The Microsoft Surface Pro X is one of the best tablets on the market right now, but
for most I cannot recommend getting one. It has a very pretty 13 inch screen and a very
premium feeling design and great accessories such as a slim pen and keyboard cover. But
prices are starting at a thousand US dollars without accessories. And instead of an Intel
chip, you're getting an ARM processor. I'm André from minexpeditor.com and in this
review you will learn everything you need to know about the Surface Pro X
Let's start with the design and the build quality of the Surface Pro X. With this, Microsoft
has always been excellent in the past and with the new one they improved the design
even more. They managed to increase the screen size from 2.3 to 13 inches without making
the body bigger. Because of that, the screen bezels on the sides are very thin now. The
tablet is thinner than the Surface Pro 7 with its 7.3 millimeters, but it weighs about the
same at under 800 grams. Instead of a magnesium alloy, Microsoft is using a black aluminum
body with rounded edges now. While that looks quite elegant, it also means that you will
see fingerprints much easier. Since the ARM processor is passive-cooled, there are no
air vents and it's completely silent. I noticed that the body seems much sturdier to me than
the iPad Pro does. When I used a bit even thinner tablet without a case, I always have
the feeling of bending it by accident. Now that never happens, but it seems much more
fragile than the Surface Pro 8. Like all Surface tablets, the Pro X has the
kickstand built into a spec and you can open it very wide. The kickstand seems to be very
sturdy and you can open and close it smoothly. Every generation offered a microSD card slot
that was always hidden underneath the kickstand. That feature is missing now. Instead, you
can use the SIM eject tool to open a lid and insert a SIM card. LTE is the standard with
all versions and works well. Next to the SIM card slot, you have direct
access to the SSD. Yes, the Surface Pro X is the third Surface and one of very few tablets
in general that lets you replace the SSD on your own. Sure, it's a bit smaller than your
standard SSD, but at least you can get a replacement without sending it to Microsoft, even though
they were commending that. It's a bit disappointing that just like with
Apple's and Samsung's flagship devices, they decided to remove the headphone jack. Well
I guess it's time to get over that. There's no USB-A port either. Instead, the Pro X has
two USB-C ports. No, they don't support Thunderbolt 3, but you can connect USB-C hubs and external
monitors anyway. The power button sits on the left side and on the right, you will find
the volume control. Even though you can charge the Surface Pro X using both USB-C ports
Microsoft continues to improve the Surface Connect port, which sits on its right side
And you also get the magnetic Surface Connect charge instead of a USB-C one
On its back, the Surface Pro X features a 10 megapixel camera. The quality is excellent
especially for a Windows tablet. And that's what I can say about the 5 megapixel front
facing webcam too. Next to that webcam sits an infrared camera, which you can use to unlock
the tablet using the face recognition of Windows Hello. That works fantastic and seems to be
as good as Apple's Face ID. The Pro X has two speakers, which are barely visible on
the side of the screen. The sound quality is very good, and that's what we get from
other premium tablets. On the bottom, the Surface Pro X has a magnetic connector for
a keyboard that is good to buy separately. Even though the connector looks like the ones
from other Surface tablet keyboards of the Pro 7 or Pro 6 are not compatible. For the
Surface Pro X, you can choose between the Surface Pro X keyboard and the Surface Pro
X Signature keyboard. I think the Signature one is the most interesting because it's covered
by an Aventador material, and it has a kind of pouch for the Surface Slim Pen. In fact
the pen gets charged while stored inside. The bundle of Signature keyboard and Slim
Pen cost 270 US dollars. Sadly, that bundle was sold out when I got it in Germany, so
I had to get the normal keyboard, which cost 140 dollars, and I had to buy the Slim Pen
separately, which is a bit more expensive. So if you need both, try to get the bundle
Whereas the keyboards from Microsoft are very expensive, but like I said in my Surface Pro
7 review, I think they're the best official keyboards for any tablet. Much better than
what Apple and Samsung are offering. Not just a bit, a lot better. Even the cheaper standard
keyboard feels well made, and it's a full-sized one. I was able to type on it fast without
having to get used to it. You've got real keys to press down, a background light is
built in, and thanks to a magnetic bow, you can angle up the keyboard a bit. The touchpad
is a bit bigger than the ones from its predecessors, and works well. However, it's not as thick
as the ones from most recent notebooks like the MacBook Pro or so. Six years ago, I reviewed
