Microsoft Surface Pro 8

An excellent step forward, with an all-new design and faster internals, but the high price is a major barrier

- JACKIE THOMAS

PRICE Core i7/16GB/256GB, £1,249 (£1,499 inc VAT) from microsoft.com/uk

The Surface Pro 8 is the biggest change to the Surface Pro lineup years, bringing the design improvements we've been begging for, as well as improved performance. It truly feels like a new generation - just in time for the launch of Windows 11.

The most obvious change is the new graphite colour, which looks incredible. The chassis has also been refined, with rounded edges that are more comfortable to hold for long periods than the previous flat sides with sharper corners.

But what makes the Surface Pro 8 look like a new device rather than a relic from the early 2010s are its slim bezels. This allows for an 11% larger display, with a 13in 2,880 x 1,920 panel that places it right in the middle of 1440p and 4K. It's absolutely gorgeous, and made all the more so by a 120Hz refresh rate. It's configured to 60Hz out of the box, mainly in the interest of boosting battery life, but you can enable it at any time by heading into the display settings.

The display hits 104% of the sRGB spectrum and 72% of DCI-P3, with an average Delta E of o.23 and a peak brightness of 467cd/m². Not only do those results make for joyful consumption of films, but that level of accuracy will help artists looking to create on the Pro. The new Slim Pen 2 is a joy to use on it, with a tactile feel that was previously lacking. Sound quality can't match the visuals, with clear highs but lost basslines, but they're better than we hoped for given the space available.