The first iteration of Microsoft’s Surface Pro turned four years old this week. Let’s take a look back at the company’s first Intel-powered 2-in-1, and see how it stood up to the test of time.
Microsoft’s Surface line of tablets began life in October, 2012 with the Surface RT , a device that the company would surely love to forget. The firm promised that in a few months, there would also be a ‘Pro’ line that was Intel-powered, and on February 8, 2013, the Surface Pro was born.
Indeed, the device just turned four years old this week, so it seemed time to take a look back at what was, and how the device has held up.
The original Surface Pro only came in two configurations, both with a third-generation Ivy Bridge Core i5-3317U processor, 4GB RAM, and a 10.6-inch 1080p 16:9 LCD. The only difference between the two models was that one came with 64GB of storage and the other with 128GB. As with the Surface RT, it offered a full-size USB Type-A port, and a kickstand that only popped open to one position.
While the device clearly had potential, it wasn’t without a number of setbacks. Ivy Bridge wasn’t power-efficient, and Intel’s fourth-generation Haswell chips weren’t out yet. The original Surface Pro only got about four hours of battery life, and that’s if you’re lucky.
It also came in a very awkward form factor. Remember, this was to be the tablet that could replace your laptop, but the 10.6-inch display made it simply too small to be a laptop. And at over half an inch thick and a full two pounds, it wasn’t comfortable to use as a tablet either.
Personally, I never found the Type Cover or Touch Cover very pleasant to use. The keyboard was too small, and the keys didn’t have any space in between them.
None of these drawbacks kept me from using the Surface Pro as my main PC for months after it came out. I played games, wrote articles, and even developed software on it, and I loved every minute of it. Back in 2013, it felt really cool when I had to show someone a document and I could just pull off the keyboard and hand that person my Surface.
