I've heard good things about the type cover for the surface pro 4. In real world usage, what's the comparability to the MacBook Pro's trackpad since that's the golden standard
The MacBook Pros track pad is larger add a bit more slick to the touch. With that said the trackpad on the type cover 4 is pretty freakin good. Window 10 has quite a few cool track pad gestures like 3 finger swipe down to hide all windows or three finger swipe to the right or left to change apps. All those gestures work well and are easy to execute. Also to finger scrolling works just like you would expect it to. Any one using a surface pro 3 should get a type cover 4. It dang near like buying a new computer.
working on a SP4. It's been great. As others have said, the Type Cover 4 is infinitely better than previous iterations and makes this what it is. That being said, I think you could use the Type Cover 4 with the SP3 and maybe save some cash? I went with the i5, 4GB because it seemed like the sweet spot in terms of price. Upping to 8GB required and upped hard drive that I didn't need, and I felt like I had to pay $300+ for 4 GB of RAM.. unnecessary. If money was irrelevant, I would've gone for the 8GB version of this or tried out the SurfaceBook just for fun. But I think the SP is preferable to the SB for weight/portability reasons unless you want the graphics card.
So I went ahead and picked up the Surfacebook. After having about two weeks to play with it, I have to say, this is hands down the best computer I have ever had. Other people have had issues in the past with blue screens and other things, but luckily I picked mine up after they had already released patches that rectified pretty much every software issue that was going on. The trackpad is the best I have ever seen on a windows device. It's every bit as good as a Mac trackpad from what I have tested, comparing with a 15' MacBook pro. Performance wise, this thing can handle everything I need to do and then some. Only thing I'll dock it a little bit on is that the fan comes on sometimes and makes some "minor" noise which is noticeable. I like the screen detaching. However, the battery life does suck in this mode and I really only use it while in bed sometimes to watch a movie or read a few articles. It's great for that and I never used a tablet for anything more than that anyway. The stylus is amazing. Taking notes on this thing is a joy, though I don't do that way too often. The only issue I have (that everyone has) is it drains battery like crazy while in sleep mode. Microsoft is aware of the issue though and a software update to fix it will roll out after the new year sometime...hopefully. For now I just always put it in hibernate. Simple fix. It only takes about 20 seconds to wake anyway. Other than that, they did lie about the battery life. I don't ever get 12 hours or whatever they claimed. I still get somewhere between 7-10 hours though depending on what I'm doing. Which to me is really good. Overall very satisfied with this purchase. The price is a bit high, but I'm not too annoyed at that. It really is a premium product and worth the money.
Pending admission into a graduate program, I'm in need of a new computer. I've been using my work laptop (MacBook) for everything. I've had my own Macbook since 2010 but it's dying and stopped using it late last year. However, I'm looking to make a switch. Tired of the Macbook. I read nothing but rave reviews for the Surface Pro 4, but have a few questions. 1. Is it worth buying for grad school? 2. How many years does it last? 3. Are there rumors of the Surface Pro 5 coming out?
1. Yes 2. I've had my Surface Pro 3 for 2.5 years now as my primary computer for both personal and work (CAD). 3. They're being weird about it. Not sure but there having an event in China later this month where they're thinking it'll be unveiled. I'd wait for that. I don't think I could go back to a "normal" laptop. I even considered a Surface Book but the Pro is just so damn portable and easy to use and does everything laptops do.
I have the Surface Pro 4 and love it. Best laptop I've ever had, but honestly I haven't used the tablet portion nearly as much as I thought I would.
Had a SP4. It was nice, good screen, super quick, it being able to switch into a tablet so seamlessly was special. It felt decent being a lap top but not great as the stand/keyboard is easily bumped when on ones lap. Also had some bugs, light flickering, cut off a few times. I ended up going with a MacBook because I decided I didn't need a tablet, but if you want a functional laptop that you don't plan on keeping on your actual lap too much instead of a table, that can seamlessly switch into a great tablet then go for it.
I guess it's best to wait til the May 23 event; hopefully if they don't come out with the SP5, they atleast make significant upgrades to the SP4. Ideally, I would like to buy something like the SP4 and complement it with a sub-$500 desktop. But as @tinman asked, how's the battery life?
I don't play any high resolution games like shooters or anything so I'm not the best to comment on that. I do run simulation style games without any issue. Battery life for me is basically a day of my regular use.
I've played games like Rocket League on my SP4. It's functional, but I have to pull the graphics settings down, and it's still not as great of an experience as on a high-powered laptop with dedicated graphics or on a desktop. It also heats up significantly playing games for a while, so I use a desk fan on it to keep the experience optimal. In short, not meant for high-powered game play, but some is doable if you want. I have a SurfaceBook at work now and a SP4 at home. The SB is solid, but I feel like I've completely lost the weight (and therefore portability) advantage. On the plus side, the SB runs games a lot better since I have the i7 with the dedicated graphics built into the keyboard. Having both, I'd pick the SP4 for everything except gaming. And definitely wish I had it in grad school 5 years ago.
They will do a refresh for sure, but the SP5 from everything I've been reading will not exist in the near future. The surface laptop intrigues me, but I will probably end up getting a surface book instead. My girlfriend stole my SP3 after she killed her Sony. Ugh, I want my laptop back.
How's the SurfaceBook? I heard at launch that the screen was a huge battery drain but that it would be fixed with an update. Never looked into it afterwards since my "ultrabook" is still working, but I was considering adopting the second generation SurfaceBook once the kinks were worked out. But looking at the prices, Microsoft is asking a huge premium Mac prices for so-so specs so hence considering the first gen in time.
Where are you going for med school? Sorry if this derails the thread, but I'm interested in going to med school.
Yeah, the screen thing was an issue for a while. Has been fixed. The hardware is very high quality, screen is good. I wish I could create more angle in tilting the laptop back...sometimes when it's on my lap, it's not optimal. I don't know what it's at, but maybe 30 degrees beyond vertical is the max? There are still some random issues that pop up from time to time--like very occasionally the device will be draining battery while I expect it to be asleep (when I just close the book), or when I unplug it while it's closed, sometimes it will again "wake up" and drain battery. I'd say most of the kinks seem to be working themselves out, but like I said in my previous post, it's heavy like a laptop. Even though it's a hybrid in that the tablet part detaches...when together, it doesn't feel lighter than a laptop. And I have almost no reason to separate it into its tablet form. I like it as a laptop, though. If I were buying today, I'd probably try and wait for a SB2 at this point, or whatever they're going to announce next. It feels like if they work out some of the small issues/complains, the next iteration could be as great as the SP4 has been for that line.
Can you give me an example of some games you run? I've been hoping they release a Surface Pro 5 or something, but .... nothing.
