Microsoft Surface Pro 12 Unboxing & Review: A Compact Windows Tablet

Microsoft’s new Surface Pro 12 is a smaller, more affordable version of the Surface Pro 11. And there’s never been a more tablet-like Surface. Just like an iPad or Android tablet, the Pro 12 has an Arm chip, zero cooling fans and a minimalistic design.

We tested the Surface Pro 12 extensively: in our office, on train rides, and on the couch. We used Photoshop, drew sketches, played games, and did a lot of office work.

For us, it feels like a sort of spiritual successor to the Surface Go series, which were cheaper and way too underpowered. Microsoft clearly wants to fix that with the Surface Pro 12 – but they’ve also raised the price to $799.99. Without accessories. Whether that’s a price worth paying is what you’ll find out in this review.

Unboxing

We’ll start with an unboxing. The packaging looks almost exactly like other Surface devices. The box was already opened since this is a review unit from Microsoft. Inside is the tablet itself, which we have in a nice violet color. Then there’s the usual paperwork. And a USB-C cable, but no charger anymore – Microsoft also removed the Surface Connect port from the tablet.

We got the new keyboard cover in the same color. Included again is paperwork and the Slim Pen 2. It’s the same one as with the Surface Pro 11, but this time it doesn’t charge through the keyboard.

We also got a Microsoft Arc Mouse on loan – it comes in the same color. Looks nice, but Sandor, who tests Windows devices for us, didn’t like it.

Read: POCO M7 Pro 5G Review: What Is Xiaomi Thinking???

Design & Build Quality

Some weeks have passed since we recorded the unboxing and, as mentioned, we tested the Surface Pro 12 thoroughly.

The display is exactly 12 inches. Compared to the Surface Pro 11, it looks much more elegant and ergonomic. That’s mainly due to the new, completely fanless design. The fan vents and bulky fan components of earlier models are gone. Now it feels more like an iPad than a classic Windows tablet. But the iconic Surface kickstand is still there, letting us prop it up at almost any angle.

On your lap, the Surface Pro 12 is harder to balance than a traditional laptop. The kickstand needs space at the back, and the keyboard cover at the front. Still, it’s far more stable than an iPad Pro or Air with Apple’s Magic Keyboard. Compared to other premium tablets, the display bezels are quite thick.

The front camera, several microphones, and Windows Hello sensors are integrated into the top screen bezel as usual. Face recognition works great. It’s fast, very reliable, and even works in low light.

The speaker grilles are located at the top left and right edges.

On the right side of the device, there are two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports, which are also used for charging, with speeds up to 45 Watts. You’ll also notice that there’s no Surface Connect port anymore.

That’s a pity, since we liked the magnetic charging connector on the previous models.

At the bottom are five pogo pins for magnetically connecting the keyboard cover. The connection is solid.

The back is plain. There’s not much besides a big Microsoft Logo on the kickstand. We’re disappointed that the easy-to-open M.2 SSD slot from the Pro 11 is gone. Now, if you want more than 256 GB of storage, you’ll need to order the more expensive configuration.

Display

The 12-inch LCD display has a resolution of 2196 x 1464 pixels, which equals a pixel density of 220 PPI. Like an iPad, the aspect ratio is 3:2, which we really like for work. 

With a max brightness of 400 nits, the display doesn’t sound super bright on paper, but in everyday use, it looks surprisingly vibrant, even in a bright train. That’s probably because Microsoft used a very good display with high contrast. We also like the refresh rate of up to 90 Hz. We compared the Surface Pro 12 and the iPad Pro with an OLED display side by side and found only small differences in contrast and vibrancy. 

Unfortunately, there’s no variable refresh rate, only fixed modes: 60 or 90 Hz. So you have to choose between smooth scrolling and longer battery life.

Overall, the display is good, but it could be better. We tested the Surface Pro 11 with an OLED, and that one looks more vibrant and also drains less power. 

Speakers

The dual stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos offer decent sound. Compared to the iPad Pro or Surface Pro 13-inch, however, there’s a lack of volume, dynamics, and depth. Voices sound clear and you can watch YouTube without issues, sure. For a Windows device, the speakers are good. But in the same price range, Apple and Samsung tablets offer much better sound. 

Hardware & Performance

Inside the Surface Pro 12 is a Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus with eight cores, part of Microsoft’s recent push to bring efficient ARM processors into Windows portable devices. There’s an Adreno iGPU, 16 GB of DDR5 RAM and 512 GB UFS storage in our test model. Other configurations include 256 GB, 1 TB, and optionally 24 GB RAM, but regional availability can vary.

Performance in everyday tasks is convincing: office work, Chrome with many tabs open and Canva designs all run smoothly. Photoshop works well, Premiere Pro too, despite running via emulation. That really surprised us. We installed Premiere Pro and were able to work with Full HD videos without issues.

