The 5 greatest Microsoft Surface Pro alternate options in 2024

Whether you’re wanting on the Surface Pro 9 or the Surface Pro 8, the Microsoft Surface Pro lineup is stuffed with nice selections. But they could be a bit costly, and in the event that they’re simply not fairly what you’re in search of, you need to know that you’ve got different choices.

To assist you to discover these choices, we’ve collected our 5 favourite Surface Pro alternate options for you under. And, when you’re nonetheless not satisfied and wish to seize your self a Surface Pro, then not less than take a look at these Surface Pro deals to assist save your self some additional money.

M2 Apple iPad Pro

Best Apple Microsoft Surface Pro various

If you’re within the Apple ecosystem, then the apparent various could be the M2 Apple iPad Pro, particularly because it has the second technology of M-Chips from Apple, they usually’re fairly good. For starters, it comes with a significantly sized 12.9-inch display that runs a 2732 x 2048 decision. Even higher, it has the attractive liquid Retina XDR show, so it’s good for watching content material or engaged on artistic stuff like graphic rendering and design and might be the most effective screens Apple has to supply. Also, it could possibly hit a whopping 1,600 nits of peak brightness, that means you need to use it just about wherever.

As talked about above, it has the M2 Chip, which is greater than highly effective sufficient to knock productiveness duties out of the park, so that you don’t have to fret about that. Apple’s merchandise are additionally very well-known for the way good they’re for creatives, and you’ve got a complete host of apps that can work with the iPad relating to something from graphics design to music manufacturing. Luckily, you additionally get the a lot greater 16GB of RAM, which is fairly uncommon in Apple merchandise, so it’s good to see right here, particularly because it offers you an general smoother expertise.

You’ll even be glad to know that the model we’ve linked under has a large 1TB of storage, though that does are likely to bump the worth up fairly significantly. Luckily, there’s a which you could get that’s practically $500 cheaper, though which may not be sufficient storage for most folk, relying on what you want this for. As for battery life, you’ll rise up to 9 to 10 hours out of it on the bottom utilization, which is fairly good, and it comes with each Wi-Fi 6E and 5G Cellular, so you may have a ton of connectivity choices, which is nice.

M2 Apple iPad Pro

Best Apple Microsoft Surface Pro various

Samsung Galaxy Tab S8+

Best general Microsoft Surface Pro various

If you simply need a good general various to the Microsoft Pro that isn’t within the Apple ecosystem, then it’s going to be onerous to beat the Galaxy Tab S8+, particularly since even the S8 Ultra has comparable specs beneath the hood. In phrases of efficiency, the Tab S8+ is surprisingly highly effective, with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, just one technology behind the most recent mannequin, and probably the most highly effective cell CPUs available on the market. That means it’s going to simply deal with most productiveness duties, in addition to many graphical and audio varieties of software program you wish to use on it, assuming they’re accessible on Android.

Arguably, the dearth of Windows might be the most important concern right here, which makes it onerous to compete towards the Surface Pro, though that stated, when you do have entry to the artistic apps you employ on Android, then you definately’re all set. Luckily, plenty of the opposite specs make up for any potential pitfalls with a big 12.4-inch display that runs a 2800 x 1752 decision. It additionally has 16GB of RAM so that you can work with, so that you’ll have a typically clean expertise. Android is fairly light-weight anyway, so it’s even higher than when you have been working Windows.

One different draw back that’s value mentioning is that, very similar to the iPad Pro, you don’t get a keyboard included with this, so you’ll have to purchase that individually. That stated, the Tab S8+ is significantly cheaper, so it’s not that massive of an expenditure so as to add it on, particularly if yow will discover a deal that knocks off a number of the MSRP. Another nice function is that the Tab S8+ has a MicroSD expandable slot, which suggests which you could considerably enhance on the 512GB that it comes with.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S8+

Best general Microsoft Surface Pro various

Chromebook Duet 5

Best funds Microsoft Surface Pro various

While each choices above are fairly dear, you may get one thing that’s much more budget-friendly within the type of the Chromebook Duet 5, which really has the additional advantage of coming with an OLED display, so that you get some attractive colour copy. The 13.3-inch display runs a 1920 x 1080 decision, which is completely effective for this measurement of display given the pixel density, though it could trigger some points for individuals who want a 2k or greater show for doing their graphical work. Even so, it could possibly surprisingly hit 100% of the DCI-P3 gamut, and the 400nits of peak brightness means you need to use it in well-lit rooms and just about wherever that doesn’t contain direct daylight, which is spectacular.

