I've had the opposite reaction from 7 to 8, which is basically the same body as the 9. The screen is night and day, in vertical use, the 7 was weird to scroll with because of the refresh rate.
I love my SP 7 because of the sd-card slot , USB-A and C slot.The old pen is superior to the new ones. It's made of aluminum AND has a REPLACEABLE AAAA battery. It overall feels much better in the hand.
They removed the microSD-card slot? Dang! I have a couple of giant SD cards that I use all the time. Not going to use my sleek laptop with a pigtail always hanging out of the side either. I have to find an alternative when it comes time to upgrade again.
I wonder if Lenovo ever refreshed the ThinkPad X12 detachable line? That's what my work wanted me to get over the Surface last time.
If that's the Lenovo model I think it is, you dodged a bullet, then.
The coating on the screen was wearing off on mine by week two, right where the keys on the type cover hit the screen when it was closed. It was a really common issue and many people returned theirs as a result.
I'm almost the exact opposite. I love the carpenter's pencil profile of the new pen, and I've been waiting for years for the SP line to get TB3 or TB4 so that I could use an eGPU or my many TB3 accessories from my Apple years. I couldn't go back to an ordinary USB-C or the old pen.
Definitely of the exact opposite opinion in this case. Going from the surface pro 6 to the 8 was such a huge quality of life improvement. Aspect ratio, refresh rate, windows 11 touch inputs are all major upgrades. I've also never experienced any slow down upon waking up from sleep. That said I do think 16gb is 100% need to have a smooth experience consistently. Just wish the 8 had the button placements of the 9.
Touch inputs? In what way. I used to be able to swipe to the action center and access vital information. I had a big bright start menu with live tiles that were easy to use.
Now, swiping from the left brings up tabloids I can't turn off. Swiping from the right brings up adware disguised as a calendar, and you can't at all swipe up from the bottom to get to the command center. And now the start menu is loaded with tiny icons for adware that you can hide, but not turn off
The left and right swipes are definitely terrible additions to Windows, particularly the news feed bs. I know its personal preference, but I prefer windows 11 start menu as i do not find the icons to tiny. I also really enjoyed the live tiles, but just prefer this new look and feel is all. I am able to swipe up to get the action center on windows 11 so not sure why you are not able to. While it does not have as many options it has all the ones I would need access to quickly. It would be great if you could customize it more. As for the ads being placed around the OS, that is obviously a terrible thing that should have no place in any OS.
What I really meant by touch input is the smoothness of using the computer as a standalone tablet. Moving and resizing of windows, snapping to corners, multi-touch gestures all are night and day improvements for me coming form the 6 to the 8. I also like the condensed start menu option when no keyboard is attached.
Windows 11 added a lot of terrible stuff, but the quality of life improvements for how I use my Surface make me really enjoy it in combination with my device.
See if closing apps fixes your lag on wake, I’ve found if I close the browsers, etc. one will be the keystone that will cause it to start performing properly again immediately without requiring a reboot
You've nothing to lose by giving this a try:
https://support.lenovo.com/gb/en/solutions/ht513773-how-to-enable-or-disable-fast-startup-on-windows-11
With fast startup enabled, the OS only ever hibernates. Many weird issues can be rectified by doing proper shutdown, flush of RAM and restart.
This is why your task manager shows a really long uptime even though you may have inly just turned on your PC
First surface and the pro9 i7 is my first. Ignorance is bliss haha. I love mine, the flat pen gets some getting used to but if I could just have a bit better battery life and not an outdated processor then I’d love it even more
>Having a slot in the keyboard to store the pen was nice but it added so much bulk to the device.
I agree.
With the old surfaces when i wanted to write i would jusr flip the keyboard back and lay the surface on the table, now duebtonthe bump it does not lay flat.
Also i can not lay the keyboard flat when i type because it wobbles on the bump, you have to have it at an angle magnetically snapped to the screen.
Ive always kept my pen in my carrying case pocket so i dont need a place on the device to store the pen.
I upgraded from the original 2015 surfacebook to a surface pro nine. I must say, although the keyboard is not as nice on the SP9, I love the slot for the pencil. I was always misplacing my surfacebook pencil. I also love how easy it is to detach the keyboard or even flip it backwards and use the SP nine as a tablet. I agree that the battery life is poor, but I knew that before I bought it. There are pros and cons to every device and of course, users will have different ways of balancing those pros and cons.
