 (Core m3-8100Y) 868/1626 621 N / A N / A
Lenovo ThinkPad X12 detachable (Core i5-1130G7) 1352/4796 185 4443 926
Microsoft Surface Pro 7 (Core i5-1035G4) 1237/4455 N / A N / A 487
Acer Aspire 5 2021 (Core i3-1115G4) 1215/2544 300 3752 652

The Surface Go 3 uses Intel UHD 615 graphics and is nothing more than a casual gaming system – and by that I mean simple Windows 10 games like Solitaire and the like. It scored a pathetic 320 in the 3DMark Time Spy benchmark, which is one of the lower scores we've seen. I just ran Fortnite to giggle and it was a four frames per second slideshow at 1280p with high graphics.

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Screen / display on Microsoft Surface Go 3.

Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

Microsoft Surface Go 3 in tablet mode with stylus.

Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

In typical Surface fashion, the Surface Go 3 has a display with a higher aspect ratio of 3: 2, which makes it exceptionally convenient to use as a tablet in portrait mode – it is closer to the size of a sheet of paper compared to 16: 9 displays who are too tall and thin. It's a 10.5-inch display with a resolution of 1,920 x 1,280 that is sharp enough even for someone like me who prefers 4K displays. Thanks to its brightness and high contrast, I enjoyed using a display that produced black text that jumped off the page.

My colorimeter supported me. Put simply, this is an excellent display for a tablet, starting at $ 399. The colors were exactly on the premium laptop average of 75% AdobeRGB and 99% sRGB, which is more than enough for comfortable, productive work, even if it's not as wide as creatives are looking for. And the color accuracy was also very good with a DeltaE of 1.21 (1.0 or less is considered excellent) and was thus above the premium average. The contrast ratio of 1,360: 1 was well above our preferred threshold of 1,000: 1, and the brightness was excellent at 434 nits (again well above our desired value of 300 nits).

The Surface Go 2 had slightly wider colors at 77% AdobeRGB and 100% sRGB, but they were less accurate at 2.21. The brightness was also lower at 342 cd / m² and the contrast ratio was a disappointing 730: 1. Microsoft has improved its game with this display. The much more expensive Lenovo ThinkPad X12 Detachable had fewer colors at 72% and 97% and was a little less accurate at 1.59. It wasn't as bright at 364 nits and its contrast ratio was lower at 940: 1.

I am impressed with the ad. It is objectively superior to many laptops that cost three times as much, and it was a pleasure to use during my test.

Two front-facing speakers provide the sound, and while the volume doesn't get as loud even at full volume, the sound is remarkably clear. The mids and highs are crystal clear and there's even a hint of bass. I was particularly impressed by the dialogues in TV programs and films. You can use these speakers to catch Netflix if you want, as long as you are okay with a medium volume level.

Keyboard and touchpad

Microsoft Surface Go 3 keyboard, trackpad and stylus.Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

The biggest problem with Microsoft's Type Cover – which applies to all Surface tablets – is that it doesn't come with it. You have two options for the Surface Go 3, the standard $ 100 Type Cover that comes in black, or the Signature Type Cover for $ 130 that is upholstered in (fairly comfortable) Alcantara fabric and in ice Blue, Platinum and Poppy Red is available. My test device came with the Ice Blue Signature Type Cover, which brought the cost to $ 760. I'll go ahead and point out that the Surface Pen isn't included either, and that's another $ 100 – which brings the overall evaluation package to $ 860, which is too high.

The second most important problem with the Type Cover is its size. Of course, given the miniature size of the Surface Go 3, Microsoft couldn't have done anything about it, but the buttons are tiny and there isn't enough space between them. It's a cramped experience that takes some getting used to. I wrote this review with the Surface Go 3 to help familiarize yourself with fast typing on the keyboard, but there is a definite learning curve. Also note that the top row of letter keys is slightly off-center, and very sensitive typists may find this to be another adjustment. There's a decent travel, however, and the key switches are snappy, if a bit noisy, which makes the key presses themselves precise and consistent. The type cover has a bit of bounce, but it's not terrible.

The touchpad is small but has a faint click and thanks to the Microsoft Precision touchpad drivers it is responsive and accurate. I found the size to be an obstacle at times, but the overall experience was acceptable. The touch display is responsive and the Surface Pen supports its 4,096 pressure sensitivity and tilt support. The Surface Go 3 is an excellent note-taking device thanks to its small size and light weight.

An infrared camera and facial recognition provide Windows 10 Hello login support without a password. It was quick and reliable and clicks into place when you open the Type Cover. There's no way to block or turn off the webcam, which is an increasingly common privacy feature.

Webcam on the Microsoft Surface Go 3.Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

Battery life

The case of the tiny Surface Go 3 houses a 28-watt-hour battery. That's not much, even for a laptop with low-end components and a small display. Even so, I was expecting better battery life than what I saw.

Overall, I have to classify the battery life as mediocre at best.

In our web browsing test, the Surface Go 3 only lasted 5.5 hours, about half of what we prefer in a laptop. That's 40 minutes longer than the Surface Go 2, which is a significant improvement, but the Lenovo IdeaPad Duet lasted 13.7 hours and the iPad can be expected to last around 10 hours. In our video looping test using a local Full HD Avengers trailer, the Surface Go achieved a more robust 11.45 hours. That's close to the Surface Go 2's 11.25 hours and about an hour less than the IdeaPad Duet. It will likely outperform the iPad's longevity and be closer to what other budget laptops achieve.

In PCMark 10 Applications' battery test, probably the best indicator of productivity longevity, the Surface Go 3 lasted about 6.5 hours, which is a low score that suggests you probably won't be working off the laptop for a full day will get out. Most of the machines we tested lasted about twice as long. I also ran the PCMark 10 gaming battery test, which saw the Surface Go 3 last a little over two hours. That's about average, and this test seems to show how hard a laptop works on battery power.

Overall, I have to classify the battery life as mediocre at best. Again, you probably won't go through a full day of work without joining unless you watch videos. The results support the notion that the Surface Go 3 is best suited as a secondary device rather than a primary workhorse.

Our opinion

Screen / display on Microsoft Surface Go 3.Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

When I started this review, I expected that I would not like the Microsoft Surface Go 3. The keyboard is small and cramped, the benchmark numbers aren't good, and those two factors taken together give me a bad first impression. That didn't last, however, as I adjusted to the keyboard and the real-world performance of the Surface Go 3 outperformed its benchmark results.

When I finished my test, I really liked the little tablet. It's a great size for casual use anywhere, I've enjoyed handwriting on the Surface Go 3 more than on many larger 2-in-1s, and the performance was good enough that I didn't notice any noticeable slowdowns. Of course, I'm describing casual or mainstream productivity workflows here – nothing demanding at all – and I wouldn't recommend it for anything more than surfing the web, checking email, running Office apps, and streaming media. Don't expect to plug it into an external display and use it as the main device.

However, it is a great device for all of these things. It's a bit pricey at $ 860 when fully configured with the fastest CPU, Type Cover, and Surface Pen – and that's a blow to it. I can't confirm the performance with the Pentium CPU alternative, so I don't know if the saving leads to performance issues. But if you're looking for a device that is easy to carry and convenient to use, then the Surface Go 3 is for you.

Are there alternatives?

The most notable alternative is the Apple iPad – the entry-level model that starts at $ 329. It has a great display, solid performance with iPad OS and millions of (mobile) apps. You can do the same things with it and enjoy faster performance. But you might be missing the full functionality of Windows 11.

You can also go up in size and price and opt for the Surface Pro 8. We're in the process of reviewing this detachable tablet and expect it to be a real step up from the Surface Pro 7. It will be faster and longer-lasting, and will also feature a larger display and keyboard.

Finally, if you're familiar with Chrome OS, you can save some cash and opt for the Lenovo IdeaPad Duet. This tablet offers reliable performance and a nice display, but it's not that well built. And again you have to come to terms with doing without a "real" operating system.

How long it will take?

The Surface Go 3 is exceptionally well made and should last for years. Whether the performance can keep up depends entirely on how Microsoft rates Windows 11, but considering that Windows 10 has never really slowed down, I would expect years of reasonably good performance. There is a one-year warranty that is standard and makes sense in this price range.

Should you buy it?

Yes sir. If you want Windows 11 in a smaller tablet that is easy to carry around and can handle your less strenuous workflows, the Surface Go 3 is a great choice.

Editor's recommendations



05 Oct
Blog

Microsoft Surface Pro 8 Review: The iPad Pro’s Worthy Rival

The Surface Pro 8 with the stand extended.

Microsoft Surface Pro 8

RRP $ 1,600.00

"The Surface Pro 8 is by far the best Windows 2-in-1 you can buy."

advantages

  • Gorgeous 120 Hz screen

  • Impressive performance

  • Has two powerful Thunderbolt 4 ports

  • SSD is easily accessible

  • The Surface Slim Pen 2 is exceptional

disadvantage

  • More expensive

  • There is still a lack of mobile apps

For the past 6 years, every version of the Surface Pro has looked almost identical. And while Microsoft is taking its time with its product changes, an update is long overdue, especially for the Surface Pro.

That's exactly what the Surface Pro 8 is – and it couldn't have come at a better time. Pre-installed with the brand new Windows 11, the Surface Pro 8 feels like a device that can rival the iPad Pro. The price hike aside, the Surface Pro 8 is a near-perfect 2-in-1 that is finally a product category that is starting to realize its potential.

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The back of the Surface Pro 8.

If you haven't set up the Surface Pro 8 next to the previous year's model, you may not see the difference at first. It shares the same iconic stand, overall shape, and connects to the Type Cover keyboard in the same way.

However, the Surface Pro 8 is slightly larger and heavier than the Surface Pro 7. It's 0.04 inches thicker by 0.37 inches and 0.22 pounds heavier. This is never good when it comes to a tablet that is meant to be held with one hand.

But there are two legitimate reasons for the larger dimensions. First, the Surface Pro 8 is made from recycled aluminum instead of magnesium. According to Microsoft, this is a more sustainable method and gives the device a higher quality finish. The Surface Pro has always been a rigid device, but I'm sure switching to aluminum will help in that regard too.

The second reason for the bigger size? Well, it has a significantly larger screen. The Surface Pro 8 now has a 13-inch screen, compared to 12.3 inches on the previous model. By trimming the edges of the screen, Microsoft is pushing so much extra screen space into the device without adding too much to the overall dimensions.

On the Surface Pro 8, the keyboard is inclined upwards.

Compared to the iPad Pro, however, the additional size makes the Surface Pro 8 more difficult to use as a tablet. I'm not saying it's a chore to use the Surface Pro 8 as a tablet – far from it. But the 1.5-pound iPad Pro feels more portable in comparison and doesn't put as much strain on your wrist when you hold it with one hand.

