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Microsoft Surface Pro 6 review

Microsoft Surface Pro 6

CHOICE Expert Rating

70%
What is the CHOICE Expert Rating?
Good points

Good Points

  • Silent operation
  • Screen has excellent viewing angles, colours, and luminance
  • Excellent portability as a tablet or laptop (with optional keyboard Type Cover accessory)
  • Very bright screen
Bad points

Bad Points

  • Lacks USB-C
  • Glossy screen produces noticeable reflections
  • Type Cover keyboard is an optional extra rather than an inclusion
  • Touchpad area is small
  • Rear camera looks washed out
  • Can be hard to rest in lap due to kickstand and loose keyboard

Type

Ultraportable
Ultrabook
Tablet mode
Operating system
Windows 10 Home

Recommended products

Recommended
Not recommended
Recommended for tablet use

Test results

CHOICE Expert Rating
70%
Performance score
60%
Tablet use score
77%
Ease of use score
75%
Battery life score
60%
Display score
84%
Audio score
50%
Wi-Fi score
66%
Storage write-speed (MBps)
816
Storage read-speed (MBps)
1634
Wi-Fi speed (MBps)
27
Average battery life – heavy usage (hours)
4:47
Charging time to 80% full (h:min)
1:41
Expert tester comments
Incremental upgrades to the Microsoft Surface Pro line of tablet devices are enough to keep the devices interesting as both stand-alone slates, and laptop convertibles (with the optional keyboard attachment that was part of our test). USB-C ports continue to be an omission, with Microsoft's Surface Pro 6 continuing to offer Mini DisplayPort output, a proper USB 3.0 port, and a microSD card slot for expandability. The kickstand remains one of the most convenient features we've seen on a tablet, allowing it to sit comfortably on its own if you are in a passive mood, and the Surface Type cover is still one of the most comfortable tablet keyboards we've used. This should be your go-to tablet if you're looking for a lightweight slate that will double as a complete Windows 10-based laptop when its equally lightweight Type keyboard cover is attached. Note: This laptop's performance is not directly comparable to current products due to it being tested with an older version of our benchmark.

Sustainability

Shop Ethical rating
C
Warranty (years)
1
Replaceable battery
Not collected
Replace/upgrade RAM
Not collected
Slots for additional RAM
Not collected
Replace/upgrade storage
Not collected
Slot for additional storage
Not collected
Replace/upgrade Wi-Fi
Not collected
Country of origin
Not collected

Related products

Availability
Discontinued model

Cost

Price
$1,848.00

Specifications

Screen size (inches)
12.3
Native screen resolution (pixels)
2736 x 1824
Processor (CPU) type
Intel Core i5-8250U
CPU frequency (GHz)
1.6
RAM (GB)
8
Video graphics type
Intel UHD Graphics 620
Storage capacity (GB)
256
Available user space (GB)
191
Storage type
SSD
Wi-Fi version
5
Weight of laptop (kg)
1.1
Weight of power supply (kg)
0.2
Size (mm, H x D x W)
18 x 227 x 295

Features

Screen finish
Glossy
Touchscreen
USB-C
USB 2.0 ports
0
USB 3.0 ports
1
USB 4 as USB-C port
0
USB-C (USB 3.2 Gen 1 or 2, not Thunderbolt 3 or 4) ports
0
Thunderbolt 3 or 4 (as USB-C) ports
0
SD card slot (full-size)
SD card slot (micro)
HDMI port
Gigabit ethernet port
Rear camera
Backlit keyboard levels of brightness
3

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