Microsoft Surface 3: Is it worth your money?

The Surface 3 is Microsoft’s third attempt at making a lower-cost tablet/laptop hybrid, but will this version of future of computing good enough to attract laptop users? In this article I will discuss the Microsoft Surface 3.

The cheaper, smaller brother of the Surface Pro 3, the Surface 3 is aimed at less power-demanding users, but this time it runs full Windows 8.1 and is ready for Windows 10.

Anyone familiar with Microsoft’s other Surface tablets will instantly recognize the Surface 3. It looks just like the Surface RT and Surface 2 before it, with a grey metal body, three position kickstand and a capacitive touch Windows button.

The Surface 3 is 2mm thinner and 54g lighter than its predecessor, at 8.7mm thick and 622g in weight. Compared to most tablets it is both thick and heavy. The iPad Air 2 is 6.1mm thick and weighs 437g but it is pretty slim and light for a fully functional PC. The Surface Pro 3, for instance is 9.1mm thick and weighs 800g, while even Apple’s thinnest and lightest MacBook is 13.1mm thick and 920g.

The Surface 3 has a smaller screen than the Surface Pro 3, but has the same 3:2 ratio as its bigger brother. Most Windows laptops and tablets use the wider 16:9 or 16:10 ratio, which is great for watching videos but not so great for browsing sites and reading text.

The 10.8in full HD screen has wide viewing angles and is relatively crisp for a PC. However the Surface 3 is not in the same league as many tablets or high-end computer screens that have twice the resolution and higher pixel densities such as the iPad Air 2, Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S, Apple’s MacBook, Dell’s XPS 13 or the Surface Pro 3.

Microsoft still has some fundamental problems within Windows 8.1 and the high resolution displays which distort some applications. According to some Microsoft new this issue will be addressed in the Windows 10 release.

Windows apps downloaded from the Microsoft store look crisp as do some standard applications such as Google’s Chrome. But many do not take advantage of high resolution icons and text. As a result programs like Evernote look poor with blurry icons, menu buttons and text.

The Surface 3 comes with a copy of Microsoft Office 365 personal, which is a nice added extra and works very well on the tablet.

The Surface 3 is powered by Intel’s Atom X7 1.6GHz quad-core processor, which is the latest low-power processor for mobile devices. General computing performance is great. The Surface 3 feels snappy and handles most things without issue. The Surface 3 can handle light Photoshop tasks and standard office duties with ease. It can also support a second screen through the mini DisplayPort.

The Surface 3 is completely fan-less which is impressive given the performance. It is silent even when installing apps. Also notable is the inclusion of a full size USB 3.0 port, which makes connecting accessories, mice or just about anything very easy a big bonus for a full PC. A docking station is promised for later in the year, which will add further ports and utility as a desktop computer replacement.

The Surface 3 does not ship with a keyboard. It is considered optional, but I would not consider it optional. Without a keyboard for the Surface 3 it’s just a second-rate tablet. With a keyboard it makes an excellent hybrid.

The Surface 3 has an eight megapixel camera on the back, which works well enough for a tablet. In my opinion the camera isn’t worth writing home about. The front-facing 3.5-megapixel camera is good for making business video calls.

Overall the Surface 3 is Microsoft’s best compromise between price, size and power so far. As a tablet it performs admirably, but not as good as most dedicated tablets with longer batteries, crisper screens and slimmer profiles. The issue is similar when it comes to using the Surface 3 as a laptop replacement. It is not as easy to use on a lap and is not as powerful as equally priced laptops. A big issue is that at $499 without the optional detachable keyboard it’s really not that cheap. The Surface Pro 3 has a better screen, faster processor and similar battery life. It also comes with the “optional” keyboard. Despite that the Surface 3 is the best “jack of all trades” so far and is debatably a better work machine than an iPad with keyboard case.