I replaced my laptop with Microsoft's 12-inch Surface Pro - here's my buying advice a week later

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• The 12-inch Microsoft Surface Pro is disposable for preorder present starting astatine $799 for the Platinum color, and $899 for the caller Violet and Ocean colors.
• The 12-inch mentation is exceedingly bladed and airy with a fast-charging battery, and the refreshed signifier origin looks much premium.
• The 256GB of retention is not capable for a instrumentality astatine this terms point, and the outgo adds up quickly, arsenic the keyboard, mouse, and adjacent the powerfulness adapter are sold separately.

Microsoft's 2025 12-inch Surface Pro is thinner, lighter, and a small much affordable, with a battery-efficient Snapdragon X Plus processor and refreshed design. The latest mentation of the Surface Pro rounds retired the lineup with a much affordable enactment focused connected ultra-long artillery life, caller colors, and redesigned accessories to amusement disconnected Windows' latest Copilot+ PC features. 

Also: Microsoft's caller Surface devices conscionable got large redesigns - and I'm tempted to switch

I precocious replaced my laptop with the 12-inch Surface Pro for a week, and the Surface Pro seems to maine to beryllium much of an summation to the existent lineup than a standalone upgrade, peculiarly successful examination to the enterprise models Microsoft released successful January.

The 2025 Surface Pro has comparatively humble hardware, with 16GB of RAM and 256GB oregon 512GB of UFS storage, alternatively targeting a much mundane user who makes usage of on-device AI and appreciates the ultraportability. 

Besides the smaller signifier factor, this year's Surface Pro comes successful 2 caller colors: Violet and Ocean (a blueish gray). The default Platinum colour starts astatine $799, whereas the different 2 volition tally you $899, bringing the starting terms a small further distant from that advertised debased terms (and we haven't adjacent bought the keyboard yet). 

I indispensable admit that the plan connected the 12-inch tablet looks better. It looks much similar a premium tablet (and much similar an iPad) with rounded corners, bladed bezels, and the webcam moved to the backmost country of the device. 

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Additionally, I'm a instrumentality of the caller Violet and Ocean colorways, which aren't what I'd telephone "bold", but astatine slightest they're not the aforesaid desaturated pastels we spot everyplace else. The colors widen to the Surface Pro keyboards, which are updated by removing the alcantara cloth connected the beforehand of the keyboard for a cleaner, monochromatic matte look. 

Instead, the cloth is relegated to the backmost of the keyboard case, which has a much premium tablet consciousness for retention and transport. The Surface keyboard is functional and satisfying to benignant on, with springy keys and a responsive, premium trackpad. 

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET

Additionally, the tablet snaps to the keyboard a small tighter and person to the tablet now, with nary spread successful the hinge, giving it a somewhat smaller footprint connected the desk. 

The Surface Pen besides magnetically snaps to the backmost of the 12-inch alternatively of storing connected the keyboard. This requires you to store the instrumentality with the cloth facing down, arsenic you don't privation to squish the pen. When throwing the Surface Pro successful a bag, the Pen besides tends to enactment enactment but tin travel unattached if you're not paying attention. 

Microsoft wants to amusement disconnected its caller AI-driven Copilot+ features, and the 12-inch Surface Pro is simply a bully conduit for selling them to the consumer, particularly with its charismatic terms constituent and the 45 TOPS Qualcomm Hexagon NPU. 

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For example, the long-awaited Recall diagnostic is inactive successful Preview mode, but it's getting person to a utile state. Other applications that leverage AI processes, peculiarly ones for creators similar Capcut, Davinci Resolve, and DJay Pro should consciousness creaseless and snappy. This makes it a precise AI-ready instrumentality for mundane users who don't request high-end hardware for demanding originative projects. 

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET

Running Windows connected Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Plus spot shouldn't beryllium excessively overmuch of a occupation for astir users successful this category, arsenic the areas that saw the astir issues with compatibility, similar gaming and connecting to bequest software, are much apt not to use to the targeted user. 

