Microsoft Surface Pro 3 Review: Windows 8.1 Pro Tablet Is Best Slab From MS Yet; Takes Aim At The MacBook Air; Can It Beat Apple’s In Ultrabook?

Microsoft Surface Pro 3 review: The latest Windows Pro tablet, Microsoft Surface Pro 3, is being billed as a replacement to your laptop. The device is described as “gorgeous” and “premium” in many reviews and could well showcase high design from the Redmond tech giant. The Pro 3 takes aim at Apple’s MacBook Air as a competition.

The question though is, can it actually beat Apple’s version of an Ultrabook?

The Surface Pro 3 may not be a complete substitute for a the ultra mobile PC category, which includes the likes of the MacBook Air, but it can appeal to a niche in the market that wants the convenience of a laptop packaged as a tablet. In essence, the Surface Pro 3 though it takes aim at the MacBook Air, is really serving more as yet another option for a laptop and not a complete substitute.

The 12-inch multi-touch screen of the new Windows 8.1 Pro device has a 2,160 x 1,440 resolution, making it better than HD. The Globe and Mail in its review of the tablet notes that the display delivers crisp and bright video, and it can also power two additional monitors. It’s overall design as well is very appealing and is skinnier in the eyes than the actual 0.36 inches.

The Microsoft Surface Pro 3 can also have multiple modes. The Globe and Mail notes that it can sit up right for typing or the device can angle back a bit for videos. If you feel like using the stylus, it can lie flat to work with a pen.

In terms of performance, look no further than BizTechMagazine’s headline of its review “Microsoft Surface Pro 3 Delivers on Power and Play.” The site wrote that the device’s speedy Intel Core i5 “could crunch large Adobe Photoshop and Microsoft PowerPoint files with ease. It also scored an incredible 2,112 on PassMark Software’s PerformanceTest benchmarks, putting it in line with most notebooks — and some desktops — in terms of raw performance.”

The site also praised the Surface pen which “has the heft of a real pen and simulates the feel on writing on paper.”

The Surface Pro 3’s battery can last for up to eight hours and when attached with a keyboard, its performance is described as “indistinguishable” with that of most notebooks.

In essence, the Microsoft Surface Pro 3 does have teeth in performing like a notebook or laptop, but it may not be the total replacement just yet.