Under the hood, it runs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c Gen 2, a barely older cell CPU, though nonetheless fairly succesful for many artistic and productiveness duties, so that you shouldn’t want to fret about that. In truth, the most important fear is, once more, software program compatibility since this can be a Chromebook and doesn’t run Windows however fairly ChromeOs. That implies that you need to completely double-check in case your most popular software program is out there earlier than taking the plunge with this one.

Besides that, it comes with 8GB of RAM and 128GB, each of that are on the decrease finish however to be anticipated for this worth level, particularly since this can be a budget-oriented gadget. Luckily, it does include a keyboard, and whereas the storage is low, you may considerably complement it with an external hard drive if you actually need the additional area. Also value noting is that it has a reasonably glorious construct high quality and a reasonably unimaginable battery life, hitting nearly 15 hours with internet looking, though that’s more likely to lower when you’re doing productiveness or modifying work.

Chromebook Duet 5

Best funds Microsoft Surface Pro various

ROG Flow Z13

Best Microsoft Surface Pro various for gaming

While the Microsoft Surface Pro is nice, it’s not that good for gaming, and whereas it’s uncommon to discover a 2-in-1 that’s basically a pill and might deal with gaming, the Asus ROG Flow Z13 is the one. Probably one of many few tablet-like gadgets that runs a discrete GPU, it has an RTX 4050 beneath the hood, which, admittedly, isn’t extremely highly effective, however it’s nonetheless fairly nice given its measurement and the way skinny it’s. That stated, it does offer you entry to the most recent DLSS 3 expertise, so you need to use that to assist with the video games it helps to get higher framerates and graphics.

As for the display, you get a big 13.4-inch show that runs at a 2560 x 1600 decision and has a far superior 16:10 facet ratio, not less than so far as gaming goes. You may also be impressed to know that it could possibly hit a whopping 165H refresh charge, which won’t solely assist in gaming but in addition generally day-to-day use because it offers you a greater expertise than a flagship telephone that may solely hit 120Hz. It additionally covers 100% of the DCI-P3 gamut, making it a wonderful gadget for artistic and graphical work. Plus, the RTX 4050 will definitely assist fairly a bit with graphical rendering.

What additionally helps is the unimaginable Intel Core i9-13900H, one of many highest-end processors available on the market, and excellent if you have to do plenty of CPU-intensive duties, comparable to audio manufacturing, modeling, and rending, or issues of that nature. You additionally get 16GB of RAM, though that’s to be anticipated for the fee, in addition to a 1TB SSD, which is often a considerable amount of storage, however when you plan to sport on this, then it you would possibly stumble upon it’s restrict infrequently, particularly when you’re additionally utilizing it to retailer giant graphical recordsdata.

ROG Flow Z13

Best Microsoft Surface Pro various for gaming

Samsung Galaxy Book3 Pro

Best fastened keyboard Microsoft Surface Pro various

While the Galaxy Book3 Pro doesn’t have a removable keyboard just like the Microsft Surface Pro, it’s really fairly a strong various, and it’s most likely as slim, if not slimmer, despite the fact that the keyboard can’t be eliminated. Another massive optimistic is that it has a large display at 16 inches; you get a ton extra actual property, which is particularly helpful when you really feel your common laptop computer is a bit too small. It additionally runs a 2880 x 1800 decision, and is AMOLED, so that you get some actually glorious colour copy and accuracy, one other massive plus for these working with artwork and graphics.

