The display itself gets a major upgrade with a 120Hz refresh rate. There’s also a rear camera on the Surface Pro 8, but it’s really only good for a casual snap and doesn’t quite hold a candle to the kinds you’ll find in current smartphones. Windows Hello makes for a convenient way to sign in quickly without needing a pin or passcode every time, and the webcam is truly great. The bezels above and below the display are still fairly thick, but the bottom bezel is meant to be covered by Microsoft’s keyboard attachment, and the top bezel houses the quality webcam and Windows Hello IR sensors. I suppose iPhone 12 and 13 owners will have a display to preview their Dolby Vision HDR videos recorded on their phones though. What this will actually mean isn’t too clear, as support for HDR can be a bit limited on Windows, and Dolby Vision is an even more rare subset of HDR profiles. The display supports HDR video through Dolby Vision, though I had to toy around with settings to enable it as the default Vivid color profile and Adaptive color feature appeared to have locked out HDR support.
It also gets bright enough for outdoor use, though the glossy finish does leave it prone to reflections. Microsoft has trimmed the bezels around the display a bit, especially on the sides, allowing it to upgrade from the 12.3-inch display of the Surface Pro 7 to a 13-inch, 3:2 display with a 2880 x 1920 resolution. It also includes two forward-facing speakers that pump out some rich, full sound at an impressive volume level. The firm kickstand holds its position well, making it easy to get the display angled conveniently – upright for hands-free viewing or down low for writing on. The tablet portion of the Surface Pro 8 is light at 1.96 pounds and plenty versatile. It’s hard to comprehend how Microsoft continues to sell the Surface Pro line with its keyboard cover and stylus as a separate purchase. The Surface Pro 8 is an elegant machine, though it’s only fully realized when grabbing the keyboard cover and stylus bundle. 9 Images Surface Pro 8 – Design and Features