Key Takeaways
1. The Microsoft Surface Pro 12 is the first device to use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Plus SoC without fans for cooling.
2. The Snapdragon X Plus can draw up to 35 Watts briefly and settles at 15 Watts, providing competitive performance against Intel’s Lunar Lake chips for daily tasks.
3. Other manufacturers have not released passively cooled Snapdragon devices, raising questions about market choices, including Microsoft’s own Surface Laptop 13.
4. The Surface Pro 12 features a quality IPS touchscreen, Wi-Fi 7, but has limited ports and non-upgradable storage, with a starting price of $799.
5. The device lacks a power adapter, and the new keyboard cover with stylus is expensive, priced at $249, despite the high quality of the backlit keyboard.
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon-X-series processors have been available for around a year, but we only just got to see a device that doesn’t need fans to cool it down. The new 12-inch Surface Pro convertible from Microsoft is the first gadget using the Snapdragon X Plus System on Chip (SoC) without any fans. This SoC can draw up to 35 Watts for brief moments, then settles down to 15 Watts. We were keen to test the performance at this power level, and the outcome was a pleasant surprise. Even at 15 Watts, the performance remains competitive, matching up well with Intel’s Lunar Lake chips, which means it can handle daily tasks just fine.
Why No Other Manufacturers?
This raises the question of why other brands aren’t making passively cooled Snapdragon devices. The same goes for Microsoft’s own Surface Laptop 13, which uses the same Snapdragon X Plus. Instead of selling an overpriced ultrabook with traditional cooling, Microsoft could have made a passively cooled Surface Laptop 13 to make it different from other products in the market.
Features and Pricing
Besides having a well-built chassis, the compact Surface Pro 12 also features a decent IPS touchscreen (90 Hz, sRGB) and comes with Wi-Fi 7. Battery life is decent, but there are some aspects where Microsoft is cutting corners. It has only two USB-C 3.2 ports, and you can’t upgrade the UFS storage. The recommended retail price starts at $799 for the entry-level model with 256 GB of storage, but adding accessories can quickly push the cost over $1100. Notably, Microsoft does not provide a power adapter, and the new keyboard cover with stylus (which now attaches to the back of the device and can’t be stored inside the keyboard cover anymore) is quite pricey at $249. However, the quality of the backlit keyboard is commendable.
In summary, Microsoft’s new 12-inch Surface Pro stands out as an intriguing and compact convertible that sets itself apart from competitors by not having any fans. For further details, check out our in-depth review of the new Surface Pro.
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