Microsoft Surface Pro X Review

Lisa Gade reviews the Surface Pro X, Microsoft’s new convertible tablet for 2019. The 13” Pro X is similar in design to Surface Pro 7, but it has a 0.7” larger PixelSense IPS 3:2 aspect ratio display, rounded edges and smaller bezels. The Surface Pro X runs Windows 10 Home on a custom Qualcomm 8cx family processor, the Microsoft SQ1 with a 3GHz top speed. This is an ARM CPU, and Lisa covers compatibility in this review. 4G LTE is built-in but as with SP7, the keyboard and pen are sold separately. The tablet itself weighs 1.7 lb / 774g and pricing starts at $999. The Type Cover starts at $140 and uses a different connector than other Surface Pro models.
** Get it on Amazon: amzn.to/2qFOjFW

[@deli_h]

Lisa with a Kakashi shirt? This is the best timeline.

[@jcbrightman]

delihart the first thing I said when I open the video was “Kakashi”!!!???

[@DisamerdScroll]

Clicked the vid to see how ARM on Windows is still meme levels but stayed for the Kakashi shirt lmao

[@TAILSORANGEs]

Hmmm... Lisa! Where's Naruto?

[@TabletPro]

Lisa how are you so cool 😎. Love the shirt - you may want to check out my drawing app review on this. I go over 9 compatible drawing apps most that work much better than clip studio and photoshop (the 2 worst performers) Surface Pro X - 4 great drawing apps for Microsoft's New Windows 10 on ARM device kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z57XZ2dtdpt3qZY

[@DarkPa1adin]

She has a Sharingan after all to scan screen quality by sight

[@n0uhad]

Lisa is one of the top tech reviewers on KZbin. If you want to know if a product is worth buying, watch her review of it

[@3polygons]

Indeed !

[@imho4990]

Nope. Very biased.

[@3polygons]

@@imho4990 biased in which direction ?

[@opalthebest]

Facts ! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@3polygons]

I really mean it. I'd have a hard time realizing in which direction would she be biased. If I take certain videos, I could think is MS biased. Taking others (like this one) I "could" end up thinking is against MS. What I truly think is that this is a honest review, and Surface Pro X, not the best MS product ever, to say it gently. Like in the Wacom matter... some videos would make me think is pro-Wacom. Others, you could think she does not really like the brand. So, my question is an actual question, as I see it difficult to decide in which direction would she be biased. :) When you find this in a reviewer, it actually tends to be that the reviews are honest, as products, well, sometimes a brand put all what it has into a product, sometimes they don't.

[@Tim4Tat]

Always a detailed review. Always considers price vs performance. Always objective. Always a five star review

[@Christopher-today]

I sure wish they put that chip in a refreshed Surface Go which makes a whole lot more sense to me. As always thanks for the excellent review. :)

[@serovea333]

I've been waiting for the upgraded Surface Go for like... since its release.

[@d3vastat0r89]

Yeah, but I guess putting it in this one will make companies optimize their software to run with the chip? I saw Dave2D's review and apparently it struggles (for now) to run Adobe's stuff, and game, but games are not a major concern here imo. edit: which Lisa also points out here, but I replied near the start of the video... doh

[@israellewis5484]

@@d3vastat0r89 I don't see why he would run Adobe Apps on this device... As usual these guys don't know how to review a product

[@yeah_tony7443]

Lisa is my favorite, objective, to the point , no BS reviews. Thank you Lisa

[@farryam3225]

Thanks for actually showing the devices a lot instead of just standing there talking like so many people do (which is totally useless).

[@gsogymrat]

Lisa keeps it real. I wish the Surface Pro 7 looked like the Surface Pro X.

[@MineMiguel40]

2:34 "comes in black, black or black" you make an intriguing proposition

[@bstarjam466]

Hi Lisa 🙋🏾‍♂️, Thanks so much for the review. I was eagerly waiting for your opinion on this one. Did you experience any latency pen lag in the drawing applications while drawing?

[@JLTrell94]

Another great video Lisa! On a side note where did you get that Kakashi shirt from? I want to order one.