The Type Cover, which is still available separately, has also been updated. The biggest change is that the new Surface Slim Pen 2 fits perfectly into the slot above the keyboard. It charges up here and can even be hidden if you lift the keyboard. It's nice to have a permanent place for the pen so as not to (hopefully) lose so much.

Many of these changes were first made in the original Surface Pro X, which launched back in 2018. Inch iPad Pro.

Ports

The two Thunderbolt 4 ports on the Surface Pro 8.

Microsoft doesn't have the best history with ports, but the Surface Pro 8 makes amends. The Surface Pro 8 finally has Thunderbolt 4, which is a first for the Surface Pro line. Thunderbolt 4 means the fastest transfers, the best docking experience, and the ability to connect to powerful external devices. Thunderbolt 4 can also charge and power the device.

The Surface Pro 8 includes two of these ports, along with the Surface Dock magnetic port and a headphone jack.

Unfortunately, all of these ports are on the same side, so you don't have a power port at all on the left. Like all newer Surface Pros, the Surface Pro 8 offers quick access to storage. There is a small panel under the stand that can be accessed via a SIM card eject pin. Accessing your storage doesn't get much easier.

Surface Slim Pen 2 and Type Cover

The original Surface Pen was round and heavy to simulate the feeling of using a real pen. But the Surface Slim Pen, first introduced with the Surface Pro X, is a fantastic alternative. The flat design sits comfortably in the hand and the lighter feel makes it less intimidating. The fact that it has a storage space is the icing on the cake.

But the Surface Slim Pen 2 brings an important update to the mix: haptic feedback. You have to feel something like this yourself to understand it, but the smallest haptic feedback is built into the pen to simulate the feeling of writing on paper. Slide the pen lightly over the glass and you won't notice. But if you press a little harder, you will feel the sensation of artificial friction.

The Type Cover and the Surface Slim Pen 2 are attached to the Surface Pro 8.

It's extremely subtle, but it adds a bit of realism to writing and illustrating. What's more, it's a brilliant idea that gets carried out well.

The new Type Cover looks and feels exactly like the previous model, except with a charging slot for the Surface Slim Pen 2. The keyboard and touchpad remain unchanged, which is good. The full-size keyboard is comfortable and tactile, and features the standard Surface keyboard layout.

The touchpad, on the other hand, feels precise and smooth. I always wish it was a little bigger, but considering it's a keyboard topper, it's surprisingly good.

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The display of the Surface Pro 8.

The display of the Surface Pro 8 is not only bigger, but also faster. The 13-inch panel now comes with a refresh rate of 120 Hz, even though it ships at 60 Hz. But trust me, once you're into the 120hz screen you won't want to go back. While the Surface Pro 8 isn't a gaming device, the faster screen is a quality of life improvement across the board. Animations are smoother, scrolling feels smoother and it even reduces the latency when drawing with the Surface Pen. All new animations in Windows 11 look buttery smooth. It's what the device needs to be competitive with the iPad Pro, but I hope more Windows devices follow suit.

The screen also has a slightly higher resolution of 2880 x 1920. However, it's still 3: 2 and still 267 pixels per inch. The Surface Pro devices have always had sharp screens, and this one is no different.

With a maximum of 409 cd / m², the screen of the Surface Pro 8 is brighter than the previous model. In the new “Vivid” color mode, the device offers better color saturation with 99% sRGB and 79% AdobeRGB. That's not quite as good as the Surface Laptop Studio, but it's fine for the type of device the Surface Pro 8 is intended for.

Across the board, the display feels like the main improvement on the Surface Pro 8 – and since it's a tablet, that's a big deal.

Windows 11 and software

The Start menu appears on Surface Pro 8.

The Surface Pro always had a big hitch: Windows 10. The lack of optimization for touch made the Surface Pro (and all Windows tablets) difficult.

Windows 11 goes a long way towards solving this problem. For the first time, the Surface Pro 8 feels like a usable tablet on its own. While almost everyone should still buy the corresponding Type Cover, I can only use it as a tablet and enjoy the experience. The small, gesture-based keyboard is great for one-finger typing, while grabbing and dragging windows is much easier.

It's still not an operating system designed primarily for the touch, like iPadOS, but Windows 11 has gone a long way in enhancing the tablet experience.

The only missing feature is Android apps which still haven't popped up. That leaves a void in the app ecosystem for mobile apps in which the iPad Pro excels. Even then, the inclusion of Android apps cannot magically fix the app situation for Windows tablets. Until then, the iPad Pro will always be the better tablet, even if the Surface Pro 8 has made significant strides.

Cameras and speakers

The Surface Pro has always had a great video conferencing experience thanks to its great webcam and speakers. Tablets tend to have much better webcams than laptops, and that stays here. The 5 megapixel front camera produces sharp images and smooth videos. Microsoft says it has made some tuning tweaks to keep your face in focus.

But overall, the camera does a fantastic job of smoothing out skin tones and not blurring the background. Your coworkers will thank you for switching from a laptop camera to the Surface Pro 8. Seriously, it's already happened to me.

Though you'll likely never use it, the Surface Pro 8 also includes a 10-megapixel camera on the back that can record 4K video. But again please not.

The Surface Pro 8 combines these cameras with a fantastic set of speakers. Again, tablets tend to excel in audio when compared to laptops, and the Surface Pro 8 continues to demonstrate that trend. It's the same two-watt speakers as in previous models, but now they're physically bigger. I couldn't make a head-to-head comparison, but I can say that watching videos and listening to music on Surface Pro 8 is actually fun. I can't say that about almost every laptop that isn't a MacBook Pro.

Microsoft also highlighted its "volume-dependent EQ" function, which ensures that the sound still has plenty of bass even at lower volumes. The audio has a clarity and fullness that I want laptops to have. But hey, that's just another benefit of a 2-in-1.

power

Despite the name, the Surface Pro 8 is not a real “Pro” device. It doesn't have a separate GPU and the Intel quad-core processor is standard. My configuration came with a Core i7-1185G7, the same chip you use in all sorts of 13-inch laptops and tablets. Still, Microsoft has managed to make some significant changes that will result in improved performance.

The Surface Pro 8 has a new thermal, a system that Microsoft calls "active cooling". With carbon composite heat spreaders and fans, the Surface Pro 8 remains a fairly quiet yet powerful 2-in-1. The fanless configurations are gone, however, which means that all versions of the Surface Pro 8 have the same cooling system.

The result? Well, the multi-core performance and integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics performance were both highlights, with the Surface Pro 8 taking the lead among other convertible 2-in-1 and 13-inch laptops.

This resulted in solid real-world performance in an application like Handbrake, where the Surface Pro 8 is again among the fastest of its size. Calling it the most powerful Windows tablet or 2-in-1 feels right.

Underdog Bench 5
(Single / multiple)		 Cinebench R23 (single / multiple) Handbrake (seconds) PCMark 10 3DMark time spy
Surface Pro 8(Core i7-1185G7) 1296/5041 1287/5431 185 4169 1828
ThinkPad X12 detachable (Core i5-1130G7) 1352/4796 1125/3663 188 4443 926
Dell Latitude 7320 detachable (Core i7-1180G7) 1532/5031 1246/3339 247 4410 1443
Dell XPS 13 (Core i7-1185G7) 1549/5431 1449/4267 204 3859 1589
MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo (Core i7-1185G7) 1352/4891 1360/4392 203 4872 1751

Don't expect to be able to enjoy 4K video editing on the Surface Pro 8, however. The lack of discrete graphics is a problem there. This is where the more powerful Surface Laptop Studio comes in. The performance of the M1 on the iPad Pro also shines here. The graphics performance blows the tiny integrated graphics of the Surface Pro 8 out of the water.

This applies to games as well as to the creation of content. While the Surface Pro 8's discrete graphics are more admirable for what they are, it isn't capable of playing many modern games at high enough frame rates.

Battery life

The status of the battery life of the Surface Pro 8.

Microsoft says the Surface Pro 8 can now last up to 16 hours on a single charge thanks to a larger battery. That is quite a claim. Our lightest battery life test, which repeated a local 1080p video clip until the system crashes, hit 10 hours and 48 minutes. There are many laptops and tablets that lasted longer in this review, despite being the same as the ThinkPad X12 Detachable and the Dell Latitude 7320 Detachable.

I also tested the Surface Pro 8 browsing the web and going through a series of heavy websites until the battery ran out. The Surface Pro 8 lasted for 8.5 hours here. However, if your workflow involves multiple applications, tabs, and media streaming, you can expect the battery to drain by an hour or two, depending on your tasks. That means the Surface Pro 8 is unlikely to last the entire work day without charging.

It also doesn't have the incredible standby longevity that the iPad Pro does.

Still, the Surface Pro 8 is a couple of hours better than the previous configuration. It's an area I'd like to see improvements in, but it's not a big hook for me anymore.

Configurations and price

The Surface Pro 8 isn't just a major change in the design of the line – it changes the pricing scheme too. The Surface Pro 7 started at $ 750 for a basic Core i3 configuration. This wasn't the most powerful option, but it was a cheap way to get premium hardware.

The Core i3 model is gone, and the Core i5 model now starts at $ 1,100. That's $ 200 more expensive than the previous generation and is the equivalent of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro in one fell swoop. Unfortunately, like the iPad Pro, this base model still only contains 128 GB of storage.

Microsoft tends to be among the most expensive manufacturers when it comes to adding storage and RAM. With the Surface Pro 8, Microsoft is priced exactly the same as the iPad Pro's storage options, charging $ 100 for an upgrade to 256 GB or $ 300 for an increase to 512 GB.

The Surface Pro 8 with the Type Cover closed at the top.

From then on, things get wildly expensive and unnecessary. I can't think of any reason why you'd buy the $ 2,600 model with 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage – the Surface Pro 8 just isn't the type of device for this type of configuration. The $ 1,600 model I tested feels overpriced for the amount of storage you get, but the $ 1,200 or $ 1,400 configurations both seem like good options, depending on Your requirements.

And of course the Surface Pro 8 does not come with the Type Cover or the Surface Slim Pen 2. Adding these two accessories will cost you an additional $ 410.

Our opinion

The Surface Pro 8 is by far the best Surface Pro ever made. Its screen is bigger, faster and brighter, its performance is stronger than ever and even the battery life has improved. That alone will move Surface fans to upgrade.

But it's Windows 11 that really makes the Surface Pro 8 a compelling 2-in-1 device – in ways that have never been seen before. All of these changes taken together could eventually lead form factor skeptics to give it a try.

Are there alternatives?

The main competitor, the iPad Pro, is hard to beat. The Surface Pro 8 has the upper hand of running normal x86 Pro applications, but the iPad Pro is a much larger tablet app ecosystem.

The ThinkPad X12 Detachable uses a similar form factor for a cheaper price. If you really want to go cheap, the new Surface Go 3 is the real budget option.

How long it will take?

The Surface Pro 8 should last at least four or five years. Its build quality is exceptional while the features and components are all top notch. Since this is a Windows 11 product (and especially a Surface PC), it ensures that you will continue to receive timely updates in the future. The ability to simply swap out more memory is the icing on the cake.

