And one big issue remains for Surface Book and Surface Pro 4 owners: erratic power management. Some users are reporting that the devices simply don't go to sleep properly when you close their lids or put them into standby. Instead, they continue to drain power, which could be a nasty surprise if you don't bring your charger along. That's a particularly surprising issue for flagship devices in 2015 — it's something that's mostly been fixed by laptop makers over the past decade. Making things even worse, a Surface engineering manager noted earlier this month that the issue might not be fixed until 2016.
"We are focused on delivering a great experience to every Surface customer," a Microsoft spokesperson told Engadget. "We know a small set of Surface Book and Surface Pro 4 customers are experiencing issues and addressing that is a top priority for us. We have dedicated engineering teams working to get updates and fixes out as quickly as possible and we will continue to use our Surface Book and Surface Pro 4 support forums to share new information directly with our customers as it becomes available."
Microsoft also issued a brief apology last Friday for the "less than perfect" Surface experience, which basically urged users to keep updating their devices. There was no mention of the ongoing power issues.
It's not unusual for brand new hardware to exhibit some growing pains, particularly unique devices like the Surface Book. But in those situations, being completely transparent with customers is usually the best response. It's been nearly two months since the Surface Book and Surface Pro 4 have been released, so it's also surprising that they're still exhibiting debilitating power issues.
Microsoft reps tell us that they typically don't offer up timing expectations when it comes to fixes, as the Surface engineering manager (identified only as "Joe") did. Every update requires extensive testing to make sure they don't cause new issues, so it's not simply a matter of writing up a fix and deploying it. Still, at least "Joe" actually said something about the power issues. Microsoft has yet to acknowledge it otherwise.
It's not as if Microsoft is ignoring the Surface issues, though. It's constantly tracking all of the issues being reported; some just take longer to fix than others, reps say. The company has also sped up the timing of Windows Updates so they can be deployed as soon as they're ready, rather than just a few times a month.
Mostly, it seems that most of the Surface Book and Surface Pro 4 issues caught Microsoft by surprise. While the devices went through plenty of internal testing, most of the problems only became apparent when they reached consumers. That may be a sign that Microsoft should open up its testing process a bit to a wider audience, before releasing new hardware. The company doesn't have plans to do that yet, reps say, but that'll ultimately be up to its engineers.
So where do things stand now? Microsoft is updating its Surface devices with all of the currently available fixes at the factory. If you've already got one, be sure to install all of the updates that get released. The company isn't offering any special customer support path for Surface issues, but I hear the replacement process is fairly painless if you're near a Microsoft store. Otherwise, contact Microsoft support and hope for the best. In some cases, they can send you a replacement before receiving your faulty device.
It's always tough to judge just how extensive product issues are based on forum complaints. Consumers having a negative experience with new products are generally louder than the rest. But when those issues are being reported consistently, it's worth noting. We've also seen a major issue with our pre-production: One Surface Book crashed after running a 3D benchmark and refused to boot. We initially chalked that up to just being early hardware, but some users are reporting similar booting issues.
One Surface Book owner I know -- who was particularly eager to get one -- had to replace their device three times at a Microsoft store. After getting tired of the issues, he just got aDell XPS 13 instead.
When Microsoft launched the Surface Book and Surface Pro 4, the company won accolades from many users. The new laptop-style device was hailed as one of the best pieces of hardware you could buy, while the Surface 4 Pro continued to refine and improve on Redmond’s earlier Surface devices. While a few sites reported issues with early hardware, that’s fairly typical across review (Google’s Pixel C tablet is another such example). For the past few weeks, reports have been coming in that the device doesn’t sleep properly, and continues draining power at nearly the full-use rate.
According to Microsoft’s support staff (a person identified only as “Joe”), the problem is that the CPU isn’t dropping into its full sleep state, and Microsoft knew about the problem from day one. He writes, “We couldn’t do it at RTM for a variety of reasons, power management is a very hard computer science problem to solve especially with new silicon. Currently it is not in the deepest ‘sleep’ that it can be so there are wake events that would not otherwise wake it. We will have an update for this issue sometime soon in the new year.”
According to Microsoft, the solution is to disable Connected Standby by manually setting the chip to “Hibernate” from within Windows 10’s power management options. He also notes that users are advised not to leave any streaming browser windows open, as this will prevent the system from sleeping the CPU.
Based on the problems people are having, it doesn’t sound like the CPU is sleeping very much at all — all in the name of giving people email five seconds faster than they’d otherwise have it, but at the cost of drastically reduced battery life. It’s baffling that Microsoft would ship a system with a problem this severe — battery life is one of the most important metrics for a system these days. There is no special path for Surface Pro 4 / Surface Book users to contact the company, so hopefully you can either wait until January or return your device if you’re unhappy with the product as it currently exists. Microsoft has pledged to continue updating the platform until it resolves the outstanding issues.
Engadget reports that some users have had issues with multiple Surface Book / Surface 4 Pro devices, leading them to switch to other platforms. If you’ve got one of the new devices, what’s been your experience thus far?
