The Microsoft Surface Pro 6 Review: More Than A Color
by Brett Howse on October 16, 2018 3:01 AM EST- Posted in
- Laptops
- Microsoft
- Surface
- Tablets
- Surface Pro
- Surface Pro 6
Microsoft is in a bit of a unique place in the PC space compared to other manufacturers. Other than Apple, Microsoft is the only company that controls both the hardware and software sides, and when the Surface lineup launched way back in 2012, Microsoft’s goal was to showcase the advantages of their platform with a premium hardware lineup. On October 2nd 2018, the company unveiled their sixth iteration of what is now a staple in the PC space, the Surface Pro 6.
On the outside, it would be easy to write this refresh off as a spec bump, but there are tangible improvements throughout the Surface Pro which make this a worthwhile successor to the 2017 Surface Pro. The company hasn’t completely reinvented Surface Pro since the Surface Pro 3 launched in 2014, with the move to the new thin and light form factor, showcasing the 3:2 aspect ratio display. Surface Pro 4 stretched the display from 12-inches to 12.3-inches in the same size device, and moved from Haswell to Skylake, and Surface Pro 2017 made some more small tweaks, and with the move to Kaby Lake finally solved the power management issues that plagued the Skylake generation of Surface devices.
Arguably the biggest change that people will see with the Surface Pro 6 is that it’s available in a new color: black. Surface hasn’t been offered in black since the days of the Surface Pro 2, and the new color will live alongside the existing platinum color we’ve come to know throughout Microsoft’s PC lineup. But, inside the device are new components which help move the Surface Pro to a new level. The most noticeable is that Microsoft has moved to the quad-core Kaby Lake Refresh chips, and as we’ve seen throughout the rest of the PC industry, Kaby Lake Refresh brings a significant performance boost.
| Microsoft Surface Pro 6 | |||||
| Model Tested: Core i5-8250U 8GB 256GB $1199 | |||||
| Processor | Intel Core i5-8250U 4C/8T, 1.6-3.4GHz, 6MB L3, 14nm, 15w Intel Core i7-8650U 4C/8T, 1.9-4.2GHz, 8MB L3, 14nm, 15w |
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| Memory | 8 GB or 16 GB Dual-Channel LPDDR3 | ||||
| Graphics | Intel Core i5-8250U Intel UHD Graphics 620 (24 EUs, 300-1100 MHz) Intel Core i7-8650U Intel UHD Graphics 620 (24 EUs, 300-1150 MHz) |
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| Display | 12.3" 2736x1824 3:2 PixelSense LG Display, Touch and Pen support 100% sRGB color + enhanced color, individually calibrated panels |
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| Storage | 128 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB PCIe 3.0 x2 | ||||
| Networking | 802.11ac, 2x2:2, 866Mpbs Max, 2.4 and 5GHz Bluetooth 4.1 Marvell AVASTAR |
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| Audio | 1.6 W Stereo Speakers (front facing) Dolby Audio Premium |
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| Battery | 45 Wh, 44 W AC Adapter with USB charging port | ||||
| Right Side | USB 3.0 Type-A Mini DisplayPort 1.2 MicroSDXC Card Reader Surface Connect Port (charging and docking) |
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| Left Side | Headset Jack | ||||
| Power Button Volume Rocker |
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| Keyboard Connector | |||||
| Dimensions | 292 x 201 x 8.5 mm (11.5 x 7.9 x 0.33 inches) | ||||
| Weight | Core i5: 770 grams (1.70 lbs) Core i5/i7: 784 grams (1.73 lbs) |
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| Cameras | Rear: 8.0 MP auto-focus Front: 5.0 MP auto-focus and Windows Hello support Dual microphones |
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| Extras | Surface Pen and Dial (sold separately) Surface Dock - 2 x mDP 1.2, 4 x USB 3.0, 1 x Gigabit (sold separately) TPM 2.0 |
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| Pricing | 128 GB Core i5 8GB RAM: $899 256 GB Intel Core i5 with 8GB of RAM: $1199 256 GB Intel Core i7 with 8GB of RAM: $1499 512 GB Intel Core i7 with 16GB of RAM: $1899 1 TB Intel Core i7 with 16GB of RAM: $2299 |
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One decision that we’ve seen questioned since the launch event was disappointment in the lack of an Iris GPU option in the Surface Pro with this generation. The 2017 model we reviewed was outfitted with the Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640, which doubles the execution units compared to the standard UHD Graphics 620, as well as adds 64 MB of eDRAM. The Iris option is no more though, but even if Microsoft had wanted to continue offering it, Intel no longer sells any 15-Watt CPUs in their current lineup with the Iris option. You’d have to move up to a 28-Watt model at the moment to be offered access.