Should you buy it?

Yes sir. It's the most sensible update to the Surface Pro in a long time, and it finally feels like a worthy opponent of the iPad Pro.

Editor's recommendations



17 Apr
Blog

Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 Review: It’s Finally Fixed!

Microsoft Surface Laptop 4

"Microsoft's Surface Laptop 4 is by far the best in the range thanks to the huge performance improvements."

  • AMD chips are widely used in configurations

  • Thinnest 15-inch laptop

  • Excellent workmanship

  • Great typing experience

  • Long lasting battery life

  • Older AMD chips will degrade performance

  • Thick bezels, bad webcam

Well, Microsoft did it. It finally fixed the Surface Laptop 4.

The previous model was plagued by poor performance and a lack of solid configurations to choose from. This was difficult to recommend, especially for the 15-inch model.

With the Surface Laptop 4, Microsoft fixed these issues, thanks in part to the incredible performance and battery life of some new AMD processors. I looked at the 15-inch Surface Laptop 4, which had an eight-core Ryzen 7 processor, 16 GB of RAM, and a 512 GB SSD. That added up to $ 1,800, which ultimately feels like a reasonable price for what the Surface Laptop 4 has to offer.

design

There are a lot of things to love about the design of the Surface Laptop – even in 2021. All of these things are still intact on the Surface Laptop 4, which means that the case remains relatively unchanged.

At just 0.58 inches for the 15-inch model, it's still remarkably thin than ever. This thinness is really noticeable in the palm rests, which are barely lifted from the table. This is especially true if you are used to thicker laptops in this category, e.g. E.g. the Dell XPS 15 (0.71 inch thick) or the MacBook Pro 16 inch (0.64 inch thick).

Of course, these laptops have a larger chassis to support the extra performance that you can configure. Since the Surface Laptop 4 doesn't support discrete graphics or 45-watt processors, Microsoft can work extremely thinly. It's still an accomplishment, however – the similarly configured LG Gram 16, for example, is still 0.66 inches thick. This makes the Surface Laptop 4 the slimmest 15-inch laptop you can buy.

The tiny stature of the chassis makes the build quality all the more impressive. You won't find the bend or bend that is common on laptops that thin. The lid is rigid, the hinge opens with a finger and it doesn't wobble too much either. It's a superbly made device worthy of the Surface brand.

I also like what the ultra-thin design does to make the screen stand out. The Surface Laptop 4 is one of the few 15-inch laptops that offers a 3: 2 screen – and it's great. The bezels are bigger than I'd like, but in the 15-inch form factor, they're less outrageous.

The ports include USB-C 3.1, USB-A, a headphone jack and the magnetized Surface Connect. Microsoft continues to ignore the existence of Thunderbolt 4, which means that the USB-C port is not as fast as on other laptops and cannot be used for charging. The docking capabilities of the Surface Connect port are great, although everything is proprietary.

performance

The new components make the Surface Laptop 4 what it is. It now comes with a wide range of Intel and AMD processors. AMD's Ryzen processors debuted in the Surface Laptop 3, but were a year behind with Ryzen 3000 chips. Performance was disappointing, especially when compared to a large 15-inch laptop. It made it very difficult to compete with competitors like the XPS 15 or the MacBook Pro 16-inch. Microsoft's first hug from AMD didn't go over so well.

The Surface Laptop 4 addresses this issue in two important ways. First, Ryzen processors will be available in both 13.5-inch and 15-inch sizes. The smaller size is limited to the six-core Ryzen 5, while the 15-inch model only offers the eight-core Ryzen 7. These additional cores offer the Surface Laptop 4 great performance potential, especially with the 15-inch model Microsoft and AMD need all the performance they need.

The Surface Laptop 4 is pretty powerful thanks to this Ryzen processor.

These are still a year back, although they use Ryzen 4000 processors. It feels a little more forgivable given the current drought in chip shipments. More importantly, AMD achieved its biggest performance leap in the generation with Ryzen 4000, so the Surface Laptop 4 benefits from these advantages.

And that has definitely proven itself in my tests. These four additional cores mean huge improvements in multi-core performance. That was evident in benchmarks like Geekbench and Cinebench. In everything that just depends on the CPU, like the video encoding in Handbrake, the Surface Laptop 4 is pretty powerful thanks to this Ryzen processor. It also performed reasonably well on the photo editing test in PCMark 10, which makes it a reasonably decent option for photographers, and I couldn't have said that about the previous model.

Geekbench (single / multi) Cinebench R23 (single / multi) PCMark 10 3DMark Time Spy
Surface laptop 4 15 1016/6658 1137/5881 4849 1177
LG gram 16 1573/5454 1394/4137 4827 1390
Lenovo Yoga 9i 15 (Core i7-10750H) 1532/5415 1141/6400 4800 3487
MacBook Air (M1) 1727/7585 1479/6680 n / A n / A
Asus ZenBook 13 OLED (Ryzen 7 5800U) 1423/6758 1171/7824 6034 1342
Surface laptop 3 15 900/3056 722/2407 n / A 835

Based on my tests, the Surface Laptop 4's thinness is still holding it back. Less thickness means less space for airflow. Outside of the Surface Book line, this applies to all Surface products. But because of its size, many potential buyers could be fooled into thinking this is a serious workstation. This is certainly not the case – there will always be tasks the Surface Laptop 4 is not designed for, such as: B. Video editing.

I tested the Surface Laptop 4 in PugetBench for Premiere Pro, which tests everything from 4K playback to video encoding. It's sad to say, but the 15-inch Surface Laptop 4 pales in comparison to the M1 MacBook Air. It's not even close – and that's a far cheaper laptop. The graphics are the culprit here, which can speed up the tasks in Premiere significantly.

It is possible to play games, but it is not pretty.

To be fair, the Radeon graphics are a massive improvement over the Vega 9 graphics I tested in the Surface Laptop 3. It ran over 30% faster in 3DMark Time Spy. If Microsoft had chosen Ryzen 5000, the graphics performance would have been a better match for Intel models.

Due to the lack of a graphics card, the Surface Laptop 4 really isn't something you want to play on. I've tried Civilization VI and Fortnite and the results have been poor. You don't want to play a full resolution game, but if you set the Civilization VI settings to Medium, you can get some playable frame rates. I wouldn't care about a game like Fortnite. I had to lower the pixel resolution to 1620 x 1080p and the 3D resolution to 70% to get 60 frames per second (fps). It is possible to play, but it is not pretty.

Battery life

Aside from performance, battery life is the most important advancement Microsoft has made with the Surface Laptop 4. Microsoft claims that this configuration gives you 17.5 hours, but I've never achieved that much. However, I got 13.5 hours in my test that went through a series of websites until the battery ran out.

That's really impressive, especially for a laptop this size. It's nearly four hours longer than the last iteration – which puts it in the league of laptops like the LG Gram 16 and many other laptops with 1080p screens.

This could be the first Surface product to exceed my battery life expectations, which is a good sign for Microsoft. This is the only case where the lack of a number of performance-hungry components is beneficial.

According to Microsoft, you can do a few more hours with the 13.5-inch AMD model, while the Intel models take about an hour less.

Display and speakers

The Surface Laptop 4 offers a beautiful resolution of 2256 x 1504 pixels that is sharp, bright (378 nits) and color accurate. I guess Microsoft only sells one resolution per size so you don't have to choose between a 1080p and a 4K model, both of which have flaws. This is the MacBook approach, and it ensures that you get a sharp screen anyway.

I want to point out that the color saturation is not quite the same as the competition, which in turn strengthens the target audience for this laptop who is not a creative professional. The screen hits 97% of the sRGB color space, but only 73% of the AdobeRGB. Microsoft offers an sRGB color mode that is included in the display settings, but has not improved the color saturation.

The speakers are under the keyboard where they point up. I prefer this position across from the bottom of the case, but the sound isn't as clear as laptops, which instead position them next to the keyboard, such as a laptop computer. B. Dell XPS 15 and MacBook Pro. The sound itself has a fuller audio profile than many other laptops, even with a slight hint of bass. This time around, the addition of Dolby Atmos adds the much-needed stereo separation that gives the Surface Laptop 4 a decent music and show experience.

Keyboard and touchpad

The Surface Laptop 4 has an excellent keyboard and touchpad. It's roomy and the keys have a long travel of 1.3mm. This makes for a very comfortable typing experience. The keys have a very even and even white background lighting, but only three levels of brightness.

I also have a lot of good things to say about the glass touchpad, which tracks smoothly and has plenty of room for multi-finger gestures. The palm rejection is great too, which is why I wish Microsoft had used a bigger touchpad for the 15-inch model. It would fill in the empty palm rest space better, as we've seen on many other laptops lately.

The laptop does not have a fingerprint reader but relies solely on the IR camera for secure logins. I like laptops to offer both, but Windows Hello is lightning fast on the Surface Laptop 4.

The webcam could have used an update, however. It's only 720p, which is unfortunately still the standard specification on laptops. We're seeing some new laptops transitioning to 1080p in 2021, and I would have liked Microsoft to be at the forefront of this trend to help people work from home.

Our opinion

The Surface Laptop 4 isn't perfect. The case could still be updated, and I wish Microsoft had used Ryzen 5000. But both the 13.5 and 15 inch laptops are now much better work laptops because of the improved performance and battery life. The Surface Laptop 4 has gone around the corner.

Are there alternatives?

The LG Gram 16 takes a similar approach to a large, ultra-thin laptop that isn't geared towards content creators.

It's hard not to recommend the Dell XPS 15, which has built-in or discrete graphics options. You'll also find a few cheaper options than the Surface Laptop 4, but they don't have a sharp 3: 2 screen.

How long it will take?

The Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 should last at least four or five years, as long as you don't get jealous when the case is inevitably redesigned.

Should you buy it?

Yes. The changes Microsoft made to this design in its fourth iteration make it a great option.

Editor's recommendations




10 Sep
Blog

Microsoft Surface Duo review: Features, Software and More

"The Surface Duo is wonderfully thin and wonderfully intelligent and redesigns the smartphone."

  • Impossible, wonderfully thin

  • The hinge is perfectly constructed

  • Luxurious build quality

  • Smart app management software

  • Buggy software (still)

  • Design compromises

  • Steep learning curve

Technocrats flat-out rejecting a certain amount of Microsoft hardware, hiding the fairly successful Surface product line, ignoring the Xbox platform, and skipping decades of innovation in keyboards and mice. With a knowing twinkle in their eye, these people will point out the failure of Windows Phone, then lean over and say smugly, "Do you remember the Zune?"

Yes, we all remember the Zune. And Clippy. Sigh.