[@jeremycrudd39]

You do a great job. Been watching for years!

[@randriod7771]

Lisa, I've been using Clip Studio on my Pro X and it is like butter. Smooth, problem free, feels like working on paper. Best drawing exp I've had on a mobile tablet that isn't a Wacom. just buttery smooth.

Lisa, would it be possible for you to create versions of the shots you use to showcase the display which are cropped to the aspect ratio of the unit you're reviewing? It would really help seeing the size of the bezels around the screen compared to having a 3:2 shot of a cat shown on a wider aspect display?

[@hhhpolo3551]

Can you review the new hp spectre x360 2in1 4k oled(late 2019)? I would really like to know your perspective on this brand new laptop. Its the only laptop with 13 inch oled at this time. Thank you

[@JAS-zz3gj]

Can It do video editing for KZbin and 2-D/3-D drafting for C.A.D?

[@crazyisthething]

Does this mean that if we are going back to arm we can do something with surface rt now ?

[@theblah12]

I hate how they seemingly made the Surface Pro 7 a spec bump update just to make the X look like a better value proposition - there's no reason why the Pro 7 couldn't have had the improved screen, the removable SSD, the slim pen, and the curved design (even if it has to be somewhat thicker). But I guess had they done that the X would simply become a slightly slimmer version of the 7 with a worse processor and app compatibility issues, so nobody would actually buy it. And Microsoft can't have that.

[@Stevethesearcher]

Good comment Alex. I definitely would have liked a 13 inch screen in the Surface Pro 7. I could have settled for the internal upgrades but a 13 inch screen would have been great.

[@theblah12]

@@Stevethesearcher The Surface Pro 7 is such an old looking design I'm seriously worried it's going to make people loose interest in the Surface line. The Surface Pro has essentially had 'S'-level updates for more then 4 years now. Artists are leaving after having done nothing to improve to improve the pen technology despite complaints about it every single year, and there's now a ton of really great hybrid laptop models from HP and such. A spec bump and a USB C port just isn't enough.

[@omegatimes6014]

Go to Microsoft's Store, there are reasons Microsoft themselves give to consumers to buy a Surface Pro 7 over the Surface Pro X. What the heck you talking about Microsoft pushing more on the X over the 7? You have a freaking computer try do 5min of research before misleading people.

[@treeflip7]

Totally agree they’ve diluted the brand (to quote Tim Cook) to try to transition to ARM, which no typical consumer actually gives a shit about.

[@ameyakasture]

I think they make it incremental. This way they play safe. Also, how else you would come back to buy every other generation if they give all in one go! Frankly, I am on 3 yr gaming laptop and I think I can use it for at least 2-3 yr more. The technology advancements are pisspoor

[@riesemma]

did you review thw surface pro 7 at some point? Using a surface pro 5 and need to buy a new notebook in next 2 weeks... or should I go with the HP dragonfly or Dell xps13?

[@lindamora7]

Where can I buy the ssd to upgrade to bigger capacity?

[@siattlesihawks74]

Lisa off topic What is a good Blackberry phone that I can purchase that's compatible with any carrier? Thank you in advance for your advice!!!

[@qinglyu4963]

Actually, I am still missing Surface go size Windows tablet, but need thinner bezels...

[@CoachThomas]

Hi Lisa, appreciate your video as always. I wanted to understand which verison of Office runs native on the ARM platform? If I have Office 365 Pro subscription with work, have Microsoft released versions of Word, Powerpoint, Excel, OneDrive, Skype for Business and teams for ARM? I cannot seem to find out this information anywhere. Pretty much 90% of what I do is these apps and web applications. With the great battery life for native apps, built in LTE and the size and weight, this could be the perfect device for me.

