Microsoft’s Slimmer Surface Pro Is Sleek, But Is It Still Worth the Price?

Microsoft’s newest Surface Pro tablet promises portability, performance, and premium looks. But a month in, one big question lingers: is this thing actually worth buying?

The 12-inch Surface Pro, freshly launched in 2025, has been paraded as a sleek, lightweight take on the hybrid PC. It’s thinner, it’s lighter, and yeah, it looks really good on a café table. But for users actually thinking of ditching their laptops for this, the trade-offs are starting to show — and not everyone’s thrilled about what’s missing in the box.

Surface Pro’s Makeover: Pretty Face, Familiar Bones

Let’s not kid ourselves — this Surface is eye candy.

The revamped 12-inch version comes dressed in Microsoft’s updated wardrobe of colors — the usual Platinum, and two newer shades: Violet and Ocean. The Ocean color, which is a kind of steel-gray with a blue tint, looks especially sharp under daylight.

The bezels are thinner now, the corners are rounded, and the webcam’s been nudged to the top-right corner — not a bad idea if you’re snapping quick calls on the go. But it’s still a Surface. Meaning it still walks the tightrope between being a serious productivity machine and a tablet that’s sometimes not sure what it wants to be.

The Thinness Factor: Cool, But At What Cost?

Here’s the thing. Everyone’s chasing “thin” this year. Samsung went full wafer with the Galaxy S25 Edge. Apple’s prepping an iPhone 17 “Air” because of course it is. So, Microsoft’s shift to a slimmer Surface was probably inevitable.

But thin doesn’t mean trouble-free.

Some early adopters noticed the reduced footprint came with compromises. The Surface now runs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Plus chip — battery-efficient, yes, but not exactly the firepower you’d expect from a pro-grade machine. There’s no fan. It doesn’t heat up much, true, but also doesn’t blaze through heavy multitasking either.

And then there’s the keyboard. Or rather, the lack of one. You’ll need to cough up extra cash for that. Same goes for the mouse. And yep, even the power adapter.

So while the base model sits at $799, don’t forget:

• Violet and Ocean color options start at $899

• Keyboard and power adapter together add around $280

• That puts a “realistic” purchase closer to $1,100+

It’s kind of like buying a car and realizing the steering wheel isn’t included.

Battery Life, Everyday Use, and AI Tricks

Now, to give credit where it’s due: this Surface does shine in the battery department.

Some reviewers clocked around 14-16 hours of mixed use on a full charge — that’s nothing to sneeze at. It also supports fast-charging, which is increasingly a must-have. In a pinch, you can juice it up from dead to around 70% in under an hour.

Microsoft’s betting big on its Copilot+ AI features too. And the Surface Pro is built with that in mind — it’s one of the first “Copilot-ready” PCs they’ve launched. You get on-device AI tasks, like background blur in video calls, real-time transcription, and smart search baked right into Windows 11.

But… how much of that matters to the average user is debatable.

For folks just browsing, emailing, or running office apps, these AI perks feel like extras, not essentials. If you’re deep into content creation or engineering software, this chip likely won’t cut it.

Hardware That Feels Half-Finished

On paper, it seems okay. You get 16GB RAM across the board. Storage options are 256GB and 512GB UFS, which — well — UFS is quick, but it ain’t SSD. That’s another sore spot for performance purists.

There’s also no kickstand redesign. The hinge is solid, sure, but the angle flexibility is still very much a Surface-specific quirk. Lay it flat on your lap, and you’ll probably shift back to a table. It’s a small thing, but it adds up.

Here’s a breakdown of the hardware on offer:

Who Is This Actually For?

After about a month of daily use, some users are starting to reframe their expectations. Is this a laptop replacement? Kind of. But it’s really more of a daily companion — the sort of machine that slips into a tote bag, runs Word and Chrome like a champ, and lets you reply to Slack messages while watching YouTube on the couch.

But for heavier use? Video editing, dev tools, gaming beyond casual stuff — probably not.

If you already own a Surface Pro 9 or one of the enterprise-grade Surface models from early 2025, this might actually feel like a step sideways. Or even slightly back.

The 12-inch Surface Pro fits into a niche Microsoft carved out over a decade ago. It’s stylish, it’s functional, and it’ll probably sell decently well. But that price stack? That’s what may keep folks hesitating.