Microsoft Surface Pro 7

6owners with an opinion

67%of verdicts positive

4/0positive/negative since 2024

0happy after 3+ years

Praised for reliability and comfort; criticized for display and build quality.

What owners wrote

Likes it

I would love a tablet running macOS, which I prefer over Windows and desktop Linux. I have a Microsoft Surface Pro 7. It performed fine under Windows 10, though performance suffered when upgrading to Windows 11. The Surface Pro is a nice piece of hardware, but I wish it had macOS instead of Windows. The iPad Pro definitely has enough processing power to run macOS, but it runs iPadOS, which is too restrictive for me as a developer. If Apple went through the effort making macOS touchscreen-ready for this new MacBook Pro, then perhaps we’ll see a tablet with macOS one day. I’d buy an iPad Pro with macOS in a heartbeat.

Likes itStill going

I got a Surface Pro 7 soon after it was released and it was really great for the price. A good size to work on, decent battery, and actually worked well as a 2-in-1 device. The keyboard was a bit flimsy but still good enough for on-the-go work. Ran Windows on it for a few years then installed Linux and made it be a manager for my media setup, still working fine today.

Likes it

Agreed. The iPad, from a hardware point of view, is a close approximation to Alan Kay's Dynabook concept ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynabook ). It's a shame that iPads are so locked down; I'd love to use an iPad with an unrestricted operating system. I have a Microsoft Surface 7 Pro. Even though Windows is not my favorite operating system, I enjoy using the hardware. I'm also looking forward to Framework's upcoming 12" convertible tablet; I also have a Framework 13 laptop.

Likes it

>I decided to use a Surface Book 3 but the writing isn't the same... probably will try one of those textured surface cover things. i totally recommend getting a textured screen cover if you can find one. i had one for my SP7 and it made sketching and annotating dramatically more tolerable - even pleasant. i was concerned it'd degrade stylus nibs more quickly but it wasn't a problem. colors were naturally a hair less vivid but it was acceptable and a good tradeoff for less glare in general and honestly i liked how it looked - it felt less like i was looking at a screen, if you know what i mean. in hindsight i think it's crazy that they sell these tablets with untextured screens/nibs. edit: this is off-topic but i enjoyed reading your bio. i hope you have a nice day.

Likes it

Other anecdote, I cycle-toured for a year camping in all kind of uncomfortable places, and my Surface Pro 7 survived. The screen is cracked in a million places from getting smashed around with all my other kit, but it still works. The Type Cover is a bit crap, though. After going through one of them while on the road (PowerToys Keyboard Manager is your friend) now I've been living in an apartment with a roof and everything, and another one died from what I can only assume to be humidity. I gave up and switched to a cheap bluetooth keyboard instead, which kinda feels more cool and futuristic anyway.

Doesn’t like it

I have a Surface Pro 7 from work and honestly it's not even half a MacBook. The OS is particularly poor, as is the battery life. The Mac is a better frontend for Windows sessions through Citrix than a literal Windows device is-- gestures, scrolling, trackpad predictability, etc. I could not give two craps about the cameras. I don't use my laptop as a camera. If I need a high-quality camera, I'll attach one. If I have to do a video call without preparation, the receiver can deal with a "mere" 720p. Would I welcome a 4k cam on a Mac? Sure, if it's free, why not? I'd rather have a microSD reader tho.

Doesn’t like it

I've always had great experiences at the Microsoft store especially with purchases and replacements. Right after the pandemic caused Microsoft to close all their physical locations my Surface Pro 7 started getting green spots on the screen that I've been waiting for the stores to reopen to get replaced. Hearing the news today that the store wasn't going to be open I decided to try the online support and it is a total mess. I tried to use text chat but after an hour my position in the queue actually went up. So I decided to have them call me which the wait took much longer than quoted. Then I spent over an hour on the phone with a representative for what they even admitted was obviously a manufacturer defect. They didn't want to send me a new device before I shipped them my RMA unit so they expected me to be without my laptop for a week while they processed the claim. Then when they finally caved they couldn't tell me how large of a hold they would put on my card while before my RMA reached them. This whole process would have taken 5 minutes at the store, and I would have walked out with a new laptop right then. All in all I feel like all my Microsoft hardware products just massively depreciated in value.