That same crowd put the Surface Duo on the list of flops and found that their hardware just wasn't competing. However, this new device offers a lot more than megahertz and microchips. With the duo, Microsoft wants to rethink what to do with those 7 or 8 ounces of metal and glass that you take with you everywhere like a Bible, just like how the first iPhone turned portable phones into smartphones we can't stop using. But does it succeed?

design

Let's get this out of the way. It's easy to look at a data sheet for the Surface Duo and see a number of tradeoffs. Sure, it's thin, but where's the wireless charging or 5G? Sure, it's way cheaper than other foldable devices, but you are losing the fastest chipset on the market.

Instead, think about design decisions. Smartphone manufacturers have been battling physics and Moore's Law for years to save a tenth of a millimeter from their phones while adding a few minutes more talk time. These decisions are designed to squeeze as much engineering goodness as possible into a device about 7mm thick and about 6 inches long.

The latest example of this is the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G, a beautiful piece of glass 6.5 inches long and 8.8 mm thick. Compare it to the Samsung phone launched in 2019, the Galaxy S10 Plus – a beautiful piece of glass 6.4 inches long and 7.8 mm thick.

Jeremy Kaplan / Digital Trends

Microsoft Duo is different. Each screen is 4.8mm thin, a little over half the size of this new Galaxy. Half the size! When folded, it is 9.9 mm, a little more than a millimeter thick. It's all about the thickness of a magazine, which is just remarkable.

If your average smartphone is roughly the thickness of a PB&J, putting two of them together – like other foldable devices like the Galaxy Z Fold 2 or the LG V60 ThinQ – is like building a hoagie. And I'm not in the habit of putting submarine sandwiches in my pockets.

This is where the "design decisions" come into play. Microsoft engineers wanted a device that was thin enough to make you gasp. That decision powered the hardware and shaped the device. This means that wireless charging was not possible. And 5G chipsets and the multitude of antennas running through the innards of most phones like your circulatory system just don't work. Because of this, Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 865 chip is missing. NFC still requires an additional antenna, which is why it was omitted and with it the possibility of paying in a grocery store or a subway turnstile. And an ordinary battery is too thick to fit in this device. More on that in a second.

Yes, there's a reason the Duo lacks a number of features that are common to other phones. However, it's still some kind of compromise even if you know why they were left out.

Display quality and hinge durability

The Surface Duo consists of two 5.6-inch AMOLED displays with a resolution of 1800 × 1350 at 401 pixels per inch. Microsoft's marketing team calls them "PixelSense Fusion" displays for some reason. Together they make up an 8.1-inch tablet with a resolution of 2700 × 1800. The duo pushes roughly 5 million pixels, in other words what seems like a lot for a device with a small battery. The battery life is still decent, which speaks for countless hours of technical work.

The screens are covered in Corning & # 39; s Gorilla Glass and are deep and dark with clear contrast. When looking at Carfection's 2020 Mini JCW GP review, colors popped off the screen – a little warmer than natural, but very pleasing to my eyes. Thanks to all of those pixels, it's sharp like a turn.

A continuous torque system allows you to fold the device 360 ​​degrees to any position, but there are really four to lean into: flat like a tablet, folded like a book, fully open or closed, and propped up like a tent. This is the last one useful when watching videos. I put the duo next to my laptop and watch music videos or John Oliver. It's liberating.

Jeremy Kaplan / Digital Trends

There is also a special mode. Just open it a crack and you will see it tell you the time and date. That seems a little silly. When you raise your arm, can't you just look at your watch? Oh, that's right – we ditched watches in favor of the more convenient smartphones and then took away some of that convenience. Hmm

In any case, you can stop the device at any point in those 360 ​​degrees, which means you can shorten the tent and crouch if you are a taller person, or more acute if your tabletop is at eye level. Regardless of its position, the hinge is responsive, pliable, and frankly fun. It also holds any position tenaciously; This tablet won't cut you in half. Permanent? You bet.

I most often use the duo with both hands like a book. Opened in my right hand, I open apps and check email with my left hand. However, if there's something to delve into, I fold the device back on itself and do it on a single screen. Note that this still requires two hands. This is a big change from almost every other phone you've used.

With regular phones, you can hold a subway belt on the left and read a Kindle book on the right. The duo is so wide that I can't reach my thumb over it and can barely hit most of the icons at the bottom of the screen. Held in one hand, my thumb hits the center of the screen. Forget about reaching for a menu.

Use the Surface Duo

Nothing escapes the fact that the duo are tough. When I first flushed, I called it light. I was surprised that two screens would no longer weigh. But if I'm being honest with myself, every phone I've worn for the past three years has gotten progressively heavier. We all just ignored it and we're caught up in the race for faster and newer. So I'll say it here. At 250 grams, the duo is heavy. Android Authority called the 220-gram Galaxy S20 Ultra "too damn heavy". If it's more than half a pound, that's worse. I wonder what they are going to say about the Galaxy Z Fold 2 that weighs you down like a brick with about 280 grams.

Even so, I am ready to look beyond weight if you can do more with it. And you can! It just takes some work.

Here's the thing: this device is incredibly familiar, but it doesn't work quite like other smartphones. Keep in mind that the Duo is the first device I've ever seen and it knows how to hold it thanks to a series of sensors that line the edges of each screen.

Jeremy Kaplan / Digital Trends

Thanks to these accelerometers, gyroscopes and magnetometers, it knows when you are holding it like a book and reacts appropriately when you camp it next to your plate. (Caution: The speakers are on one side of the display, so camp them right or pump soundtrack on your roommate. You won't be happy.)

Common gestures are more or less the same, except that you have to learn some new ones. Swiping up and left or right is different here. Some phones come with a menu with the latest apps. Here's where you can use this action to close an app and forget about it off-screen.

Likewise, you can move a window from one screen to the other by dragging it from the bottom to the top and hurling it over the partition. This action is absolutely fascinating. I could do it all day. Drag the default settings menu down at the top of the screen. Do it from ¾ the way down for a search bar.

Details like this litter the user interface and show the attention to detail Microsoft has wasted on this device. Look at the row of quick start icons that stretch across the bottom of both screens. Open an app on one screen and the six icons will flit and dance to the other side, where they'll nestle together to adjust. It's charming.

When it comes to buttons, the duo has little to offer: the right screen has a volume rocker, an on / off switch, and a biometric reader in a dent that sits right under your thumb. I worried unnecessarily about that. It works well. It also gives the entire duo a little vibration when you record it as the device notices you and suggests that it rarely goes. I like that. It's like the rumble of an engine on the gas.

software

The Duo runs Android 10 with a little Microsoft. To take advantage of the real estate, Microsoft worked closely with the team of software engineers at Google to create special functions just for a device like this one with two screens: a new type of icon groups a pair of apps and launches them side by side, one per Screen. This seems immensely powerful.

Likewise, Microsoft has integrated drag-and-drop functions into some of its apps, with which you can, for example, highlight a few sentences from an email in Outlook and drag them into tasks where they become the agenda.

The big feature is dual screen support: expand an app to fill both screens by dragging it from the bottom to the hinge. Outlook has been redesigned to show a list of emails on the left and a reading pane on the right. It's kind of a game changer. Think for a second how many times you hit the back button on your phone to go back to what you did.

Microsoft has integrated a smart keyboard for this device into SwiftKey, which can be used to switch between single, double and full screen mode. Thanks to all of these sensors, it knows if the left or right screen is active and moves to pick up just that thumb. Getting to the center of the keyboard can be difficult in full screen mode, but it's still neat to hold the duo like a small laptop. I wipe more often than usual.

Jeremy Kaplan / Digital Trends

Finally, the company built a key instruction into the duo: use the screens wisely. Apps that others launch do so intelligently on the second screen, so you can keep doing what you did. The All Trails app starts Google Maps on the second screen. News apps can access individual site apps from the screen.

I'm just glossing over these tech efforts because there are few: Microsoft built drag and drop support into an app or two, including OneNote, which I've never really found convincing use for. And almost no apps are designed to make smart use of both screens, despite Microsoft talking about this device a year ago. Sure, they can invent this new user interface, but it's up to others to make hay with it. Google has had endless problems getting developers to create apps for big screens, as has Samsung. Microsoft has struggled in the past to get developers to support its latest initiatives. There is a risk that Instagram, Tik Tok, Adobe, and everyone else will simply refuse to do the job, which dramatically hinders the duo.

Speaking of work, this is clearly work in progress. After I and a number of other journalists complained about annoying malfunctions in the software, Microsoft released a weekend update that improved the camera, reduced the jerky scrolling, corrected strange behavior and much more.

But it's still not quite there, which is frustrating. Every now and then I open the duo and no screens appear, but both. Or I expect an app on the left and right. Or I turn the device and the app stubbornly refuses to leave portrait mode. These mishaps are hard to forgive. Those basics have to work every time … or Microsoft sees a higher response rate than the national debt.

camera

Outside of smartphone reviewers, few people take advantage of the ridiculously advanced features built into today's smartphone, like unexpected extras in a cookie. Spinach and chocolate chips? No thanks. Butterscotch and Baked Beans? Why would you even offer this? By skipping these unwanted features, Microsoft saved money and avoided the raised bezel that scars the back of most flagship phones.

It must be said that the company has also made compromises.

The duo contains a single camera: an 11-megapixel sensor with a basic aperture of 1: 2.0, very small pixels and without OIS (optical image stabilization). It's on the right side and ready for a selfie if you want. There is 4K 60 fps video, slow motion video support, panorama and portrait mode as well as digital zoom up to 7x. But they are basic things, and not everything works well.

Jeremy Kaplan / Digital Trends

The autofocus on this camera is … not good, let's just come out and say it. I saw some bees buzzing around my Rose of Jericho bushes, and after saying a silent prayer for them (after all, someone has to do it) I leaned over for a moment, pressed the button, and watched the bees whiz before the camera picked up a shot. It took a few tries before I learned to properly measure my recordings.

And while the colors are decent, your photos will never match the great shots from the best camera phones like the Huawei P40 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro. That said, it does some nice tricks: start the camera, flip the right control panel (the one with the lens) back, and the camera app will automatically switch to the correct control panel so you can snap a picture of what you are look at. Flip it back and you're ready for selfies. Expand the app to fill both areas and you'll be able to see your photo library on one side and the live image on the other, making it easy for you to review all of those self-portraits.

95% of people find the camera perfect for 95% of the photos they want to take. Most of them would be happier with a camera as powerful as the Google Pixel 4a, which is literally $ 1,000 less than the fancy phones I mentioned earlier. No one looking at your photos will ever know that your pictures could have been a little better. More importantly, nobody will care.

performance

As you've probably heard, the Surface Duo runs last year's Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 platform, the same chip used in the 2019 Galaxy S10 phones rather than the 2020 Galaxy S20. The same processor as in the 2019 OnePlus 7 Pro instead of the 2020 OnePlus 8. The same … well, you get the picture. It also has 6GB of DRAM and 128GB or 256GB of storage depending on how much money you want to lose.

