Aside from this design flaw, the Surface Pro 11 has many upgrades, making it an easy recommendation for those who want a 2-in-1 device that combines the functionality of a tablet and a laptop. There’s the new Snapdragon hardware (which makes it feel like a brand new product), massive battery life, and plenty of processing power for all your daily tasks.

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Microsoft has split the laptop into two distinct variants: the high-end Snapdragon X Elite variant with an OLED display (starting at ₹1,51,740) and the Snapdragon X Plus model (starting at ₹1,11,990) with an LCD panel. The Snapdragon X Plus model with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage that we tested for a week comes to ₹1,34,999.

The story of Windows on ARM

Surface Pro 11 together represent the vision of a world away from Intel and AMD. Windows has been dominated by Intel-powered x86 hardware for many years. Most applications are designed for x86, and if you’ve bought a Windows laptop in the last decade, then x86 is what you’re going to get. ARM is a more recent phenomenon in the laptop space (more commonly used in mobile devices) and is the architecture that Apple moved to in 2020 with the release of Apple Silicon. Microsoft’s partnership with Qualcomm (which makes the Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus chips) has allowed the gap with Apple to be closed, along with doubling the battery life, something an all-day user (like me) can be proud of .

Windows on ARM promises several advantages over traditional laptops powered by x86/x64 chips developed by AMD and Intel. There’s superior battery life, super-fast boot times, chipset-level support for security features (including Windows Hello) and always-on internet connectivity (via 4G or 5G). Most importantly, a key benefit of the ARM architecture is power consumption, which means manufacturers can offer laptops with thinner, fanless designs and longer battery life.

But the only complaint people have had with Windows on ARM is app compatibility. Some of their apps couldn’t run natively and had to run virtually through an emulator, called Prism (Microsoft’s emulator). This time around, there’s a bigger push from developers to recode for ARM. Microsoft apps run smoothly and new apps get native support every week.

Why choose Microsoft Surface Pro 11?

Let’s start with the display. You have an option for an LCD display (with the Snapdragon X Plus models) or an OLED display (with the Snapdragon X Elite models). Of course, OLED would be the better choice as deep blacks would shine through when consuming mediums. For someone coming from the Surface Pro 8, the LCD on the 11 feels vastly superior. It is clear, gets very bright and comes with great color accuracy.

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The resolution (2,880×1,920 pixels), 120 Hz refresh rate and 600 nits of SDR brightness are identical on both models. In the real sense, you’ll lose out on deeper blacks, more vibrant colors, and a higher contrast ratio by opting for the LCD panel. However, the LCD display looks fantastic. At full brightness and with a bright white background, it can get a little too much.

The only downside is that the screen is susceptible to reflections as it is very glossy. Due to the high brightness, some of this is mitigated, but in strong sunlight outdoors, it can be a little difficult to work comfortably. The LCD panel comes with excellent viewing angles and hence media consumption is a treat. It’s not OLED, but it’s sharp and much better than the displays of yesteryear.

Fortunately, the display is aided by some superb speakers. There are stereo speakers that give you the feeling of being immersed. They get loud and don’t distort much, even at the loudest volumes.

The webcam and microphone combination on the Surface Pro 11 is great. It’s a 1440p ultrawide camera on the front. Combine that with the AI ​​tools of Windows Studio Effects and you have a great webcam for all your video conferencing needs. There’s auto-framing, two levels of background blur, a range of filters and more. With good clarity and strong colors and a microphone that delivers clear voice, the combination served me well for my video calls (mostly used Microsoft Teams or Google Meet).

Combined with the aforementioned AI tools from Windows Studio Effects, you can easily get the best webcam performance on any laptop today, with automatic framing, two levels of background blur, gaze correction, and various filters. Colors were strong and warm, and clarity was exquisite.

The Surface Pro 11 is not a gaming laptop, and not all apps will run natively. Despite this, the Surface Pro 11 flies through everyday tasks. Surface Pro 11 is fast for everyday use and fast for opening apps and multitasking. The fans are mostly quiet unless you’re trying to play some demanding games (which, with the Surface Pro 11, you probably wouldn’t). I played several older games, for example Football manager and TrackMania Nations Forever and they ran smoothly.

