Returned the SP4 but not because of issues

[ar-7]

After much debate I ordered a Surface Pro 4. After heavily using it I returned it.

I was apprehensive about it based on the problems I read people having with the device. I am happy to report that I did not experience any of the issues. Though the battery life was not great I was expecting much worse.

I actually liked this device but before I get into why I did i'll list my impressions.

- Keyboard/Trackpad - Both were good. I really like the soft material used to make the type cover. It was easy to type on and while the trackpad is smaller than what is on my MBP it did not make me want to go back to the MBP.
- Apps - The most common knock on Windows 10 is the lack of apps. I'm pretty simple and only used the web browser, office, FB/Twitter, Amazon, and ESPN...very basic. Some apps like FB/Twitter were not great but others like Amazon and ESPN felt natural on that form factor.
- Windows 10 - When in desktop mode I have nothing major to complain about. I'm use to Windows 7, OS X, iOS, and Android.

Here is the worst thing about the Surface Pro 4, imo.

- Using it as a tablet

You will notice the weight of the Surface when holding it and using it like a traditional tablet. The iPad and Android tablets are much better to use being a little smaller and lighter. I noticed a weight difference much more than I anticipated.

I also feel that the overall tablet experience just isn't that good on Windows 10 yet. It is really made with the mouse/keyboard in mind first and then given some touch capabilities on top. I'm sure this gets a lot better over time with updates but if you are looking to use this for things tablets have been optimized for (Netflix, e-Books, Social Media, etc) I think you would enjoy the iPad or an Android tablet much more.

The tablet mode isn't even the reason I returned it. I returned it because I just don't need it right now. $1,500 is a lot of money for something I would like to have but don't need. I haven't even had my MBP 2 years and (so far) nothing really wrong with it.

If you are comfortable spending the money or are in need of a new device then I would certainly consider the SP4. I'm just too much of a tightwad right now to spend the money.

 

[Chintan Gohel]

After much debate I ordered a Surface Pro 4. After heavily using it I returned it.

I was apprehensive about it based on the problems I read people having with the device. I am happy to report that I did not experience any of the issues. Though the battery life was not great I was expecting much worse.

I actually liked this device but before I get into why I did i'll list my impressions.

- Keyboard/Trackpad - Both were good. I really like the soft material used to make the type cover. It was easy to type on and while the trackpad is smaller than what is on my MBP it did not make me want to go back to the MBP.
- Apps - The most common knock on Windows 10 is the lack of apps. I'm pretty simple and only used the web browser, office, FB/Twitter, Amazon, and ESPN...very basic. Some apps like FB/Twitter were not great but others like Amazon and ESPN felt natural on that form factor.
- Windows 10 - When in desktop mode I have nothing major to complain about. I'm use to Windows 7, OS X, iOS, and Android.

Here is the worst thing about the Surface Pro 4, imo.

- Using it as a tablet

You will notice the weight of the Surface when holding it and using it like a traditional tablet. The iPad and Android tablets are much better to use being a little smaller and lighter. I noticed a weight difference much more than I anticipated.

I also feel that the overall tablet experience just isn't that good on Windows 10 yet. It is really made with the mouse/keyboard in mind first and then given some touch capabilities on top. I'm sure this gets a lot better over time with updates but if you are looking to use this for things tablets have been optimized for (Netflix, e-Books, Social Media, etc) I think you would enjoy the iPad or an Android tablet much more.

The tablet mode isn't even the reason I returned it. I returned it because I just don't need it right now. $1,500 is a lot of money for something I would like to have but don't need. I haven't even had my MBP 2 years and (so far) nothing really wrong with it.

If you are comfortable spending the money or are in need of a new device then I would certainly consider the SP4. I'm just too much of a tightwad right now to spend the money.

I thought the sp4 is more about laptop than tablet? It's a full windows OS device so laptop mode is more in demand? And it's 12 inch, right? So it would be heavy for some

 

[decider]

I find SP4 much lighter than my SP1. I went from the SP1 to the SP4. I do agree however, that windows 10 kind of hurt the nice tablet like feature found in 8.1. I don't understand why they could not have kept windows 10 along the same design as 8.1. I never had a complaint about the 8.1 UI. Hopefully as time goes on, tablet mode will be made more complete as it should be. I think MS was too worried about satisfying those complaining so much about the 8.1 UI so then they basically stripped the nice table like function found in 8.1

 

[eastbayrae]

It is a laptop first and a tablet in a pinch.