The rest of the Surface Pro, on a technical specification sheet, is pretty much identical to the outgoing model. The 12.3-inch display is the same 2736 x 1824 resolution, you can get SSD capacities up to 1 TB, and RAM is offered with up to 16 GB as the maximum due to the limitations of LPDDR3 capacities. Also along for the ride is the same Marvell AVASTAR wireless that has been used exclusively in all Surface devices for too long.
The one missing feature that everyone would have likely expected to see with this launch was a USB-C port, since Microsoft finally includes it in place of the mini DisplayPort in the Surface Book 2, as well as on the Surface Go, but in a confusing move, the Surface team has kept the mini DisplayPort connector on Surface Pro rather than move to USB-C which could also double as DisplayPort when needed.
Microsoft has also cut the prices quite significantly, but the very bottom end model with the Core m3 and lowest price is no more. The good news is that the base configuration drops the 4 GB of RAM though, meaning a 128 GB Core i5 with 8 GB of RAM is now the base at $899. Last year the MSRP of the 128 GB Core i5 was $999 and it only came with 4 GB of RAM. At the very top, the savings are even larger, with the 1 TB Core i7 with 16 GB of RAM a full $400 less than the launch price of last year's Surface Pro.
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sorten - Tuesday, October 16, 2018 - link
And to think that the only reason I have a SP4 instead of a SP3 is that I was holding out for a USB-C port! It would have been fairly early to market at that point. Looks like I made a great decision.damianrobertjones - Tuesday, October 16, 2018 - link
Tell me... what would you use that port for? You can do it... you can hold out for the Surface pro 3.You could always try the 'Surface Connect to USB-C Adapter'?
Heck wouldn't it be great to run USB c raid arrays with this? No.
Heck wouldn't it be great to have an external GPU with this? No, how much money do you have!?
Heck wouldn't it be great to have a fast usb C thumb drive? No, USB 3.1 drives are still selling lots.
Heck wouldn't it be great to have HDR?
Oh, here we go, the next excuse.
drew805 - Tuesday, October 16, 2018 - link
The main draw of the Type C is that I can charge my laptop and phone with the same charger (and even power my 2in1 with a mobile power pack with USB-PD). I fail to see how a more future proof port that already offers display out capacities is worse than the mini-DP in the SP5. Also, while External GPU's via Thunderbolt 3 are expensive, it is cheaper than building a complete desktop just to get a similar (or likely better) experience. Why is more choice bad?damianrobertjones - Wednesday, October 17, 2018 - link
It's not bad, at all, but the quality on the USB C chargers is startling. Same with the docks. Plus it's another change to overcharge for something that should realistically be cheap. While all of the printers, scanners, mice, keyboards and thumb drives are still USB, USB C can just wait.Plus there's always the MS adapter. People are probably not aware of that.
desolation0 - Wednesday, October 17, 2018 - link
Usb-c and usb-a ports aren't exactly mutually exclusive. We can pretty easily have both simple backwards compatibility and future proofing in the same model. Meanwhile the future proofing option offers obvious and significant utility opportunities that are just not available on the previous generation spec. To skip it on a flagship device when the tech has been available for years and is now being used by pretty much all of the competition even down to mainstream pricing levels seems like a significant oversight.digiguy - Tuesday, October 16, 2018 - link
Brett, I think you are underestimating the difference between the 2017 i5 and i7 in battery life. I have seen reports of over one hour more battery like in the fanless i5. So I don't think battery like in the 2018 model has improved much or at all. Once we have some direct i5 to i5 comparisons (eg. from notebookcheck) we'll be able to see if there is any improvement worth mentioning.OCedHrt - Tuesday, October 16, 2018 - link
The black levels on surface 6 and 4 are the same?Brett Howse - Wednesday, October 17, 2018 - link
Yes and the display is 100 nits brighter so being able to reproduce the same black level with a white that's 100 nits brighter is a sizeable improvement.evilspoons - Tuesday, October 16, 2018 - link
Argggh, I hate that Avastar wireless card so much. I have a Surface Pro 3 and it posts decent 802.11ac speeds for when the SP3 was new... most of the time... but sometimes it just decides to screw up and slow down by like 90%. Copying files over the network, wired gigabit to wired gigabit PC? 60 MB/sec, forever. 802.11ac adapter in my dad's laptop? 40 MB/s. That damn Avastar? 30 MB/s, until it decides to screw up, then 2.5! Yay!Holliday75 - Wednesday, October 17, 2018 - link
Yeah my SP3 is slower than shit on my WiFi. Usually get around 22-25MB/s. I had to force it to 5.2ghz to get those speeds.