NOVEMBER 2019 PCWorld 11VIDEO: HANDS-ON:
MS SURFACE PRO X
Watch now at go.pcworld.com/mpxLeaked reports of a
Surface Pro tablet running
a Qualcomm 8cx chipset
were correct, although
Microsoft has customized
and rebranded the chip as
the Microsoft SQ1. We’re
told that the SQ1 now runs
at a full 3GHz, rather than
the projected 2.84GHz
Qualcomm itself estimated
back at Computex (go.
pcworld.com/qlbn). The
power-sipping SQ
pushes battery life to 13
hours, Microsoft says.
With that Qualcomm chip comes several
peripheral advantages. For one, there’s a
microSIM slot hidden away in the rear of the
chassis, plus eSIM configuration options. Next
to that SIM slot is a sort-of user-upgradable
hard drive—it’s accessible only with special
tools. While YouTube videos may explain how
to do it, Microsoft doesn’t anticipate that it’s
going to be as easy as swapping out an SD
card, for example. The tablet’s battery can be
recharged to 80-percent capacity in an hour,
using Qualcomm’s quick-charging mechanism.
Does the Surface Pro X feel fast? Sure,
under the limited constraints of a demo
showcase. Web browsing (either on Edge or
the Chromium-based Edgium) felt fast, but we
weren’t allowed to load Google’s Chrome to
compare, nor run other benchmarks. Netflix
ran fine, as did YouTube, subject to the
constraints of the demo Wi-Fi.
The traditional concerns with running an
ARM chip on top of Windows are the lack of
performance and the limitations of Windows
emulation. Microsoft has been working to
mitigate each, but we think that there’s still
some emulation taking place.
All in all, the Surface Pro X is the thinnest,
lightest, fastest-charging, and most powerful
Surface Pro ever, Microsoft claims. We can
believe all the labels except the last, which we
can confirm when we have the Surface Pro X
in to test.A closeup of the Surface Slim Pen.