Another key feature of the 4 is its biometric capability in Windows Hello. There are forward facing 3D and infrared scanners that can perform facial recognition and iris scan combinations, that also use the heat signature to ensure live subjects. While this can be a little problematic on other devices, see the Lumia 950 Hands On, since deploying it on the Pro4, it has never failed and is a joy to use.
Few people buy the Surface without a keyboard cover and the Pro4’s keyboard cover is a major step in development, but critically, backward compatible with the Pro 3.
Type Cover
The new Type cover has 3mm spaced keys that are more comfortable and reassuring to use, while the trackpad is also much bigger and more accurate to use than previously. The range of colours available is also bigger, with some welcome muted tones. In fact, if you have a well spec’ed Pro 3 and are humming and hawing over an upgrade, just get the new Type cover while you mull it over — it is worth it.
Other improvements include the speakers, the rear camera, which is now 8MP, as well as a 5MP forward camera, and improved battery life. Claims are for a 9-hour performance with the likes of video playback, but in reality, a mixed mode working day is achievable. Email, productivity apps and a bit of music through the day, on the move using Wi-Fi and Bluetooth too saw 7 hours or so till critically low levels were achieved.
However, a key point to being able to do it all is being able to be a fully productivity machine while sat at a desk. To that end the docking station has been completely overhauled.
New dock
A smaller, more compact device is now the format, moving away from the enclosure type of the Pro 3 version. While the Pro 4 will go into a 3 dock, it is a little thinner and so there is a free shim that goes into it to secure it properly. This reviewer simply used some foam stickies to do the same job. But the Pro 4 dock has USB 3.0 across 4 ports, Ethernet, stereo audio and dual miniDisplayPort outputs. This last feature is impressive insofar as it means a single Pro 4 can support two 4K displays simultaneously, as well as its own screen. That is most impressive and allows a user a huge potential display estate to take advantage of Windows 10 features such as multiple desktops, video calling and more.
After using the Pro 4 as the weapon of choice for around a month now, the most noticeable thing apart from the gorgeous screen (it really is very nice) is the effect of the additional horsepower and RAM. The Pro 3 which this machine usurped was a 4GB machine and particularly since moving to Office 2016, became noticeably sticky, rather than slow, when multiple apps, documents and media were in use simultaneously. The 8GB RAM, Skylake-equipped Pro 4 switches fluidly between applications, and desktops, irrespective of load or extent and feels the claimed 30% faster all round that its predecessor. That said, there are one or two niggles. When it is huffing and puffing, the fan can be a little loud, though not distractingly so. Also, Continuum mode can sometimes take a while to catch up, particularly when waking from sleep mode, and sometimes the keyboard might need to be detached and re-attached more than once to kick it into gear. Or, when the keyboard is folded back out of the way and then brought back into typing range, it sometimes fails to respond, again prompting a take it off and put it on again dance.
‘SurfaceGate’
All this is in the context of very vocal criticism of Microsoft and its Pro 4 and Surface Book by long-time Microsoft commentator Paul Thurrott. Thurrott is highly critical of Microsoft for ignoring the early teething issues of the Pro 4 and Surface Book, referring to it as “SurfaceGate” and likening it to Apple’s iPhone 4 travails.
While this reviewer can understand the points Thurrott is making, the endemic problems he refers to have not been experienced to any great extent. Thurrott highlights issues with resuming from sleep, battery draining issues and driver issues. While it was surprising that there have been 5 system firmware updates in roughly the same number of months, it is not uncommon for new platforms, with new relativly new operating systems to go through such processes.
Without coming down on either side, this reviewer can only say there is not enough smoke to put out the desire to have a Pro 4. It is better in measurable ways than the Pro 3, boasts new features that are of immediate usefulness and benefits from the latest generation of processors. The Surface Pro is still the best — and benchmark — full capability tablet on the market.
All of which comes down to the price.
The tested model comes in at €1,499 including VAT, with the new Type cover at €154.95. The dock is a hefty €234.95. The top of the range i7, 16GB with 512TB storage is €2,499. The 1TB i7 version is not yet available here, nor was euro pricing for it.
A set of variable size pen tips come in at €10, a bargain to indulge your artistic side.
All are available from the Microsoft Store, or from selected retailers and partners.
Paul Hearns
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