Calling this Windows tablet the Surface Pro 7+, Microsoft is wrongly implying that it’s a kind of minor upgrade from the Surface Pro 7. Nothing could be further from the truth: we rarely see such major upgrades in CPU and GPU horsepower, as well as battery life. It also offers an LTE option and an absolutely dead-quiet, fanless chassis.
Sure, a few decisions left us puzzled. Why should we choose between an integrated microSD slot or the LTE option? Thunderbolt is not here yet either. But even these flaws really can not make an exciting leap in performance. It is the best Surface Pro of several generations, and at the moment also the best Windows tablet on the market.
This review is part of our ongoing compilation of the best laptops. Go there for information on competing products and how we tested them.
Surface Pro 7+ specifications and features
If we look at the Surface Pro 7+ specifications, note that Microsoft’s own online store was the only retail source we could find. By the way, the spelling of the name works as “Surface Pro 7+” or “Surface Pro 7 Plus”, but the full name is Surface Pro 7+ for Business. It comes with Windows 10 Pro, which offers more management and security features than the Home version.
Unlike previous Surface Pro devices, where the base model was often inadequate, every available Surface Pro 7+ configuration is solid. While the $ 900 Core i3 / 8GB / 128GB version has a bit of cramped storage space, at least it doesn’t save RAM.
Mark Hachman / IDGMicrosoft’s Surface Pro 7+ offers a bright enough screen to work outside on a sunny day, although shade is preferred.
Surface Pro 7+ design
Microsoft’s Surface Pro range of Windows tablets has remained largely unchanged since the Surface Pro 3. It’s a 12-inch Windows tablet with a solid kick stand that lies almost flat. Microsoft has always been proud of the design of the Surface Pro hinge, and it’s justified – it allows for triple as a tablet, drawing pad and something close to a traditional clamshell laptop.
Mark Hachman / IDGClamshell tablets usually tilt up to about 45 degrees. The Surface Pro 7+ can lie almost flat, still firmly supported by its kick stand.
Microsoft produced the Surface Pro 7+ from a ‘unibody magnesium design with concealed perimeter ventilation’. The unibody construction gives the tablet structural strength, while the magnesium serves as a passive heat pipe to the outside world, reinforced by the small openings cut in the edge of the chassis. Both the Core i3 and Core i5 models are completely fanless, which absolutely depends on these passive heat dissipation methods. As our performance tests show, such excellent improvements without the distraction of a fan are worth applauding.
The Surface Pro 7+ screen is just as bright and beautiful as ever and offers both ‘Enhanced’ and sRGB color modes. Microsoft continues the Surface tradition of cutting out quite a bit of cover around the screen – about 1.5 centimeters on the sides in landscape mode and about 1.2 cm at the top and bottom. Aesthetically, they get uglier every year as the screens for laptops continue to shrink. But it’s still handy when the Surface Pro 7+ is actually used as a tablet, so you can grab it without accidentally activating anything.
Every time I test a Surface tablet, I realize again how comfortable it can be to carry a tablet, by clicking on the kickstand to watch a video on a bedspread, lap or side table. If I was not so worried about the display of the screen, I would have even brought it into the kitchen.
Mark Hachman / IDGMicrosoft’s Surface Pro 7+ in a more traditional slant, where the narrow kick stand is visible. Note how the Type Cover’s hinge folds where it conforms to the keyboard. The Surface Connector slot is visible, plus the USB Type A and Type C ports.
Microsoft representatives told me that the screen became thinner to accommodate a larger 50.4 Watt battery. (Windows reported that the battery was slightly smaller than what Microsoft claims, 48.9Wh.) Microsoft did not give us a rated brightness of the screen, but we measured it at about 500 lumens.
Unfortunately, Microsoft has stuck to its rapidly obsolete port choices. The integrated USB-A can be used with a keyboard or wired mouse. Microsoft still uses the outdated Surface Connector as a charging port or as a connection to the Surface Dock 2.
Mark Hachman / IDGThe Surface Connector was once far ahead of its time, but it is now somewhat behind. The USB-C port offers a large ecosystem of USB-C hubs, but it is not Thunderbolt-capable as more laptops nowadays include it. Any monitor output must pass through the Surface Connector to the Surface Dock 2 – which, like a Thunderbolt 3 dock, drives two 4K screens at 60Hz each. Yet it is a proprietary solution that locks you into the Surface ecosystem.