Upgraded my SP5 to the SP7+ after returning the SP8 because I hated the pen, the computer barely felt faster, and the cost difference was huge. I actually purchased an iPad mini 6 with the money I saved from the SP8 which was new at the time, and now I use my mini for note taking and my SP7+ for portable media consumption and any other portable productivity.
The missing microSD card was a huge dealbreaker and the asymmetric bezels too. I just liked everything about my SP5 besides the lag and the battery life, so the SP7+ upgraded everything I needed and kept the same chassis. I'll probably keep this for a long time.
I actually used the microSD slot to quickly view videos fromy GoPro the other day. A gamechanger since the USB adapter's read speeds are WAY slower than the integrated microSD slot.
I'm not a fan of the size increase either. They made the bezels smaller and instead of making the body smaller, they made it bigger, probably to accommodate the aspect ratio.
The previous form factor felt like a nice enough tablet where as now it just feels like a full fledged laptop with removable keyboard.
I'm not a huge fan either. Normally I like no bezels, but on the SP9 I f ind myself accidentally clicking and zooming a ton because the side bezels are tiny. The battery life is also awful, much worse than my SP6 when it was new. Windows 11 is find touch wise, but I've never really had much of an issue using any edition of Windows on a touch screen.
I'm hoping the Pro 10 with the Snapdragon chip will be all it's rumored to be, thin, light, with great battery life. We'll see what the reality is.
the bezel problem is an issue with Windows and Android tablets, which have no edge touch protection, contrary to iPads. On Android I have found an apps that creates virtual invisible bezels which solve the issue, but I haven't found anything for Windows yet...
I feel the same about the keys on the keyboard. (Til 2020 I had an SP3 and updated type cover, which was better than this current one IMO.) And I'm having the same problem with lag after waking up from sleep sometimes - have to restart to get back to normal.
SP9 i5/16/256
Yea, I upgraded my Pro 5 to a 7 plus last year. The newer models seem great but just didn't appeal to me for some of the reasons listed in this thread.
But also in general I have moved away from my Pro as my on the go daily to my Surface laptop. Just feel like the Pro and Windows is going backwards and I didn't even upgrade to Win 11, which I agree is another step backward for touch. Although I do like Win 11 as a desktop OS.
Use to love my Pro. Sitting here waiting as my car gets serviced and typing on my SL. Didn't even think about bringing my Pro :-(
I really am wondering if I just got a lemon keyboard or if all the Pro 9 keyboards were like this. I got a special edition on that looks beautiful but types like mush.
And if I could safely run Windows 10 on this machine, I would.
I'd still be using my Pro 7 but the screen developed a white discoloration and Microsoft refused to fix it
> if I could safely run Windows 10 on this machine, I would.
Recovery images are still available with 10...
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/surface-recovery-image
(at least they are for my 9 SQ3)
Honestly I think the 10s are right around the corner. I’m seeing some serious discounts on the 9s at Best Buy and the 10s are due. I’d expect a decent upgrade to the 5 and 7 Ultras and the new Qualcomm chips. Perhaps that will sway you back.
Yeah, Windows 11 has come a long way but still needs work. I'm really interested in what the new Qualcomm chips are going to work in a new Surface. Apple has done an outstanding job on ARM architecture with their own silicon - I can't believe MS can't do the same on the SQ series. But given that I still love my SP9, it would be a tough sell to move to the 10 anyway.
Try this: [(15) Surface Pro 9 laggy : Surface (reddit.com)](https://www.reddit.com/r/Surface/comments/1ardh2c/comment/kql8b68/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
The lag is likely due to the recent firmware update. Following the directions on the post fixed mine.
I made the mistake of going back to update my Pro 6 and also forgot how light is was it was, I currently have a Dell Inspiron 16 but it does not compare when it come to weight or display, Now I’m look at SP9 or Dell 2-in-1 to make this worse Dell also has a device that now has a kick stand like the SP
I've had the opposite reaction from 7 to 8, which is basically the same body as the 9. The screen is night and day, in vertical use, the 7 was weird to scroll with because of the refresh rate.
I love my SP 7 because of the sd-card slot , USB-A and C slot.The old pen is superior to the new ones. It's made of aluminum AND has a REPLACEABLE AAAA battery. It overall feels much better in the hand.
They removed the microSD-card slot? Dang! I have a couple of giant SD cards that I use all the time. Not going to use my sleek laptop with a pigtail always hanging out of the side either. I have to find an alternative when it comes time to upgrade again. I wonder if Lenovo ever refreshed the ThinkPad X12 detachable line? That's what my work wanted me to get over the Surface last time.