Even although the Galaxy Book3 Pro doesn’t include an built-in GPU, it does include a fairly highly effective CPU within the type of Intel Core i7-1360P, which is a mid-to-high-end processor that ought to deal with most modifying and manufacturing work effective, in addition to clear productiveness work with out concern. You additionally get a really spectacular 32GB of RAM, greater than another possibility on this listing, and can really assist rather a lot with issues like video modifying, CAD, and even programming which tends to require plenty of RAM.

Another wonderful thing about the Galaxy Book3 Pro is that it comes with fairly a considerable battery, particularly for one thing with such a very good display, with as much as 12 hours of use or so. Also, the 1TB of storage is fairly helpful, and apparently sufficient, you may really broaden the interior storage with as much as a 2TB MicroSD, which is fairly uncommon for many 2-in-1s like this one. Of course, one of many massive advantages of going with a Samsung gadget is that you simply get into its ecosystem, very similar to you’d with Apple, so when you’re already in it, this gadget and the Galaxy Tab S8+ are the way in which to go.

Samsung Galaxy Book3 Pro

Best fastened keyboard Microsoft Surface Pro various

How We Chose These Laptops

Portability

There’s so much to be stated about any Microsoft Surface Pro, however most likely the most important benefit of it’s that it’s ultra-portable; given its skinny design and light-weight, it’s nearly basically only a laptop computer that’s masquerading as a pill. Of course, that implies that another alternative we make has additionally to be fairly transportable, and discovering one thing that’s on the intersaction of a standard laptop computer and a pill will be fairly onerous. That’s why we’ve principally picked issues which can be very transportable whereas nonetheless having some appreciable energy beneath the hood, even when they don’t essentially run on Windows. This will be problematic if all of your apps are certainly on Windows, however when you’re in search of alternate options, plenty of them are exterior the Microsoft ecosystem.

Processing Power

Another necessary facet of the Microsoft Surface Pro is that it often comes with a mid-to-high-end processor and might deal with plenty of advanced duties. That may very well be something from graphics rending to working simulations to music manufacturing, so there’s plenty of versatility with the Surface Pro. Unfortunately, the reality is that it may be fairly onerous to seek out one thing with the identical processing energy whereas nonetheless being as mild and skinny, which implies that we needed to get a bit artistic. That implies that whereas a few of these picks don’t all have high-end desktop-level CPUs, the CPUs they do have run nice on the working system that they’re on. For instance, ChromeOS isn’t as resource-intensive as Windows is, so despite the fact that you may need a barely worse-off CPU, you’re really getting roughly the identical degree of processing energy. However, once more, as we talked about above, if the apps you want are usually not on the particular working system accessible, then that may be an issue.

Battery

While not as massive of a problem as portability and processing energy, the Surface Pro does have a reasonably glorious battery, particularly since gadgets of this selection are made to be carried round, much more so than a standard laptop computer. To that finish, we did our greatest to make picks that included gadgets with lengthy battery energy, whether or not it’s a high-end pill that’s properly optimized or simply one thing that’s perhaps a bit greater and comes with a extra appreciable battery. The solely actual exemption to that’s the Asus ROG Flow Z13, which has a discrete graphics card, which regularly implies that the battery goes to be drained rapidly when gaming, so it’s necessary to needless to say when you go for the Flow Z13, how lengthy you need to use won’t be as much as par with the Surface Pro.

Keyboard utilization

One factor that units the Surface Pro aside from different tablets is that it’s designed to have a reasonably good keyboard, which then places it nearer to laptops than tablets. So, in fact, that meant that we needed to purpose for picks that not solely included a keyboard however didn’t simply have it as an afterthought. That ranges from the Galaxy Book3 Pro, which really can’t have its keyboard disconnected, to tablets the place the keyboards can be found, however you must purchase them individually. That does barely put the tablets at an obstacle when in comparison with the Surface Pro, however provided that they each have keyboards made by their respective manufacturers means you’re going to get a reasonably good expertise general, particularly since each manufacturers have plenty of expertise and pedigree behind their design and manufacturing.

This article is managed and created individually from the Digital Trends Editorial crew.

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