There's no doubt in our minds that the Surface Pro 3 was a success. In fact, with its flagship tablet, Microsoft went so far as to inspire its manufacturing partners to make their own ribbon winning 2-in-1s in a similar vein. It shouldn't come as a surprise then that when the next iteration rolled out, the Surface Pro 4 made only slight revisions over its predecessor. But we're not complaining.

The slimmer form factor and increased exhibit size do wonders for the Surface Pro 4. Plane the Type Imbricate keyboard has seen subtle changes. While it may not seem like much on the surface (ha), Microsoft Devices team lead Panos Panay and visitor have written a love letter with the Surface Pro 4 to their long-time supporters who've taken the time to issue feedback withal the way.

It's remoter vestige that Microsoft is listening, and its response is stellar.

Recent developments

Although a true successor to the Surface Pro 4 may be on the way, that hasn't stopped Microsoft from making improvements to goody the current Surface lineup. Now donning the most popular OS in the US, there’s no doubt the visitor is putting its success to good use.

Pretty soon, for instance, you’ll be worldly-wise to take wholesomeness of improved security efforts from Windows 10. The Windows Defender Security Center, as it’s titled, promises to bring to the forefront options that were previously veiled overdue myriad windows of cumbersome text. 

And, if you’ve been holding out for Microsoft to requite your Surface Pro 4 the whet when it comes to gaming, you’re in luck. Windows 10 Game Mode, equal to Xbox engineer Kevin Gammill, will soon prioritize games over tasks running in the preliminaries for a smoother experience.

Now, let's discuss Microsoft's winning hardware diamond already, shall we?

Design and display

Perhaps the most obvious way in which this year's Surface Pro model is iterative is its looks. The same all-magnesium, unibody casing is still here, though the "Surface" logo has been replaced in favor of Microsoft's new logo in chrome.

Microsoft managed to up the device's screen size by a few hairs, from the 2014 model's straight 12 inches to this year's 12.3 inches, without well-expressed its footprint at all. That is, unless you count the Redmond firm shaving over half a millimeter off of its thickness, from 9.1mm to 8.4mm this year – all while maintaining support for full-fat mobile processors.

How did they do it?

For one, Microsoft's product team decided it was time the capacitive Windows sawed-off said goodbye, expressly with Windows 10 providing easy wangle to the Start menu, thus the uneaten room for that three tenths of an inch.

Secondly, the team managed to bring the display's optical stack – the series of sensors, diodes and pixels underneath the glass – plane closer to the glass this time around, a key point of Microsoft's trademarked PixelSense screen technology. This helped the firm bring the slate's thickness lanugo by half a millimeter.

The idea here is to bring the sensor elements of the touchscreen as tropical to your finger or Surface Pen as possible, and it works vitally well. The exhibit is incredibly responsive to touch, and the remoter sensitivity it brings to the stylus wits is huge. In tandem with the new Surface Pen, the screen detects 1,024 levels of pressure, plane during a single stroke.

Now, let's talk pixels. Plane though it really didn't have to, Microsoft went and boosted the Surface Pro's resolution from 2,160 x 1,440 (216 ppi, or pixels per inch) in the old model to 2,736 x 1,824. That makes for a huge 267 ppi put along by the Surface Pro 4, which blows its main rival, the MacBook Air (128 ppi for the 13-inch), out of the water and narrowly edges out Apple's new, 12.9-inch iPad Pro at 264 ppi.

But increasingly importantly, the new screen proves to be far increasingly luminous and increasingly verisimilitude well-judged than the Surface Pro 3 exhibit at all splendor levels, as you can unmistakably see. That's unseat to be a key selling point for creative folks, namely artists and designers that have yet to leave the Wacom tablet and calibrated monitor philharmonic behind.