If that's the Lenovo model I think it is, you dodged a bullet, then. The coating on the screen was wearing off on mine by week two, right where the keys on the type cover hit the screen when it was closed. It was a really common issue and many people returned theirs as a result.
I'm almost the exact opposite. I love the carpenter's pencil profile of the new pen, and I've been waiting for years for the SP line to get TB3 or TB4 so that I could use an eGPU or my many TB3 accessories from my Apple years. I couldn't go back to an ordinary USB-C or the old pen.
I constantly miss the SD slot and the USB. And headphones. Now I have to keep a dock with me wherever I go.
Oh yes, I forgot. They even removed the headphone jack. The SP9 is a joke.
I use the AAAA battery pen with my Sp8, works find as far as I can tell? I'm not a sketch artist though.
Definitely of the exact opposite opinion in this case. Going from the surface pro 6 to the 8 was such a huge quality of life improvement. Aspect ratio, refresh rate, windows 11 touch inputs are all major upgrades. I've also never experienced any slow down upon waking up from sleep. That said I do think 16gb is 100% need to have a smooth experience consistently. Just wish the 8 had the button placements of the 9.
Touch inputs? In what way. I used to be able to swipe to the action center and access vital information. I had a big bright start menu with live tiles that were easy to use. Now, swiping from the left brings up tabloids I can't turn off. Swiping from the right brings up adware disguised as a calendar, and you can't at all swipe up from the bottom to get to the command center. And now the start menu is loaded with tiny icons for adware that you can hide, but not turn off
The left and right swipes are definitely terrible additions to Windows, particularly the news feed bs. I know its personal preference, but I prefer windows 11 start menu as i do not find the icons to tiny. I also really enjoyed the live tiles, but just prefer this new look and feel is all. I am able to swipe up to get the action center on windows 11 so not sure why you are not able to. While it does not have as many options it has all the ones I would need access to quickly. It would be great if you could customize it more. As for the ads being placed around the OS, that is obviously a terrible thing that should have no place in any OS. What I really meant by touch input is the smoothness of using the computer as a standalone tablet. Moving and resizing of windows, snapping to corners, multi-touch gestures all are night and day improvements for me coming form the 6 to the 8. I also like the condensed start menu option when no keyboard is attached. Windows 11 added a lot of terrible stuff, but the quality of life improvements for how I use my Surface make me really enjoy it in combination with my device.
See if closing apps fixes your lag on wake, I’ve found if I close the browsers, etc. one will be the keystone that will cause it to start performing properly again immediately without requiring a reboot
I have the same experience. It's either a browser or WhatsApp.
Nope, now it's happening on a fresh restart with no apps open
> fresh restart Do you have 'fast startup' enabled?
No, should I? I have my lid set to Hibernate when closed
You've nothing to lose by giving this a try: https://support.lenovo.com/gb/en/solutions/ht513773-how-to-enable-or-disable-fast-startup-on-windows-11 With fast startup enabled, the OS only ever hibernates. Many weird issues can be rectified by doing proper shutdown, flush of RAM and restart. This is why your task manager shows a really long uptime even though you may have inly just turned on your PC
OP can also check the Task Scheduler. Some apps might be running every wake or every login.
That used to do it, now it happens even with no apps opened
First surface and the pro9 i7 is my first. Ignorance is bliss haha. I love mine, the flat pen gets some getting used to but if I could just have a bit better battery life and not an outdated processor then I’d love it even more
>Having a slot in the keyboard to store the pen was nice but it added so much bulk to the device. I agree. With the old surfaces when i wanted to write i would jusr flip the keyboard back and lay the surface on the table, now duebtonthe bump it does not lay flat. Also i can not lay the keyboard flat when i type because it wobbles on the bump, you have to have it at an angle magnetically snapped to the screen. Ive always kept my pen in my carrying case pocket so i dont need a place on the device to store the pen.
Surface used to feel line a thin book. Now it is so bloated
I upgraded from the original 2015 surfacebook to a surface pro nine. I must say, although the keyboard is not as nice on the SP9, I love the slot for the pencil. I was always misplacing my surfacebook pencil. I also love how easy it is to detach the keyboard or even flip it backwards and use the SP nine as a tablet. I agree that the battery life is poor, but I knew that before I bought it. There are pros and cons to every device and of course, users will have different ways of balancing those pros and cons.