But is any of that really important? The benchmarks certainly tell a story: we ran the popular 3DMark suite of benchmarks and got results in line with last year's chips:

3D Mark Sling Shot Extreme: 5,745 (OpenGL)

3D Mark Sling Shot Extreme: 5,055 (volcano)

Geekbench 5 CPU: 735 single core, 2,768 multi core

But numbers are numbers; real performance is something else. Over the course of several days and a series of apps, I never had the feeling that the performance was below average anyway. If you've bought a laptop in the past few years, you know what I mean: it is probably good enough for most of your work, isn't it? Sure, a new one is faster, but it's just good enough for surfing the web and checking your email.

Battery life

The duo are a marvel of engineering for a variety of reasons. One of them is the 3,577 mAh battery, which is spread over two different sides of the device. According to Microsoft, special controllers ensure that both sides run evenly and wear out. Amazing! You will never notice, but I find such little facts fascinating.

Jeremy Kaplan / Digital Trends

The company claims you have up to 27 hours of talk time, but let's face it: who wants to spend that much time chatting? In my tests, I was able to easily stretch the battery throughout the day with a lot of Internet surfing, email use, and video-based use. The box contains an 18 watt fast charger that seemed to do the trick.

Our opinion

The Surface Duo is eye-catching, functionally distinctive and expensive. Having two screens seems like a novelty, but I've been better able to work with two screens working more or less together. With my calendar on one side and my email on the other, I can see my day at a glance. With my inbox on the left and a reply message on the right, my phone is suddenly much better at email. And propping it up to watch a video is just incredibly satisfying.

However, the fact that the software still needs work is worrying. How long does the polishing take? And will developers adopt this strange new device? We still have questions.

Is there a better alternative?

The obvious alternatives are foldable screen devices like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 and the LG V60 ThinQ. The duo makes them seem silly. These things are just huge, and in the case of the Galaxy Z Fold 2, hundreds of dollars more. And anything with 5G could be a smarter buy given the huge global pressure to develop the new networking technology. Microsoft can't just "add" it. It's either there or not, and in two years' time the lack of 5G will become more prominent, just as poison ivy will develop days after you touch this pretty plant.

How long it will take?

The physical shortcoming of such a device should be the hinge, but this one feels designed for nuclear warfare. The software could be the Achilles' heel, however: developers should start supporting the features Microsoft developed as it will be widely supported in future Android builds. But will they?

Should you buy it?

Are you the kind of person who buys version one of anything? Who likes to dazzle friends with the latest sharpness? Then grab the duo and impress the world. Everyone else should wait a couple of weeks to make sure Microsoft can resolve the software issues and encourage Twitter, Facebook, Zoom, and the world's game makers to endorse this platform. And they will … probably.

Editor's recommendations




17 Jun
Blog

Microsoft Surface Book 3 13 Review: Portable and Powerful

Microsoft Surface Book 3 13 review

Microsoft Surface Book 3 (13-inch) review: a portable powerhouse

"The Surface Book 3 13-inch does an excellent job of supporting its unique design."

  • Great job

  • Good battery life

  • Excellent input options

  • Sharp, high-contrast display

The Surface Book 3 is said to be the performance-oriented laptop from Microsoft. This can sometimes be a problem for the 15-inch model, which has to compete with powerhouses like the Dell XPS 15 and the Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch. These laptops use powerful eight-core Intel Core i9 processors that promise excellent performance.

However, a powerful 13-inch laptop is rarer. This smaller Surface Book 3 has the chance to shine here. My test configuration consisted of a 10th generation Intel Core i7 CPU, a discrete Nvidia GTX 1650 Ti graphics card and a whopping 32 GB of RAM.

The price of $ 2,500 is undoubtedly high, but based on the specs alone, this could be the most powerful 13-inch laptop ever made.

design

The surface book 3 is a contradiction. On the one hand, it remains the most futuristic laptop on the market today, despite a design that is identical to the Surface Book 2 released in late 2017. Pressing a button and tearing off the display is as satisfactory as ever – no other 2-in-1 is pretty cool.

The build quality is excellent and competes with the MacBook line for elegance and solidity. There is no creaking, bending or groaning of the laptop, no matter how you handle it, in the lid, in the keyboard deck or in the case bottom. The Surface line is generally well made, and the Surface Book 3 offers perhaps the most impressive build quality of all.

At the same time, the Surface Book 3 feels a bit old. The bezels are relatively large, and the same goes for the bulky case. While other laptops are squeezed into tiny frames thanks to tiny bezels, the Surface Book 3 feels like a relapse when the machines were thick and chunky.

Using it on the tray table of a commercial aircraft is not easy.

As a 13-inch laptop, it competes with the incredibly slim HP Specter x360 13 and the Dell XPS 13, both of which are significantly smaller (for example, more than 1.5 inches less deep). The Surface Book 3 is 0.59 inches thick at its thinnest point at the front, which seems to be thin enough, but then it flares up to a massive 0.91 inches at the back due to the rounded pivot hinge. The Specter x360 13 is 0.67 inches and the XPS 13 is 0.58 inches, and both feel a bit thinner. The Surface Book 3 also weighs 3.62 pounds compared to the HP at 2.88 pounds and the Dell at 2.65 pounds.

You won't find it easy to use the Surface Book 3, for example, on the tray table of a commercial aircraft, especially given the fact that the display is more recessed than most other models. Like the thickness, this is due to the pivot hinge, which balances the heavier display than usual. You can flip the display easily enough and use it in media mode, but the same goes for other 2-in-1 devices. And smaller laptops like the Specter x360 13 and the XPS 13 fit well in the same limited spaces.

An advantage of the design of the Surface Book 3 is that the keyboard base stays cool thanks to the heat-generating components in the display, unless you press the discrete GPU.

As a tablet, however, the Surface Book 3 is very comfortable and has only one major disadvantage. First of all, it's thin and light, surprisingly for its 13.5-inch size. Thanks to the 3: 2 aspect ratio, which is closer to a sheet of paper, and the excellent support for the active Surface Pen from Microsoft, it is ideal for coloring. It could be an older design, but it remains pretty functional.

The only problem with using the Surface Book 3 as a tablet is that, unlike the Surface Pro 7, there is no stand and it is therefore not easy to use it to watch media, for example. The best way to bend Netflix is ​​to flip the tablet around the pivot hinge and use the keyboard base to support things. It's not an easy solution, but it works well.

Connectivity is another area where Microsoft has not fully adopted modern computing. The Surface Book 3 has two USB-A 3.1 ports, an SD card reader, a USB-C 3.1 port and the Microsoft Surface Connect port, which enables quick charging and connection to the company's new Surface Dock 2. These ports are all on the keyboard dock, while the tablet has a Surface Connect port for charging.

Thunderbolt 3 is missing, which limits the number and performance of the connected devices. This also means that the Surface Book 3 cannot connect to external GPUs. According to internal reports, Thunderbolt 3 poses a security risk. For this reason, it has been excluded from Surface devices.

performance

Yes, the Surface Book 3 is big for a 13-inch laptop. There is a reason, however: most of the computer components, including the CPU and most of the electronics, are on the display. The discrete GPU (on the Core i7 models) and a number of battery capacities are located on the keyboard base. That's why the laptop is so thick overall and the tablet area is so bulky compared to a simple display.

During my tests, the Surface Book 3 was very fast in my test configuration with a 10th generation Intel Core i7-1065G7 and 32 GB RAM (unusual for 13-inch laptops). It has passed our benchmarks and performed better than many of its 13-inch competitors. In Geekbench 5, for example, the HP Specter x360 13 was surpassed and adapted to the Dell XPS 13. It was even faster than our test configuration of the Surface Book 3 15 with less memory.

The Surface Book 3 is a leading provider of 13-inch laptops.

In our real handbrake test, in which a 420 MB video was encoded as H.265, the Surface Book 3 was completed in one second over 3 minutes, which in turn corresponds almost exactly to the very fast Dell XPS 13 and the Specter x360 13 um surpasses almost a minute.

This makes the Surface Book 3 a leading provider of 13-inch laptops. The MacBook Pro is the only 13-inch laptop that outperforms the CPU thanks to its custom 25-watt processor.

When you use the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q graphics, you have a laptop that becomes even more competitive for any creative application that the GPU can use. This isn't the fastest GPU, but it's a lot faster than the built-in Intel graphics that almost every 13-inch laptop relies on. The only other outlier is the Razer Blade Stealth 13, which uses the GTX 1650 Ti. This laptop doesn't have the unique design of the Surface Book, which doesn't force the GPU and CPU to share the same space.

Play

You may want to put the GTX 1650 Max-Q through its paces and use the Surface Book 3 13 as a gaming laptop for beginners. And for the most part, you can do that – as long as you alleviate your expectations. I guided the laptop through our gaming tests and was a little underwhelmed. The laptop isn't quite as fast as some other laptops with similar GPUs, although most of them are larger 15-inch laptops.

For example, the Surface Book 3 was far behind the previous Dell XPS 15 with the GTX 1650 and even further behind the latest XPS 15 with the GTX 1650 Ti in all of our benchmarks. This includes the synthetic 3DMark suite, in which the older XPS 15 more than 10% faster and the newer model was almost 20% faster. Civilization VI was a game in which the Surface Book 3 was a little more competitive, probably thanks to the strong CPU performance, at 68 frames per second (FPS) in 1080p and medium graphics compared to the older XPS 15 with 56 FPS and the newer 114 FPS model. In Assassins Creed: Odyssey, however, the Surface Book 3 only managed 25 FPS in 1080p and high settings, compared to the older XPS 15 with 42 FPS and the newer model with 47 FPS. The trend continued in Battlefield V: The Surface Book 3 reached 41 FPS compared to 54 FPS with the older XPS and 60 FPS with the newer model.

The Surface Book 3 couldn't reach 60 FPS in Fortnite, a lighter game that serves as a benchmark for starter games. The older XPS 15 achieved 67 FPS and the newer model reached 74 FPS. If you reject graphic details, you can get playable frame rates of 1080p with the Surface Book 3. This is great for a 13-inch laptop. Just don't expect it to replace a real gaming laptop anytime soon.

Of course, the discrete graphics are not standard. The base model starts at $ 1,600 and you'll have to pay $ 500 more to get this extra graphics performance. The larger 15-inch version offers the option for the more powerful GTX 1660 Ti.

display

The Surface Book 3 has an IPS display in a productivity-friendly 3: 2 aspect ratio and a high resolution of 3,000 x 2,000. It's not quite 4K, but both text and image details are sharp. As with all Surface devices, all configurations of the Surface Book 3 contain the same high-resolution display.

According to my colorimeter, the display has its advantages and disadvantages. First of all, it is bright with 422 nits and has an excellent contrast of 1,420: 1 (we like displays with 1000: 1 or higher). That is the good thing. However, the color gamut is not particularly large at 94% sRGB and 73% AdobeRGB, and at 2.10 they are not the most accurate (1.0 or less is considered excellent). You get better displays on 13-inch laptops like the OLED display of the HP Specter x360 13 and the excellent 4K display of the Dell XPS 13. Both offer wider and more accurate colors, as well as equivalent or better brightness and contrast.

