My road test of the Microsoft Surface Pro 4 at MBFWA 2016

Photogrpahy: Blogger’s Boyfriend

When Microsoft invited me to join the #SurfaceSquad (along with the lovely girls at They All Hate Us, Miss Gunner and Twice Blessed) to road test the new Surface Pro 4 as my key device during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia, I was at first a little skeptical of just how much I would make use of a tablet during such a busy week. I must confess to never having had much enthusiasm for tablets, which, in my circles, are used predominantly to watch movies on long flights. But mentioning the prospect to my much more technologically savvy boyfriend, the excitement in his voice, as he gushed about the never before paralleled virtues of the Surface Pro 4 as a laptop and tablet in one, made me realise what kind of opportunity I really had on my hands.

As I spent the week at MBFWA with my trusty Surface Pro 4, I learned that it was a lightweight and incredibly powerful portable device that met the diverse array of needs of a creative, who travels and has hefty demands on their digital devices. To illustrate how attached I’ve become to this device, here are the 5 ways that the Surface Pro 4 saved my bacon at MBFWA 2016.

1 The mandolin slicer of digital devices

The minimalist in me is always looking for ‘the’ of everything. I used to see tablets as the garlic press of the digital devices world, whereas I much prefer the versatile mandolin slicer. When it comes to laptops and tablets, a true mandolin slicer has always been a bit of a myth in my eyes. I figure that something always has to give, so I generally prioritise the processing power of a device, while sacrificing practicalities such as weight and size. However, I quickly learned that the Surface Pro 4 really lives up to its hype as a true 2 in 1 laptop slash tablet. It has all the benefits of a tablet, weighing less than 1 kg (766g to be exact) and has the ability to take photos and videos on the go (this baby packs got an 8 mega-pixel camera), write notes (with the handy Surface Pen), as well as the benefit of a laptop with full functionality to run resource intensive programs to edit and publish content. The Surface Pen also allows writing directly on webpages on the unique Microsoft Edge browser. Having the ability to do everything I need with one device really saved my bacon this fashion week.

2 My Light travelling dreams came true

In the lead up and during MBFWA 2016, in total, Blogger’s Boyfriend and I boarded 3 flights and lodged at 4 hotels. As my laptop is too big and heavy to really be considered portable, I’ve long become resigned to the fact that this conflicts with my dearest wish to travel as light as a feather. But the Surface Pro 4 has given me new hope. It weighs less than 1 kg, and yet can realistically run all my essential applications, including Adobe Light Room, Photoshop and Indesign. I would never dream of carrying my laptop in my bag all day (I mean, we don’t want to stretch that Italian leather out of shape, do we?). But with the Surface Pro 4, not only was I just casually slipping it into my handbag and forget it was there, but I also found myself carrying it around comfortably under my arm all day long.

3 Anywhere, anytime 

During fashion week, there’s always the little bits of downtime between shows and Ubering around when I wished I could get some work done, but I’d always make the logistical judgement call to leave my bulky laptop at the hotel. It’s not just the weight of a decently powerful laptop, but also the fact that I need all my little accessories to work effectively, in particular, my tablet and stylus. Enter the Surface Pro 4, which is optimised to be used in conjunction with a powerful stylus (the Surface Pen). I can now do the most involved tasks anywhere. With tight deadlines from various clients during fashion week, the ability to whip out my Surface at any time and get down to serious work was incredibly freeing. Of course, that 9 hour battery life is also a life saver.

4 ‘Impossible’ to lose accessories

A scatter brain such as myself really shouldn’t be allowed to travel with a miscellany of hardware, which I am forever leaving in taxis and hotels rooms: a charger here, a mouse there. I have a feeling that perhaps the Microsoft Surface Pro 4 was designed by someone after my own heart. The charger, Type Cover and stylus are all magnetically secured and slim enough that they can all be slipped into my handbag. As for the stylus, which is always the first to go, it surprisingly stayed clipped in place, regardless of my characteristically man handling of my belongings.

5 Serious style

Now, this is where I play right into that shallow ‘fashion person’ stereotype. The Surface Pro 4 is certainly one sleek and handsome piece of hardware, and, along with the beautifully designed Type Cover and sleek Surface Pen, I can imagine people choosing this product based on aesthetics alone. Unlike other awkward covers for tablets that involve some kind of clip or insert action, the Surface Type Cover connects magnetically, seamlessly, to the Surface Pro 4 and really look like it belongs there. As for functionality, the keyboard and touch pad’s responsiveness was really impressive. It also serves as the one tablet cover that I can seriously describe as ‘stylish’. The minimal chic grey felt finish was an uncompromising accessory for my MBFWA 2016 wardrobe, and I was happily carrying it under my arm with the same swag as a designer clutch.

Find out more about the Microsoft Surface Pro 4 on the Microsoft Website, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also read a really good in depth review at CNET.

Also check out my visual diary of a day at MBFWA on Grazia, featuring the Surface Pro 4.

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