Mark Hachman / IDGEarlier LTE models of Microsoft’s Surface devices would be lived with both an LTE SIM cube and a microSD slot. Not anymore. Here you can see the nanoSIM cubby under the kickstand on the left, as well as the removable SSD slot on the right.
Behind the kicking position there are two changes. The LTE options come with a small cube to insert a nanoSIM, and it looks like it is exclusively the microSDXC slot, which is reserved for Wi-Fi models only. (You can eject the nanoSIM cube using a SIM ejection tool, though you will need to insert it deeper than you would expect before unlocking it.) This is a change from previous Surface Pro tablets. In the Surface Pro (2017), Microsoft placed the LTE microSIM slot next to the microSDXC slot so you can have both.
On the brighter side, the Surface Pro 7+ ships with a removable SSD, a first for the Surface Pro series. Microsoft intends this feature as a convenience for enterprise IT management, but the company provides general guidelines and device-specific instructions for removing the SSD. Like the nanoSIM cubby, you have access to the SSD section with a SIM ejector tool, which is partially powered by a strong magnet. The SSD looks like it could be unscrewed with a correct size Torx screwdriver. We would prefer the hybrid SIM / SSD cubby in the Surface Pro X, a kind Batman Beyond vision of the Surface Pro series.
Mark Hachman / IDGYou can only shoot down the top of the SSD pocket with a SIM tool. It is also held magnetically.
Unfortunately, the Surface Pro 7+ is not a 5G device, but you do have the option to use the device’s built-in eSIM or to insert a physical SIM into the box. We used the latter method to test the LTE in the city, perform a speed test, and stream a 4K video from YouTube to selected locations. The wireless performance was adequate – just above 20 Mbps downstream, unless I had the tower in mind, when performance rose to 158 Mbps. Video is streamed without hook.
Mark Hachman / IDGThe Surface Pro 7+ features the new Out of the Box Experience (OOBE) that promises to customize aspects of your desktop for specific uses – for example, adding the Xbox Game Bar to your taskbar. We checked all the subjects … but did not notice any changes.
Surface Pro 7+ keyboard and touchpad
Microsoft’s Surface Pro tablets always have a hidden cost: the Surface Pro type cover. Although you can use the built-in Windows keyboard on the screen, a good hardware keyboard is an almost-but-not-absolute requirement for the Surface Pro for maximum productivity.
Microsoft delivers two: the Surface Pro Type Cover ($ 130) as well as the Surface Pro Signature Type Cover ($ 160), which is magnetically connected to the tablets and protects the screen when not in use. (You can also use your own USB or Bluetooth keyboard.) This is otherwise identical, except for the fact that the Signature Type cover contains Alcantara material and different colors – currently Platinum, Ice Blue and Poppy Red. Microsoft’s Vanilla Type Cover is displayed in a neutral black.
Mark Hachman / IDGMicrosoft shipped our Surface Pro 7+ with this Surface Pro Type Cover, which offers a comfortable typing experience but a somewhat cramped touchpad.
While typing on a type of cover does not offer the same ease or stability as the keyboard of a laptop, it comes surprisingly close. Microsoft’s Surface Pro hinge slides the keyboard slightly, connecting via a second Surface Connector that drives the keyboard’s backlight and provides a wired I / O connection. (There are three levels of backlighting with a minimal amount of bleeding.) Microsoft’s Surface Book range offers the most keyboard travel, now 1.55mm; but the slightly higher-level Type Cover’s spacious keys still work well for long-term work. The trackpad on all options is small but functional.
None of the Surface Pro tablets completely solved the ‘typing’ problem of typing in your lap. The dual hinge that connects the keyboard to the Surface Pro 7+ tablet still can’t always hold the tablet when it falls forward over your knees. The thin, metal kick bar still digs into your thighs. Because the tablet is designed to hide, it simply may not work as well on an airplane tray table as a similar-sized clamshell or a smaller tablet like the Surface Go 2.
Surface Pro tablets offer a creative outlet valve with their pen compatibility. For that, you need one of Microsoft’s $ 100 Surface Pen as well as the almost forgotten Surface Dial. Using a Surface Pen and other styluses in the house, we experienced a constant reaction compared to other recent Surface tablets.
Read on to learn more about the handy 1080p webcam and of course the performance.