Product Listing

Microsoft Surface Pro 4 review: Slaying notebooks since 2015

By Koh Wanzi - 20 Dec 2015
Launch SRP: S$1999

Accessories: An upgraded pen and keyboard

The same accessories, but better than before

The new Surface Pen comes with marked improvements over the older version.

But improved specifications aside, the new Surface Pen and Type Cover keyboard are a big part of why the Surface Pro 4 can be considered more than just an incremental upgrade over the Surface Pro 3.

Right off the bat, one of the most compelling new features of the new Surface Pen that is included with the Surface Pro 4 is its 1,024 levels of pressure sensitivity, up from just 256 on the previous version. That’s a quadrupling of how sensitive the pen is, and when using it in OneNote, the difference is clearly palpable.

The pen could distinguish between a light touch and a bold stroke, and the more nuanced ability to respond to different pressures allowed for a more natural writing experience. The old Surface Pen is good, but the new one is just that much better. The palm detection feature is as good as ever, and we were able to doodle, scribble, and scrawl bad drawings (we ain't artists) on OneNote’s canvas.

The new Surface Pens beside the older variant (top) that came with the Surface Pro 3.

The other important feature on the new pen is the eraser function, which like a regular eraser, is located on the rear end. But don’t worry, it’s still clickable, so a single click launches OneNote instantly like before, and holding it down launches Cortana. Microsoft says that it has intended for the eraser to simulate the tactile feel of a real eraser on paper when it is used on the screen.

Well, we’ve used it, and while we can’t say that it feels quite like rubber on paper, there is enough friction involved that still feels quite satisfying. The eraser works by detecting and erasing continuous strokes, so if we wanted, we could get rid of all that wonky shading in that house below without accidentally breaking the outlines. The eraser is both accurate and fast, and we found ourselves loving the feature after just a short time with it.

The pen also now has a flat edge on its entire length for a magnetic strip that attaches to the Surface Pro 4. The right-click function on the previous pen has also been ported to the magnetic strip, which is now clickable. This is a lot more intuitive to use, but in order to ensure that you don’t accidentally activate the function while writing, Microsoft has made it such that it only works if you hold down the button before touching the nib to the screen.

The new Surface Pen has a flat magnetic strip for attaching to the tablet.

The Surface Pen is also sold separately for S$99, where you can get it in a color other than the default silver (dark blue or red), together with a set of four different pen tips. One thing to note is that the pen tips aren’t just replacements for the default tip, and actually offer different levels of friction to suit your writing preferences. Microsoft has labeled them 2H (very low friction), H (low friction), HB (medium friction), and B (high friction) in order of friction, a tongue-in-cheek reference to real pencil leads.

The pen tip kit comes with four different tips.

The HB tip is the default one that comes with your bundled Surface Pen, and you can swap it out with the pincer tool built into the pen tip holder. You can just use the pincer to grip the installed tip and pull it out, and push the new tip in. We found that the medium-friction HB tip worked just fine and offered just the right mix of traction and glide. The B tip was a bit too grippy, but people who prefer a more controlled writing experience will probably like it. The 2H and H tips had a noticeably smoother glide, although the difference between the two appeared minimal to us. The pen tip kit can be bought separately at S$14 on the local Microsoft store.

Then there’s the new Type Cover keyboard, which is quite a big upgrade over the old design. Gone are the closely-spaced keys. Instead, the key layout is a familiar chiclet-style that is found on the keyboards of many full-fledged notebooks. The key travel distance has also been increased, allowing for a more tactile typing experience. The result is a much more spacious layout that is far more enjoyable to use.

The new Type Cover keyboard comes with wider-spaced chiclet keys and a larger glass trackpad.

On top of that, the trackpad has been upgraded to a larger glass one, which is a lot smoother and offers more room to maneuver. Finally, Microsoft says that they’ve also used a different material on the new keyboard, one that should be more resistant to those abominable grease stains that we all detest. We haven’t used the keyboard for long enough to actually verify that claim, but for what it’s worth, your keyboard will probably look clean for longer.

Frankly, it’s quite heartening that Microsoft has continued to improve on its accessories on top of the main device. The Type Cover keyboard with this year’s Surface 3 had increased key travel distance over the one on the Surface Pro 3, and the latest iteration represents an even larger step forward. What’s more, you can even use the new Type Cover keyboard on the Surface Pro 3. Combine that with the more portable dock and the new Surface Pen, both of which can also be used interchangeably with the Surface Pro 3, and we’re happy to see that Microsoft isn’t going down the track of nudging users to upgrade by making better accessories exclusive to the new model.

Unfortunately, the keyboard is still not bundled with the tablet, and you’ll have to purchase it for S$199 for the full Surface experience. It is available in blue, bright blue, and black on the local Microsoft Store.

Join HWZ's Telegram channel here and catch all the latest tech news!
9.0
  • Design 9.5
  • Features 8.5
  • Performance 8.5
  • Value 8
  • Mobility 9
The Good
Thinner and lighter than the Surface Pro 3
Display is larger and crisper than before
Performance rivals full-fledged notebooks
Upgraded Surface Pen works exceedingly well
The Bad
Only one USB port
Type Cover keyboard still not included
Smaller battery capacity
Our articles may contain affiliate links. If you buy through these links, we may earn a small commission.