And with that pen docked in the Surface Pro Signature Keyboard and the kickstand out, the Surface Pro 9 offers a really pleasant typing experience, too. The Surface Pro 9 is wonderful for taking notes and outlining ideas using the Slim Pen 2 and one of Microsoft’s various note-taking apps (I currently prefer Journal but apparently OneNote has a inking-focused update on the way). The MacBook Pro works well for actually typing those articles up and editing photos to go with them.Īs a first-time Surface Pro user, it was really great to consolidate my two-device workflow into a single-device one. The iPad Air is great for reading, researching, and taking the notes that will end up in an article or review. I normally switch between an M1 MacBook Pro and an iPad Air to do almost everything for work. So what’s left isn't going to feel particularly exciting: the Surface Pro 9 comes with the latest 12th Gen Intel Core processors, two new color options, and loses the headphone jack (just like on the Surface Pro X).īut using the Surface Pro 9 is still deeply satisfying. There’s a lot to like about the Surface Pro 9, but unfortunately little that’s technically new, especially when the biggest change - the option to spec the 2-in-1 with a Microsoft-designed SQ3 Arm chip - wasn’t included in the review unit I was sent to test. Even Apple’s iPad looks a fair bit like the Surface these days. If anything, the last decade of Surface devices has proven Microsoft largely got it right the first time and has been polishing a good idea ever since. The Surface Pro 9 looks a lot like the Surface Pro 8, which isn't a bad thing in my opinion.

Microsoft celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Surface by keeping things largely the same.

Surface pro 8 battery test