Verdict
It might look very much the same , yet this could be a sizeable upgrade for the Surface Pro line . With huge carrying into action hope , carry assault and battery spirit and a endearing new OLED showing there ’s certainly a batch to get stir by here .
Key Features
Pros
Cons
Introduction
The Microsoft Surface Pro 11 is the modish entry in the long - running serial publication of hybrid laptop , and it ’s one of the best I have used .
Microsoft ’s latest Surface Pro gimmick is an important release for several grounds . This initial version has ditched Intel chips for Qualcomm ’s Snapdragon X cow chip , giving it a notable performance and bombardment life cost increase .
It ’s also get new screen door tech , and an updated keyboard attachment that can be used independently of the display .
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Pricing starts at £ 1049/$999 for the X Plus ( 10 core ) with LCD , and £ 1549/$1499 for the OLED - total hug drug Elite . Then the Flex keyboard is £ 339/$349 without the Slim Pen and £ 439/$449 with it . There are cheaper keyboards , embark on from £ 139/$139 .
The interrogative remains , is this 2 - in-1 twist better than thebest laptopsandbest tablet , or simply an equal alternative ? I ’ve spent the last few weeks using the Surface Pro 11 OLED version to find out .
Design and Keyboard
Microsoft has stick to the design set by previous Surface devices with this iteration , and that means that while it has a lot going for it , issues we ’ve had with the serial before still linger .
This is a hybrid 2 - in-1 machine rather than a traditional laptop computer . I ca n’t really describe it as a ‘ laptop ’ at all , because it ’s basically impossible to apply on a lick due to the path it ’s built . That ’ll be o.k. for anyone who has used an first appearance in the series before , though it does take some getting used to if this is your first Surface .
The Surface Pro 11 , in its dim-witted form , is a tablet with a 13 - inch video display . That exhibit can either be an LCD or an OLED control panel count on how much you ’re happy to expend . To get the most from the Surface Pro 11 , you ’ll want to mate it with the magnetic Flex Keyboard . I still discover it baffling how Microsoft sell the Surface without a keyboard in the boxful as , unlike the iPad and Android tablets , it ’s not as good as a tab .
Unlike an iPad , the Surface Pro 11 has a kickstand on the back – a small flap that can be pulled out to shore the display up without a causa . The kickstand is rigid and has a all-embracing range of spots it can stand in . If you push it all the way back it congeal the screen in a nice position for draw while it can be set upright too .
There are two Thunderbolt 4 port on the side – both open of charging , transferring data point and outputting video / audio recording – and a Surface connection on the other . In the box you get a charger that plug in via this Surface connector ; other USB - C chargers will work too .
The port selection is better than that of the iPad Pro and is on equality with mid - range laptops , although it ’s missing thing like an HDMI port and full - size SD card slot .
Microsoft has always work up skilful hardware , and the Surface Pro 11 carry on that theme . It ’s thin , light , extremely portable and the addition of the keyboard does n’t add too much weight . I particularly like the new wild blue yonder – Microsoft calls it Sapphire – vividness pick , which is a chromaticity that almost sparkles in certain lighting . It really does look corking . The more pernicious Platinum colourway is a slight more professional look and there ’s a Black and amber - tinge Dune offering too .
As I advert above , while the Surface Pro 11 does n’t come in with a keyboard in its base price you will desire to get one to dispatch the software program . I ’ve been testing the Surface Pro 11 with the new Surface Flex keyboard , however the traditional Surface keyboard is still compatible .
The Surface Flex keyboard has a few tricks over its predecessors and it ’s the alternative I would plump for , even if it is slenderly more expensive . The Flex keyboard has Bluetooth , so while it can be used traditionally when dock to the display , it can also be used independently . This is a small tweak , but one that make so much sense . I can prop the Surface Pro 11 on the desk and have the keyboard on my knees , or put up the presentation to a more comfortable stature and sit back and type .
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The trackpad is large and has a nice haptic answer wherever it ’s pressed . The keys are well - space out , with a backlight for night typing sessions and just enough travelling . A groovy addition is the CoPilot key , which read you straight to the novel AI skills of the machine with a undivided press .
Above the keys is the small cutout for the Slim Pen , which can be buy in a jazz band with the Flex Keyboard or individually . It can also be left out completely if it ’s of no use .
The slim , flat innovation of the stylus is a little odd , and I much prefer the pear-shaped Apple Pencil Pro . As much as I tried , I just could n’t incur a comfortable topographic point to grip the Slim Pen for extended point . It ’s still a welcome increase though , specially for quickly sign document or jot the odd note – I just would n’t advocate it for art or originative work .