The display of the Surface Book 3 is a real pleasure. The aspect ratio gives you more vertical space for a more expansive work area. Although this results in some letterboxing when watching videos, the images are sharp and bright.

However, audio is not that impressive. There are two front-facing speakers on the display that offer enough volume to watch YouTube videos occasionally. However, the bass is missing and you should have a pair of headphones at hand if you want high quality sound.

Battery life

One of the most famous claims of the Surface Book 2 was its battery life, as it is one of the longest-lasting 13-inch laptops ever. The Surface Book 3 takes a step back and offers a strong, but not quite class-leading longevity – this is another area in which the competition has overtaken and surpassed Microsoft's offer.

The Surface Book 3 took 5 hours in our demanding Basemark web benchmark test. This is a good result and surpasses the 15-inch Surface Book 3 and the Dell XPS 13 with a full HD display. In our web browser test, the Surface Book 3 managed almost 10 hours, a good but not great score that the XPS 13 beat by 100 minutes. In our video loop test, the Surface Book 3 lasted just over 13.5 hours, which was almost an hour less than the XPS 13. Of course, given the XPS 13's Full HD display, this is not a completely fair test. Compared to the HP Specter x360 13 with OLED display, the Surface Book 3 lasted for hours while surfing the Internet and watching videos. Note that the Surface Book 2 took 20.6 hours to go through our test video and 15.5 hours to surf the web.

However, most of the battery capacity is in the keyboard base. If you remove the display and use it as a tablet, the battery life will be significantly reduced. In this mode, the Surface Book 3 lasted just under 1.5 hours in the Basemark test, less than 2.5 hours when surfing the Internet and only 3.5 hours when playing our test video. This is disappointing, especially when compared to other tablets that last for hours, like the Surface Pro 7.

Keyboard and touchpad

The Surface Book 3 has always had one of the best keyboards. It has a lot of travel with a snappy feel that ensures a precise and comfortable typing experience. It's also pretty quiet, which is a plus for work without bothering anyone around you. I like the Magic keyboard better on the latest MacBooks, but the Surface Book 3 comes close to my second favorite, the Specter x360 13 keyboard.

The touchpad also works well. It is based on Microsoft Precision touchpad drivers and offers a smooth and consistent Windows 10 multi-touch experience. It's as good a touchpad as a Windows laptop, although it's smaller than it could be on the keyboard deck. However, the size did not hold me back.

The display is of course touch sensitive and reacts just as well as all surface displays. It supports Microsoft's superb Surface Pen, which offers tilt, 4,096 pressure sensitivity levels and one of the best Windows color experiences. As already mentioned, the display has an aspect ratio of 3: 2, which makes it look much more like a normal 8.5 x 11-sheet paper. It's just unfortunate that the $ 100 surface pen isn't included in such an expensive laptop.

Finally, the Surface Book 3 supports password-free Windows 10 Hello login via an infrared camera and face recognition. It's fast, reliable, and better than a fingerprint reader on the keyboard deck because it only works in tablet mode.

Our opinion

The Microsoft Surface Book 3 is a unique 13-inch laptop. It's a bit bigger than its competition, but it offsets this with a strong performance that you will find in few other machines of similar size. Compared to the Surface Book 2, the latest model is simply a faster iteration of a proven design.

It is also very expensive as my test configuration is $ 2,500. The unique design makes it difficult to compare it to other laptops, but it's only worth the cost if you're convinced of the usefulness of the tablet elements.

Are there alternatives?

You can choose from the other Surface devices if you're just excited about the brand. The Surface Pro 7 and X give you better tablet experiences, and the Surface Laptop 3 is a more traditional clamshell offering. However, none of them offer the same level of performance.

The only 13-inch laptop with similar graphics performance is the Razer Blade Stealth. The stealth is a little cheaper, and you can purchase the GTX 1650 Ti model with options for a 144Hz refresh rate display or a 4K touchscreen.

How long it will take?

The Surface Book 3 is built like a tank and uses current components (except for the lack of Thunderbolt 3). You get years of productive service. When you shop in a local Microsoft store, you also get the 60-day money back guarantee and the year of in-store technical support. This is a real plus. However, the 1 year warranty is standard and less impressive.

Should you buy it

Yes. The 2-in-1 design and powerful graphics make it a unique laptop.

Editor's recommendations




21 May
Blog

Microsoft Surface Book 3 15 Review: Graphics, Unleashed

Microsoft Surface Book 3 review 01

"The Surface Book 3 is not for everyone, but it is a unique laptop that is a pleasure to use."

  • Unique 2-in-1 design

  • Large, sharp display

  • Powerful graphics

  • Great video editing performance

  • Excellent keyboard

  • Limited processor performance

  • Very overpriced

  • Reduced battery life

The Surface line has never been known for its performance. They are devices to be held, played and drawn. The performance is not a weakness, but for most Surface devices it is in second place behind the design.

That was a problem for the Surface Book. It is the only Surface product that Microsoft often calls "powerful" – especially for the large 15-inch model.

The latest version, the Surface Book 3, doubles this performance promise with better graphics via the Nvidia GTX 1660 Ti and updated Intel processors. But don't be fooled – the Surface Book 3 still doesn't have the heart of a real workstation laptop. Does that hold you back?

performance

Performance is the only major change in the new surface book. So let's start there. The Surface Book 3 extends its processor and GPU to the latest Intel or Nvidia silicon. In this case, it is the 10th generation Intel Core Ice Lake processors and the Nvidia GTX 1660 Ti. My test device came with a Core i7, 16 GB RAM and a 1 TB SSD.

The CPU performance alone is not impressive for such a large device. There is one main reason for this: The same 15-watt chip is used that is also used in small laptops such as Dell XPS 13, Surface Laptop 3 and HP Specter x360 13. This is important. Not only is this less power than the CPUs in most 15-inch laptops, but there are only four processor cores available. The Dell XPS 15, ThinkPad X1 Extreme and 16-inch MacBook Pro all have up to eight cores.

The difference in the number of cores makes a massive difference in performance. If you add four cores with a laptop like the Dell XPS 15, the Cinebench R20 multi-core test scores 53% better than the Surface Book 3.

The 15-inch Surface Book 3 has an ace up its sleeve. Graphic.

It's not that Microsoft is deliberately limiting performance. The Surface Book 3 must contain most of its components – CPU, memory and more – in its tablet section. Everything sits behind the screen, like an iPad or a Surface Pro. As much as I want Microsoft to do technical magic and use a 45-watt processor, there are limitations that are inherent in this design.

But the 15-inch Surface Book 3 has an ace up its sleeve: graphics. It now uses the Nvidia GTX 1660 Ti and is available in all configurations. And as we'll see, the Surface Book 3 can use these graphics in a way that other laptops can't.

I loaded a 2 minute 4K video project into Adobe Premiere and started rendering the clip in ProRes 422. To my surprise, the Surface Book 3 completed the task in just 5 minutes and 25 seconds. This is really fast. Despite four additional cores, the XPS 15 only beat 30 seconds in the same rendering test. Options like the MacBook Pro or the Razer Blade aren't even that fast.

The Surface Book 3 can maximize the load on its CPU and GPU in many places during the entire rendering time. The system can transfer the additional load on the processor to the graphics card. This is not possible with a standard laptop, in which these hot components are all housed in the same housing. The Surface Book 3 has the graphics card in the base, while the CPU and other components are behind the screen.

Ironic, isn't it? The same reason why the Surface Book 3 is processor-controlled also gives the graphics card so much room to breathe. The only catch (and it's a big one) is the fact that this only applies to software that the GPU can use. Demanding software that the GPU cannot use does not benefit from the boost it can offer.

Of course, a powerful graphics card has other uses. Although the Surface Book 3 is anything but a gaming laptop, it surprised me with its gaming chops.

3DMark's time spy test increased 33% over the Surface Book 2, which used the GTX 1060. While a laptop like the XPS 15 has a much more powerful processor, the GTX 1660 Ti helps make the Surface Book 3 a better laptop. With a resolution of 1080p and graphics at Ultra, Battlefield V played at a speed of 60 frames per second. It doesn't make much sense to go beyond that because the Surface Book 3's display is updated at 60 Hz.

The Surface Book 3 was particularly impressive in Assassin's Creed Odyssey, a tough game that challenges even high-performance gaming PCs. While the game was almost not playable on the XPS 15, the Surface Book 3 can process it at an average of 48 frames per second even at extremely high settings. Microsoft even fixed the battery issue that prevented the Surface Book 2 from charging while playing.

Not all applications are ready to use the GPU in this way. You're not as lucky in Lightroom, and even video encoding software like Handbrake is limited to the CPU. The surface book 3 is painfully slow in these situations. Even smaller laptops such as the Dell XPS 13 and the MacBook Pro 13-inch are making their mark in video coding thanks to better thermals or processors with higher performance.

Yes, the Surface Book 3 can be a powerful laptop depending on the task. It's a surprisingly powerful video editing device and even a decent gaming laptop when you need it.

Surface book 3 as a tablet

The Surface Book 3 remains an adventurous design for Microsoft too.

It is a 2-in-1 device like the Surface Pro, except that the screen is attached directly to the "dynamic pivot hinge" at the base. With a surprisingly close connection, the tablet part is plugged into the base to create a laptop experience with very few compromises.

The tablet can be removed relatively easily by pressing a function key. You can even reattach the tablet backwards so that it can be used for presentations or watching videos. It's an intuitive alternative to using stands or magnets to hold up the screen.

The new Surface Book 3 works just like the original launched four years ago.

However, I miss the tablet stand. I often use tablets in the kitchen when cooking or cleaning, for which both the Surface Pro and the iPad are good. There is no way to support the Surface Book 3 without reattaching it to the large base. The lack of an adjustable stand also makes writing on the tablet a bit awkward. It is most convenient to turn the keyboard backwards.

In the era of the iPad Pro and Magic Keyboard, the Surface Book 3 solution isn't the only game in town. Despite the emphasis Microsoft places on the experimental design of its products, the new Surface Book 3 works just like the original launched four years ago.

The software also feels frozen in time. Windows 10 is still lacking a robust, touchable app ecosystem and meaningful gesture support so that tablet mode feels anything but complementary. This is more forgivable here than on the Surface Pro, but it rains on the parade of the impressive tablet hardware.

The tablet itself only weighs 1.8 pounds, which is slightly heavier than the 1.4-pound iPad Pro (12.9-inch). The Surface Book 3's total weight is a hefty 4.2 pounds, but for its size, the tablet feels remarkably light.

It's easy enough to hold a clipboard in one hand and use it with your Surface Pen, or to scroll the web while lounging on the couch. Unfortunately, the pen is not included and was not included in my test device.