 

[TechFreak1]

It's your money, your choice .

Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

[Smithy London]

I think the appeal is in the full operating system in a 12" tablet!
The I7 is more powerful then the current MacBook pro 13.
I would love more apps in the Windows Store... but at the end of the day, I can install whatever programs I want, as its the full operating system.
I don't feel the need to use it in tablet mode... I have a beautiful touch screen and a full OS!
I will keep my MacBook 12 (as I do need a Mac OS machine for work/testing) but my MacBook Pro 15 has just been sold! I am this taken with this Surface Pro 4 i7 and Windows 10.

 

[unni_kmr]

I am also in the same boat now, except my return window is over. I probably will sell it in eBay or Craigslist. I don't use it for anything. I didn't touch it at all in the last one week. All my computing needs are taken care of by my laptop and Nexus 7. I bought Surface thinking that I can replace these two, but its difficult. It can't replace a tablet because its heavy and most of the apps are not touch friendly. At this point, I don't want to buy a dock to hook the Surface to a monitor, which is how I am primarily using the laptop. I tried to write this comment using the pen on Firefox. It was frustrating. The OS/software need lot of improvements.

 

[slysy]

I like to use mine on my lap without the keyboard attached for tablet-style usage. Resolves any weight issues and the kickstand can be adjusted to any angle. It's very "lappable" without the keyboard as the footprint is a lot smaller

 

[Lumious]

wow if you think the SP4 is heavy then id hate to see you try to use a SP1 or SP2, these things are like bricks compared to the 3rd and 4th generation. I think the SP4 is actually attractive because of the fact that it IS light and you're saying its heavy, that's surprising.

 

[anthonyng]

I rarely ever use my SP3 undocked... too unnatural for me as a tablet.

My surface 3 on the other hand rocks as a tablet. If they make the touch remote desktop app a bit better like how awesome the mobile version (cursor control is not smooth and they are missing key combo holding for like shift click) then it would be awesome. Oh and let us use wordflow dammit!

I use my surface 3 mostly as media consumption, not work. If I do use it for work, I would use it with mouse and keyboard.

 

[realwarder]

SP4: 292.10 x 201.42 x 8.45mm, 786 grams

iPad Pro: 305.7 x 220.6 x 6.9 mm, 723 grams

So iPad Pro is 10% wider but SP4 9% heavier.

But SP4 is a full PC, iPad is somewhat more limited in capability.

This shows how amazing the Surface Pro 4 is, getting so much technology in such a lightweight device.

 

[right_mr1]

I can see why it is not a good value for money device. because it most certainly isn't! I spent a mini fortune on mine i7, 256gb 16gb model.

I have been a very heavy android user since 2009 but for the last couple of years haven't seen android doing anything new. I think VR is still quite gimmicky and the pixel c is a real disappointment. this is where a full windows OS supported portable device comes in. it runs flash, full websites and full windows desktop applications. that's a paradigm shift from where the more portable offerings are at present. The type cover and trackpad mean I don't need to use the touchscreen at all. in fact, it just smudges the screen. So I would say this device is definitely a laptop first though bizarrely Microsoft bundle the pen rather than keyboard. I would have done it the other way. include the keyboard and leave out the pen.

I would say if someone wanted a tablet that can function as a laptop from time to time, I would suggest people look into the M3 version. it will no doubt have much better battery life and is much cheaper than the i5 and i7 versions. Clearly the interface is much better on android and ios than windows for a tablet like experience than windows 10 in my opinion but I would say the pro 4 is more of a professional's device. it runs Microsoft office which I use heavily and at the same time it is really portable. I don't think the IOS and android equivalents are anywhere in the same ballpark for use of spreadsheets and word processing etc, therefore this angle for me personally justifies my purchase of this device.

The UI doesn't really favour touch interaction as the sole method of use, however, that's what the type cover is there for.

I definitely think it has a niche for a guy like me. my company uses cloud based storage and it is great that I can access any work based documents on this device. I can definitely see this device totally meeting every out of office work solution I require (other than the mediocre battery life).

Other than the battery life, the poor windows store and the non tablet friendly UI, I think this device for me personally is much more useful than an android or IOS tablet. to get round those issues, I will purchase a USB battery powerpack for the battery issue, I use web browser favourites to get over the lack of apps and the type cover takes care of the UI problems.

