Microsoft’s finally unveiled the second-ish generation of its atypical Surface Pro X. But, with the device looking all but identical to the original you may justifiably be wondering if the new Surface Pro X 2020 comes bundled with an S Pen Stylus.
At first glance you’d definitely assume so given the promotional material Microsoft’s released, which shows the Surface Pro X with a keyboard cover and pen. But that doesn’t tell the true story answering the question:
Does the Surface Pro X come with a pen?
Despite most marketing showing it with a stylus, the S Pen is an optional extra for the Surface Pro X that will cost you an extra £129.99.
This is the same price as the official Microsoft Signature keyboard, and it makes the new Surface Pro X a fairly expensive luxury, with the base tablet retailing for $999 (roughly £770) when it launches later this year.
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The new Surface Pro X 2020 is the much needed follow up to the original X-series which launched last year.
The device is all but identical to its predecessor outside of its use of a new more powerful Arm-based SQ2 processor. The new CPU is reportedly much more powerful than the chip used in the original Surface Pro X, though this won’t necessarily fix our biggest issue with the device.
For those that missed it, X is Microsoft’s Arm based Surface. It aims to offer users a compact, premium convertible with industry leading battery life. Most other Surface devices run using Intel chips, which in our experience offer more power, but less battery life. This was the case when we compared the Intel Galaxy Book S vs the Qualcomm Galaxy Book S.
Related: Surface Pro X 2020 vs Surface Pro X 2019
The only downside is that, despite good work by Microsoft, Windows and Arm still aren’t terribly well optimised. Most apps outside of the Windows Store aren’t set to with Arm architecture chips. This means you may not be able to run many creative suites, or non-Microsoft Office apps on the device, which could be a deal breaker for many buyers.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
