Get Real, Microsoft: If the New Surface Pro Is a Laptop, Bundle It With a Type Cover (pcworld.com)

An anonymous reader shares an article: If Microsoft sold cars like it's trying to sell its Surface Pro (2017), it would charge extra for wheels -- and would be laughed out of the market. But Microsoft's using this tactic to sell its new Windows tablet as a "laptop," and we're still trying to figure out why. Microsoft's Surface Pro is clearly a Windows tablet, just like its predecessor, the Surface Pro 4. Nevertheless, devices chief Panos Panay calls it a "laptop" no fewer than three times in his blog post, including the very first sentence. No "laptop" or notebook PC forgoes a keyboard, however, as the Surface Pro does. Long-time Surface fans may know that Microsoft charges $129 to $159 more for that accessory, but does the average buyer get it? That's where the confusion starts.

Comments

As a happy Surface Pro 4 user...

[jolyonr]

I have to say that as a tablet it completely and utterly sucks. Windows simply does not translate to a tablet environment and, other than emergency use, I never use it without the keyboard.

However, with the keyboard and as a lightweight touchscreen laptop for travel, is is excellent. I use Mac for my desktop environment, but Apple have decided for what seems to be purely religious reasons not to put touch-screens into their laptop line, which for me is a dealbreaker. Using the mouse for 99% of the UI, but the finger on the screen to scroll and pinch-zoom when appropriate works really well for me, and when I'm doing presentations from my Surface Pro onto a projector being able to draw onto the screen with the pen is a major advantage.

I know for many of you a touchscreen in a laptop seems stupid, and you're perfectly entitled to that opinion. For me, it works, and it works better than the alternative (which is why my MacBook Pro is now hardly ever used.)