the Microsoft Surface 2, which was the last tablet Microsoft released with an ARM processor
Back then, it just shipped with Windows RT, which had huge limitations compared to Windows 8
Needless to say, that Windows RT got killed a couple of years later. Microsoft continued
to work on Windows on ARM, and even though the Surface Pro X has an ARM processor, it
is running normal Windows 10 Home. However, a couple of limitations remained, but let's
check out the internal hardware first. Inside the Surface Pro X, there's this 3 GHz Microsoft
SQ1 processor that they developed together with Qualcomm and has 8 cores. When buying
the tablet, you can choose between 8 and 16 GB of RAM, as well as a 128 GB to 512 GB SSD
Depending on your configuration, you will have to pay between 1000 and 1800 US dollars
without accessories. My review unit is the cheapest one with 8 GB of RAM and a 128 GB SSD
In my Siegfried's Benchmark comparison, you can see that the performance of the SQ1 processor
is not as good as the recent Intel Clio devices. At the same time, however, it's much more
powerful than a cheaper Windows tablet like the Surface Go, for instance. Sadly, I couldn't
run any benchmark tools that test graphics performance on Windows because they're not
compatible, and that brings us to the limitations that still exist on Windows and ARM devices
Old, not-for-ARM-made 64-bit or x64 apps are not supported. That means that you're not
able to play most games, and apps like Adobe Premiere Pro, Premiere Rush, and Lightroom
cannot be installed either. Instead, you can install and use all programs that are made
for Windows 10 ARM, and 32-bit x86 apps are supported too, but run in an emulator that
you won't see. That means you can install most apps from your Microsoft Store, not all
and certainly not all games, but most apps. Programs like Chrome are 32-bit and do work
So, how good is the Wii performance? Microsoft's apps run very well. In fact, the Surface Pro
X does feel very fast and snappy in real life. When working with Microsoft Word, Excel, OneNote
and the Edge browser, it feels as fast as the Surface Pro 7 does. Windows runs well
too, and that's the case for most Microsoft Store apps. With those, the tablet feels as
fast as ones with recent enterprise side chips do. However, that's not always the case with
32-bit x86 apps like Chrome. Google's browser and even the Chromium-based Edge beta do run
surprisingly well, much better than on cheaper Intel Windows tablets. For example, you can
watch YouTube just like you can on most laptops, and it plays smoothly in the background. Yes
even when you're using 10 browser tabs, two rush documents, and an Excel file at the same time
With these apps, multitasking performance is great, but sometimes you do notice that
it's not as snappy as a normal premium notebook is. That's clearly noticeable when using Photoshop
which is one of very few Adobe apps that you can install on the Surface Pro 8. It does run
and I did edit a couple of photos with it, but it does not run as it should on the Windows machine
that costs a thousand dollars or more. In fact, you can see how the photo is being rendered when
you just zoom in a bit or move the visible area. Now, you can use many tools, like the brush tool
and they do work smoothly, but overall, the performance is much worse than on the Surface
Pro 7. Like I said, most games won't run, and that's the case for Adobe Premiere Pro as well
Fortnite is among them too. Some do run, however. I tried Asphalt 9, and that racing game does work
well. With that being said, Asphalt 9 runs on tablets that cost around $200, so it's not a huge
achievement. The Surface Pro X is clearly too weak for you if you want to use Photoshop or play games
For things like that, it's either too weak, or their apps are not supported by Windows ARM
Microsoft's apps like Word, Excel and OneNote run great on the other hand, and Windows 10 too
The performance of other apps, like Chrome, is not perfect, but pretty good. Now, let's get to
something positive. The display is 13 inches in size, which makes it bigger than all previous
Surface Pro tablets. I like that Microsoft is deepening the 3x2 aspect ratio, because it's
the best format for office work. The resolution of the Pixel Sense display is 2880x1920 pixels
which is more than before, but since the screen got bigger, the pixel density remains at 267 ppi
just like on the Surface Pro 7. I like that the display is very bright, especially for Windows
tablets. The hue and inlets are white, and contrast and color reproduction are excellent
It's exactly the kind of screen I expect to get with an expensive premium tablet
Let's get to the new Microsoft Surface Slim Pen. Like I said earlier, you can get it either as a
bundle with the keyboard, or buy it separately for 145 US dollars. It's the first stylus for
Microsoft that has an integrated non-removable battery. If you've got the keyboard bundle
the pen is charged using that keyboard. If you get the stylus alone, it starts using a USB-C
charging station. It's important to note that in this case, the older normal Surface pens are
