Microsoft’s Surface Pro 9 is down to $749.99 at Best Buy. That price is the lowest I’ve ever seen and brings the impressive 2-in-1 to a more affordable price bracket. Microsoft announced the Surface Pro 10 for business recently and has a new Surface Pro 10 on the way, but a discount this large makes the Surface Pro 9 the best bargain you can get on a Surface Pro.
Surface Pro 9 review highlights
You don’t have to read through much of our Surface Pro 9 review to see that the PC is an excellent device (though the whole piece is worth a read). The Surface Pro 9 earned a perfect 5 out of 5 and was called “a decade of form factor perfection.” Its design, performance, and new color options earned high marks and its only drawbacks were that the Type Cover is sold separately and that “battery life could always be better.” The current Surface Pro 9 deal doesn’t include the keyboard, but it slashes enough off the price that you could buy one separately.
“The Surface Pro 9 is excellent in almost every way,” said our Senior Editor Zac Bowden. “It’s so good, in fact, that I think it’s the best bit of hardware Microsoft has ever released. It’s better than the Surface Laptop and it’s better than the Surface Studio. Dare I say, it’s better than the Surface Duo.”
The Surface Pro 9 runs on a 12th Gen Intel Core processor, though an ARM-powered model is also available. The particular model on sale is powered by a 12th Gen Intel Core i5. Intel’s 12th generation of mobile chips were a nice bump up from the 11th Gen, making the Surface Pro 9 a powerful device for productivity.
Bowden was quite effusive in his praise of the Surface Pro 9. The device was so good it changed his stance on the entire line of PCs:
“I never used to be a fan of the Surface Pro line, but that all changed with the Surface Pro 9. This PC is amazing. I love the display. I love the design. I love the premium chassis. I love the Type Cover. The only thing I dislike is the battery life, which could be better. Almost everything about the Surface Pro 9 is perfect.”
Surface Pro 9 vs Surface Pro 10
Somewhat confusingly, there are two Surface Pro 10 devices that will launch in 2024. Microsoft already announced the Intel-powered Surface Pro 10 for business. That PC is largely a chip refresh of the Surface Pro 9, though there are some handy improvements for professional users, such as a built-in NFC reader. Unless you need the latest Intel CPU in your PC or a business-specific feature exclusive to the newer model, the Surface Pro 9 is a better value than the Surface Pro 10 for business.
Bowden said “DON’T buy the new Surface Pro 10 or Surface Laptop 6 — Microsoft has better hardware just around the corner. I’d extend that warning to say don’t buy the Surface Pro 10 for business just to get the latest processor from Intel. A discounted Surface Pro 9 is a better buy for most people.
The bigger competition for the Surface Pro 9 will be in its non-business successor, the Surface Pro 10. Microsoft is expected to announce that new 2-in-1 next month. The Surface Pro 10 looks like it will be the largest generation-on-generation refresh we’ve seen in years for a Surface Pro.
The biggest difference between the Surface Pro 10 and previous Surface Pro devices is that the new hardware will run on a Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite-based processor. The Surface Pro 10 will also have a new haptic touchpad and an updated range of ports. Microsoft is also reportedly planning OLED display options for the Surface Pro 10.
