I’ve stated my love for the 12 Inch MacBook in quite a few previous posts. I love the form factor, the small size, the fanless and quiet design, and the quality build. The ecosystem is great as well. But I do have my temptations…
The Surface Pro 6 is the alternate MacBook for those who love windows, surface devices and just really cool portable computers. It’s a take anywhere, go anywhere device that hits the right spot at performance versus portability. I might even go as far as to say its cooler than the Macbook. Yes, I do think Mac is losing its “cool” factor, but that’s another story.
The Surface Pro 6 may be due for a refresh as early as August.
Right now the Surface Pro 6 is on sale and it’s at a fantastic price point, just $799 gets you into the entry-level model with the type cover! I personally think its a little low on memory with just a 128GB hard drive, but many people including myself have most of their data on the cloud so the smaller size might not matter. With a Core i5 and 8GB of RAM, it can handle the workload of the majority of users.
For a blogger such as myself, using Microsoft Word and Outlook, as well as (potentially) Lightroom and Photoshop, it’s all I would need as long as I don’t plan on editing large videos or larger documents. Also, it comes WITH THE TYPE COVER! yes, with the type cover, but not the pen, so this is a fantastic deal. You can click over to Amazon to find out more.
The next step up is the all Black Surface Pro 6. This thing is a dream machine for a poor blogger like me. It looks fantastic and it features double the onboard storage with a 256GB hard drive. It certainly does cost more, but 256 is what many people consider to be a bare minimum. Photos and videos plus regular files can end up taking a lot of space, and while the cloud is great, it’s nice to know you don’t always have to rely upon it. Oh the irony, as I’m writing this post, the internet goes out! Click on over to Amazon to see the matt black Surface Pro 6 with keyboard bundle.
The big question is what will happen for the Surface Pro 7
As I mentioned above, the Pro line of tablets (or 2 in 1’s) is due for a refresh. One of the most complained about features is actually a lack of a feature. That is, of course, a USB-C Thunderbolt port. In our ‘dongle’ age its crazy that this upscale industry-leading machine lacks such a port, while the competition puts out way cheaper machines with USB-C. Even the smaller Surface Go has a USB-C port, go figure.
Industry insiders also expect that the Surface Pro 7 will cut down the “bezels” – the area around the screen display – which could lead to a smaller device with the same screen size. To me, the computer/tablet is small enough, but competition is competition. Those same insiders also claim the type cover will be made even thinner, though again I don’t think that needs to be done.
What would be especially useful would be updated CPUs with “Whiskey Lake” or “Ice Lake” processors. The jury is still out on whether or not these processors would be ready for manufacturing by the time the updated units come out.
One of the benefits that the Pro line has over the MacBook is the touch screen and pen support, and it maintains its benefit over the iPad Pro with mouse support, a win for Microsoft on both accounts.
Bottom line: The Surface Pro 6 is a great machine right now, with or without the USB-C. If you have a Surface Pro 5, perhaps you may not need to update, but if this is an appealing computer, then with the sale and bundle prices, it’s a great time to get into the Surface Family.
Leonard Goffe is an author, writer, and journalist based in South Florida. He is available for your public relations, content development, WordPress design, SEO and technical writing needs.