compatible too. So, if you owned one in the past, or prefer the older one, you can continue to use
it. The Surface Slim Pen looks a bit different and has a rechargeable battery, but besides that
it works just like the normal Surface Pen does. It supports 4096 levels of pressure sensitivity
has a button on the side, and an eraser button on the back. All those pressure points allow you to
draw a thin line when pressing down just a bit, and a harder line when pressing the pen down
harder. On the right side of the Surface Press, you can connect the pen magnetically, however
I think that's not on purpose and works because of the magnets for the Surface Connect port
The Surface Slim Pen is a bit thinner than the normal stylus, I mean, that's why it's called
Slim Pen. While the previous ones are made of metal, this one has a full plastic body
that makes it feel much cheaper, even though it's pricier. Another new aspect is the tip of the Slim
Pen. It's as hard as the one of the Apple Pencil now. The normal Surface Pen has a softer tip
but you can buy harder ones too if you want. I always thought that the softer ones feel more
like writing on paper, until the designer told me that he prefers the harder one because it's
rather easier over the screen, while you still have to try them for yourself to see what you
prefer. Both pens work fantastic in apps like OneNote to write on handwritten notes or to
draw something. As I said, apps like Photoshop run too, but not good enough to use them a lot
That's why I think the stylus for the Surface Pro X is interesting for handwritten text only
Photographers or designers should go with the Surface Pro 7. In my battery test, the Microsoft Surface Pro X got a runtime of 12 hours and 50 minutes
For this test, I'm always looping the same HD video with medium brightness and activated WiFi
Yes, the battery life is better than on the Surface Pro 7, but the promise of ARM is the
spatially long battery life. That's why that result is a bit disappointing. In real life
the battery lasts longer than other Windows tablets when using Office apps, but with x86
apps like Chrome, the runtime is like what you get with Intel Windows tablets. Yeah
that's a bummer. All right, let's get to the end of this Microsoft Surface Pro X review
Like I said at the beginning, it's a fantastic tablet. I like many aspects a lot. It has a nice
design, a pretty screen, and great accessories. I also like that HEE is a standard, which is quite
rare on Windows devices. For some, the Surface Pro X can be a very interesting choice, but for most
it's not. I think it might be worth getting if you're looking for a very high-end Windows tablet
for office work. That means for Microsoft Word, Excel, and OneNote, but also to surf the web
and to write on handwritten notes. The Surface Pro X is made for these tasks and does them well
It's an interesting choice if you're willing to spend lots of money on a high-end design
on a premium tablet, but needed for office work only. And sure, it's good for watching Netflix
and YouTube too, but certainly not for gaming. The tablet is most certainly not for you if you're a
photographer or designer. Apps from Adobe either don't work at all or poorly, and I couldn't find
any alternatives that run great and that professional photographers would really use
I think that's the case for designers too, and you can't edit videos with it at all. And it's
not for gamers either. My final verdict is not super clear, because on the one hand, I like the
Surface Pro X a lot, but on the other hand, it's very expensive, and you're investing lots of money
in a Windows tablet that can't run all Windows apps. And don't forget that among those other
drivers you might need for an accessory you might be using. That's why my final verdict is that it
is a great tablet, but for most, I cannot completely recommend it. Let's check out some
alternatives. I think the Microsoft Surface Pro 7 is a much better choice for most. Sure, the design
is exactly the same design of the Surface Pro 6 and 5, but the performance is very good. The screen
looks nice too, and the keyboard and pen are fantastic. It's a bit cheaper, and it ships with
a normal Intel processor. Apps like Photoshop run very well, and yes, if you want, you can play a
bit of Fortnite. The second alternative is the Apple iPad Pro. It's an interesting alternative
if you don't need Windows, and don't need to fully replace a laptop with it. The iPad Pro has a
bigger selection of apps that are optimized for touch, and it's a better, purer tablet. You can
get some work done with it, but I wouldn't replace a real PC with it. But for me, it's the perfect
second device. All right, that's the end of my Microsoft Surface Pro X review. If you have any
questions, please feel free to write me down below in the comments, and check out at mynexttablet.com
I'm reviewing pretty much every tablet that is released almost worldwide, and over there on the
website, you can always find our current recommendations. I'm Andrzej, thanks for watching, and see you next time