Would you use a Surface Pen on the Surface Laptop?

[starkey001]

One of the things I love the most about my Surface Pro 4 is the Surface Pen. It came bundled and I use it most days at University for handwriting notes.

The Surface Laptop supports the Surface Pen but it is not bundled. Apparently, it is not bundled with the "Surface Pro" (5) anymore either.

Point is - I really like the Surface Laptop but using the Pen on it looks really awkward because of the screen angle.

1. Would you use the Surface Pen on the Surface Laptop? Complete the poll.
2. Add comments below!
3. Bonus - what do you think of unbundling Surface Pen and new Surface Pro?

 

[k1s23]

hey there. would i use it if i had it? probably yes because i bought it or received it. but i dont see myself drawing or writing much on the device so i wouldnt use it often. i can only think of a few situations where having a pen would have been nice to complete a task.

 

[starkey001]

Yes exactly. The fact it isn't bundled you would have to have a pretty good use to case to actually pay extra for it. Few use cases I am sure but use for long periods of time would be awkward.

 

[k1s23]

Yes exactly. The fact it isn't bundled you would have to have a pretty good use to case to actually pay extra for it. Few use cases I am sure but use for long periods of time would be awkward.

hey starkey i agree. other than taking screenshots then drawing circles/lines and writing CLICK HERE! for easy-to-understand directions for my parents i dont need a pen haha.

 

[anon(5415472)]

The new surface pen works on surface 3 and above but it would probably be difficult to use on a laptop form factor that does not fold. For me, the surface laptop is not conducive to natural pen usage. I like to draw either flat on the table or on a slight angle. But that's just me.

Another concern would be, would it maintain the same lightning-fast 21ms latency that it has with the surface pro when used on the surface laptop? Surface co-inventor Bathiche maintains that this speed was acheived via a custom chip he names the "display accelerator". He had a demo on the effectiveness of the chip. With it on, the reporter says it looked like the ink was coming out of the surface pen, that's how fast the response was. With it off, there was some lag, I'm guessing this lag is comparable to our current surface pens.

Now, Is this same chip also on the surface laptop?

 

[k1s23]

The new surface pen works on surface 3 and above but it would probably be difficult to use on a laptop form factor that does not fold. For me, the surface laptop is not conducive to natural pen usage. I like to draw either flat on the table or on a slight angle. But that's just me.

Another concern would be, would it maintain the same lightning-fast 21ms latency that it has with the surface pro when used on the surface laptop? Surface co-inventor Bathiche maintains that this speed was acheived via a custom chip he names the "display accelerator". He had a demo on the effectiveness of the chip. With it on, the reporter says it looked like the ink was coming out of the surface pen, that's how fast the response was. With it off, there was some lag, I'm guessing this lag is comparable to our current surface pens.

Now, Is this same chip also on the surface laptop?

hey kram devil wow im really curious to see that demonstration! its amazing how things can play tricks on our vision like that.

 

[anon(5415472)]

hey kram devil wow im really curious to see that demonstration! its amazing how things can play tricks on our vision like that.

It was a reporter for another website.
Bathiche claims the custom chip reduces latency by 130% and in his own words says "the latency is so low, it's almost ahead of the app". the demo in front of the reporter was via a screen teardown.

 

[starkey001]

I definitely agree with the angle.

The latency point is an interesting one. I read about this morning on The Verge https://www.theverge.com/2017/5/23/15674228/microsoft-surface-pen-features-improvements

Interestingly, the "tilt" capabilities are not available on older Surface models. This must be dependent on the chip as well. Therefore, if "older devices" includes the Surface Laptop then I assume the latency will be longer on the Surface Laptop. I might take a look at full specs to see if pen chip is outlined.

 

[chinkwanhow]

Yes of course!!
Some time I need to double click the pen to do a notation of the web browser and share it to my friends.

 

[k1s23]

It was a reporter for another website.
Bathiche claims the custom chip reduces latency by 130% and in his own words says "the latency is so low, it's almost ahead of the app". the demo in front of the reporter was via a screen teardown.

thanks for posting that video. that was cool to see the pen being tracked on the screen and it inking is incredibly fluid.

 

[ajcletus500]

seems too impressive. would love to even see what the next surface book holds.

