So the switch to a 12in display at a rather unusual 2160 x 1440 resolution for the SP3 is welcome, as is the shift to a 3:2 aspect ratio. Many (including us) found text too small on the 1920 x 1080 10in screen of the Surface 2 or Pro 2. The kickstand and keyboard aren’t the only changes for the better. One thing, though: the keys clack if you’re typing in anger – but even then, the cheap-ish clack doesn’t infer shoddy build. The keyboard’s now spacious enough for big, clumsy fingers, and at last the trackpad is of a size and sensitivity that make it a pleasure to use. The Type Cover 3, meanwhile, is a dramatic improvement over the Type Cover 2. We’re not irresponsible enough to give any view on the hinge’s long-term durability, but we will say that it feels beautifully made, and operates with the same well-damped smoothness after a hard month of use as it did on the day of opening the box. It retains the first two stages from the Surface 2 pull it away from the body, and there are two distinct locking points.īut push gently beyond the second lock point, and it will bend back to almost 150 degrees.
The kickstand, in particular, is a minor engineering marvel. In fact, we couldn’t find a scenario where the Surface Pro 3 borked: it now works, really well. Tilt the kickstand back further to 140-150 degrees, and it’s a perfectly-angled writing surface for use on a desk if you’re taking notes. With the kickstand bent back to 120-130 degrees and the keyboard attached, it works as well as any conventional laptop if you spend your life with your legs crossed on the sofa. Those two changes transform the Surface into a good laptop that will work almost everywhere. The Type Cover keyboard, meanwhile, can now be latched at its upper edge magnetically to the bottom of the SP3’s screen, creating a rigid platform in place of the wobbly board that haunted previous Surfaces. In place of the two-stage kickstand debuted by the Surface 2, the SP3 support now bends almost all the way back, using a brand new hinge design. But only because the changes they bring from the first and second generation Surface are so obvious that you wonder why they didn’t happen earlier (don’t worry if you own an earlier Surface – we’re sure Microsoft has a letter of apology in the post…).
DESIGN: WHY DIDN’T THEY DO THIS IN THE FIRST PLACE?Īfter just a week with the Surface Pro 3, the Type Cover 3 and flexible kickstand had left us furious with Microsoft.
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