The Surface looks little like a notebook. It doesn't sell with a keyboard and trackpad. What you get is a slate with a kickstand and the digital equivalent of a pen. This hardly sounds like a device that could replace a computer, but it unequivocally is the notebook of tomorrow.

Keyboard cover is fantastic; Notebook-grade hardware; with processors up to Intel core i7; Optimised for Windows 10; Rich 12.3-inch display

Only one USB port; Keyboard cover is an optional extra

Microsoft's Surface division is under siege. In the four years after the Redmond giant got the idea of making the world's best convertible, it has had the field almost entirely to itself.

The tablet is pre-loaded with the Windows 10 operating system and it is just 8.4mm thick. Despite this slender design it still manages to fit a USB 3.0 port and a Mini Display port so connectivity isn't an issue – although it would have been nice to have a second USB port.

It's a tough decision to make. Both the iPad Pro and Surface Pro 4 are great tablets, with very little between them. Sure, on paper the Microsoft Surface Pro 4 looks better with larger storage options and up to 16GB of RAM, but the iPad Pro offers the complete ‘Pro' experience no matter how much you...

I bought this version of the Surface Pro 4 (128 i5) at the recommendation of a MIcrosoft store employee. I explained my daily workload (editing photos, while keeping multiple tabs open in chrome and streaming music) and he said that the $ model could handle it with ease.

Even if you don't plan on using the Surface Pro 4 as a tablet, its slim, bag-friendly dimensions, sturdy build quality and bright, pixel-packed screen make it an impressive laptop replacement in its own right.

Size and weight; Display; Type Cover

Type cover sold seperately; Intel Core m3 at entry level; Scuffs easily

The Surface Pro 4 is a powerful, secure and flexible device with a fantastic display. It doesn't last as long as we'd like in terms of battery life, but the blend of high-end hardware and enterprise-grade software should have Apple and others very worried indeed.

Exceptional display; mostly great performance; USB 3.0; slimmer but still tough build; quality peripherals; sharp cameras; Windows 10 Pro

Mid-range model can struggle with demanding editing tasks; battery life shorter than hoped; separate ￡110 Type Cover

I already liked the Surface Pro 3 enough to have run out and bought one after reviewing it last year. The Surface Pro 4 is a step up, and it's going to be hard going back to using the Surface Pro 3 again.

With each iteration of Microsoft's Surface, the company comes closer to mastering the laptop/tablet hybrid product category it created back in 2012. Whether or not the Surface Pro 4 is…

Best Surface yet; Still the top/tablet hybrid device around; Windows 10 improves the Surface's user experience significantly; Type Cover 4 is a huge improvement over the Type Cover 3

The Surface Pro 4 is an incremental upgrade over the Surface Pro 3; Still awkward to use on a lap; Battery life lags behinds MacBook and some ultrabook laptops

Microsoft makes it actually pretty easy for the customer: The prices for all versions of the Surface Pro 4 are quite high, the m3 version (here in review) is almost as expensive as the comparable Core i5 model with a 128 GB SSD.

brightness and contrast; restrained fan control; improved Type Cover; reworked Surface Pen (inlcuded; sophisticated build quality and appealing design; high system performance; surprisingly powerful integrated GPU; no throttling in practice; much improved rear camera

comparatively short battery runtimes, only 1x USB 3.0; no USB-C, no maintainability (clean the fan?, very warm surfaces under load, high price