For the rest of us, it simply ways increasingly realistic-looking movies and increasingly vibrant photos and games. However, considering Microsoft kept to its rare 3:2 speciality ratio to weightier emulate the notepad wits for the stylus users, you'll see plane thicker woebegone bars sandwiching your favorite films in 16:9 – and plane increasingly so for those in 21:9, or widescreen format.

It's a pearly snooping for folks that watch plenty of movies and TV on a tablet. But fear not, workers, for you're the very reason Microsoft made this decision. The 3:2 speciality ratio is wider and shorter than 4:3, but taller and slightly increasingly narrow than 16:9, the most worldwide speciality ratio for TV and desktop (and laptop) screens today. The result is a middle ground between the two that is platonic for both photo and diamond or drafting work, wherein 3:2 is much increasingly common, as well as getting computational work done, given the uneaten vertical space.

Surface Pen and Type Cover

To weightier make use of that uneaten space, Microsoft has given its Surface Pen and Type Imbricate traps some serious upgrades. In wing to the same 1,024 levels of pressure sensitivity, the new-and-included Surface Pen is redesigned to finger increasingly like a pencil. The stylus now has one unappetizing side, as if a Number 2 pencil had all but two of its angles rounded off.

The reason for this is two fold. For one, this stylus is plane increasingly well-appointed to hold than the last as a result – your alphabetize finger rests just whilom the main function sawed-off on the unappetizing end. Secondly, this surface (no pun intended) is coated with thin, powerful strip magnets that indulge it to cling onto the tablet's left side. The age of stylus loops is over.

The Pen moreover sports a new, and unquestionably functional, eraser sawed-off up top that not only does what it says on the tin, but offers up three unique use cases. In wing to opening OneNote with a single press, the sawed-off now takes a screenshot and then opens OneNote with a double press. Finally, a long printing summons Cortana to wordplay to your every whim.

Microsoft seems to have expertly weighted the Surface Pen to make it finger not much heavier than your stereotype clickable pen, despite all of the tech inside. Plus, now that Microsoft offers spare pen tips right out of the box only sweetens the pot.

Coupled with Microsoft's PixelSense display, the duo makes for the weightier stylus wits I've had on a tablet yet for as little as I'm wont to use it. Now, I'm no versifier or designer, but between the superb palm detection and the verism and nuance of the Pen tracking, the Surface Pro 4 looks to have Microsoft's weightier shot at luring in that prod yet.

Sorry, ungifted folk, but these improvements scrutinizingly stake in comparison with the Redmond firm's new-and-still-not-included Type Cover. This time around, Microsoft managed to profoundly widen the spacing between the keys for a chiclet-style approach. What this does is make keeping track of which keys your fingers are on by finger much easier, and it allows for each key to be individually backlit.

The new Type Imbricate is moreover slightly thicker and far increasingly rigid than before, permitting for deeper key travel and punchier feedback – not to mention a sturdier, quieter surface to type on – that brings it so much closer to the true palmtop keyboard. Panay's team moreover managed to widen the touchpad and stratify it in glass rather than plastic.

These two huge improvements make a world of difference in answering the question of whether Microsoft's tablet can replace your laptop. The Surface Pro 3's keyboard imbricate was excruciatingly tropical to honestly providing a laptop-level typing experience. Now, the new Type Imbricate has all but sealed that gap.

Microsoft upgraded the Surface Pro 4's Type Imbricate with biometric functionality. The Surface Pro 4 Type Imbricate with Fingerprint ID has gone on sale in the US and Australia at a forfeit of £135 (around $192 or AUS$258). The new keyboard cover, which is only misogynist in black, uses Windows Hello to login to the Surface with a fingertip press. The scanner can moreover authorise app purchases from the Windows Store, and considering the keyboard is backwards compatible, it can be used with the Surface Pro 3 too.

First reviewed: October 2015

Kane Fulton and Gabe Carey have moreover unsalaried to this review

With Microsoft so bullish on perfecting its vision of the tablet takeover, you largest believe that the firm would stack it up versus the inspiration for Ultrabooks, Apple's MacBook Air, yet again. (Though, Microsoft seems to have dropped the iPad comparison perfectly this time around.)