SURFACE BOOK VS SURFACE PRO 4
2015 really is the year of the hybrid. We’ve seen very few tablets launch this year which didn’t have optional or bundled keyboards. Apple’s done it with the iPad Pro, and even Google has a 2-in-1 with the Pixel-C. Now Microsoft has launched the Surface Pro 4 and – alongside it – the more laptop-like Surface Book. But how do they differ and which is best for you? We’ll explain all in our Surface Book vs Surface Pro 4 comparison.
It’s easy to look at the two devices and come to the wrong conclusion that they’re the same: tablets which dock onto keyboards. Technically that’s true, but the Surface Pro 4 is a tablet with an optional keyboard while the Surface Book is really a laptop with a detachable touchscreen.
They’re not the same, then, but that doesn’t necessarily make your choice any easier. So let’s look at design, hardware and prices to help you decide.
Surface Book vs Surface Pro 4: Price
Since the Surface Book comes with a keyboard, it’s naturally more expensive. Currently it’s not available in the UK, even to pre-order. So we don’t yet know how much it will cost. The cheapest model costs $1499, which doesn’t include tax, so it’s likely it will cost around £1,099, and possibly £100 more. The basic specs are Core i5, 128GB, 8GB RAM.
At the top end, it costs $2699 which might translate into £1,999. That’s with a Core i7, 512GB, 16GB RAM, and an nVidia graphics chip in the keyboard.
Surface Book vs Surface Pro 4
You can pre-order a Surface Pro 4 in the UK, with prices starting at £749 and stretching to £1,799. Broadly speaking, the basic specifications are similar to the Surface Book at those two prices, but remember that the keyboard isn’t included. It’s an extra £109.99. See also: Surface Pro 4 release date, price and specs.
Surface Book vs Surface Pro 4: Design
If you’ve already owned or used a Surface Pro, you’ll be familiar with the Pro 4’s design. It’s hard to tell apart from the Pro 3 at a glance. However, as you’ll learn in our Surface Pro 3 vs Pro 4 comparison the changes are mainly internal.
There’s still the ‘infinite position’ kickstand and the thin keyboard with the double magnetic hinge that gives it a more comfortable angle for typing. However there’s now a glass trackpad which is a big improvement over the previous model.
Surface Book vs Surface pro 4
The Surface Book is slightly larger than the Surface Pro 4 due to its larger screen: 13.5in against 12.3in.
Yet, it’s lighter at 726g (without the keyboard) than the Surface Pro 4 which weighs 766g for the Core m3 version or 786g for the i5 or i7. Admittedly, most people won’t notice much of difference in practice.
The Surface Book has a proper metal chassis for the keyboard as well as the tablet. It looks and feels much more like a laptop and there’s a strong mechanical mechanism which joins the two components which helps with this feeling. Some 2-in-1s use magnets to hold the screen to the keyboard and this isn’t nearly as reassuring.
Surface Book vs Surface Pro 4
The odd ‘dynamic fulcrum’ hinge could end up being a love or hate affair. Some have already expressed their dislike of the fact that there’s a gap between the screen and keyboard in the closed position. Others think it’s unnecessary while others still think it’s “cool”.
There’s no kickstand on the tablet, so once detached from the keyboard it’s designed to be held and used rather than propped up to watch videos or anything else. Both devices come with a Surface Pen for writing, sketching and drawing.
Ports and connectors are important on any device, but it’s here that the Surface Book ‘wins’. Many will appreciate the Surface Pro 4’s full-size USB 3 port, even miniDisplay Port output, but the Surface Book offers a pair of USB 3 ports, the same vide output and a full-size SD card reader (the Pro 4 has a microSD reader).
Surface Book vs Surface Pro 4:Hardware and specs
The Surface Pro 4’s 12.3in screen is marginally bigger than its predecessor at 12in, with a higher 2736x1824 resolution. The entry-level model uses a Core M3 processor, but the rest of the range gives the choice of a 6th gen Core i5 or i7 CPU.
As we’ve said, the 13.5in screen on the Surface Book is larger still and has a higher 3000x2000 resolution. However, both have the same 267ppi pixel density and 3:2 aspect ratio. Microsoft says this is because the A4 format is best for creative types: these aren’t primarily entertainment devices intended for watching video.
The Surface Book offers no Core m3 option, nor 4GB of RAM as the cheapest Surface Pro 4 does, but that’s no bad thing. It’s a premium device aimed at those wanting a powerful laptop as well as the portability of a tablet.
Both machines run Windows 10 of course, and all the storage options are solid-state. The main difference is in graphics power as certain models in the Surface Book range include a separate nVidia graphics chips which – because they’re located in the keyboard section – can only be used when the tablet is docked.
Few people will be too bothered about the on-board cameras, but the pair seem to share their cameras with 8Mp at the rear and 5Mp front-facing webcams.
We’re yet to run our benchmarks on either device, but Microsoft claims the Surface Pro 4 will run for up to 9 hours but the Surface Book can manage up to 12.