Battery life is the main problem in tablet mode. Only part of the battery is available in tablet mode because the battery is split between the tablet and the keyboard dock. You can only expect a few hours of battery life from the tablet alone – long enough to watch a movie in bed, but not much more.

The Surface Book 3 as a laptop

The Surface Book 3 is more than the Surface Pro and should be a laptop experience.

The blunt hinge is not noticeable when the laptop is open, but it makes the device thicker. At the thickest point it is 0.90 inches. That's a lot of pressure in many backpacks. Otherwise, it's a robust, exceptionally well-built laptop. Just think about the size before buying.

Like all Surface products, the Surface Book 3 also has a first-class keyboard and a touchpad. Because the keycaps are located above the keyboard deck, it is an extremely tactile keyboard that mimics an external keyboard more than most laptop keyboards. If you miss that click feeling on modern laptops, you'll love typing in Surface Book 3.

If you are not a professional photo editor, you will enjoy this large, crisp display to the fullest.

The same applies to the glass touchpad, which has a quiet click mechanism and precise tracking. The touchpad is big enough, although I would like to see it expanded. The MacBook Pro 16 has a larger trackpad, and even the new Dell XPS 15 has expanded in size to take advantage of every millimeter of available space. There's no reason the Surface Book 3 couldn't be bigger.

The speakers are not in the base of the laptop, but in the tablet itself. This ensures good positioning as they point directly at your ears. However, they are not the loudest or booming speakers in the world to watch movies.

You will definitely not complain about the ultra-sharp 3240 x 2160 display. It is a beautiful, high-contrast screen. As long as you stick to the sRGB color mode, it is even color accurate. It's not bright enough to compete with the MacBook Pro, and the color gamut isn't wide enough either. However, for anything other than professional photo editing, you'll enjoy this large, crisp display.

Since the case hasn't changed in four years, the Surface Book 3 gets stuck on an older set of ports: two USB-A ports, a full-size SD card slot, the Surface Connect dock for power, and a USB -C connector. The lack of Thunderbolt 3 is a blatant omission. Microsoft continues to avoid the powerful, super-fast port technology that almost all competitors use. Since Dell switches to four Thunderbolt 3 ports on its XPS 15 and XPS 17, the options of the Surface Book 3 are a bit outdated.

Battery life is an integral part of the laptop experience, and the Surface Book 2 was a record holder. Thanks to its two batteries – one behind the screen and one in the base – it took 20 hours of local video playback. The Surface Book 3 still has a whopping 82 watt hours of juice, and yet in some tests the battery life has been reduced by more than 50%.

Local video playback takes 13 hours and 42 minutes, while moderate internet surfing is closer to 8.5 hours. It takes me through the working day, but the huge reduction is pretty disappointing. I suspect a firmware update might fix the problem, but Microsoft has not yet responded with an explanation.

After all, the price of the Surface Book 3 cannot be overlooked. The 15-inch model costs a whopping $ 2,400, but only has 256 GB of SSD storage. Even the expensive 16-inch MacBook Pro offers twice as much storage space for the same price. If you're more expensive than a brand that most already criticize as overpriced, you're in trouble.

The only way to add more space to the Surface Book 3 is to spend an additional $ 400, which also gives you up to 32 GB of RAM. Due to the limited configuration, it is difficult to customize the Surface Book 3 exactly as you want it.

Our opinion

The Microsoft Surface Book 3 remains a niche laptop, especially in its 15-inch form. The price is insane and the mediocre processor limits the type of work it excels at. However, the impressive graphics performance makes the Surface Book 3 a solid video editing and gaming machine. However, the unique design remains its main attraction

Are there alternatives?

The closest alternative to the Surface Book 3 are the other Surface products like Surface Pro 7, Surface Pro X or Surface Laptop 3. The Surface Laptop 3 is the only one that is also available in this size, although it does not offer any discrete products graphics option.

If you can give up the tablet experience, the Dell XPS 15- and 16-inch MacBook Pro offer better processor performance. The XPS is also a lot cheaper.

How long it will take?

The Surface Book 3 should last longer than a few years. Due to its unique design, you cannot update the memory or memory yourself. The Surface Book 3 offers a 60-day return policy and one year of in-store technical support if you live near a Microsoft Store. The guarantee is a standard one-year fixed-term contract.

Should you buy it

Yes. Thanks to some powerful graphics, the Surface Book 3 is by far the most powerful Surface device ever made.

Editor's recommendations




16 May
Blog

Microsoft Build 2020 News | Digital Trends

Microsoft Build, the company's developer conference, kicks off on May 19, but the popular event doesn't take place in Seattle. For the first time, the company is hosting a virtual event for its major developer, leaving Microsoft teams to collaborate and network to interview event attendees. At Build, the company will likely focus on Azure, its cool computing platform, addressing Windows, games, virtual computing (Hello, HoloLens!) And buzzwords like ambient computing, quantum programming, and AI at work.

13 May
Blog

Microsoft Surface Earbuds Review: Productivity For A Price

Microsoft Surface Earbuds

Micorsoft Surface Earbuds

"As a productivity tool, Surface Earbuds offer solid value."

  • Integration with Microsoft 365

  • IPX4 waterproof

  • Eight hours of audio playback

  • Aesthetically unique design

  • No noise cancellation

  • Value depends on the brand

Microsoft has taken a chance with its new Surface Earbuds. One of the largest technology companies in the world could try to survive in a new area by beating its competitors in its own game. Or it could double on its own brand and rely on creating a truly unique experience.

You can probably guess which direction Microsoft is headed.

The $ 200 Surface Earbuds are here and come at a lot cheaper than the price at which they were originally launched in late 2019 – $ 250.Microsoft marketed and integrated them as a pair of real wireless earbuds made almost exclusively for professional use the new buds as creatively as possible in its own software. The company accidentally raised an important question: Can the surface earbuds be the ultimate productivity buds and thrive as everyday wearables?

Out of the box

The packaging for the Microsoft Surface Earbuds is classically minimalist: a white box with a single image of the buds even on the top. The glossy white charging case with the Microsoft logo is located under the lid. The buds rest inside with a USB-C charging cable, two additional pairs of earplugs, and product documents.

Microsoft Surface EarbudsNick Woodard / Digital Trends

The surface earphones are set up in one of two ways – simple or super simple. If you've ever paired wireless earphones with your smartphone, this process is no different. However, if you pair the Surface Earbuds with a Surface PC, Microsoft has a Swift Pair feature to make the connection much easier. This feature is similar to the quick connect features of Google Pixel Buds 2 and Apple AirPods, and is a trend we'd love to see more of in the future.

Microsoft has its own Surface Audio app with useful but not essential video tutorials. Without firmware updates and a supplied equalizer, you could completely do without the app and not miss much.

Surface earbuds support connections to multiple devices, so switching between your phone and computer is not a problem. As for the connections themselves, I did not notice any significant dropouts during the review period. This included cases where I left my phone in the house and ventured into my humble garden.

design

Part of me is inexplicably fascinated by the aesthetics of the surface earbuds. Another part of me wants to bring the whole design back to the drawing board. Of course there is a lot to unpack here.

Microsoft Surface EarbudsNick Woodard / Digital Trends

The description of the buds we gave at the company's Surface Hardware event in October 2019 remains accurate – from the outside, they resemble measuring earrings. Granted, I've never been a fan of this actual earring style. But when I go back to earbud design, I find that kind of groundbreaking look very appealing.

There is a soft silicone earplug on the other side of the touch-sensitive outer pane. I swapped the original tips for the smaller version to give the buds a safer feel in my ears. According to Microsoft, the Surface Earbuds have four anchor points to ensure the most effective fit possible.

Ironically, my design complaint is about fit. These are heavy buds; At 7.3 grams each, they're stronger than most of the competition, including those from Apple and Google, as well as the Samsung Galaxy Buds + and Amazon Echo Buds, and they extend slightly outside the ear. Both are relatively small and forgivable topics. What is annoying is that buds offered as workhorses simply don't have the secure fit to take on this role – especially when the wearer is training.

I've tried running with these buds twice, and both times I got into a swamp because I had to constantly readjust them during my run. I have not ruled out having bulky ear canals, although I have not encountered these problems in any of the buds that I have recently checked. Regardless, it's one of those bugs that gets worse every time, and it leaves a sour taste in terms of usability.

To be fair, press materials for the Surface Earbuds refrained from mentioning sports compatibility and made it clear that they were simply not intended for this type of activity. However, if you are considering spending $ 200 on earphones, this is an important distinction. You will not run with them or participate in high-intensity workouts.

properties

The standard functions of the Surface Earbuds are competitive, but not unique: IPX4 water resistance, eight hours of battery life with three additional charging processes and touch controls for completing tasks such as changing music, making calls and interacting with intelligent assistants, including Microsoft's own Cortana. Aside from an auto pause when pulling out a bud, which is oddly MIA, the Surface Earbuds have numerous features that help them measure themselves against the industry giants.

Microsoft Surface EarbudsNick Woodard / Digital Trends

Honestly, if that were all the Surface Earbuds had to offer, I would recommend looking elsewhere. There are other options that perform these functions as well, and in some cases better, to reduce the burden on the old bank account. Fortunately, it’s the capabilities of Surface Earbuds when used with Microsoft 365 that put them in a separate class.

If you run an iOS device with the Surface Earbuds, you can listen to, delete and reply to emails on the go thanks to the "Play my emails" function in the Outlook mobile app. Are you looking for something that is a bit more innovative? Using the earphones with PowerPoint on a PC offers the possibility to activate live subtitles and subtitles, both of which can be translated into one of more than 60 different languages.

Granted, this may be a niche advantage rather than a common feature – at the moment I have to assume that most everyday Surface Earbuds owners don't have to translate their presentations into different languages. It is still a good option if the reason ever shows up.

Most of all, I think Microsoft's dictation feature is the most appropriate. In programs like PowerPoint, Outlook, and Microsoft Word, you can use your voice to dictate content while Microsoft is writing it down for you. It is not a perfect tool as you might expect. Based on my experience, I have corrected some grammatical errors here and there. This function is already available from Microsoft without the buds themselves being needed. However, I found that the two built-in microphones on each earphone recorded my speech more effectively, and I was able to write this section of the review almost entirely with dictations.

As far as I know, the Microsoft Word app does not currently support dictation, so this is not a mobile-friendly function. However, this could change in the future and leave the door open to improve an already fascinating function. In terms of productivity, this could really be a game changer with a few tweaks.

Audio quality

Call quality is the most important component of the audio quality of Surface Earbuds, if you follow Microsoft's mantra to get things done. According to my tests, the microphones mentioned above do an excellent job in each bud by both picking up your voice and playing down background noise.

Microsoft Surface EarbudsNick Woodard / Digital Trends

For music playback and other content, the Surface Earbuds are equipped with 13.6 mm drivers (relatively large for earphones), which can be operated in a frequency range from 20 to 20,000 Hz. They support SBC and aptX audio codecs and offer what Microsoft has called the "Surface Omnisonic Sound Profile" to improve the sound.