And unsurprisingly, as far as dimensions are concerned, the Surface Pro 4 is indeed increasingly portable than the 13-inch MacBook Air, if only due to its smaller screen. Microsoft's slate comes in at 11.5 x 7.93 x 0.33 inches (W x D x H), or 292.10 x 201.42 x 8.4mm, meanwhile Apple's leading palmtop measures 11.8 x 7.56 x 0.68 inches (32.5 x 22.7 x 1.7cm). Naturally, the Surface Pro 4's 1.73 pounds (786g) is far lighter than the 2.96-pound (1.35kg) MacBook Air's weight on your back.

Now, how well-nigh how Microsoft's latest measures up versus one of the weightier 2-in-1 laptops since, well, the Surface Pro 3? The 13.3-inch HP Spectre x360 measures a way beefier 12.79 x 8.6 x 0.63 inches (32.4 x 21.8 x 1.6cm) and weighs 3.26 pounds (1.47 kg). It's just one of the cons with hybrids that go into it laptop-first.

Now, let's see whether Surface Pro 4 can still play wittiness when it comes to value. Here's the Surface Pro 4 configuration that Microsoft provided techradar for review:

Spec sheet

• CPU: 2.4GHz Intel Core i5-6300U (dual-core, 3MB cache, up to 3GHz with Turbo Boost)
• Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 520
• RAM: 8GB LPDDR3
• Screen: 12.3-inch, 2,736 x 1,824 PixelSense exhibit (Contrast ratio: 1,300:1, 100% sRGB color, 10-point multi-touch, 3:2 speciality ratio)
• Storage: 256GB SSD (PCIe 3.0)
• Ports: 1x USB 3.0, mini DisplayPort, microSD vellum reader (UHS-I), headphone/mic jack
• Connectivity: 802.11ac Wi-Fi (2 x 2 MIMO), Bluetooth 4.0 (Low Energy)
• Cameras: 8MP rear-facing, auto-focus camera (1080p HD); 5MP front-facing, 1080p HD camera
• Weight: 1.73 pounds
• Size: 11.5 x 7.93 x 0.36 inches (W x D x H)

What you see here is the slightly-higher-than-mid-range version of the Surface Pro 4, which will set you when a tomfool $1,299 (£1,079, AU$1,999) – and that's surpassing picking up a $129 (£109, AU$199) Type Cover. That said, it would be smart to go with either this model or the one just unelevated it, with the same Core i5 and half the RAM and storage, for $999 (£849, AU$1,499).

The entry-level Surface Pro 4 comes housing an Intel Core m3 processor, rather than the undoubtedly snappier, updated Intel Core i3 (it ran Haswell-generation Core i3 last year), and the same value of storage and memory. Plus, at $899 (£749, AU$1,349), asks for $100 increasingly than the baseline Pro 3 did at launch.

Frankly, it's not a unconfined value, and – oddly unbearable – Microsoft hides the option to purchase the Core m3 version outright overdue a "Configure Your Device" sawed-off on its US web store.

But what well-nigh the Apple's notebook? For the same price as the Surface Pro 4 configuration listed out above, you could get a 13-inch MacBook Air with a dual-core, 1.6GHz Intel Core i5 processor with Intel HD Graphics 6000, 128GB of PCIe wink storage and 8GB of RAM.

It's by no ways an apples to apples comparison, of course. The Pro 4 has a 12.3-inch, Retina-rivaling touchscreen, while the MacBook Air has a barely HD, 13.3-inch touch-free screen. Apple's palmtop offers increasingly ports and longer shower life, while Microsoft's tablet comes with a stylus and rivals most Ultrabooks once its Type Imbricate is attached. I could go on.

