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The Microsoft Surface Pro 11 keeps the familiar design but gets a hypermodern ARM chip under the hood. Despite the potential of this combination, we are not impressed.
The Microsoft Surface Pro 11 keeps the familiar design but gets a hypermodern ARM chip under the hood. Despite the potential of this combination, we are not impressed.
With the Microsoft Surface Pro 11, Microsoft has now more or less perfected the design of the Windows tablet. We will be working with the latest version, including Type Cover and Slim Pen. This configuration including OLED screen costs a whopping 1,604.47 euros excluding VAT. The entry-level model of the tablet, without accessories (and therefore cannot be used as a laptop) or OLED option, costs 947.21 euros plus VAT.
Our test device is, as expected, cleanly finished and has a lid with a phenomenal hinge on the back. This allows you to position the tablet stably at almost any angle possible. The tablet itself weighs a little less than a lightweight laptop (890 grams). The Surface Pro 11 is therefore not as light as a feather, especially not compared to an iPad Pro, which weighs less than 500 grams.
The design of the keyboard (sold separately) is also pleasing. You attach the Type Cover magnetically to the edge. A second magnet that sticks to the bottom edge of the screen positions the keyboard at a subtle angle. This is much more comfortable, especially when typing. In addition, this fold hides the Surface Slim Pen, which can be charged unnoticed. As with the previous editions of the Surface Pro, the whole thing is well thought out and functional.
From the front, it is noticeable that the design has been around for several years. The robust tablet does not have the narrowest screen edges and certainly not the upper area where the webcam with Windows Hello functionality is located.
The keyboard itself is as good to type on as you’d expect from something that doubles as a cover. We’re happy to work on it, but a regular laptop is superior. With a real laptop, you also get a larger touchpad than the small one Microsoft provides. That’s true, but surprisingly loud. If you have something to click on, your colleagues will have heard it.
Although the tablet is not particularly thin, Microsoft is stingy with the ports. The only two USB 4-C ports are on the left side. On the right we find an unnecessary legacy port for Surface Connect. We don’t get a USB Type-A port, although in our opinion such a port is much more relevant than Surface Connect. In addition, Microsoft shoots itself in the foot with the included Connect charger, but more on that later.
Despite the high price, Microsoft is using its own device as an advertising billboard. This PC is no different from other Windows devices, but it is still worth mentioning: The setup wizard for Windows 11 Home is an obstacle course full of advertising traps.
No Microsoft, we don’t want your Gamepass on this device that is absolutely not suitable for gaming. Three intrusive notifications in a row won’t change that. Leave us alone with OneDrive offers too and no, Microsoft 365 is not necessary either.
In addition, the Microsoft Surface Pro 11 is a Copilot+ PC with a Copilot key that takes up space on the already compact keyboard. You can read more about why this no longer plays any role today here.
Under the hood, Microsoft is packing the brand new Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (X1E-80-100), flanked by 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. We previously analyzed Qualcomm’s chip in the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 and found that the ARM-based processor can easily compete with Core CPUs from Intel or Ryzen chips from AMD.
We also found that this chip is efficient, economical, and easy to cool. Qualcomm is finally delivering a CPU that has the potential to take Windows computers to a much higher level (and not because of this or that AI gimmick). In theory, this is the perfect processor for the Microsoft Surface Pro 11.
Unfortunately, the CPU in our test model does not live up to its full performance. It is not unusual for a tablet to perform a little less than a laptop, but we are still a little disappointed. Not only the Snapdragon
Both Microsoft devices and the HP OmniBook X have a Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite on board. The Asus Expertbook B3404 is a classic notebook with an Intel Core Ultra 5 125U. As you can see, the ARM chip performs better in other computers, but the CPU outperforms a modern Intel Core Ultra. A second test confirms these results.
Although the differences are not huge, we still notice them in daily use. Most applications work very smoothly, especially Microsoft Word and Excel. While browsing, we notice that the Microsoft Surface Pro 11 needs to work occasionally. The test results confirm this experience.
On the much cheaper Surface Laptop 7, we couldn’t really notice when an application needed to be emulated in the background to run on the ARM chip. We do notice this occasionally on the Surface Pro 11. For example, a simple app like Asana sometimes runs very smoothly, but other times it lags annoyingly. In addition, the tablet feels warm even with relatively little use.
During our test, we occasionally noticed other problems that we were not always able to reproduce during the test period, but which were noticeable. For example, it did not always work to reconnect the keyboard the first time. The Surface Pro 11 also lost the ability to connect to a certain Wi-Fi network at some point. The Surface Pro 9 had a similar problem at the time. Overall, we had to deal with more annoyances with the device than is likely to be the case with a computer from the Surface series.