Display and Sound
The Surface Pro 11 can be configured with either an LCD or an OLED display and which screen technical school you get is connect to which version of the Snapdragon X chipset is inside . The entry - story X Plus is couple with the LCD , while the higher - end X Elite comes with the OLED display . There ’s about a £ 500/$500 difference between the two models .
For this limited review , I have been using the OLED model and while it ’s pricer , the screen is far ranking to the LCD alternative . In my mental test , I have found that it produces excellent colours , telling HDR performance and can hit high luminousness levels .
The OLED control panel have a 2880 x 1920 result , and a dynamic refresh rate that maxes out at 120Hz . To my eye , it ’s a arresting venire . I fired up Ripley – a gorgeous blackened and ashen show on Netflix – and was blown away by the point in the Italian landscape . Something a little more colourful , Eric ( again on Netflix ) , showcased the HDR skills of this jury splendidly .
My lab testing backed my real - earth tests . Using a tintometer , I appraise 151 % sRGB coverage and 112 % DCI - P3 reportage , have in mind it ’s a top instrument panel for colour - sensitive workloads and far above what we deliberate satisfactory . move onto brightness trial , the Surface Pro 11 strike over 550 nits in SDR and regular casual use , impress up to around 800 nits for HDR playback . Both are above anticipation and show just how good this blind really is .
While the screenland is fantastical , the speakers are n’t quite so . That ’s to be expected for a thin tab twist , but they ca n’t really compare to with child laptops . Bass is wanting , and everything sounds a piddling flat , whether it ’s music or television . One confirming is that the audio is pushed out of the sides of the display , so it wo n’t blocked by your hands on the keyboard . There ’s also no headphone jack , so Bluetooth or USB - 100 headphone are a must .
Performance
Like with the Surface Pro 7 , the star of the show with the Surface Laptop 11 is the unexampled direction Microsoft has taken with the internals . This is a huge change of focal point for Microsoft ’s Surface devices and it has similarities to Apple ’s move from Intel chips to the M - series .
Rather than plumping for an x86 chip from big names like Intel or AMD , Microsoft has used either Qualcomm ’s top - year Snapdragon X Elite or the mid - ambit X Plus to power the late airfoil .
The Elite – the bit inside the model I am reviewing – is a 12 core/24 thread SoC and while it ’s not really suitable to gaming , in my tryout I was impressed with its performance in casual tasks .
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In our benchmark tests in both Geekbench 6 and Cinebench R23 , the Surface Pro 11 ca n’t quite compete with some of the other ultrabooks power by gamy - end Intel or AMD ironware . However for a first endeavor , I conceive it ’s pretty impressive and a far cry from the Snapdragon Arm experimentation that hamper the Surface X a number of years ago .
Benchmarks only tell half the narration , and in real - creation utilize the Surface Pro 11 is great . Apps afford immediately , everything feel legato and it ’s very antiphonal .
When I first received an M1 series MacBook Air I noted that the chip was so able that it made me forget about the possibility of slowdown or short performance and it ’s a standardised opinion here . Now , of course of study , this machine ( especially with the keyboard ) is a peck more expensive than Apple ’s initialM1 MacBook Airso that does need to be taken into considerateness .
There ’s a choice between 16 GB or 32 GB LPDDR5x RAM , and depot options let in 256 GB , 512 GB and 1 TB . Wi - Fi 7 is onboard too , for those with compatible routers , and Bluetooth 5.4 .
As this is a pill , there are cameras on both the front and back . The front Windows Hello - capable Chelydra serpentina is good : crisp , with nice cutis tone breeding and well - wield exposure level . The rear 10MP sensor is all right for scanning in written document .
Software
There are two important aspects of the software with the Surface Pro 11 , and that ’s app compatibility with the Arm base and the heavily hyped AICoPilot Plusfeatures . One is a hit – the other less so .
Where the Surface Pro 11 surprised me the most was when it come to app compatibility . Of naturally , apps build up specifically for Arm performed laudably and the list of these is grow all the time with big hitters from Adobe and Google already build for this hardware .
For apps not design for Arm , there ’s a transformation layer make into Windows 11 that takes the x86 app and emulate it so it can die hard . Due to the extra process imply , there is always going to be some variety of impact on the overall execution of the app .
Thankfully the impact is minor and I did n’t have any issues with apps I used day by day , However , that ’s not to say that publication wo n’t arise . and if you use a very specific app for an important appendage then it ’s deserving making certain that it act upon .
