After a few relatively unimpressive years, Microsoft is making a comeback with the Surface Pro 11. The company showed off the reimagined tablet last month, and it's only weeks away from becoming fully available. Of course, the Surface Pro 11 was a highly-anticipated product, mostly thanks to the inclusion of Qualcomm's Snapdragon X platform. When you buy the Surface Pro 11, you'll have your choice of the Snapdragon X Plus or Snapdragon X Elite system-on-a-chip, and it's a big improvement. Compared to Intel processors and older Arm chips, the Snapdragon X chipset blows them away. Snapdragon X is the big Surface Pro 11 upgrade, but there are many smaller ones too.

If you look at the Surface Pro 11 compared to past Surface devices, you might not notice all the differences. And yet, I'm completely convinced that the Surface Pro 11 is the most versatile computing device we've ever seen. This tablet has many of the same characteristics as past Surface Pro devices, and even has the same goals. The Surface Pro is supposed to be a tablet that's as good as your computer, and until the Surface Pro 11, it fell short of that lofty goal. But a combination of improvements highlighted by Snapdragon X will allow the Surface Pro 11 to finally deliver on those expectations. I've rounded up five reasons why the Surface Pro 11 is the king of versatility, and even though not every one is new to this generation, it's having them all together that makes this product special.

5 A portable form factor

It's the same Surface Pro we're used to, but without the compromises

Any conversation about a Surface Pro device starts with its form factor. The Surface Pro 11 is a tablet with laptop-class internals and a diverse port selection, which is still a rarity. Of course, compared to something like an M4 iPad Pro, the Surface Pro 11 has the advantage of running a full desktop OS — Windows 11. It also has an inbuilt kickstand, so it can work in tablet mode or laptop mode. All of this isn't new with the Surface Pro 11, and this device looks like past Surface Pro devices from afar. However, it felt like this portable form factor resulted in far too many compromises in prior generations. Now, you can take advantage of the Surface Pro 11's portable design without sacrificing performance or battery life.

4 Cellular connectivity

With an optional 5G upgrade, your AI PC can go anywhere

An underrated aspect of the Surface Pro 11 is the device's connectivity options. The ports are solid, but I'm talking about the Surface Pro 11's wireless connectivity. This tablet supports Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4, which are the latest versions of their respective specifications. Wi-Fi 7 specifically is a big upgrade, especially for people without a high-speed internet plan, as Wi-Fi 7 may be as fast as Ethernet in some cases. The most intriguing part of the Surface Pro 11's connectivity portfolio is 5G support, as this lets you connect regardless of whether you're near a Wi-Fi connection. As someone who frequently fights with free public networks and mobile hotspots, I've learned cellular connectivity can be the difference between a perfect and a disastrous mobile computing experience.

The Surface Pro 11 isn't the first Surface Pro device to feature 5G connectivity, for what it's worth. But cellular is far from ubiquitous on laptops and tablets in 2024, even though it probably should be. 5G on the Surface Pro 11 is still a differentiating feature for Microsoft, and it certainly adds to the tablet's versatility. Cellular is something you probably won't know you needed on your laptop or tablet until you've tried it, so 5G is an option I'd recommend all Surface Pro 11 buyers consider.

3 Improved accessories

The new Flex Keyboard is a big step in the right direction

Another small but mighty upgrade comes in the form of the new Flex Keyboard. It's detachable, like usual, but now supports Bluetooth. The keyboard uses pins to connect to your Surface Pro 11 when it's attached, and Bluetooth to facilitate a wireless connection when it's detached. There are plenty of use cases for this, but the most common one will be moving the Surface Pro 11 display to a more comfortable viewing distance. I've used the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i and its detachable keyboard, and just being able to set the display further away is great. The Slim Pen 2 can also be stored in the Flex Keyboard, although it's right there in the open now.

2 A stunning display

The touchscreen now finally uses OLED

We're starting to get to the more noticeable changes that come with the Surface Pro 11, and the biggest visual change is certainly the display. It now uses OLED, which puts the Surface Pro 11 on the same level as many other tablets. More importantly, our editor-in-chief Rich Woods noticed that the screen had less glare in his hands-on, fixing a problem with past Surface Pro displays. Aside from the anti-reflective glass, the OLED tech will make for deeper blacks and more vibrant colors. The screen has rounded corners, too. We've seen these kinds of excellent OLED display panels on the best laptops in the past, and the Surface Pro 11 finally joins that group. It's also worth mentioning that the Surface Pro 11's display supports touch and pen input, giving you plenty of ways to interact with it.

1 Plenty of performance and battery life

Snapdragon X is the platform Surface Pro always needed

We've saved the best for last, and that's the inclusion of Snapdragon X on the Surface Pro 11. Many of the aforementioned characteristics aren't new to Surface Pro, but Snapdragon X and Arm tie them all together. Past devices might have offered meager performance compared to a laptop, or suffered from mediocre battery life. In my limited usage of Surface Pro tablets in the workplace, poor battery life was my number one complaint. If we've learned anything over the last few years, it's that Intel processors weren't great at providing a combination of performance and efficiency in low-power devices. And until Snapdragon X, the Windows on Arm movement failed to match the success of Apple silicon.

The entire situation is flipped with Snapdragon X Plus and Elite powering the Surface Pro 11. These chips are more efficient, so battery life is improved. Additionally, Microsoft has worked to optimize Windows for Arm, and third-party app developers have committed to supporting Arm in droves. Qualcomm and Microsoft are both very confident that Snapdragon X Plus and Elite will not only crush past Surface Pro devices, but also beat the M3 MacBook Air. Performance and battery life were the last problems Microsoft needed to solve for the Surface Pro to become the versatility king, and the company has done it.

Should you buy the Surface Pro 11?

I've raved about the Surface Pro 11, but we'll need time to test it ourselves before we can help you figure out whether it's right for you. Still, from the information we have now, the Surface Pro 11 looks to be the tablet that Microsoft always wanted to make with the Surface Pro line. Plus, I've only referenced the hardware, and that neglects to mention all the Copilot+ features coming to the Surface Pro 11 in software. If you've been wanting a Windows tablet that's truly portable. has great battery life, and impressive performance, the Surface Pro 11 might just be the one you've waited for.