The Go’s tiny 10” screen is just a bit too small for comfortably writing for long periods – two pages up on the screen at once is ever so slightly uncomfortably small. Whilst I spend the majority of my time at my desktop computer, sometimes I just want to go write in a different room in the house for a change of scenery. The biggest reason for trying out the Pro X is that I’ve been working from home for the past 9 months. This seemed like as good a time as any to jump on-board and see how well the Pro X performed.

Recently, Microsoft released a development version of Windows 10 that enables 64-bit 圆4 programs to run in emulation too, helping to close the ‘app-gap’ that has plagued previous attempts to leave x86 behind, including Windows Phone and Windows RT. Until now, the Pro X (and other arm-based windows PCs) have been able to run programs compiled specifically for ARM, as well as running 32-bit x86 programs through an emulation/translation layer. The biggest change, and sticking point, is that not everything that would normally be compatible with Windows will run on the Pro X. While there’s no microSD card slot like there is on the Go, the SSD in the Pro X is easily accessible and upgradeable. The SQ1 can boost to 3Ghz, which is pretty quick, and the Adreno GPU isn’t fundamentally bad, from what I can tell. The latter of those is interesting to me, coming from the under-powered Go. In theory, this means significantly greater battery life compared with ‘normal’ computers, though also potentially less performance.

It’s an ARM device, which means it’s not running on an Intel or AMD processor, but instead a modified Qualcomm chip (the SQ1), akin to what you’d find in a phone but modified to run windows better. It’s thin, light, and the screen is utterly gorgeous, surrounded by thin bezels. The Surface Pro X is one of the most beautiful computers I’ve ever used.

Surface pro x vs surface go 3