Microsoft’s Surface Pro 9 is formidable but familiar

In Australia, the new Microsoft Surface Pro 9 starts at $1,598. That sum gets you the version of the device with 8GB of RAM, a 128GB SSD and a 12th Gen Intel Core processor. More powerful models will cost you more, with the top-of-the-line configuration coming in at $4,149.

For a round-up of how Surface Pro 9 pricing varies from retailer to retailer, check out the table below:

Before you make a decision, be sure to read our recommendation for the specs.

As with most of Microsoft's house-brand Surface hardware, the star of the show here is the PixelSense display.

The new Surface Pro 9 has a 13-inch screen with the same resolution as the previous model, but in this case, that familiarity is far from a bad thing. 

As with the Surface Pro 8, the touch-sensitive panel will play nice with your hands as well as Microsoft's Surface Pen stylus. The bezels are likewise identical, and the similarities don't stop there. Like its predecessor, the Surface Pro 9 is a detachable-style 2-in-1 laptop PC that comes with a built-in kickstand, a set of 2-watt Dolby Audio speakers, a Surface Connect port, a pair of Thunderbolt 4 USB Type-C ports and a 1080p webcam with Windows Hello support.

Credit where it's due, the display on Microsoft's productivity PC is a delight to look at. The IPS panel here is colourful and sharp in all the right ways, though it lacks the pop and contrast that something with an OLED might be able to offer. Casting the conversation in the opposite direction, it's difficult to imagine the Surface Pro 9 without the smooth scrolling afforded by the 120Hz refresh rate.

The Surface Pro 9's biggest draw might be inherited, but the appeal remains largely intact and undiminished.

Even by stringent standards of modern laptops and Windows PCs, in particular, the Surface Pro 9 is incredibly and shamelessly iterative. To the eye, the differences between it and last year's model are all but invisible. Well, aside from the departure of the headphone jack anyway.

That said, if you're a fan or like the look of Microsoft's Surface tablets, the Surface Pro 9 does little to mess with the formula and the magic. What's here is as sleek as it is smart. The stereo speakers pack a surprising amount of depth and clarity into the small form factor, though it is distinctly lacking in bass and it's hard to muster too many complaints about a PC that's this easy to slip into your bag and carry around with you.

Those looking at jumping aboard with (or upgrading to) this year's Surface Pro 9 also get the option of ditching an Intel chipset in favour of Microsoft's new flagship ARM processor, the SQ3. This marks something of a departure from tradition by Microsoft. Last time around, Intel was the only option unless you opted for the pricey and premium Surface Pro X.

My review sample ran on an Intel processor, so I can't speak too much to the difference in performance between the two models. However, I've had good experiences with ARM-based Windows PCs in the past so I wouldn't dismiss this alternative out of hand.

The early reviews for the ARM version of this year's Surface Pro 9 I've read elsewhere seem mixed, but if the promise of 5G connectivity, longer battery life and new AI features that make use of a built-in NPU it might be worth considering. Those who opt for Intel will reap the benefits of greater compatibility that comes from keeping with convention, but if your workflow is almost entirely based out of a web browser and you like the sound of the trade-off involved, I could see you getting away with working within the limitations that are involved here.

While the visible changes between this year's Microsoft Surface Pro 9 and last year's Surface Pro 8 are largely limited to the introduction of new colours, the excising of the headphone jack and the addition of an ARM-based variant, the under-the-hood tinkering provides a little more fodder for conversation.

The big update here sees the 11th Gen Intel Core chips found in last year's Surface Pro swapped out for their 12th Gen equivalents. This CPU centrepiece comes accompanied by the usual trio of RAM options (8GB, 16GB and 32GB) in a new LPDDR5 flavour.

Those who opt for the SQ3-powered version of the Surface Pro 9 are stuck with slower LPDDR4 memory and lose out on the option of 32GB. Otherwise, both skews of the tablet can be kitted out with either 128GB, 256GB, 512GB or 1TB of M.2 SSD storage.

In practice, I found that the performance delivered by the Intel Core i7-1255U inside my review unit was more than capable of delivering what I needed in terms of my usual workflows. It handled dozens of tabs in Firefox without missing a beat. All told, I'd put the performance squarely on the border between the top end of everyday performance and the bottom end of the enthusiast bracket.

I could even get away with a little bit of gaming here, though nothing too demanding. Not unless I got creative with the settings and cranked things down to 720p or less. Still, it's better than the alternative if you're more inclined towards less-demanding titles or strategy games like Hearthstone and the like, the Surface Pro 9 reaps the benefits of Intel's recent gains when it comes to integrated graphics.

As for the benchmarks side of things, my testing found that the Surface Pro 9 did a pretty good job of keeping pace with the competition. Across almost every test I threw at the tablet, it'd usually come out within 10% of what a laptop running the same 16GB of RAM and a slightly faster Core i7-1260P processor could do. Unfortunately, all too often, it was 10% in the wrong direction.

The Surface Pro 9 delivers really impressive performance for a tablet of its size and stature, but if you are more inclined towards squeezing every drop of performance out of your PC, the extra thermal headroom that comes with a more traditional form factor may well be worth it and depending on the version of the Surface Pro 9 you're comparing it against, it might even be cheaper.

This familiar shortcoming extends into the battery life side of things as well.

Burned down via video streaming on YouTube, the Surface Pro 9  took six hours and 32 minutes to go from 100% to nil. In context, that result paints a poor picture. It's among the worst results we've encountered when it comes to laptop battery longevity and a fraction of what you can expect from Apple's latest MacBook Air.

To start with, Microsoft's new flagship Surface Pro 9 tablet offers a choice between Intel's latest Core Evo processors and Microsoft's own ARM-based SQ3.

Otherwise, the hardware and design are almost identical across the two skews. Either way, you're getting a 13-inch PixelSense display with a 120Hz refresh rate and Dolby Vision HDR, an improved 1080p camera, stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos and the flexibility that comes with the range's familiar but iconic Surface kickstand.

Microsoft's flagship 2-in-1 is also available in a few extra colours this time around. Previous generations of the hybrid PC have opted for a single shade. Those who opt for this year's crop have the option of either silver (Platinum), blue (Sapphire), green (Forest) or grey (Graphite).

Microsoft's gambit to run against the grain of what most laptop manufacturers are doing continues to pay off here, though the successes of its latest incarnation are going to be just as familiar as the failures.

If you know what you're doing, have done your research and are happy with the tradeoffs, then the Surface Pro 9 is a definitive mix of mobility and performance. It's a true 2-in-1 that is good enough at everything, but rarely exceptional at any particular thing.

While Microsoft might like to frame its flagship tablets as universal in their appeal, the reality is that only those who know the rules of the game going in are able to really rack up much of a high score.

As far as hybrid PCs go, the Surface Pro 9 is far from cheap. That said, if you're looking to pick one up you'll probably want to make it last.

The best way to do that is the pay for that extra storage and RAM. It'll let you do more of what the Surface Pro 9 is good at and give you more room to breath than the default 128GB allows.