Review: Microsoft Surface Pro X

Microsoft says the Surface Pro X—the latest version of its vaunted 2-in-1 tablet-puter—is the thinnest, fastest, lightest, longest-battery-lived, and fastest-charging Surface to date. Most of these superlatives are made possible by the inclusion of a brand-new CPU called the SQ1, which was designed not with Intel or AMD but rather with Qualcomm.

The catch is that, like the smartphone CPUs Qualcomm makes, it's designed to be a small, cool, power miser … and not something to give you the full-blown Windows experience. Nonetheless, Microsoft’s stated goal with this machine was “to take a mobile architecture and push the technology to make it a fully functioning powerful PC.” Whether the Surface Pro X is actually “fully functioning” is open for debate.

The new SQ1 chip runs at 3 GHz, and the review system Microsoft sent to me came with 16 GB of RAM and a 256-GB SSD. The 13-inch screen runs at 2880 x 1920 pixels. Connectivity comes via two USB-C ports (and that’s it).

Photograph: Microsoft 

There’s no question that the Surface Pro X will be a decidedly divisive device, an exercise in compromises that may be OK for many but which will be a nonstarter for power users. Let’s start with the biggie: The SQ1 can run Windows 10 and the Microsoft Office suite, but there’s also a lot that it can’t run. Namely, it can’t run any 64-bit Windows programs designed for Intel chips (which, today, is almost everything), and it can only run older 32-bit programs via a behind-the-scenes emulator.

I tried downloading a number of the most popular apps from the Microsoft Store and found that several wouldn’t install—nor would the vast majority of the standard benchmarks I run. Even apps that did install didn’t always work right. An old 32-bit version of PCMark 8 (originally released in 2013) crashed midway through its run, for example. Apps that do run, like the 32-bit version of Chrome, are noticeably slow. Running browser-based tests like Speedometer and JetStream on Chrome put performance on par with your typical $300 Chromebook. In other words, I hope you like Microsoft Edge. (It’s also worth noting: The system takes three times as long to boot up as the Surface Pro 7.)

Want to run Photoshop? Fortnite? You can’t—at least, not in any meaningful way. Critically, Microsoft says that Adobe’s Creative Cloud is being ported to run on the SQ1, but no one is offering a timeline, which may as well mean never. I did manage to get one gaming benchmark to run on the Surface Pro X: Monster Hunter. For the sake of comparison, I managed a score of 3,304 on the Surface Pro 7 and a mere 1,954 on the Surface Pro X.

But hey, you might be saying, I’m on board with Microsoft’s vision and really do just want to use my tablet for web browsing and writing the occasional poem in Word. I don’t need to run AutoCAD and never will. Is the Surface Pro X right for me?

Unfortunately, I still think not. Part of the concept behind the SQ1 is that the power-sipping ARM chip will give the system unheard-of battery life. That’s curious, because just last month, Microsoft bragged about the Surface Pro 7’s epic battery life, which topped eight hours in my testing. But when I ran the same rundown test on the Surface Pro X (a standardized YouTube loop at maximum brightness), I managed just over 6.5 hours. Sure, the Surface Pro X’s screen is about 10 percent brighter than the Surface Pro 7’s, but the claim still doesn’t add up. After I knocked the brightness down to a bit below that of the Surface Pro 7, I still only managed less than 7.5 hours of running time. Only when I dropped the brightness down to its absolute minimum (which makes the screen barely visible in daylight) did I manage to top the system’s claimed 13 hours of battery life.

OK, so compatibility is poor, performance isn’t great, and battery life doesn’t measure up, either. Surely that means the Surface Pro X is designed with affordability in mind, right? Sorry, as with anything with “X” in the name, the Surface Pro X is a premium-priced product that starts at $999. My test unit was $1,499 as configured. Again, to compare, the Surface Pro 7 starts at just $749.

Photograph: Microsoft 

That extra $250 does get you something, at least. The screen is slightly larger—13 inches versus 12.3 inches—and the system is virtually the same thickness and weight as the Pro 7. (Technically the Pro X is 1 gram lighter than the Pro 7.) The new Surface Pro X keyboard is slimmer and comes with a nifty magnetic tray that holds the bundled stylus, but these are still sold separately from the Pro X; the combo will run you an extra $270. One hands-down plus: LTE is included with every version of the Pro X; just add a SIM card and a data plan and you’re ready to go mobile.

I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention the bizarre behavior I experienced after my first day of using the Surface Pro X. Out of nowhere, the system began behaving as if possessed, scrolling through web pages, opening new tabs, selecting and clicking on text, and even repositioning the task bar from the bottom of the screen to the left. I eventually discovered that phantom screen taps were being registered when the system was otherwise not in use, and after some back and forth, Microsoft sent me a whole new unit to test. One potential diagnosis was that I was charging the system via one of its two USB-C ports instead of via the magnetic charger. That didn’t turn out to be the problem, but if that’s an actual issue, it’s an even bigger deal-breaker than any of the above complaints.

Additionally, my system crashed more than once, giving me an honest-to-God blue screen, even during minimal workloads. Several days into my testing Microsoft rolled out a hardware update designed to improve stability and battery life. I didn’t encounter any additional trouble after that, but it will take long-term testing for people to discover whether these kinds of problems will be ongoing.

After several days of working with the Surface Pro X, I remained confused as to why the product exists. It’s inferior to the Surface Pro 7 in nearly every imaginable dimension, and it smacks of either corporate hubris, greed, or both, with Microsoft attempting to position its own brand as a credible alternative to Intel. The way it stands now, that’s an utter fool’s errand.

Here’s my prediction: The Surface Pro X will go down in history alongside Microsoft Bob and Clippy as one of the worst mistakes it has ever made. I expect it will be quietly discontinued in a year or so.

Also, you should not buy one.