[@arda_b]

Have you tested MS Project, Visio and macros in Excel? @MobileTechReview

[@johncoffman2703]

Thanks Lisa, I really love my Pro 5 aka 2017 LTE and my wifi units. I really do a lot of remote work and LTE is a must. I just cannot jump on the Arm band wagon yet I had a Galaxy book 2 but it really sucked. My company used Google and very little Microsoft items so I have to have the power and the ability to run Chrome. Using Beta Edge Chromium which seems to be a happy medium so far. You are by far the best reviewer out there and always find you reviews truthful and helpful. Going to pass on the Arm unit this year but will continue to watch it. Would love to upgrade to the 7 pro but I have to have LTE so maybe letter in the year they might add the LTE version

[@ericrusli343]

May I know if I can use Solid Edge in Surface Pro X?

[@ryguy123455666]

Is there a video coming for the updated Lenovo yoga c740 line?

[@kztech1319]

Acrobat DC refuses to run? I am able to run that off my 2005 Pentium M laptop in windows 10 (albeit pretty laggy, but fast enough for pdf textbook/manual reading)!

[@LazyPCRehab]

This one broke my heart. When I first heard about this, I was super excited about the idea of as Surface Pro that was better at light tasks and media consumption with amazing battery life. Then Microsoft neutered the battery life.

[@YindiOfficial]

yeah i was really waiting on this to be the ipad that i can do some light editing (LaTeX) in. So disappointed :'(

[@joewr]

@@YindiOfficial Depending on how technical you are, this could actually work well, with great battery life. There's WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux - insider.windows.com/en-us/community-news/windows-subsystem-for-linux/) which allows you to run linux code in ummm native ARM? Ehh.. But at least without the x86 emulator draining the battery. And people have been able to install Latex in/using the WSL (www.scivision.dev/latex-editor-windows/). So.. some assembly required, but this could be pretty awesome.

[@ttrotary7]

@@YindiOfficial I get 11 hours constantly... All my apps work flawlessly, not sure when Photoshop became the benchmark software for every review.... I even run a Super Nintendo emulator that's being emulated to ARM with no issues whatsoever. I'm a heavy office/browser, KZbin, Netflix, user. When I do actual work on this, its attached to my 27" monitor, keyboard and mouse. Haven't had a single issue with mine. 99% of apps have a 32 bit version, Adobe doesn't since Photoshop is resource intensive and requires more memory utilization, this the 64 bit version... Either way, couldn't be happier with mine, a bit expensive, but great.

[@YindiOfficial]

I see. This doesn’t sound bad at all! Are there any alternatives for OneNotes for taking notes? Like on the iPad there is a really good app that has palm rejection, is there anything similar on the surface pro x?

[@joewr]

@@YindiOfficial The OneNote app in the Windows app store is actually one of the few native ARM apps, so it should run spectacularly well on the Pro X. :)

[@miabryan7986]

This is so random but I just wanna say that your review is what led me to get a HP specter X360 in 2017 and I still love it and it’s still great so thank you🙂

[@BriefNerdOriginal]

The ARM limitations do not match the price. Sorry MS, try again.

[@fwlo4409]

As a Japanese lawyer I'm very proud of you wearing Kakashi Tshirt that is overwhelmingly greater than surface proX lol

[@ryanthompsonatl]

Once again you answer the basic question most of us have in an understandable way. Thank you!

[@alexanderbergmann1392]

Love your reviews! You know your stuff!

[@kenhuang4697]

Nice review and I like the t-shirt as well

[@z3y687k6qiG1]

Lisa, you're the best. Thank you for your reviews. What would we do without you?

[@switchnoob]

thanks for the detailed review

[@veeloc1]

Great review Lisa, keep it up!

[@faYte0607]

Hi Lisa, will you be doing a performance review on the new Surface Pro X with SQ2? Curious to see how it'll perform with apps like Photoshop, since we know the SQ1 was underwhelming. Thank you!

[@wendelynmusic]

I have had my pro x for a couple weeks or so and I'm extremely happy with it. When I bought it I immediately installed chromium edge. Super fast and super useful. Office works great. In fact every application I need works great, even acrobat though I rarely use that. And because of chromium edge I can run Google apps really well that either run like crap on intel windows or don't exist on Windows because Google is putzy that way just like Amazon. Adobe says they intend to release arm versions of their software. I hope you revisit this when they do.