AI is the buzzword hanging around most higher - close laptops in 2024 and it ’s very much the case here . Microsoft ’s CoPilot Plus system of rules is at play here , and there ’s a consecrated CoPilot key on the keyboard for easy memory access .
I ca n’t say , at this leg , I am peculiarly impressed by much of the AI acquirement on offer , although they ’ll belike only get best over prison term and at least there ’s the powerfulNPU(neural processing unit ) here to keep up .
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In the Photos app you could habituate procreative AI to generate an image from a turn of prompts , while the GoCreator function inside Microsoft Paint adds a little more detail to your nontextual matter . There are some AI - infused Studio effects in the webcam too , making sure you always stay in frame and maintain eye contact even if you ’re not looking at the silver screen .
The biggest feature article of this CoPilot+ tech isRecall , however after somecontroversy , it was shelved shortlybefore dismissal and is still ( at the prison term of writing ) only available to beta testers . The estimate behind Recall is great – and I was thoroughly impressed with what I check during the launch .
Simply put , Recall lets you search deeply across your whole computer using natural spoken language . It can also research back , noting things you ’ve appear at and . Using Recall , in possibility , you could notice something on a connection page you looked at a few weeks ago but forgot to save anywhere .
The issue with Recall , is that to go the system of rules would take constant screenshots of your natural process and then habituate AI to look for through them and institute the info back . There were some security concerns around this , and we ’re still yet to see if thing will disagree once the feature is live for everyone .
Battery Life
Aside from performance benefits , switching to Arm chips has typically also benefit battery liveliness . Our reviewer was thoroughly impressed with the survival of the Surface Laptop 7 , for example , and all the M - serial publication MacBooks I have test have perform better than older Intel - based versions . So , what ’s the verdict on the Surface Pro 11 ?
On the whole , I have been very impressed with the battery here . It does n’t quite arrive at the degree of the Surface Laptop ( which last over 22 hour in our TV playback test ) but for a compact machine , it rivals the iPad Pro M4 and can comfortably last a day of study with ease .
Microsoft claims the Surface Pro 11 can run for 14 hours of video playback , and in our video playback test I exceeded this number , closely hit 15 hours when the screen door ’s brightness was set to 150 nit . In general use , after a full day of work – a mixture of composition , TV calls and lots of web - based activities in Chrome – I was left with upwards of 25 % remain .
Various assault and battery - rescuer fashion can be enabled to eke some extra juice out , but outside of specific portion , I tend to prefer enabling most of the features of the laptops as there ’s piffling reason spend this much if you ’re not going to take advantage of what ’s available .
There are two ways to charge the gadget , either with the included Surface Connect charger or with a USB - C tycoon transcriber . If your chaw is capable of outputting 65w then you ’ll get the fast speed possible
Should you buy it?
The Surface Pro 11 is a complete machine , both an excellent everyday ‘ laptop computer ’ and a tab . It ’s fast , with good barrage life and peck of nice touches – like the optional organic light-emitting diode display .
You need to think about whether you ’ll utilise the 2 - in-1 aim as if you just need a laptop computer – the Surface Laptop 7 is a cheaper choice that still packs the Qualcomm good .
Final Thoughts
The Surface Pro 11 , at least in its OLED display - tally ecstasy Elite variation , is the most ended Surface I have reviewed . The switching to efficient and potent Qualcomm chips has been a huge success for a intercrossed machine like this .
Performance is good for everyday undertaking , battery spirit is secure and app compatibility is n’t a huge issue – at least for my needs . The CRT screen is gorgeous too , and the whole package is stocky and very portable .
There are progeny though , and many of them are the same issues I have always had with the Surface Pro line . Selling the keyboard separately remains a pain and it ’s not the gentle machine to habituate when place is tight , like on a plane ’s tray table .
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If you like the sound of the functioning here but do n’t need the hybrid shape factor , theSurface Laptop 7is a more traditional configuration , performs just as well , is more affordable and has better battery life . It lacks the stunning OLED panel , though , TheiPad Pro M4is a advantageously pure pad , but it lack the wide compatibility you get with a full - fat screen background operating system .
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How we test
Every laptop computer we review goes through a series of uniform checks designed to judge fundamental factors , including build tone , performance , screen caliber and stamp battery life story .
These include schematic synthetic benchmark and scripted tests , plus a series of material - world checks , such as how well it persist pop apps .
FAQs
The screen is great , so it ’s endearing to watch films on the go – and the kickstand props it up , Windows is n’t the best tablet OS , though .
Test Data
Full Specs
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