The Surface Pro 11 is essentially a tablet, so it houses all the hardware and battery behind the screen. Nevertheless, Microsoft has installed a battery in this tablet that is almost as large as in its Surface Laptop (53 Wh compared to 54 Wh). Unfortunately, the endurance is worse. Even the advantage over the laptop with the Intel chip disappears here.
Refueling the plane is slower than expected. The Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 charges faster than the Microsoft Surface Pro 11, although the laptop lasts longer on a single charge.
According to our analysis, this limitation is mainly due to the thermal limitations of the small chassis. We charge the device during testing whenever the computer and monitor are active.
Just like with the Surface Laptop 7, Microsoft includes a cheaper, lower-quality charger in the box. In doing so, Microsoft is directly contributing to the large mountain of electronic waste. We achieved the above values ​​using our own USB Type-C Power Delivery compatible charger (which reaches the 65 watt charging limit), but Redmond does not provide that.
Instead, you get an old-fashioned Surface Connect charger with the lowly 39 watts. That’s a lower wattage than most phones. The difference in charging time is big.
As you can see, the Surface Connect charger will test your patience unnecessarily. We don’t understand why Microsoft includes this useless charger instead of a universal and much faster USB-C PD charger.
We think it’s unnecessary for the Surface Connect port to still take up space on the chassis. Microsoft could still argue that it wants to appease early fans by continuing to support older peripherals, although we believe this can be done with an adapter. But older users already have Surface Connect hardware, so why does the broken charger need to be included in the box?
The Microsoft Surface Pro 11 is not the best device in the Surface stable and not the best implementation of the ARM-based Qualcomm Snapdragon X chips. The device performs worse than classic laptops in all areas and is sometimes annoying.
Nevertheless, the Surface Pro is not a bad product. At least the performance is competitive, especially compared to modern Intel chips. The battery life is decent, as is the charging time (assuming you use your own charger). The combination of Surface Pen and tablet is also fantastic: the screen is very thin, so you almost feel like you are writing directly on it.
In our opinion, the Surface Pro 11 is best suited for people who want to make full use of the tablet functionality away from the keyboard. This is not the best laptop for conventional office work. It is also not a mobile champion: the battery is worse, typing on your lap is a little harder and in combination with the keyboard the Surface Pro (1,179 grams) is not even much lighter than a thin laptop.
If you often want to present, draw or consume multimedia while on the go, the Microsoft Surface Pro 11 suddenly becomes more interesting. Unfortunately, we also have comments. The 13-inch OLED screen is sharp with 2,880 x 1,920 pixels, but if you look closely you can see the individual RGB pixels. In addition, the display is set to a very yellow color.
We would love to provide you with a detailed color chart, but our screen test suite is one of the few pieces of hardware whose driver is not ARM compatible. Another thing to keep in mind: niche hardware with its own driver that is not available through Windows Update will not always work on an ARM machine.
The Microsoft Surface Pro 11 is a well-developed device with high build quality, which on the one hand is outdated by time and on the other hand suffers from some small but annoying problems. Microsoft is asking a lot of money for this device (1,604.47 euros excl. VAT for our configuration), so it doesn’t seem unreasonable to ask for a little more than we get here.
Are you looking for the ideal travel companion? Then take a look at the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 or possibly the HP OmniBook
Do you have a good reason to choose a Windows tablet? Then the Microsoft Surface Pro 11 becomes more interesting. The Surface Pro hasn’t been the ultimate mobile device for a few years now, but the detachable keyboard and excellent pen have their advantage in niche cases. If you fall into this category, we think the Microsoft Surface Pro 11 is a good choice despite minor annoyances. Go for the LCD version instead, because that mediocre OLED panel isn’t worth the high extra cost.
If productivity is the main goal, then we don’t see why you would choose this edition of the Surface Pro over a traditional laptop. In this case, the tablet form factor does not have enough weight as an advantage.
Tested configuration: Microsoft Surface Pro 11 (model 2076), Qualcomm Snapdragon Surface Slim Pen – 1,604.47 euros plus VAT.
Microsoft uses the European warranty period of two years as standard. When you purchase a Surface device, you are also entitled to support during office hours.
Source: IT Daily
As an experienced journalist and author, Mary has been reporting on the latest news and trends for over 5 years. With a passion for uncovering the stories behind the headlines, Mary has earned a reputation as a trusted voice in the world of journalism. Her writing style is insightful, engaging and thought-provoking, as she takes a deep dive into the most pressing issues of our time.
