Microsoft Surface Pro 7 Plus Review: Built for Business

Now you could line up five years of Surface Pro devices side by side and it would be almost impossible to differentiate between them. Microsoft’s new Surface Pro 7 Plus maintains the same familiar design, which is likely to satisfy only corporate customers who want to standardize their hardware for years on end. This may be good news for business customers, but for the rest of us who want thinner screen bezels and a more modern design like the Surface Pro X, the wait continues.

It is no surprise, then, that Microsoft is limiting sales of the Surface Pro 7 Plus exclusively to businesses and schools. Consumers will not be able to buy from a store and it is really for companies and schools looking to upgrade older machines.

Although I regretted the current design of the Surface Pro for a few years, there are some changes within the Surface Pro 7 Plus that will please many. Microsoft now offers integrated LTE on select models, and the SSD is now removable, as are the Surface Laptop 3 and Surface Pro X. The latest processors from Intel also promise better performance and battery life. It’s almost everything you would want from a Surface tablet in 2021, but I would still like it to look like a Surface Pro X with an Intel chip inside.

The Surface Pro 7 Plus starts at $ 899.99, which is a $ 150 premium over the price of the Surface Pro 7. Fortunately, the base model is now the Intel Core i3 version, with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage. Microsoft abandoned the option of 4 GB of RAM for the Plus model. I have tested a Core i5 model with 16 GB of RAM, 256 GB of storage and integrated LTE connectivity, which costs $ 1,649.99 before you add a keyboard or pen. The cheapest option for LTE is the $ 1,149.99 model with a Core i5 processor, 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage. Microsoft offers all 11 models in the classic silver option, but strangely the black version is not available with built-in LTE. You will also need a separate surface type cover and commercial versions cost $ 159.99.

Overall, the hardware on the Surface Pro 7 Plus is almost identical to that on the Surface Pro 7. There is the same 12.3-inch (2736 x 1824) touchscreen with its 3: 2 aspect ratio, a single USB-C port and the normal USB -One port. Microsoft hasn’t made the switch to Thunderbolt 3 or 4 here yet, so you can’t connect this tablet to an external GPU or use many of the available Thunderbolt drives and docks.

The real changes on the Surface Pro 7 Plus can be found inside. Microsoft has switched to the latest 11th generation processors from Intel and you can choose between Core i3, Core i5 or Core i7 variants. I have tested the Core i5 model, and it remains good even when I use heavy applications like video editing software or video. Like other Core i5 Pro 7 models, this one has no internal fan, so it is also quiet during work.

These newer processors also include Intel’s Iris Xe graphics. While it is not enough to turn it into a portable gaming laptop, it does help make the Surface Pro 7 Plus much more agile in a variety of tasks. Combined with improved SSD read and write speeds, light editing of photos and videos is certainly faster than what I’m used to with the normal Surface Pro 7.

However, the biggest addition of new hardware is integrated LTE. It is the first time that the Surface Pro line has included this in a few years, but unfortunately there is no support for 5G. Microsoft is using Qualcomm’s oldest Snapdragon X20 LTE modem within the Surface Pro 7 Plus. There is a dedicated SIM slot on the side of the device, which replaces where you would normally find the microSD slot.

Since England has been in a pandemic block for months, I haven’t ventured out far enough to really push LTE connectivity to its limit, but I didn’t think it affected battery life much in my limited tests. LTE connectivity is a great option on a device like the Surface Pro, especially for those who normally work remotely, visit customers or just want something to replace really bad Wi-Fi connectivity.

The other significant hardware change on the Surface Pro 7 Plus is the removable SSDs. This is actually designed for business users to exchange defective SSDs or retain corporate data. The SSD is easily accessible from an access door on the back of the Surface Pro 7 Plus, and a simple SIM tool will open it. Microsoft’s dealer network has started selling SSD kits, with options of 128 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB and 1 TB, so there is even the option to upgrade the storage space here. It is encouraging to see Microsoft make it so easy to do, which makes it much faster for IT administrators to get a machine up and running again.

All of these internal hardware changes also mean that Microsoft was able to squeeze a larger battery (46.5Wh to 50.4Wh) into the Surface Pro 7 Plus. The company now promises 15 hours of battery life, compared to the 10.5 hours of the original Surface Pro 7. However, I did not notice any dramatic improvement in battery life during normal use.

I typically got about seven to eight hours of battery life during my tests, which includes a mix of apps ranging from Chrome, Discord and Netflix to Adobe Photoshop. If all you’re doing is watching videos, you’ll probably see closer to Microsoft’s 15-hour promise, but in reality, that’s still just enough to fulfill a normal work day. I still hope that one day the Surface Pro will arrive safely for 10 hours, so I never have to worry about traveling without a charger.

I’m still a big fan of Surface Pro, despite the lack of design changes. Microsoft is clearly serving a specific audience here, and the Surface Pro 7 Plus is designed for businesses. I hope this means that soon we will see a consumer-focused Surface Pro that combines all the good in Surface Pro X with the power and performance of Intel chips.

Integrated LTE and removable SSDs are great additions to the Surface Pro line, but we’ve still waited years for basic items like support for Thunderbolt 3. And while LTE is a great option to have again, it’s strange that Microsoft isn’t including more future-proof 5G connectivity. If you’re using an older Surface Pro and want to upgrade, it may not seem like much has changed over the years, but these subtle hardware changes make a little difference.

Microsoft completely redesigned the interior of the Surface Pro this year to include this LTE support and removable SSDs. I just hope that a complete redesign on the outside is underway. It’s still 2 in 1 to beat, but Surface Pro can offer so much more.