A good tablet can take your productivity to the next level, but a boring one will find a niche use and eat dust on a table or couch for most of its time. I love iPads and have been pushing them – as far as I can — to act as my primary computing machine for nearly half a decade now. It has never managed to replace a proper laptop, like a MacBook Air or a Windows machine.
Why not buy a Windows laptop, you might ask? Well, Windows-powered tablets, especially those Surface devices sold by Microsoft, are pretty expensive. I love the new 12-inch Surface Pro, but at $799, it felt like a steep purchase despite its impressive specifications.
As part of the Prime Day deals fest, its price has dropped by over 15%, bringing it down to just $685. Interestingly, the deal is not available on Amazon, but you will find it live on Walmart. And yeah, it will last just one more day, so you better rush and grab this bargain.
Why is it my top pick?
Well, for starters, the 12-inch Surface Pro offers fantastic hardware. Even if you compare it against Android tablets or iPads, the metallic build of the Surface tablet and its kickstand stand out. Plus, the curved sides make it easier to hold as the sharp edges don’t dig into the palm.
At just 686 grams, it’s also pretty lightweight. On the more practical side of the debate, it comes with two USB-C ports, which means you won’t always have to carry a dongle or hub on you.
These are full-fledged USB-C ports that support 45W charging and can each handle a 4K monitor, as well. You can’t get that combination even with the most powerful iPads. On a similar note, there’s a dedicated slot at the back that magnetically holds the stylus so that you don’t have to carry it separately.
You also get stereo speakers, support for Windows Hello facial recognition sign-in (just like the iPad Pro), and NFC-based authentication, as well. As far as connectivity goes, the 12-inch Surface Pro offers the latest Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 combo. Overall, you will find it either surpassing your average tablet, or porting laptop conveniences into a slate form factor.
Let’s talk value
I’ll start with the obvious. You are getting the full-fledged Windows experience on the 12-inch Surface Pro. Yes, it’s technically Windows on Arm, but you can easily run any desktop app you want or engage in a workflow that you would expect from a tablet. Or a proper mid-range laptop.
The 12-inch Pixel Sense display on this tablet supports a 90Hz refresh rate, which is a neat perk that you won’t even find on the pricier iPad Air. But what truly sets it apart is how quickly it can turn into a laptop without utterly destroying your wallet. And that can be attributed to two key factors.
The versatility you get with Windows is far beyond what you can accomplish with iPadOS. Or Android. And it’s nearly impossible to find a Windows tablet in such a small factor, so there’s that. Of course, you would want a keyboard to get the best value out of this tablet, and that’s where the value compounds.
First, the Surface Keyboard for this 12-inch tablet costs just $149. The Magic Keyboard for the iPad Pro will set you back by $299 at the very minimum. Second, let’s talk firepower, where the Microsoft Surface tablet again hits above its weight class.
You will find the Snapdragon X Plus inside this tablet, a mid-tier processor from within Qualcomm’s laptop portfolio. This is the same chip that you will find fitted inside pricier machines such as the Surface Laptop, which costs $1,200 on an average day.
It’s a fairly powerful processor that I’ve tested in at least three laptops, and have been impressed by the snappy performance. Another crucial benefit is the memory situation. On the Surface Pro 12-inch, you get 16GB of RAM, while the competition from Apple will have you spending over twice to go from 8GB to 16GB of RAM.
Likewise, the 256GB onboard storage isn’t too shabby for a tablet, even though it’s still constrained if you think of it as a proper Windows workhorse. Overall, if you’ve been eyeing a tablet, but wished it could do more, this machine is as good as it gets. At its current asking price, you simply shouldn’t miss this one!
