Microsoft is kind of new in manufacturing its own best laptops, most notably the Surface line. That doesn’t mean it cannot compete with the best of the best in the industry. They’ve made stunningly well designed and powerful portable computers that rival Apple’s MacBook, like the Surface Pro, which debuted in 2013. Over the years it has been refined and tweaked in terms of hardware and software that we’re actually surprised that it wasn’t released as the Surface Pro 5. It now looks pretty much like the Surface Pro 4. Those improvements are not readily obvious, but significant.
Now, you can get the Surface Pro at an incredible 27% discount on Amazon, which is an unmissable deal. Take home this lightweight midrange laptop that’s convertible to a tablet for $580 , a total of $219 less than its retail price of $799.
The Surface Pro is ultra-lightweight and engineered with the utmost attention to detail like the rest of the Surface line. Its kickstand opens to 165 degrees and reliably holds up the tablet. When fully flexed, the Surface Pro feels like a solid thin slab of metal. The laptop is equipped with a single USB-A 3.0 connection and a mini-DisplayPort. On the kickstand, you will find a microSD card reader and the patent Surface Connect port for power.
Beneath its exterior, this Surface Pro is powered by an Intel Core M processor and a Windows 10 OS pre-installed. It has 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. Even when we were working this laptop hard by opening multiple browsers or using more than one program, it managed to keep the heat under control.
This deal does not include the Signature Type Cover keyboard, which you can purchase separately. This vital piece of accessory is covered with Alcantara fabric and adds a welcome splash of color to the grayness of the Surface Pro. The detachable keyboard is backlit and provides very comfortable and responsive keystroke. Typing requires minimal effort, and it is relatively quieter than most keyboards. Flipping the keyboard automatically turns it off and transforms the laptop into a tablet.
The LCD touchscreen offers fluid touch responsiveness and gorgeous colors and contrasts. Texts and images look razor-sharp, the colors are vibrant, and the blacks are deep. It has a 12.3-inch PixelSense display with 2,736 × 1,824 resolution (267 PPI) in a 3:2 aspect ratio.
Battery life is not that great, to be honest. It’s a little behind compared to other laptop/tablet hybrids. With continuous web browsing, the Surface Pro managed to last five and a half hours. It did last a respectable 10 hours in our video looping test.
The Microsoft Surface Pro is an outstanding and extremely portable 2-in-1 machine that’s the perfect travel buddy. At just 0.33 inches thick and weighing 1.73 pounds, it is easy to carry around and slip inside a bag. For $580 you can get the device (not including the Type Cover) on Amazon.
If you’re not that impressed with the Surface Pro, check out this page for the best 2-in-1 laptops (which includes Surface Pro 6) or this for the best laptops of 2021.
Mozilla is giving Firefox’s Smart Window two new tricks. If you haven’t tried it yet, Smart Window is an optional AI mode in Firefox with a built-in chat that helps you get things done while you browse. With this update, it can fill out online forms using details from your tabs and keep an eye on websites for you.
Tired of typing the same details into every form?
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.