Surface Pro 12-inch: First impressions and hands-on review

Yesterday, Microsoft unveiled the Surface Pro 12-inch and Surface Laptop 13-inch, both full-fledged Copilot+ PCs priced lower by removing some of the premium aspects of the bigger Pro models.

I’ve spent all day with my Surface Pro 12-inch review unit, and I figured I’d share some of my experiences and common questions about it.

If I missed anything you want to know, let me know in the comments so I can address it in my full review. This will help determine if the Surface Pro 12-inch makes our perfect 2-in-1 laptop list.

Let’s get to it!

Surface Pro 12-inch performance

I’ve been a big fan of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X series of chips and have used the middle-tier Snapdragon X Plus on a few devices.

So, how does it fare in the Surface Pro 12-inch, which has no fan or vents?

It’s awesome.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus SoC crushes 2020's Surface Pro X and Surface Go. Indeed, Geekbench 6 scored the Surface Pro 12-inch at 2,422 on single-core and 11,080 on multicore.

How does that compare? On my 2024 HONOR 14-inch laptop with an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H series processor, Surface Pro 12-inch is faster on single-core (2,344) and a smidge slower on multi-core (11,427).

But the difference? The Surface Pro 12-inch is fanless, has no vents, and has better battery life! And Snapdragon X Plus only has 8 cores, while Intel has 16.

That’s seriously impressive considering how bad Surface Go and Pro X were then. It also performs within the range of other Snapdragon X Plus processors, like the larger ASUS ZenBook A14 (updated review coming soon).

In short, it’s swift and responsive. This chip is fantastic in this device.

Of course, I’ll do more benchmarks for the review, including sustained tasks, to see how performance drops once the thermals increase. But for everyday tasks like web, video, Slack, email, Office, AI tools, photo editing, etc. I have no complaints.

Surface Pro 12-inch vs. Surface Pro 11?

Since there is only one inch difference in display size between the Surface Pro 13-inch (11^th Edition) and the Surface Pro 12-inch, as you could imagine, it’s not a massive difference.

It’s as you’d expect. It's slightly smaller, lighter, and nimble, and slides easily into smaller bags.

The most significant difference is in the display, with the outstanding Surface Pro 11's OLED being noticeably better (and more expensive).

You can read more in our new guide: Surface Pro 12-inch vs. Surface Pro 11: Which 2-in-1 Copilot+ PC is better for you? or check out my full Surface Pro 11 review.

Is the Surface Pro 12-inch display good?

It’s OK, if not great. For this price, I expect the 2196x1464 (2.1K), 220 PPI, LCD, 3:2 aspect ratio, 90Hz refresh (60Hz by default), and 400 nits of brightness.

Being a lower-cost display, there is some minor ghosting, and I wish the color saturation were higher (even on Enhanced), but overall, it’s solid and above average.

But make no mistake, Surface Pro 11’s top-tier OLED panel crushes it by comparison!

It ships at 150% scale, but I had to bump it to 175% for easier reading.

Overall, the Surface Pro's 12-inch display, quality, and size feel like those of a slightly larger 11-inch Apple iPad.

What about Surface Pro 12-inch as a tablet?

I don’t use my Surface much like a tablet alone, but going into the review, I’ll start to do that.

Initial impressions are that it’s fine. It could always be lighter, and Windows 11 now has a better UX for tablets, though that too could be better. But for reading eBooks, the web, or just watching a video, some of this is mainly driven by the fact that the processor is now much faster, enhancing the overall experience.

Same goes for battery life, which looks very promising.

Is the Surface Keyboard with Slim Pen good?

Microsoft always does well with keyboards, and I consider it one of the best in the laptop business.

The new Surface Pro 12-inch Keyboard with Slim Pen ($249; $149 without pen) is backlit, thankfully, and has an excellent trackpad. While it is slightly smaller, it’s nowhere near as cramped as Surface Go, which was just on the edge of usable.

Writing on a 12-inch display is just fine. Letter-sized notebooks are around 11 inches, so you’re getting more space.

Is the Surface Pen's magnet strong?

It’s powerful! The pen snaps into place and won’t budge until you yank it off. It’s also slightly recessed, which, combined with the flat Slim Pen, makes it very hard to knock off in your bag, so I don’t see that as an issue.

Microsoft did a great job here.

Anything else about Surface Pro 12-inch?

The speakers—they’re excellent. While it doesn’t have Dolby Atmos support like the bigger Surface Pro 13-inch, it’s loud, crisp, and has fantastic spatial abilities.

(Correction: The Surface Pro 12-inch does support Dolby Atmos. By default, Microsoft doesn't ship the Dolby Access app in the Microsoft Store, which lets you configure it. But if your PC supports Atmos, a licensing thing, the app enables you to adjust a few presets, like balanced, detailed, and more.)

Also, while not cheap at $69, the Surface 45-watt USB-C Wall Charger is super small with flappable prongs.

The big takeaway is that Qualcomm and Microsoft have finally made a fast tablet PC with an excellent battery life and no fan or vents. It’s what some of us have wanted for a very long time.

Over to you! Ask me about Surface Pro 12-inch.

I’ll save more thoughts for the full Surface Pro 12-inch review, but for now, ask me your questions in the comments—some of which I’ll answer here, and others I’ll include in the review!

Pre-orders for the Surface Pro 12-inch ($799) and Surface Laptop 13-inch ($899) are now live, and shipments are expected to begin on May 20.

As always, Microsoft also offers these devices to students at a discount, making these devices even cheaper than $799 and $899.

Alongside the new Surface PCs, Microsoft has also announced a handful of new Windows experiences coming soon to Windows 11, including more Copilot+ AI features such as an AI agent in Windows Settings.