However, it gets noticeably warm when installing larger apps or during multitasking. Without any fans, this quickly leads to throttling, which is especially noticeable during gaming but shouldn’t pose any issue in normal use. 

In Geekbench, the single-core performance is on par with the Surface Pro 11 with the Snapdragon X Elite, but multi-core performance is about 15% slower. In GPU benchmarks, the Pro 11 is almost double as fast.

In 3DMark benchmarks like Wildlife Extreme and Solar Bay, the Surface Pro 12 also falls behind significantly. Intel Core Ultra 200 laptops like the Acer Swift 16 AI perform better in both CPU and GPU tests. But for normal applications, the performance here is more than enough.

Gaming

Gaming is not a strength of this tablet. Counter-Strike 2 runs at 1900 x 1280 with all settings on minimum at 34 FPS, but it stutters and freezes constantly, likely from being emulated.

Even the game “Straftat 1v1” causes graphic glitches and is unplayable. But with a lightweight game like Terraria, it’s clear: the Surface Pro 12 can reliably handle simple indie titles. It’s just really not meant for demanding games.

We only got playable performance by fiddling with the display resolution. When we set the internal display to 1920x1080p, Counter-Strike 2 runs fine, even hitting 60 FPS. But having to switch resolutions all the time is neither ideal nor convenient.

Read: Lenovo Legion Tab Gen 3 Review: 8-inch Mini-Tablet is a Gaming Monster

Battery Life

Let’s talk about battery life. Microsoft claims 16 hours of local video playback and 12 hours of web use. In our standardized YouTube HD endurance test at max brightness, it lasted 9.65 hours. That’s well ahead of the iPad Air M3 with 5.5 hours and the Xiaomi Pad 7 with 7.25 hours. Tablets with OLED displays like the Galaxy Tab S10+ or Surface Pro 11 last about 20% longer. 

A clear downside: the device gets noticeably hot while charging, which is uncomfortable especially when drawing or writing.

Software: Windows 11 on ARM

Windows 11 for ARM has improved a lot since release, but you still have to make too many compromises. Many apps are still not natively available for ARM. A lot runs via emulation – including many Steam games and programs like Premiere Pro – but not all apps start. Adobe Illustrator, After Effects, and FL Studio don’t work at all, just to name a few.

Windows 11 offers some smart touch features, like auto-hiding the taskbar or the three-finger gesture for app switching. Still, touch operation often feels clunky. Programs like Photoshop are still designed for mouse and keyboard. In this area, the iPad is clearly ahead thanks to its software optimized for touch.

Microsoft Copilot+ promises a bunch of AI features, but in practice, only the OCR function really impressed us – it recognizes and copies text on the screen.

Natural file search works well and lets you search the Explorer not only by filename but also with descriptions or full sentences. For example, you can type “report with charts from March” and Windows will show matching files – even if those keywords aren’t in the filename. It’s super handy but only works with certain file types.

Keyboard & Pen

The new Surface keyboard for $150 can no longer be used at an incline, which feels like a step backwards. Still, we like it for everyday use. The build quality is great, there’s no flex and typing feels precise. The touchpad is a bit small but reliable. Compared to Apple’s Magic Keyboard, this keyboard feels more practical and far less bulky.

The Slim Pen 2 costs $130 and now charges via induction on the back of the tablet. The magnets are strong enough to keep it attached in a backpack. A light vibration while writing simulates a paper-like feeling, which feels odd at first. If you still have the classic Surface Pen, you can use that too – we even prefer it for its rounder shape.

We made some simple sketches in MS Paint with the pen, and the responsiveness and accuracy are excellent.

Read: Best Surface Pen Apps: 16 Must-Haves for Your Surface Pro & Go

Camera

The Surface Pro 12 has a Full HD front camera, which is perfectly fine for video calls. It delivers a clear image and is great for Teams meetings or Zoom calls.

The rear camera has 12 megapixels and produces visibly better images than the front cam. During our test, we took the Surface Pro 12 on a walk and snapped some photos. The images are clear, have good contrast and natural colours. The results are surprisingly good for a tablet and can definitely do the job in a pinch. 

Conclusion

The Surface Pro 12 starts at $800. Add the keyboard and pen, and you’re at over $1000. That’s almost the same price as an iPad Pro 11 inch with Pencil Pro – except the iPad has the better pen, better display, better speakers, and better tablet apps.

Still, the Surface Pro 12 is a good tablet. We really enjoyed testing it. But it’s aimed at a very specific, smaller target group: mobile professionals who need Windows, do typical office work, travel a lot, and want a light, premium device. It’s too expensive for students, too incompatible for creatives, and unsuitable for gamers.

If Microsoft included the keyboard and pen for free or dropped the price by $200, the Surface Pro 12 would appeal to a much wider audience. As it stands, it remains a niche product for managers, professors, or tech geeks who value premium design and mobility and are okay with the compromises – or who simply need Windows.