Tablets have become a little unnecessary. But with the upcoming release of the iPad Pro, a larger version of the iPad Air 2, we thought we should get acquainted with the Pro tablet that started the revolution. This is the Microsoft Surface Pro 4 and it’s not actually a tablet at all. It can be one but it’s also meant to be a full out Windows 10 Notebook thanks to its Skylake i5 Intel processor. Let’s go ahead and unbox the new Surface Pro 4 and see what the iPad Pro has to compete with when it releases this month.
Fun fact: this is actually my first Windows product other than the Xbox One in almost a decade. So it’s been a while. The box here is really nice for Microsoft. Everything is packed neatly inside. And inside, you’ll find the brand new Microsoft Surface Pro 4 sitting on top alongside with the Pro 4, you do get the charger and a couple other accessories but that’s basically it.
The Surface Pro 4 has a 12.3-inch display with an all new display technology inside of it from the Surface Pro 3. It has a resolution of 2736 x 1824, which dials its PPI to 267. Plus the weight has been redistributed around the device to give it a sensation that the Pro 4 has shed some weight. Overall, its magnesium frame feels amazingly solid, even with the standard mechanism. It all feels super solid and very well put together.
Internally on our $1000 model, it’s packed with an Intel i5 processor with Intel’s 520 GPU card, 4GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD. Around the device, you’ll find your typical ports like a full size USB 3 port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, the charger port. But one thing that is new is a brand new microSD card slot on the left side. On the back side, you’ll find an 8MP camera and on the front, a 5MP camera with stereo speakers.
Once it’s booted up, the Surface Pro 4 really does shine with its new display. It’s definitely one crispy, pixel packed panel. Viewing content is an absolute dream but one thing is definitely clear after the first few minutes of using this thing—it’s really massive. I will definitely be using this thing on a table or a desk rather than on my lap because it is a fairly large device.
Now over to the software. Windows 10 is the first Windows software I’ve used in a very long time. I think the last version of Windows was XP, maybe. From first glance, it’s all very responsive. Though I can still see the apps are slightly lacking when compared to the likes of Mac apps and iOS apps for iPad, but the fact that this is running a full bread and butter version of Windows 10 is a win for me.
The last thing I wanted to mention in this video is the Surface Pen. There’s actually nothing special about the pen. It’s a simple fact actually. It’s included. Hear that Apple? Surface Pen= included, not $99.
So this is our brief look at the Microsoft Surface Pro 4. I’m definitely going to need some extra time playing around with this thing if you want my full review.