The resulting sound quality is … good. The sizeable drivers handle the low end well, and the music in general is wonderfully clear. Overall, Microsoft has achieved a performance that is almost identical to the mainstream functions: a sound that does not surpass its competitors, but sounds objectively good enough to sit at the table. The problem is that Microsoft grabbed one of the most expensive chairs in the house. The fact that Microsoft lowered the retail price for the Surface Earbuds between the autumn release and the spring release is a sense of self-awareness. However, this is a band aid rather than a long-term solution.

The surface earbuds lose brownie points because they have no active noise cancellation, let alone effective passive noise isolation. It goes without saying that I have not yet commuted with these, but a morning walk through a busy street made a lot of noise penetrate my listening experience. Sure, you can turn up the volume to drown things out. At normal listening levels, however, you'll hear the outside world in addition to your podcasts and playlists.

Our opinion

When used as a work environment tool in conjunction with Microsoft's own devices and software, the Surface Earbuds offer solid value and an experience that no other pair of buds can currently offer. They are simply not the most flexible real wireless option for the money, and it is not realistic to expect it.

Are there any better alternatives?

They are hard to beat in terms of productivity. But when things like audio quality, battery life or usability come into play, the locks open. The $ 179 Google Pixel Buds 2, $ 129 Amazon Echo Buds, and $ 150 Samsung Galaxy Buds + offer better values ​​for what they offer. The Sony WF-1000XM3 currently only costs $ 30 more than the Surface Earbuds and is our preferred wireless earbud overall.

How long will they last?

It helps to be Microsoft here. Without considering the Surface Earbuds' one-year limited hardware warranty, these buds were born with Microsoft's reputation for making well-built devices. Expect the surface earphones to last a long time if they are well cared for.

Should you buy them

Yes, but only if you're looking for earbuds that can really act as a productivity tool, and for a good one. Otherwise, you will find buds for a better value that better suits your needs.

Editor's recommendations




13 May
Blog

Microsoft Surface Headphones 2 Review: Less Is More

Microsoft Surface Headphones 2

Microsoft Surface Headphones 2

"The Surface Headphones 2 offer all-day comfort and intuitive controls to stand out from the crowd."

  • Inexpensive

  • good sound

  • Excellent control

  • Good noise cancellation

  • Disappointing battery life

  • Distortion at higher volumes

Microsoft's original Surface headphones were surprisingly good since the company had never made noise canceling headphones before. They brought solid noise cancellation, respectable sound quality and were very comfortable. In addition, the intuitive controls were top notch.

However, they were slowed down by poor battery life, a lack of high quality Bluetooth codecs, and no real way to optimize settings like the EQ. They were expensive too. At $ 350, they went head-to-toe with Sony's incredibly good WH-1000XM3. Microsoft had little hope of winning this fight.

Microsoft's second attempt, the Surface Headphones 2, is less like a new version than a confirmation that too much was charged for the first Surface Headphones. With a price tag of $ 250 and some small improvements, the Surface Headphones 2 are looking for a niche.

Now at a cheaper price

It may seem strange to start a headphone review by talking about money, but in this case it is justified. The biggest change Microsoft made to the Surface Headphones 2 is the price. At $ 250, they're $ 100 less than the original Surface headphones. It makes a big difference. Not only are they cheaper, they are also cheaper because they also contain some extras.

design

If you place the Microsoft Surface Headphones and the Surface Headphones 2 side by side, you will hardly notice any differences … unless you choose the matt black option, which connects the previous light gray.

Microsoft Surface Headphones 2Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

The new model has an identical design with the same minimalist aesthetics. The seamless headband, the one-sided swivel arms for the ear cup and the subtle Windows logo are copies of the first generation. Fortunately, these are also the particularly comfortable ear cushions and the characteristic knob controls for volume and active noise suppression.

The large touchpads on each ear cup are easy to use and react very quickly to knocking.

At $ 250, they're $ 100 less than the original Surface headphones, and that makes a big difference.

A small change is the ability to freely rotate each ear cup 180 degrees so that you can wear the Surface Headphones 2 more comfortably around your neck when you're not using them. You can also perform DJ-style one-ear monitoring when using the analog cable.

In short, Microsoft made the wise decision to keep all of the physical traits that helped the first generation stand out.

Comfort still stands out the most. I wore these headphones for a full 9-to-5 working day when I got myself into this rating, and apart from sweaty ears (an inevitable consequence of closed headphones), I never felt a hint of discomfort. It is remarkable.

Still, I don't think they'll be the best companion in the gym. Stationary bikes, ellipticals, and free weights shouldn't be a problem, but bumpy activities like running or skipping rope can cause the headphones to move slightly. In this case, greater comfort goes hand in hand with a loose fit, making the Surface Headphones 2 more suitable for long sessions at the desk than for long trips in the city.

Cortana and language support

Microsoft Surface Headphones 2Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

A hands-free voice assistant is a great convenience – one of the things I like most about products like AirPods Pro from Apple, Pixel Buds 2 from Google and Echo Buds from Amazon. And although Cortana hasn't won as many hearts and minds as Siri, Google Assistant, or Alexa, it was a cool feature of the first-generation Surface headphones to be able to talk to her without pressing a button.

Unfortunately, Cortana has almost given up the second-generation Surface cans. You can still access your voice commands. To do this, however, you need Microsoft apps such as Outlook Mobile. Once it's set up (a complicated process), you can call Cortana hands-free, for example to read your email. Only certain types of email accounts are supported. You can only use this if you are in the United States.

I suspect most people – unless they're hardcore Office 365 fans – will ignore this feature and simply use the device's built-in wizard, which you can run by long-pressing the touchpad on one of the ear cups.

In its briefing with journalists, Microsoft promoted the fact that both the Surface Headphones 2 and the new Surface Buds can perform subtitles and translations in real time in Microsoft apps such as PowerPoint. It's definitely a solid tool, but I can't see too many business people standing in front of a boardroom with meeting attendees with full-sized headphones. The Surface Earbuds are a different story.

Battery life

Microsoft Surface Headphones 2Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

The original Surface headphones suffered from poor battery life. With just 15 hours (or 18 hours if you turned off Cortana's voice activation feature) between charges, they fell significantly behind noise-canceling headphones at the same price – many of which can last twice as long. We are used to spending 25 to 30 hours or more on premium noise canceling headphones.

Microsoft has made some profits in this department, but frankly not as much as I would like. The battery life is said to be 20 hours when the ANC is turned on, which is better, but still a long way from cheap ANC headphones like these Taotronics.

After five minutes of quick charging, you get an additional hour of play, which is also not exactly convincing. With the WH-1000XM3 from Sony you get five hours after 10 minutes of charging.

Audio quality

Microsoft Surface Headphones 2Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

Like their predecessors, the Surface Headphones 2 deliver a strong sound. Microsoft calls it Omnisonic sound, but you can calculate that down to marketing language. In practice, these headphones deliver a rich, full sound that can be extensively optimized using the new Surface Audio app for iOS and Android (which you can also use with the first generation Surface Headphones).

Rock, jazz, classical and pop presets have expanded these genres, which presets don't always do right.

With the factory settings, you hear a very flat response that audio purists look for in their speakers and headphones. Highs, lows and mids are all well balanced, and the bass response is just so clear that your favorite songs have a real presence. These cans don't offer the precision, clarity, and depth of the soundstage you get with high-end headphones, but given their new, cheaper price, they're no longer a deal-breaker.

If you jump into the EQ settings of the app, you can move this bass from benign to bombastic in one fell swoop. Can you find a combination of settings that you like? You can save them with your own labels – a huge improvement over the first pass. I found that the rock, jazz, classical and pop presets built into the app actually improved these genres, which isn't always right with presets.

Although the overall sound quality remains unchanged from the first version, Microsoft has added support for the aptX Bluetooth codec, which is said to improve sound quality when used with devices that support it. However, my iPhone 11 doesn't support this, so I couldn't test it.

With moderate traffic noise and peaceful interiors, the calls were clear and the noise was reduced to a minimum.

As good as their sound is, I've found a significant disadvantage. If you set the volume to 9, 10 or 11, distortion can creep in. I first noticed them on Death Cab For Cuties To the Ground's snare drum beats. A quick review of other tracks like my favorite low-end bass shaker Boom Boom Pow by the Black Eyed Peas confirmed that bass drums can do the same thing.

Everything north of Volume 8 is almost painfully loud and I can't imagine that you want to expose yourself to these levels for a very long time. However, it is surprising that Microsoft did not tune the Surface Headphones 2 to the distortion.

Call quality

Microsoft Surface Headphones 2Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

The Microsoft Surface Headphones 2 offer excellent call quality. With moderate traffic noise and peaceful interiors, the calls were clear and the noise was reduced to a minimum.

The only minor problem was the ANC function. You can usually choose between 13 noise reduction levels and two pass-through modes with the left ear cup wheel: normal pass-through and ambient gain.

Passthrough is ideal for calls because it allows you to hear your own voice naturally. However, during a call – and sometimes at other times – pass-through mode will switch back to the lowest ANC setting, usually accompanied by an audible click.

I contacted Microsoft to see if the Surface team knew why this was happening, but I had no response at the time of publication.

Noise canceling quality

I have to say that after using many different ANC headphones, I like the Microsoft noise cancellation system the most. That doesn't mean that the Surface Headphones 2 at ANC are better than the Sony WH-1000XM3 or the Bose Noise Canceling 700 – they are not. However, their dial-controlled intensity is impressive and intuitive.

It hasn't changed since the first generation cans, but it's still worth pointing out. It's a far better way to adjust the amount of outside noise you want to let in than using app-based presets. This is usually done this way.

The ANC itself is not bad either. There is a very small hiss when you are not playing music and it does not provide complete silence, but it does reduce slightly loud roaring noises like bathroom fans or vacuum cleaners to an acceptably quiet level.

Our opinion

The Microsoft Surface Headphones were surpassed by their competitors at $ 350. With a price tag of $ 250 and a slight increase in battery life, the Surface Headphones deserve 2 serious considerations.

Is there a better alternative?

You can usually find Jabra's Elite 85H for around $ 250. With a better battery life, slightly better sound quality and water resistance, they are an excellent alternative to the Surface Headphones 2.

However, they don't have Surface's excellent dial-based controls, which makes the most accessed functions much easier and more user-friendly.

How long will they last?

Microsoft grants a one-year warranty on the Surface Headphones 2, which is common for headphones. Their build quality looks better than average and I think that with reasonable care they should last for many years.

Should you buy them

Yes. The price of the Surface Headphone 2 is the biggest improvement and does what was once an overpriced product at a very good price. They have a shorter battery life than the competition, but with great sound, comfort and ANC, as well as some of the best controls on all headphones, they have definitely found their niche.

Editor's recommendations




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