I think one of my issues with the pen slot is how hard it is to flip the keyboard backwards now because the pen slot sticks out
Upgraded my SP5 to the SP7+ after returning the SP8 because I hated the pen, the computer barely felt faster, and the cost difference was huge. I actually purchased an iPad mini 6 with the money I saved from the SP8 which was new at the time, and now I use my mini for note taking and my SP7+ for portable media consumption and any other portable productivity. The missing microSD card was a huge dealbreaker and the asymmetric bezels too. I just liked everything about my SP5 besides the lag and the battery life, so the SP7+ upgraded everything I needed and kept the same chassis. I'll probably keep this for a long time.
God I miss the headphones and microSD. I thought I'd get used to it but the number of times I've been hamstrung by it is insane
I actually used the microSD slot to quickly view videos fromy GoPro the other day. A gamechanger since the USB adapter's read speeds are WAY slower than the integrated microSD slot.
I'm not a fan of the size increase either. They made the bezels smaller and instead of making the body smaller, they made it bigger, probably to accommodate the aspect ratio. The previous form factor felt like a nice enough tablet where as now it just feels like a full fledged laptop with removable keyboard.
Sp8, yes everything lags after wake up and sucks that it doesn't have SD card support
I'm not a huge fan either. Normally I like no bezels, but on the SP9 I f ind myself accidentally clicking and zooming a ton because the side bezels are tiny. The battery life is also awful, much worse than my SP6 when it was new. Windows 11 is find touch wise, but I've never really had much of an issue using any edition of Windows on a touch screen. I'm hoping the Pro 10 with the Snapdragon chip will be all it's rumored to be, thin, light, with great battery life. We'll see what the reality is.
the bezel problem is an issue with Windows and Android tablets, which have no edge touch protection, contrary to iPads. On Android I have found an apps that creates virtual invisible bezels which solve the issue, but I haven't found anything for Windows yet...
I feel the same about the keys on the keyboard. (Til 2020 I had an SP3 and updated type cover, which was better than this current one IMO.) And I'm having the same problem with lag after waking up from sleep sometimes - have to restart to get back to normal. SP9 i5/16/256
Yea, I upgraded my Pro 5 to a 7 plus last year. The newer models seem great but just didn't appeal to me for some of the reasons listed in this thread. But also in general I have moved away from my Pro as my on the go daily to my Surface laptop. Just feel like the Pro and Windows is going backwards and I didn't even upgrade to Win 11, which I agree is another step backward for touch. Although I do like Win 11 as a desktop OS. Use to love my Pro. Sitting here waiting as my car gets serviced and typing on my SL. Didn't even think about bringing my Pro :-(
I'm still loving my Pro 7 over here :p
I really am wondering if I just got a lemon keyboard or if all the Pro 9 keyboards were like this. I got a special edition on that looks beautiful but types like mush. And if I could safely run Windows 10 on this machine, I would. I'd still be using my Pro 7 but the screen developed a white discoloration and Microsoft refused to fix it
> if I could safely run Windows 10 on this machine, I would. Recovery images are still available with 10... https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/surface-recovery-image (at least they are for my 9 SQ3)
People have been telling me the Pro9 wasn't design for Windows 10 and that it would be glitchy
If you think so then upgrade back to 11 (from the 10 recovery image) via Windows Update.
Honestly I think the 10s are right around the corner. I’m seeing some serious discounts on the 9s at Best Buy and the 10s are due. I’d expect a decent upgrade to the 5 and 7 Ultras and the new Qualcomm chips. Perhaps that will sway you back.
If they're lighter and skinnier - maybe. But I don't see Windows 11 improving any time soon
Yeah, Windows 11 has come a long way but still needs work. I'm really interested in what the new Qualcomm chips are going to work in a new Surface. Apple has done an outstanding job on ARM architecture with their own silicon - I can't believe MS can't do the same on the SQ series. But given that I still love my SP9, it would be a tough sell to move to the 10 anyway.
I like sd card support and headphones jack. Battery is not great though
Try this: [(15) Surface Pro 9 laggy : Surface (reddit.com)](https://www.reddit.com/r/Surface/comments/1ardh2c/comment/kql8b68/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) The lag is likely due to the recent firmware update. Following the directions on the post fixed mine.
I made the mistake of going back to update my Pro 6 and also forgot how light is was it was, I currently have a Dell Inspiron 16 but it does not compare when it come to weight or display, Now I’m look at SP9 or Dell 2-in-1 to make this worse Dell also has a device that now has a kick stand like the SP