Seems rare to get a solid discount on these, so could be worth jumping on. If you were on the lookout for a Surface Pro, this should have you covered.
"You’ll love the power, with a high-performance processor and big battery life. And then there’s the flexibility. Use it as a laptop or a tablet, with an advanced display and large touchscreen. Windows 11 and a heap of accessories make it perfect for all uses."
?
It's IPS LCD screen… Is it better or worse than OLED of Tab S7 plus or S8 plus?
Hard to say if better or worse. Generally OLED is considered more premium but these surface devices generally have very nice screens as well. Tab S devices generally have exceptional screens (up there with the best in the industry) but the target demographic is different.
Saying that, it's a very different device and you wouldn't really substitute an Android tablet for a touch screen windows computer so the comparison is moot in my opinion.
Thanks, I undertstand that. All I need is just a nice screen to be able to read big PDFs with formulas. But it has to be the best at that…
If you prefer hand-held it most of the time, I think android is fine.
If you need to use it like a proper laptop get surface pro
@humbala: I don't like Surface Pros as 'proper laptops' at all, my advice would be a Surface Laptop if that's the purpose. These things have always been neither here nor there for me…
What kind of big pdf are you thinking? I do have a s7, so i could potentially comment on responsiveness.
(I do use mine for notetaking, and used to use it for reading and annotating short research papers).
@iridiumstem: Oh I did not think that any tablet would struggle with loading PDF file, I meant the "big" content more (like, to be able to show a lot on one page)… But just as an example here is one book https://notes.tarakanov.net/download/?file=%2Fu%2Fnotes%2Ffo…
@Musiclover: I unfortunately cannot seem to see it. If you have no concerns with pdfs and performance of tablets, i am guessing it likely wouldnt matter.
All I need is just a nice screen to be able to read big PDFs with formulas.
Honestly it depends - do you want to annotate and save them, and do you use a reference manager?
If the answer to that is yes, you want the Surface. You are basically getting Windows and can run Endnote/Mendeley/Acrobat Pro with easier integration into cloud storage.
If you only want to read papers, any tablet will do; I like the Surface for its size, but people use iPad minis, the Remarkable, and the Galaxy Tab for reading with no real issues.
All I need is just a nice screen to be able to read big PDFs with formulas. But it has to be the best at that…
Screen technology wouldn't make much of a difference for pdfs, resolution (more specifically dpi) and the features of the pdf viewer (which is determined by the OS) will make a bigger difference. If you are looking for a tablet for studies or work then a surface Pro running windows will be a much better choice than an Android tablet.
I wouldn't say better or worse, just different. IPS doesn't have the unbelievable dynamic range of OLED, but it is better at dealing with burn-in and, of course, it's mountains cheaper.
Unless you need absolute blacks and amazing contrast, you really won't notice that much of a difference in day to day use, and in fact you won't really notice until two displays are put side-to-side
Some are the same price at Microsoft Store https://www.microsoft.com/en-au/d/surface-pro-8/8qwcrtq8v8xg…
for those with https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/722426
I think you can also get 10% off MS gift cards at Shopback which can be used to purchase?
I've been looking at the SP8 for a few weeks. MS and the major retailers have all been selling it for about this price in that time. Remember you'd most likely need to add $429 (JB, TGG, etc) or $343 (MS site) for the keyboard and pen. Overall I think we're at about the same price point as earlier in the year
I think if you're not in a rush, it's better to wait until SP9 comes out or black Friday. Unfortunately I'm in a bit of a rush for to travel, so I might go for it…
SP8 was not discounted for a long while after launch. So get SP8 now while it is cheaper. :)
But that's my point, it's been this price at several points during this year. I'm not sure this is a huge bargain and suspect better deals to be had later in the year.
Even better if you have the Amex offer for $200 back on $1k spend.
Good discount. Fyi The surface pro 9 may be coming in October.
Maybe the 9 is coming soon finally.
Finally? The 8 came out less than a year ago and there was a huge gap between 7 and 8.
The 8 also has two full Thunderbolt ports that can do charging/dock/display etc. - this was really the only thing missing from the 7 and below.
There's nothing "missing" now, so no reason to wait for the 9 really 🤷🏼♂️
The 8 is great, typing this on an 8.
It's still only 11th gen processor though and the 12th is a big big leap.
I know, but they also missed out on a huge leap in processor tech.
Need a 2-in-1 laptop by the start of next year.
Is it good time to buy now, or wait until Black Friday?
Maybe you should check out the Lenovo Yoga 7 for the same price point. (after MS 25% Off)
You get better CPU AMD 6600, better RAM, Better Screen and 360 keyboard.
Thanks for the suggestion.
I actually bought the Lenovo Yoga 7i from JB Hifi earlier when it was on sale for $1699, but had to return it due to the cross-hatch pattern over the OLED screen.
Otherwise the specs are great.