Now, the Spectre x360 makes for an easier comparison, and on paper does seem to stretch your dollar a lot further. For the same price as the Surface Pro 4 unit in question, you could buy HP's leading Ultrabook well-constructed with a current, dual-core Intel Core i7 tweedle – not i5 – with Intel HD Graphics 520. This package matches the Surface for RAM and storage, meanwhile tripling its USB ports and ultimatum to last two hours longer on a charge.

Then again, it's thicker, it's heavier and is by no ways could or should it be a tablet replacement in the way that the Surface Pro 4 can be a palmtop replacement. As it turns out, the Surface Pro line still has so few, if any, worthy uncontrived comparisons.

So, is the Surface Pro 4 worthy of opening your wallet? That's a increasingly difficult question to answer, considering – from the new keyboard imbricate to the stylus improvements – everything that you can't quantify well-nigh the device is exactly what makes it so worthwhile.

Focused a bit increasingly on stuff a laptop-lapsing, portable productivity device than plane before, it's a bit easier this time virtually to compare the Surface Pro 4's performance with some key rivals.

Since receiving a replacement review unit from Microsoft that I'm told is self-ruling of the shower issues that marred the first, the unelevated numbers are closer to what you should wits with your own Surface Pro 4.

Benchmarks

• 3DMark: Cloud Gate: 5,873; Sky Diver: 3,673; Fire Strike: 856
• Cinebench CPU: 305 points; Graphics: 37 fps
• Geekbench 3 Single Core: 3,135; Multi-Core: 6,649
• PCMark 8 Home: 2,406
• PCMark 8 Shower Life: 3 hours, 15 minutes

Every performance score here, save for PCMark 8 Home, shows a minor increase from the first unit I tested. It's a good sign that the Surface Pro 4 was once operating at its peak, and that only the shower needed fixing.

The Surface Pro 4 has bested the HP Spectre x360 in scrutinizingly every test by roughly 25%, save for losing by a hair to the device in the PCMark 8 Home test. As for the 13-inch MacBook Air, its multi-core Geekbench 3 (which tests CPUs primarily) score of 5,768 is plenty short of what the Surface achieved.

But ultimately, don't expect to see a major difference between how any of these three machines perform day to day, save for the MacBook Air that will last much longer on a charge. If anything, you might get slightly largest frame rates out of games played on the Surface Pro 4 than on the Spectre x360.

For instance, the Pro 4 runs Hearthstone (my go-to tablet testing game) without a hitch on its highest settings, plane at an automatically-applied, well-timed resolution. Plus, the color-calibrated exhibit makes every element on the game's interactive game boards that much increasingly distracting.

Battery life

Now tested on pre-production hardware that I'm promised has been scrubbed of its shower woes, the Surface Pro 4 produced far largest shower life results than before. Unfortunately, they're still well unelevated not only Microsoft's own claims, but what nomination rivals are worldly-wise to put up.

While arguably the most harsh shower test in our lineup, PCMark 8 Home Shower saw the Pro 4 last 3 hours and 15 minutes, a marked 50% increase from before. Still, the Spectre x360 held out in that test for 4 hours and 38 minutes.

Microsoft's tablet fared much largest on our video playback loop test, with a result of 5 hours and 15 minutes. That's just shy of 45 minutes longer than the initial result, and unbearable to last you on a coast-to-coast US flight. (Both tests were conducted at 50% splendor and with all lighting and radios off save for Wi-Fi.)

In a somewhat similar test, the MacBook Air was worldly-wise to stream 1080p video over Wi-Fi for a whopping 13 hours and 24 minutes. Though, that's thanks in large part to a far lower-resolution exhibit and likely a larger battery.

Regardless, Microsoft promises up to 9 hours of video playback on a single charge, and these numbers simply aren't tropical to that. Sure, these figures are far largest than last year's Surface Pro 3, despite the serious screen resolution bump, which should not be overlooked. But they still can't hold a candle to neither Apple's leading palmtop nor its top tablet – much less comparable Windows-running hybrids.