Although I complained about the “lapability”, the stand is really great as it can support the Surface Pro at any angle you want. Last but not least, let’s come to the new keyboard. Yes, I’ll talk about pricing later (it’s not included with the tablet), but the latest Microsoft Surface Pro keyboard is a joy to type on, and there’s a slim slot that holds the stylus. The Slim Pen 2 is pretty good to use and doesn’t feel like you’re scraping on a blackboard.

I wrote three articles on this laptop and my typing speed was fast and furious. There is a good amount of feedback and excellent key travel. The keyboard also works as a Bluetooth keyboard as it can be used detached. This means you can use the tablet at a better angle which is more suitable for your eyes. Just make sure you get the right keyboard and not one of the older/business laptop ones. Only the latest Surface Pro Flex keyboard will work detached. There are complaints about it not working when detached on Reddit, but updating the entire firmware after making sure you have the right keyboard seems to be the solution that works for most people.

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I also had a minor issue (easily fixed with a software update) where when starting the laptop from “sleep mode” the keyboard would not work. I would have to detach it and then attach it again for it to work.

The trackpad isn’t the biggest out there, but it’s large and usable with good click feedback. As with all CoPilot+ computers, there is a CoPilot key.

What could be better about Surface Pro 11

When you’re ushering in an entire computer age, a design refresh would have been welcome. However, Microsoft sticks to the tried and tested and just refreshed the keyboard. Honestly, even though I like it, I wish Microsoft had gone in a new direction with the design.

The tablet, at 872g, is heavy. It weighs more than the iPad Pro 13″, which comes in at 579g (for the Wi-Fi model). That’s something to consider, especially if you’re trying to hold and read or doodle.

Then there’s the fact that the Surface Pro 11 doesn’t have many ports, and it also sticks to the Surface’s charging connector. It can charge via USB-C, but there are only two USB-C ports, located on the left side of the tablet.

I’d rather not delve into the world of CoPilot because it’s a half-baked product right now. Don’t buy a new Surface Pro/any other laptop for its AI capabilities, not yet. However, CoPilot offers many different services (like most other AI products). There’s live translation or captioning, which summarizes notes, emails, and documents, while also being a generative chatbot at the touch of a button.

The best 2-in-1 out there?

I would happily recommend the Surface Pro 11 to anyone looking for a tablet. But without the keyboard, the Surface Pro 11 pales in comparison to Apple’s line of iPads. I’ve always thought of the Surface Pro 11 as a laptop, and with the keyboard, it’s a complete product. However, since the tablet and keyboard are sold separately, it’s an expensive proposition.

The Snapdragon X Plus model with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage that we tested for a week comes to ₹1,34,999. While Microsoft hasn’t officially revealed the price of the accessories, Amazon India is selling the new Surface Pro Flex keyboard along with the slim stylus for an average price of ₹29,900. That makes the package come to ₹1,64,899.

When it comes to battery life, I managed to get around 12-13 hours of battery life, below some of the recently released Asus and Dell laptops and well below Apple’s MacBook offerings. There’s the Asus Zenbook S14 OLED (with an Intel Core Ultra Series 2 processor), Acer’s Aspire Go 14 (with an AMD chip), and many CoPilot+ PCs, including the Dell XPS 13, HP OmniBook X 14, and others, which outperform the Surface Pro 11 in battery life department. Then there’s the Asus ProArt PX13 to consider if you’re a creator.

The competition quickly caught up, but the Surface Pro 11 can hold its own. It’s the best ARM-based Windows tablet and the best tablet-keyboard combo on the market. It’s thin, light, powerful (except for gaming) and has silent fans. Battery life has doubled, but pales in comparison to rivals offering 15 hours and more, and even some promising 22+ hours. Microsoft is pretty convincing (for once) about the future of ARM on Windows. I’m ready to ride the wave (as more and more apps get native support), but I wanted the battery life to match that of its closest rivals. I just wish Microsoft would offer a competitive package for their product.

There’s always the alternative of going for the Surface Laptop 7 (launched alongside the Surface Pro 11) if you want a traditional clamshell laptop. If you want to go for the Microsoft Surface Pro 11, then the base model offers a better price-performance ratio. The base model Snapdragon X Elite with 16GB RAM and 1TB SSD is available for a lot of things. ₹1,85,999. You might miss the OLED display, but you won’t miss anything else.