The other post on Yoga 7 suggests that yoga 7 may have the same problem, which I would try to avoid.
Looking forward to amd eventually doing Thunderbolt 4
Now is the time if you aren’t going to wait for SP9. You won’t get 25% off again.
I prefer MS laptops/tablets over other brands because I don’t need to worry about drivers issues and bloatwares.
Got one yesterday, and its a def huge leap from the 1st surface I got.
I used own uno one as well. I went to 6 which was huge leap…
No 12th gen?
not for gen 8 no
12th gen generates to much heat and consumes more power than 11th gen mobile. Not good for a thin device. Your better of with 11th gen or a Ryzen 2in1 if you want battery battery life.
Where is data on the low power ones?
Sadly no. Next model.
Same price @ Microsoft store. Stack with 4 Qantas pts per $ spent. Activate through Qantas Shopping.
Still overpriced
they have based Core i5 and Core i5 EVO, is it worth a bit extra for EVO
Nope, battery life is still weak wheather you get the evo or non evo.
That's not it. The 128GB model doesn't meet the minimum 256GB storage requirement of the Intel Evo platform. Apart from SSD capacity they're identical.
Any thoughts on the 16GB model with i5 rather than i7? I recall reading that battery life and cooling is better with i5. I'm not really in need of computing power as I would just use my PC with GPU for those activities… So I'm leaning towards the i5. But any other benefits of paying the extra $200 for i7 over i5?
Edit: Answer seems to be in this video review
Anyone want to chime in on how the pen feels on the screen?
I had one in the past (maybe a 3) and the pen felt way too slippery. I use it to draw and it never felt right to me coming from a Wacom. The idea of just sitting on the couch being able to work sounds fantastic though.
I have one, but use the prior generation pen because it's got a round body instead of a flat one and takes a replacable battery.
I believe you can get even protectors that change the drawing feel but it's reasonably slippery stock.
Kicking myself for missing out on the Surface 7+ that came with keyboard/styulus for $800 a few months ago, the Surface 8 deals have never seen worthwhile outside of the previous $1359 that was at GG and JB: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/706871 unless you really want a surface for the newer pen or simply need one.
This deals seem to be slowly getting worse as previous specials offered a 256/16gb surface 8+keyboard cover for $1680 or so, which means I'll have to remove Surface's from my prospective pile of options despite it being about 80% of what I'm after coming from a 12 cell beast of a 'gaming' laptop.
I assume surface pro laptop is using the proper windows 11 full version like desktop, and such a windows version also can be use during tablet mode?
Can someone correct me?
Also, does surface pro have a better spec to use for Photoshop or Lightroom?
I am totally newbie to surface product, did research long time ago, saying it has different windows version for different surface product?
It use the same windows as desktop, and sadly win 11 aren't really tablet-mode friendly. Had mine downgrade to win 10 as I use tablet-mode most of the time.
I never use photoshop/lightroom on surface, can't comment on that. But I use affinity (cheaper photo editor) and it work great on my surface.
i5 256gb 8gb model ($1194.00) and base model is cheaper at Officeworks.
https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/officeworks/p/microsoft-…
Controversial opinion:
The Surface 7 plus is better than the 8 because it also offers a USB-A port and cheap expansion via microSD.
Yeaaaah, but the Thunderbolt ports are probably more useful and usb-c to a adaptors are super cheap
I've literally never used thunderbolt in my entire life and the Surface 7 plus still has USB-C.
USB-C to USB-A adapters are cheap, but not needing one is even cheaper.
Those two things make the 7 cheaper, not better.
The 8 has full Thunderbolt for docks and charging - buy the one with the SSD capacity that you need so you can do without the microSD !
Edit - I used to use microSD as a second drive on my Surface Pro 6 and it was spectacularly slow even with a good SD card. Running something like Steam from the microSD was painful.
I don't know about others, but I am now avoiding products with USB-A as it is junk compared to Thunderbolt USB-C.
Not even close
Does the i5 version have 16GB of Ram (yes seems so) and discounted?
I usually run Heaps of tabs (and 2 versions of chrome) and worried that 8GB just wont be enough…..
Don't know why but only the graphite colour has i5 with 16GB RAM.
If you order from Microsoft website then you need to choose the colour first before i5 16GB option is available.
NICE FIND !!! (graphite one looks pretty neat as well, saw one in real life a couple of days ago).
An extra $225 for 8GB Ram - ouch, thats a bit painful.
I wonder how they will retain value…. With the surface 9 coming out.
I have owned numerous Surface Pros and now a Surface Laptop and they are top quality. At the right price, best in class.
I tend to buy from JB Hifi because they have great after sales service in warranty issues and always plenty of stock. (Except for 2020, but no one did)
Surface laptops are also on sale.
Was tossing between the laptops and Pro, but I bought a new type cover for my Pro 3 last year.
My Pro 3 is turning 8 in Dec, and it's time for an upgrade!
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