The Surface’s greatest design win, its best-in-class clip-on keyboard now gets a semihidden storage and charging slot for the slim stylus, which was another Surface X feature. The new version 2.0 slim pen adds the capacity for haptic feedback, threatening to buzz and jump in your hand while tapping or sketching.
In a Microsoft demo event a couple of weeks ago, I felt the stylus buzz a bit when selecting different drawing tools in Sketchable, although I didn’t feel anything while actually drawing on the screen. In this final version of the hardware, with a final version of Windows 11, I wasn’t able to get any haptic feedback at first, until I realized I had to press the side button on the stylus to turn the haptics off and on. After that I could again feel brush selection in Sketchable, but that’s about it so far. You can crank the level of haptic feedback up in a menu, but it was still pretty subtle when maxed out.
Other key improvements and changes to the Surface Pro 8 include:
- The 13-inch display can display at 120Hz, but it’s not the default
- Two Thunderbolt USB-C ports (but no more USB-A)
- A 4K-capable rear camera
The most common question I’ve gotten from people has been: Can you charge it through the USB-C port? The answer is yes, much like the Surface Go Laptop, Surface Pro X and a few other newer models. Microsoft still includes its proprietary magnetic charger cable and power port, but I’ve never been a fan — it pops out too easily, sits at an awkward angle, and defeats the purpose of most laptops (even MacBooks!) using a universal power solution.
The song remains the same
You know what I’m going to talk about next. It’s been in every single Surface Pro review I’ve written, going all the way back to the first generation. It remains a crime that the Surface Pro 8, which starts at $1,100 (£999, AU$1,649) and goes all the way up to $2,600, still doesn’t include the keyboard cover in the box. A Windows tablet on its own, no matter how well designed, is still a pain to use as a regular PC without it, and nearly every promo shot, TV ad or in-movie product placement I’ve ever seen for the Surface Pro includes the keyboard cover.
That’s fine, you say; how much could it possibly be? The only current option on Microsoft’s website right now is the Surface Pro Signature Keyboard with Slim Pen 2, in black, gray or red, for… $280. You can get the new pen alone for $130. And no, your old Surface Pro 7 keyboard won’t work as the connection has moved.
That makes the cheapest functional Surface Pro $1,380. And that’s for a system with a Core i5 CPU, 8GB of RAM and a 128GB solid-state drive. Honestly, paltry specs for the price. A 12-inch 128GB iPad Pro with an Apple Pencil and Magic Keyboard is about $1,450, so it’s not a Microsoft-only issue.