[@a7madmotaw3]

Hi all Does anyone tried installing and using filemaker pro esp. Filemaker 16 pro advanced 32bit on surface pro x? If so, how was the performance? Wss it sluggish or buggy?

[@nickhernandez2558]

How would this run WSL or WSL2? Or better yet can it run WSL or WSL2?

[@AndChad]

You get my like for Hatake Kakashi. Very nice review. Would you recommend this to an iPad Pro.

[@zacredacted2137]

Spec sheet animation has a solid 90's educational film feel to it...i like it.

[@sabaalizadeh2393]

Which is the best ? Pro 7 or pro x can you help me ?

[@samg4530]

Lisa's reviews are the best! I have this device and my experience so far agrees with her review completely. One question I have: Does anyone know where to get the weird 1/2 height SSDs for this device?

[@allusanchez4206]

I love your shirt! Great vid as always!

[@grantchapman3337]

Hard to believe it's been nearly 20 years since I've been following Mobiletechreview in some form (pdagrove, PDA buyers guide). Nice honest review, as always Lisa. Your channel is one of the few for me that has stood the test of time and I still follow regularly. Can't say the same about most others (Cnet, PhoneDog, PCMAG, MobileBurn...)

[@leonelmateus]

why haven't they designed the kickstand to work in portrait mode (for word processing for example..), not a popular use case? why is it a large clunky sheet of metal - for an ultraportable profile (rather than a minimalist tripod or mono-pod style.)

[@givingflopera]

What version did you get??

[@ivonahumpalot538]

Can I tether this to capture one pro

[@k2k496]

I was so close to by it.. but the ARM thingy stopped me.. thanks for the info

[@simplefacts360]

If you wanted to buy this for its built in 4G LTE option and discovered about the ARM CPU compatibility issues and laggy performance, you can get yourself a surface book 2 or 3 and a small usb LTE modem. Run every single program or game without having a single compatibility issue for the same price . An 4G LTE usb modem might not look as beautiful as built in option but how often do you need to use a modem anyway ?

[@johncoffman2703]

I got a X so far it is a great PC. There are some issues with browsers and some software but overall a great little unit and have enjoyed it so far. Mircosoft edge chrome works best but for amazon prime videos I have to use Chrome as there is an issue with software. I have Pro 5 both I5 and I7 for my daily work horses. I do lots of remote work and love the i5 and X's LTE but need the I7 power for large excel worksheets. If you need long battery life and a overall good web unit. You are my favorite reviewer and your honesty is welcomed

[@fwcosmic2247]

Love your enthusiasm

[@adams2558]

Could you please review the yoga c940

[@gyozakeynsianism]

Great review. Do remember that Google made a class-leading Chromebook when those things were still coming out - it had an i5 and was a couple grand - and it wasn't because they were aiming for a great value proposition. Surface is mostly about showcasing Microsoft's technology to drive the OEM's to lead. Sometimes Surface is too successful (like the Surface Pro series, which dominates the market!) but I don't see that as MS's aim. Also, as you mentioned visually, Chrome ARM64 is coming out, and that should greatly improve battery life. I'm personally looking forward to this one to see how the software eventually catches up to the hardware.

[@robertsmooth]

Great video Lisa ! Very informative.

[@bland9876]

So this is just an upgraded Surface RT? Sounds like it still has most of the same drawbacks.

[@MartinSjoholm]

As this does not have a DP, and the USB-Cs are not Thunderbolt, is it possible to connect to an external screen without a dock?

[@luc7976]

Yes USB-C can drive up to 2 external 4K displays. See kzbin.info/www/bejne/q5TbhJt3opppbJI

[@GARdotETH]

Surely with all it’s limitations on ARM it should have been pitched as a cheaper device (maybe as the new Surface Go)? Why would anyone pay all that money when you can get a SP7 that runs ANY app.

[@bradavon]

If you don't Game or use Adobe apps this thing flies. I wouldn't know mine didn't have an Intel processor if I didn't know better. I'm absolutely thrilled with mine. Incredible display. Reviewers are all media creators, they've all come to ARM devices with a heavy level of bias. I'd happily recommend this to almost anyone.

