It’s hard to believe, but Microsoft’s Surface Pro was launched five years ago, on February 15, 2013. As Surface leader Panos Panay puts it in the video above, the first Surface Pro version was thick, heavy, and had a small display. And yet, it kicked off a 2-in-1 market that has grown by leaps and bounds ever since. Microsoft is celebrating the Surface Pro’s fifth anniversary by shaving up to $200 off the price of the latest model.
The 2017 Surface Pro, with its numberless naming system that’s come full circle back to the original, is a very nice detachable tablet indeed. We loved it in our review, touting its excellent performance, solid battery life, and a build quality in a form factor that’s essentially been perfect in the last half-decade. A number of other manufacturers now offer alternatives that are basically Surface Pro copies, and you can save some money by picking one of them up. But the original Surface Pro still has a combination of looks, active pen support, and balanced engineering that continues to make it a solid choice in spite of a somewhat premium price.
According to Microsoft’s blog post, the $200 discount is supposed to be available this President’s Day weekend, or starting on February 17. A quick trip to the Microsoft Store shows that the discount is already available on some models. For example, you can pick up a configuration with a seventh-generation Core i5, 4GB of RAM, and a 128GB solid state drive (SSD) for $800. That’s a $200 drop from the usual $1,000 purchase price.
If you read Microsoft’s blog post further, you’ll find all sorts of fun facts about the product’s development over the years, including accounts of its impact from some specific users. The company also touts the importance of the “premium 2-in-1” segment, which has seen some serious growth — four times, in fact — since it was kicked off in 2013. Today, that segment has grown to include some of our favorite notebooks, such as the 360-degree convertible HP Spectre x360 13.
You’ll be able to grab the discount at the Microsoft Store or certain other retailers such as Best Buy. As usual, you’ll want to consider some important accessories, such as the $160 Signature Type Cover and the $100 Surface Pen.
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