SKETCHBOOK PRO SURFACE PRO 4 WINDOWS 10
SKETCHBOOK PRO SURFACE PRO 4 PROFESSIONAL
SKETCHBOOK PRO SURFACE PRO 4 WINDOWS

Whether you see this as a merit or flaw is a personal preference – though it’s worth setting out what those differences are in reality. The key difference between the Surface Pro 7 and the iPad, of course, is that Microsoft’s tablet runs Windows. For a device aimed at creative professionals, we’d expect at least 90% – and 100% should be possible. This is disappointing as this is the same as the previous two generations – going back to 2017’s singularly named Surface Pro (which we’d probably refer to as the Surface Pro 5, as it came between the Surface Pro 4 and 6).

SKETCHBOOK PRO SURFACE PRO 4 WINDOWS

Testing with a DataColor SpyderX Elite calibrator, we found that the Surface Pro 7 could output 98% of the sRGB colour space but only 79% of AdobeRGB, so you’ll see less subtle shading in gradients and the like than on the iPad, MacBook Pro or a high-end Windows laptop such as the Dell XPS 15 or Razer Blade 15. It’s the colour gamut and accuracy that’s the issue. It’s not the resolution – at 2,736 x 1,824 it’s a smidge less dense than the 12.9-inch iPad Pro at 2,732 x 2,048 – nor the shape the 3:2 aspect ratio is less restrictive to draw on than a widescreen display. The Surface Pro 7’s screen is one of its weakest features. The level of pressure sensitivity is the same as the Apple Pencil – 4,096 levels – but half that of Wacom’s latest pens (8,192). How good is the Surface Pro 7 for drawing?ĭrawing on the screen is a similar experience to that on the iPad Pro – pressure and tilt affect your stroke as you’d expect, though there’s no rotation support as you get with Wacom tablets. If you’re used to a Wacom pen, it’ll still feel a bit lightweight – though the same is true of the Apple Pencil.Īpple’s second-generation Pencil is still the best tablet stylus on the market – both in terms of balance and style – but the Surface Pen is a worthy competitor. The current pen is much improved over previous generations, heavier and better balanced than the old biro-like stylus.

The Surface Pen has been one of the most criticised elements of the Microsoft’s Surface offering over the years – including by me. These are cheap and readily available from the likes of Amazon – but tricky to find from local stores if it runs out at the wrong time. Unlike the iPad Pro, the Pen doesn’t charge wirelessly – it uses an AAAA battery instead (like AAA but smaller). You can read my hands-on with the Surface Pro X, and we should have a review unit soon. This is something Microsoft has attempted to address with its ‘concept car’ reinvention of the Surface, the Surface Pro X – which has a slot inside the keyboard to hold a drip pen-style flattened stylus as well as a mobile phone processor to slim it down even further. The Pen attaches to the side of the Surface magnetically, but as with the iPad Pro it falls off easily in your bag or even when carrying the tablet to meetings unless you keep a firm hold on the pen as well as the tablet – and I generally found myself putting the Pen in my jacket or a separate pocket in my bag when travelling anywhere. Pull off the keyboard and leave the kick-stand out and it balances nicely for binging on Abstract or Drag Race on Netflix.įlatten it down and pull out the Surface Pen and you’re ready for sketching, drawing or painting. Attach a Type Cover keyboard-with-trackpad to the bottom and push out the kick stand from the back and it becomes a moderately comfortable laptop.

SKETCHBOOK PRO SURFACE PRO 4 WINDOWS 10

It’s an A4-ish tablet that runs Windows 10 with a thin bezel around a 12.3-inch screen. So what’s new about the Surface Pro 7? There are new chips and ports, but from the outside, not a lot. Microsoft’s tablet computer is also becoming an option for artists whose digital mark-making follows the process of traditional drawing and painting – artists who would currently be drawn to Apple’s iPad and apps such as Procreate – though this has less to do with the upgraded hardware but that Adobe has released a Windows version of its new painting app Fresco that’s only available for Surface tablets and Wacom’s MobileStudio Pro (as well as the iPad). It’s also a great tool for creative directors and designers for whom easy portability and the ability to draw are more important than the performance of a high-spec laptop such as Apple’s 16-inch MacBook Pro.

SKETCHBOOK PRO SURFACE PRO 4 PROFESSIONAL

The Surface Pro 7 is the creative hardware of choice for the Illustrator – and by this we mean professional vector artists and graphic designers whose main tool is Adobe Illustrator.

Sketchbook pro surface pro 4