Microsoft places the Surface on a pedestal as the best device for running Windows 11

Microsoft Laptop Studio on a colored background
(Image credit: Daniel Rubino)

What you need to know

  • Microsoft describes Surface devices as the best for running Windows 11.
  • Security, sleek design, and easy deployment and management of Surface devices are among the top reasons.
  • The company boosts over a 25% faster deployment among Surface users. 

Windows 11 would've clocked two years since its launch in October. However, its adoption rate has stagnated, contrary to Microsoft's expectations, as Windows 10 continues to dominate the market share. 

This could be attributed to Microsoft's strict minimum requirements for the operating system, the decline in the PC market, or even Windows 11's design flaws, for instance, with the Start menu

However, Microsoft continues to rally for its latest operating system and recently cited that "Microsoft Surface was designed to bring out the best of Windows 11." The company further indicated that its developers and usability experts worked closely to ensure that Surface can satisfy and provide a modern workplace experience. 

Together, Surface and Windows 11 deliver a powerful combination of elegance and engineering.

Microsoft

Microsoft has highlighted several reasons why running Windows 11 on a Surface device is ideal and perfect for running your business, as listed below:

Performance Analysis

First, the company boosts over the lightweight and thin design of Surface devices, citing that they're "purposely designed for employee productivity." Notably, the devices adapt to Windows 11 whenever the user changes their posture or orientation to ensure their workflow isn't interrupted, ultimately making them the best PCs in 2023.

This is because the experience is optimized and allows users to switch between different modes automatically. For instance, when you eject the pen from your Surface device, the Pen menu launches automatically, thus enhancing productivity. 

Additionally, Microsoft's investment in the device's display and sound quality is in place to ensure that all your collaboration needs are catered for. This is because it furnishes users with a great listening and viewing experience, which makes hybrid work much more bearable as it provides a life-like experience. 

Not forgetting the power, performance, and connectivity integrated into Surface devices to ensure employees have access to all the necessary tools to work effectively and efficiently. The company has highlighted an example where the Surface device automatically increases to 120Hz to optimize the experience when inking and reverts to 60Hz when transitioning to a different mode to reduce battery load. 

Security remains a top priority for Microsoft regarding Surface devices, especially with the increase in cyber attacks and the adoption of sophisticated ploys by attackers. According to statistics shared by Microsoft. organizations running Windows 11 Pro on their devices have reported a 58% drop in security threats. The company attributes this achievement to the fact that it retains "all of the code in the Surface security stack, from firmware to the operating system to the cloud."

"Surface devices run the most secure Windows operating system ever, and the CPUs have crypto-processor security measures built in," Microsoft indicated in the blog post. "The combination of Windows 11 and Surface security innovations gives you unprecedented resilience."

And finally, Microsoft has highlighted how easy it is to deploy and manage Surface. Statistics indicate that deployments are 25% faster. Likewise, distress calls to the helpdesk have decreased by a whopping 80%. The company attributes this success to Windows Pilot, which ships with Surface devices and is designed to "provide a zero-touch deployment experience" and is enabled by default. 

Easy repairability for Surface device

Surface replacement parts

Surface replacement parts

Whether you're looking for a new screen, SSD, power supply, kickstand, speaker, or other components on your Surface Pro, Surface Laptop, or Surface Studio, Microsoft has you covered with official parts available on the Microsoft Store.

For the longest time, users couldn't touch Surface devices, even with a 10-foot pole, mainly because of how hard it was to repair them, especially once it's no longer under warranty. Well, this is no longer the case.

In June, Microsoft announced that availability of components such as screens, kickstands, batteries, SSD, and more for Surface devices in the Microsoft Store. The goal behind this move was to enhance the repairability of the device by allowing at-home repairs on out-of-warranty products, ultimately allowing users to extend the life of their PCs. 

Kevin Okemwa
Contributor

Kevin Okemwa is a seasoned tech journalist based in Nairobi, Kenya with lots of experience covering the latest trends and developments in the industry. With a passion for innovation and a keen eye for detail, he has written for leading publications such as OnMSFT, MakeUseOf, and Windows Report, providing insightful analysis and breaking news on everything revolving around the Microsoft ecosystem. While AFK and not busy following the ever-emerging trends in tech, you can find him exploring the world or listening to music.

  • GraniteStateColin
    We have 3 Surface PC's in our house (plus our Surface Duo and Duo 2 phones), so I'm clearly a fan of their systems, but I suspect Microsoft is misleading a bit with the data here. Surface buyers tend to be more hardcore into the MS ecosystem. Even among enterprise users, Surface is preferred primarily by companies with highly pro-MS IT teams. For the same reasons they buy Surface -- they are MS fans -- they tend to trust updates and be excited about deploying new MS tech sooner rather than later. These are also groups that moved from Slack to Teams and moved from on-premises domains to Azure AD before their contemporaries.

    Therefore, I posit that what MS is citing as a causal relationship (that Surface systems lead to better OS adoption) is almost entirely just dual parallel symptoms of the same underlying root cause: interest in MS tech, both hardware and software. Dell and HP and Lenovo systems run Windows just as well.
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