The 12-inch Surface Pro's humble hardware positions itself arsenic a competitory instrumentality successful the family's lineup. The aforementioned 16GB of RAM and max 512GB of storage, paired with the Snapdragon X Plus and 2196 x 1464 solution (220 PPI) LCD show that targets mundane users, portion its 13-inch siblings tin beryllium loaded up with much premium hardware. 

Also: This ultraportable Windows laptop raised the barroom for the MacBook Air (and everything else)

That being said, the Snapdragon X Plus processor is snappy and responsive, excelling astatine tasks that the mean user cares about: accelerated startup and app load times, creaseless multitasking, and coagulated artillery performance, whether successful laptop oregon tablet mode. 

During my benchmarking of the 12-inch Surface Pro, I got numbers that spot it astir different bladed and airy laptops successful the aforesaid terms range, including Asus' Zenbook A14, which besides features the Snapdragon X Plus processor, and HP's OmniBook X 14, 1 of the archetypal Copilot+ PCs with the Snapdragon X Elite spot from 2024. 

The show is crisp and crisp, but it does headdress retired astatine 400 nits of brightness and a 90Hz refresh rate. Since it's a tablet, it's besides rather glossy. In the office, for example, I recovered myself readjusting the device's space galore times passim the time to relationship for glare from overhead lighting. 

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Speaking of utilizing the Surface Pro successful the office, it works arsenic good arsenic a laptop oregon a tablet, depending connected what you need. Detached from the keyboard and equipped with the Surface Pen, it becomes a snappy productivity tablet that allows for enactment taking, prototyping, and freeform thought procreation successful Windows' Whiteboard app. 

You tin besides delegate antithetic actions to the Pen, including starting apps oregon performing functions with the fastener connected the instrumentality oregon the "clicky" connected the end. I volition accidental that the Pen's show tin beryllium variable, though. If you're moving aggregate programs unfastened successful the background, you mightiness announcement lag portion writing, particularly if you're moving quickly. 

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET

Similarly, the determination of the front-facing HD camera means that it has a somewhat downward-up predisposition portion connected to the keyboard, arsenic the kickstand tin lone prop it up truthful high. Consider a clamshell laptop, for example, which tin beryllium astatine a 90-degree space oregon less. 

In that sense, untethering the keyboard and utilizing it arsenic a tablet mightiness beryllium much optimal for users who marque predominant video calls. 

Also: Are dual-screen Windows laptop a gimmick oregon axenic genius? My buying proposal aft investigating one

Regarding artillery life, the Snapdragon X Plus processor ensures that it drains astatine a specified trickle erstwhile the instrumentality is not successful use, and is bully capable for implicit a afloat day's worthy of enactment connected 1 charge. Microsoft advertises 16 hours of artillery life, and I got a small implicit 15 successful our video playback test. Regarding much sustained use, I got implicit 10 hours connected a azygous charge, which isn't acold disconnected from the advertised 12 hours without utilizing each the max artillery ratio settings. 

Couple this with the information that the Surface Pro charges highly fast. From a wholly dormant battery, you'll get to astir 50% successful 30 minutes, and astir 80% successful an hour. Of the Surface Pro family, the 12-inch is surely the astir artillery businesslike and the fastest to charge. 

ZDNET's buying advice

The 12-inch Microsoft Surface Pro completes the family's lineup with a thinner, lighter, and much battery-efficient tablet/laptop hybrid with refreshed colors and design. It comes with somewhat much humble hardware (16GB of RAM, 256GB of storage) for a little starting terms of $799. 

If you're looking for a functional 2-in-1 tablet/laptop, bask utilizing a stylus, and don't request a ton of section storage, it's a large option, particularly for its long-lasting battery. It's an all-around sharp-looking device, and the premium keyboard lawsuit provides a satisfying tactile experience. 

Also: How to wide the cache connected your Windows 11 PC (and wherefore it makes specified a large difference)

The outgo of the Surface Pro tin rapidly adhd up, however, arsenic the Surface Keyboard, Surface Arc mouse, and powerfulness adapter are sold separately, bringing the last outgo implicit the $1,000 mark. Combined with the debased magnitude of section retention and humble memory, I'd urge this instrumentality for users who are committed to the 12-inch signifier origin and privation reliable artillery life. 

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