56 PCWorld MARCH 2020REVIEWS MICROSOFT SURFACE PRO^7
Microsoft Surface Pro 7
PROS- Powerful Intel Ice Lake CPU boosts performance.
- USB-C, USB-A ports allow for peripheral flexibility.
CONS - Lack of Thunderbolt and WWAN option are
disappointing.
BOTTOM LINE
Microsoft updates its Surface Pro 7 Windows tablet
with a powerful Intel Ice Lake chip and a modern
USB-C port.
$1,499
prolonged periods at 267MHz. The Surface
Laptop 3’s typical speed is 283MHz, and with
much longer prolonged “spikes” of 3.35GHz
to 3.75GHz. This translates to better
prolonged graphics performance.
The gist of this result is that quasi-modern
games like Grand Theft Auto V will play,
though you’ll have to dial down the resolution
to 720p or so and turn off most of the
advanced graphics options. The Iris Plus
graphics integrated into Intel’s Core
i7-1065G7 provides decent GPU
performance, almost (but not quite) to the
point of a low-end discrete GPU.
As noted above, we definitely see
some throttling going on within the Ice
Lake GPU, resulting in a sharp difference
between the Surface Laptop 3 and the
Surface Pro 7. Stay focused on the real
message, though: The Surface Pro 7
outperforms all other tablets we’ve tested
by a substantial amount.
Finally, we look at battery life. We charge
to full and then pull the plug as we loop a 4K
video, with volume set to about 50 percent,
until the battery dies. At a design capacity of
43.2Wh, it’s a tad smaller than the Surface Pro
6’s 45Wh battery. (Full charge capacity on the
SP7 was 46.4Wh, indicating some variation in
the manufacturing.) The older Core i5-8250U
can run as low as 10W, while the i7-1065G7
runs as low as 12W. Did that make a
difference? Perhaps. In any event, battery life
just shy of 9 hours is satisfactory.BOTTOM LINE
It’s no surprise that the Microsoft Surface Pro
7 comes out on top within its limited field of
competitors, especially because it’s the first
Windows tablet we’ve seen with the Intel Ice
Lake platform.
The Surface Pro design retains some
advantages. For many, the inclusion of a
USB-C and an older USB Type-A port
represents an ideal compromise, even if
we would have preferred Thunderbolt.
The kickstand is overlooked as an
absolute necessity for desk work. Even the
chunky bezels make the tablet easier to
tote from room to room while playing Spotify
or Netflix.
Surface pioneered the Windows tablet
market and has delivered a quality experience
generation after generation in the years since.
Nothing has changed in that regard. Right
now, the Surface Pro 7 is the best Windows
tablet you can buy.