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2 Reasons to Buy the Surface Pro 4 & 3 Reasons Not To

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By all estimates, the Surface Pro 4 shouldn’t be the powerhouse that it is. Yet, nearly two years following its release, the device is still a sales juggernaut. It is almost single handily propping up Microsoft’s in-house hardware line-up. PC makers, having missed on out the Windows 2-in-1 craze prior to the Surface Pro 4’s launch, have created dozens of Surface Pro 4 alternatives. There are plenty of reasons to buy the Surface Pro 4, though it’s not hard to find some pretty good reasons to not buy it too.

Before building the Surface Pro line, Microsoft had never tried to make a PC of its own. Instead, it relied on its partners. That reliance got the company nowhere though. HP and a few others only dabbled with the concept. By the time the iPad arrived, Windows PC makers were too focused on miniature notebooks that didn’t offer a great experience. The iPad offered an easy way to navigate it, tons of apps, great looking hardware and fantastic battery life.

The Surface Pro 4 with pen and type cover.

The are good reasons to buy and not buy the Surface Pro 4.

Then Surface Pro 4 was made to deliver that same experience for Windows 10 users. The tablet market would never be the same.

Read: Surface Pro 4 Review: The Best There Is

What is the Surface Pro 4?

Surface Pro 4 is Microsoft’s Windows 2-in-1 vision brought to life. Its thin body and 12.3-inch display guarantee that it’s often mistaken for a regular tablet, which its design does mimic. It has the internals of a laptop PC, though. You can rely on the apps from the Windows Store or download the same powerful programs that you’ve always relied on. Microsoft isn’t limiting the things you can install on this device.

Read: iPad Pro Review: Why I Returned the New iPad

The Pro 4 offers a bit of variety. You can’t get it with different screen sizes, but you can decide how much or how little power you need. The $799 model is the cheapest and the least powerful of all versions. It includes an Intel Core m3 processor. Its most powerful variant is the $1,699 model with Intel Core i7 processor. You can buy either of these machines and some of the models in between at Best Buy, Staples and more.

Read: 12 Surface Pro 4 Tips for New Owners

Whether you should buy the Surface Pro 4 or not heavily depends on what you need your PC to be. Here are some reasons you should and shouldn’t purchase Microsoft’s alternative to the iPad Pro.

Reasons to Buy a Surface Pro 4

  • Surface Pro 4 Accessories & Kickstand Are Excellent
  • Cheaper Surface Pro 4s Have Arrived, Sort Of

Reasons to Not Buy a Surface Pro 4

  • It Doesn’t Have USB 3.0 Type-C or LTE
  • There Are Modestly Priced Surface Pro 4 Alternatives
  • Surface Pro 4 Accessories Are Still Expensive

Surface Pro 4 Doesn't Have USB 3.0 Type-C or LTE

Surface Pro 4 Doesn't Have USB 3.0 Type-C or LTE

 Lots of things in computing remain the same. We’re always looking for more power and more battery life. The Surface Pro 4 is a great computer that’s starting to show its age. It made its debut in October 2015. It’s seen no meaningful updates since then.

Read: Surface Pro 5 Release Date, Rumors & More


Since the Pro 4’s launch, USB Type-C ports that allow you to charge and connect to tons of accessories with a single cable have arrived. They’re in our high-end phones and coming to tablets and laptops. The Surface Pro 4 has just a single USB 3.0 port. It’s full-size and not capable of the transfer speeds new USB Type-C ports with Thunderbolt 3 technology are capable of.

Constant data connectivity is another thing that we’re all starting to expect from mobile devices. The Surface Pro 4 is missing it, despite every other notebook or tablet in its price range offering models that can be added to a smartphone plan. Having mobile data support inside the Surface Pro 4 would save you from hunting around for wireless internet connections in public. All Surface Pro 4s have Wi-Fi, but not cellular data. If you’re looking for that, definitely look into the iPad Pro or other Windows 2-in-1s.

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