 

[Surapathi_121-0]

I would definitely use the Surface Pen and the Surface Dial too if I had the chance to buy it or just try it. I love every product which is of Microsoft except the development tools because I don't know about it.

 

[Island Barbie]

I wish I knew more ways to use my surface pen besides one noteb or draw board PDF. There needs to be more apps that include the ink function

 

[anon(10237065)]

Sure using pen is not as comfortable as in case of Pro, but still a very useful feature and no doubts there would be moments when it's useful. For example when checking documents (Drawboard, Office) and maybe some quick notes in Edge, so yeah, I can imagine using pen even on Laptop.

And I'm quite disappointed to see Pro being sold without the Pen because for me that was one of the best selling points. It's perfect from marketing point of view, to sell it together.

 

[k1s23]

I would definitely use the Surface Pen and the Surface Dial too if I had the chance to buy it or just try it. I love every product which is of Microsoft except the development tools because I don't know about it.

hey there. i wouldnt use the surface pen but i could see myself using the surface dial on the laptop. that seems like a more productive item to use than the pen when in conjunction with the surface laptop.

 

[k1s23]

Sure using pen is not as comfortable as in case of Pro, but still a very useful feature and no doubts there would be moments when it's useful. For example when checking documents (Drawboard, Office) and maybe some quick notes in Edge, so yeah, I can imagine using pen even on Laptop.

And I'm quite disappointed to see Pro being sold without the Pen because for me that was one of the best selling points. It's perfect from marketing point of view, to sell it together.

hey there. i think for a few people i know that own surface pro 4, they didnt make use of the pen. how much was the surface pro originally? if the base model with the pen included was $899 then right now buying the 2017 surface pro and the pen separately would come out to $898 before tax so about the same price.

 

[kaktus1389]

While it is awkward I would still use it because if it has that kind of functionality and you paid for it, why not use it? I can't say how much or how often would I use it, but I'd definitely at least try it once, because I always wanted to make hand written notes on a screen and never had an option to try it out yet.

 

[Zachary Boddy]

I definitely agree with the angle.

The latency point is an interesting one. I read about this morning on The Verge https://www.theverge.com/2017/5/23/15674228/microsoft-surface-pen-features-improvements

Interestingly, the "tilt" capabilities are not available on older Surface models. This must be dependent on the chip as well. Therefore, if "older devices" includes the Surface Laptop then I assume the latency will be longer on the Surface Laptop. I might take a look at full specs to see if pen chip is outlined.

Microsoft has stated that tilt will come to earlier versions of the Surface Pro in the future. That has more to do with a software/pen combination than the display.

 

[Zachary Boddy]

I don't think I'd use the Pen on the Laptop. If I owned a Laptop (which would be amazing) I'd use it predominantly for research, writing, and computer programming, while moving my Pro 4's responsibilities predominantly to drawing, annotating and note taking, and entertainment/media consumption purposes. I use my Pen regularly with my Pro 4, because they're a near perfect combo, but I think the Laptop is targeted towards a different crowd.
And as far as the Pen not being bundled with the new Pro goes, I understand this. It allows Microsoft to hit a lower starting price point while also allowing consumers to mix and match colors with the Type Cover. It makes the Pro seem more "affordable" (even though it's really at the same price point as the Pro 4) while giving their consumers more control over the customization and what accessories they'd actually use. I for one would far prefer to buy the Pro and then get the Cobalt Blue Type Cover and Cobalt Blue Surface Pen (and probably the Arc Mouse as well) because I think it's a fantastic, sexy color and I want it everywhere. With the Pro 4 it made more sense to bundle because, well, Surface grey right?

 

[k1s23]

I don't think I'd use the Pen on the Laptop. If I owned a Laptop (which would be amazing) I'd use it predominantly for research, writing, and computer programming, while moving my Pro 4's responsibilities predominantly to drawing, annotating and note taking, and entertainment/media consumption purposes. I use my Pen regularly with my Pro 4, because they're a near perfect combo, but I think the Laptop is targeted towards a different crowd.

hey there zachary, i totally agree with this statement. the demographics are different for both devices. its cool that the screen is a touch screen but a traditional laptop is used differently than a tablet. the laptop was not built for people to draw and write on with the surface pen. on the plus side, its great that consumers have one more option when buying a surface product.