Longevity, or lack thereof, then is well-nigh the only thing well-nigh the Surface Pro 4 that's holding it when from truly, honestly replacing your palmtop – or at least your MacBook Air specifically. Otherwise, the machine offers somewhat below-average lasting power.

Bundled software

Being a Microsoft-built and sold device, the Surface Pro 4 doesn't come with any shady third-party software. Every Surface unit from here likely until the end of time will come packing OneNote, Microsoft's new-and-improved note taking app for use with the included Surface Pen.

Other than that, this review unit came with room made misogynist for Flipboard and the New York Times Crossword puzzle app. You could delete those as soon as you marching up the Surface Pro 4 for the first time, or you could requite them a try.

Repairabilty

When you splash out a big wad of mazuma on a device like the Surface Pro 4, it's only natural to want to know if it can be wracked unshut and repaired, should the need arise. Unfortunately, Microsoft's tablet isn't very repair-friendly, earning a lowly 2 out of 10 from iFixit.

The website pointed to difficulties removing the Surface Pro 4's exhibit and battery, which are both held lanugo with "very strong adhesive", making removal not only difficult, but downright hazardous. On the plus side, iFixit found that its SSD was easy to remove and replace.

Iterative isn't often a word you exclaim or say with pride when discussing the latest entry in a series of video games, movies or expressly tech products. But smart iteration is exactly what the Surface Pro 4 needed to finally make good on Microsoft's mission that tablets can be laptops, too, and the firm delivered just that in spades.

We liked

What immediately comes to mind when thinking of the Surface Pro 4's, well, pros, is the vastly improved Type Cover. Using the Surface Pro 3's Type Imbricate and moving onto the new hotness truly is like night and day, not to mention seeing them side by side. Largely through the improved Type Cover, the Surface Pro 4 can finally offer a nigh laptop-grade typing experience.

The improved resolution and new optical stack technology, PixelSense, coupled with 100% sRGB color, makes for one of the weightier displays I've overly seen or touched on a tablet. It might not be the weightier for movies, but for those looking to get things done, this screen is surf of the crop.

We disliked

The fact that the Type Imbricate is still sold separately, not plane as part of a bundle, sure makes the whole "tablet that can replace your laptop" spiel a harder pill to swallow. Sure, Microsoft likely will make a killing on individual retail sales from the diehard fans, but what well-nigh the stereotype Weightier Buy shopper seeing this and left tumbled when they realize the "laptop" portion of the offering requires an uneaten 100 or so bucks.

Speaking of which, the Surface Pro 4 comes in asking for increasingly and offering less in its entry-level model than last year, which will be tough to overlook for the upkeep conscious. The power gap between the Core m3 tweedle and the Core i5 is wide unbearable that I'd recommend you not scarecrow with the former. Furthermore, plane without testing an updated unit, the Pro 4 shower life leaves a bit to be desired – despite improving upon the previous model.

Final verdict

So, has Microsoft finally washed-up it? That depends on how considerable of a compromise you consider "somewhat unelevated average" shower life. If that's well-nigh the only thing that Redmond's mission rides on, with the typing, tracking and penning wits vastly improved, then I'd consider the fourth go at it so narrow of a miss that you might be worldly-wise to pass it for everything it does so well.

Even increasingly so than the version surpassing it, I could hands see the Surface Pro 4 rhadamanthine my daily driver, not to mention my comic typesetting reader and Hearthstone and mobile movie machine (I'll deal with the woebegone bars). And that's despite the arguably middling shower life, considering the screen resolution bump. If it can last for a whole cross-country flight, then that's unbearable for me.

Microsoft seems to have captured and unromantic the weightier definition of 'iteration' to scrutinizingly every end of the Surface Pro 4, making it well worth the wait for creative professionals, students and everyday folks alike. Is this finally the tablet to replace your laptop? That's still debatable, though the Pro 4 has surmounted increasingly of what's running versus it than overly before.