[@lahotboy]

Thank you for an awesome review

[@MaxMonsterGaming]

Ultimately, it comes down to if developers will rewrite their programs to support native ARM64 for

[@op8ztv]

we love you Lisa...been waiting on this one, thank you - marketing student

[@linuxdragon57]

Such a good reviewer that I just watch your videos to keep up with mobile tech options. You helped so much when I was in the market for a laptop last July.

[@BigPoppa23]

Good video! ✌️

[@MuquitaTheBeast]

Great review, but can we talk about that shirt. Where can one find it?

[@Coptic4]

Awesome t-shirt! Kakachi rules 😎

[@7Write4This9Heart7]

Seems like they were a bit ambitious putting ARM on this when it's not ready yet... Awkward! We'll se if it gets better! lol. LOVE that Kakashi shirt every time I see it! Best boy! Great job, as always, Lisa!

[@wendelynmusic]

If you're a business person and need productivity then it is good. If you're an artist or you tube creator than your going to get something else anyway. I bet about 80% of customers will love this.

[@JasonHendry22]

so can't do Plex?

[@LXIVGOLD]

That Asphalt 9 gameplay was Legendary!

[@mrlim282]

Love the shirt!

[@user-sr5wx2gf4j]

One of my main uses for a Surface Pro, Surface Go, or Surface Pro X is conference note taking, using the pen in OneNote. My interest is whether a device has adequate battery life for about 7 hours (all day) of pen note taking. How does pen use affect battery life? I'm sure I can't be the only person who is interested in the battery life for conference (all day), pen, note taking.

[@andybyard1154]

I use the W10 versions of OneNote and ToDo with the flat pen all day long and still have plenty of battery life left. I was intending to mess with the power modes to see if I could reliably take notes (ie Did ON capture handwriting ok) if I used 'Better Battery life over 'Better performance' but to be honest I easily manage all day on the default settings so I leave them alone. The SPX+pen combination is perfect if you are thinking of going paperless, the Instant-On makes the SPX as convenient as a traditional A4 notepad.

[@MrWh4327782]

As usual , when you really want to purchase sth. coming to Lisa's Channel .

[@zachhampton7163]

No micro SD?

[@joanosorio7349]

I love the built in stand, at least you don't have to buy it seperately. Windows also makes a great accessory keyboard with a trackpad built in and everything. I don't like the accessory you're using though.

[@ronnierush9379]

Great review thanks, 32-bit is a bit of a problem for the price I agree :-)

[@DanielRomero]

Dayum! That shirt is fire!

[@Jawadagha]

Who is this for ?

[@xBINARYGODx]

I am somewhat surprised they bothered before getting x64 "emulation" completed. BTW - calling it emulation, which makes people perhaps of console emulation, is at least somewhat inaccurate. There is a translation at first run for x86 code, but a lot of a what a program does requires calling Windows libraries, which are all (on devices like this) recompiled for Arm. Also, thank you for a professional, balance review. Many of the other channels I use to frequent were rather cringey with how they covered this device.

[@xmaverickhunterkx]

No, there is an emulator. Just like SysWOW64 emulates 32-bit in 64-bit systems. That said, I am also surprised. If anything, it should be 64-bit only, instead of 32-bit only (native aside).

[@neshiah4747]

I suspect that a few years from now thE SPX will be seen for what it is: a pioneering device.

[@jaec6986]

Omg Lisa with kakashi t shirt - I’m in love 😍

[@ThunderDraws]

why don't they also emulate x86 64-bit applications ... that'd make them run at least, even if very slowly

[@yungdadi]

This product is not a consumer product in my opinion. It appears to be test bed for developers for what the future could be for Microsoft as such changing the size , efficiency and functionality of future software in the Microsoft ecosystem

[@itsjmmariano]

I love your review anyway. Thank you.

[@Can80]

Photoshop works well on m3 processors, but not on this device. Maybe a good device for traveling, taking notes, but the keyboard and the processor isnt for me.

