The Surface Pro 4 is Microsoft’s most compelling 2-in-1 tablet yet

Microsoft’s Surface lineup, like Google’s Nexus devices, serves as a physical paragon of the operating system it runs—Windows 10 incarnate, an avatar of what’s possible when designers deeply intermingle hardware with software. It’s appropriate, then, that the Surface Pro 4 that Microsoft revealed on Tuesday is more of a Windows 10-focused refinement of the last-gen Surface Pro 3 than anything else, in much the same way that Windows 10 keeps Windows 8 in its heart, but tweaks the formula for desktop sensibilities. That’s no knock against the Surface Pro 4, though. Microsoft nailed 2-in-1 design with the Surface Pro 3, finally realizing the Surface ideal’s core vision. With a faster, more power-efficient Intel Skylake processor, a 12.3-inch display, and more, the Surface Pro 4 is easily the most compelling slate Microsoft’s ever released—and strong competition for the Surface clones that both Apple and Google revealed over the past month. “This is the thinnest, most powerful Core PC ever shipped, by far,” crowed Panos Panay, the Surface honcho and Microsoft’s new Devices boss. “Nothing even comes close.”