Other general thoughts: I really like how fast it boots up and how fast and light the edge browser is but clearly I prefer chrome as it allows me to keep my history and bookmarks across devices and supports extensions. That said all other browsers apart from edge seem to run really poorly on the pro 4. I cant understand why. and they also drain the hell out of my battery. I'm not a windows techy in any way.

I can see why in many many instances, an android or IOS table is going to be much more useful and practical for media consumption. Better battery life and brilliant app stores vs the bare Microsoft ones. I would say my android phone did 90 percent of what I needed but the lack of proper browsing and full Microsoft office always left a gap for me. Has the pro 4 filled that gap? yes and no. From a professional's point of view, I couldn't be happier with the power and functionality, from a media consumption / tablet type functionality, I am satisfied but not blown away.

It also makes me appreciate my android devices a lot more as I get to see just how well android (specifically Samsung) manages to try and bridge the gap between complete lack of proper functionality seen on IOS and the traditional desktop power of windows/mac. So I'm glad to get a fresh perspective on android while also appreciating how far Microsoft have gone with their surface line up and windows 10. There's huge room for improvement but I have a feeling Microsoft have created something special here once they sort out the remaining issues with windows 10. Who knows, more developers might start working on windows 10 apps now that It will start to get some serious traction in the desktop space. fingers crossed.

 

[Grimmric]

I still think that people should compare the SP4 with a laptop and not with a tablet.
Atleast I do.
My Nexus 7 has no fan, longer battery time, more apps and so on.
But its not my pc. Its my tablet. Still using it.
i dont have any private laptop so i bought the SP4 and im very happy with it so far.
If they can sqeeze in some more time on the battery it would be nice.
But i have a phone, a reader, a nexus 7, a SP4 and a stationary pc.
I use the device thats appropriate at the time depending on what i wanna do.

 

[unni_kmr]

wow if you think the SP4 is heavy then id hate to see you try to use a SP1 or SP2, these things are like bricks compared to the 3rd and 4th generation. I think the SP4 is actually attractive because of the fact that it IS light and you're saying its heavy, that's surprising.

I was comparing it to my Nexus 7 which is 290g (Surface 4 pro is 786g). Of course, it doesn't do justice to compare these two. But I spent at least half an hour everyday with my tablet lying down on bed. I find it really difficult to do that with Surface.

I think the real reason for me is this - I sent the tablet to MS for service and I got a refurbished one back. The first 2 weeks after I purchased it, I spent every free moment with my Surface. I even called it my baby when I made a post here. But, once I got a refurbished one back on the 3rd week, the love was gone. Now, the tablet to me is like an adopted kid. You will love all the tantrums when its your own kid, but when its somebody else's, you will probably start hating it. That's whats happening to me. All the flaws that I was willing to overlook initially, I cannot do any more. So, let me not discourage any potential buyers. I don't think I will sell it. I probably will buy the dock soon.

 

[Closingracer]

I for one loved the device itself. Just that battery life was poor and needed something better. I loved tablet mode since I found it easy enough to hold to watch a movie and even if I didn't I could use the included kick stand. I was sad that I sold the device but needed something to last longer then 4 hours and this based off my tests would last barely more than 4 hours. Hopefully they improve the battery life in later releases because I would love to own one

 

[decider]

I myself cannot say that I have an issue with batter life. I get at least six hours

 

[Because Racecar]

I find SP4 much lighter than my SP1. I went from the SP1 to the SP4. I do agree however, that windows 10 kind of hurt the nice tablet like feature found in 8.1. I don't understand why they could not have kept windows 10 along the same design as 8.1. I never had a complaint about the 8.1 UI. Hopefully as time goes on, tablet mode will be made more complete as it should be. I think MS was too worried about satisfying those complaining so much about the 8.1 UI so then they basically stripped the nice table like function found in 8.1

Right?! I really miss the Win 8.1 UI. I never thought it was bad, but the majority of people did not like it. Something I never understood, but I have a touchscreen on everything, from my desktop to my laptop, so I could see where without the touch it could be confusing.

 

[WildKarrde]

There are literally more apps compatible with Windows 10 than all other non-windows platforms combined.

 

[Because Racecar]

There are literally more apps compatible with Windows 10 than all other non-windows platforms combined.

We call those "programs"....

 

[WildKarrde]

Doesn't matter what you call them, they are the same thing.