[@NicolaMastrandrea]

Hi Lisa, this version of Windows 10 on Arm is quite new so I have a lot of questions. It may be interesting an in depth about apps and services compatibility: - Does VLC run? How much CPU (so battery life) does it take... - Is there the Windows Subsistem Linux feature? - how does Visual Studio Code run on this? - Does python work? - is there the Firefox version compiled for arm (edge dev and chrome I figure not) - are there the usual legacy Windows services like Task Scheduler etc. etc.? Can we

[@James192p]

VLC released a native ARM64 version of its desktop app. ARM64 Chromium Egde has been leaked. It is in works, but not officially out in any channel yet. I guess that should be out soon. Firefox is supposed to have an ARM version in beta availible from what I read. All Windows legacy panels are there in Windows 10 on ARM. It is not a cut down version (beside being Home edition. No idea if you can upgrade to Pro).

[@NicolaMastrandrea]

@@James192p Thanks!

[@LazyPCRehab]

@@James192p Yeah, for general use, ARM isn't that bad. I had the Galaxy Book 2 which ran on a Snapdragon 850 and the biggest issue with that was only having 4 GB of RAM and that the 850 just wasn't powerful enough. This SQ1 or the 8cx should be plenty powerful enough for an office or light use media consumption PC. If this prompts more companies to create apps for ARM, it could be very good within the next year.

[@janicenunn3339]

You might take a look at mspoweruser dot com, they have open doc of what works on SP X and what does not. The killer for me is my trading platform doesn't work so I will return this device Monday, but the good news is I found MS surface book 2 better suits my needs. I had not been aware of that device and since it was not in their update show in September only found it today while reading reviews. Great review, Lisa, per usual....

[@tim3172]

Don't forget about the VLC UWP App which is great for small/touch screens.

[@asdjesdsd]

since you do some of the best reviews, please test illustration computers with illustration programs like clip paint studio with pen stabilization 0 jitter, photoshop is not optimal for illustration. also clip has amazing intuitive touch gestures that speed up workflow alot on these machines and shares most of the adobe shortcuts so its really easy to adapt. you need a race driver to drive a formula 1 not any random joe. touche.

[@papalannister6730]

Hey Lisa, love your shirt....

[@shandongdaxue3069]

Hello Lisa, can you also make a Huawei matebook 14 review, you've already done both the 13 and x pro version, only the 14 left, thanks.

[@xsaver23]

Thats a badass shirt!

[@oOWaschBaerOo]

if the new pen would support wacom aes 2.0 i would buy it , simply cause the form is what fits me more, but since microsoft dosent want to make their pens available oustide of the surface eco system ... mehhh ..

[@eb2528]

Please give a PSA when you're out in the streets driving lol jk 😜. Great review.

[@mobiletechreview]

LOL, the controls stopped working in the game. But now I know you can drive through the 10th floor of a building after catching some big air :).

[@middletransport]

MobileTechReview As you can see, touch drive (touch controls) was off near the end of the game. You had to used wasd or the arrow keys.

[@robertcooper5308]

I'll keep my tab s6

[@mlatief5865]

Ill stick with surface pro 7 Exellent review. Thanks

[@hanmaitagaki8583]

Ugh... I wanna get it but don't mostly because of bad reviews and high price range... I just wanna do webcomics.. the pro X looks really nice but it lacks with ARM 🙄. Might just get the pro 6/7..

[@Cloudmaster1511]

question thats always burning inside me: can you install linux on it? i mean the HARDWARE is insane. i love it. its perfect for drawing and 3d work on the go. but the software sucks... windows/microsoft has succumbed to a cheesy sluggish hardware hog that cost´s me all my nerves while bugging, freezing and crashing frequently. linux is so much superior. its cleaner,stable and faster. but will it install? and will the pen still work?

[@Zedris]

they needed to put this redesign on the surface pro 7 as well. i get why they didn't to entice purchases for arm to get a market but thats not going to happen unless arm catches up and only apples chips so far are putting up real performance. this will not work

[@keiming2277]

Nice T-shirt !!