With a super power efficient chip, connectivity, and all of the requisite sensors the Surface Pro has the foundation to be a proper mobile device. So can I actually use it like a mobile device?
I organized my phone tasks to the following categories and will rank them as the following compared to my iPhone 13 mini: Not possible, worse, passable, equivalent, better.
- Summary
- Messaging & Calling
- Maps & Navigation
- Email & Productivity
- Audio, Video, & Social MEDIA
- Miscellaneous apps
Summary
If you give all of the scores a value from -2 to 2, where 0 is passable then the 5G ARM Surface Pro could be considered a little more than passable with 0.3 average across the categories.
For a personal anecdote, I took my Surface on a trip to Boston as my laptop-class device and it performed incredibly well! The combination of cellular connectivity, instant on, and long battery life meant I wasn’t asking for Wi-Fi passwords or tethered to a power outlet. I was on my device constantly including during short Lyft rides to take notes, write longer emails, and chat with the team.
The bus ride to the airport, time at the gate, and on the plane I was on my device and it didn’t skip a beat. I was able to take calls, send complete emails, and develop my apps with Visual Studio! Battery life was never a problem and the Qualcomm chip kept up with all of the tasks I threw at it.
Messaging & Calling
Average experience grade: 0.4, Passable
| App | App Type | Mobile Windows Experience |
| iMessage | via Phone Link | Worse |
| Phone | via Phone Link | Worse |
| Slack | Web app | Better |
| Native app | Equivalent | |
| Discord | Electron app | Equivalent |
| Facebook Messenger | Web app | Passable |
| Teams | Electron app | Equivalent |
Maps & Navigation
Average experience grade: -1.0, Worse
| App | App Type | Mobile Windows Experience |
| Google Maps | Web app | Worse, no live navigation |
| Lyft | Web app | Just sends a link to use app on phone |
| Uber | Electron app | Equivalent |
| Transit | N/A | Not possible |
| Windows Maps | Native | Passable, routing and turn-by-turn does work… but is kind of buggy |
| Bike/scooter rental apps | N/A | Not possible |
Email & Productivity
Average experience grade: 1.9, Better
| App | App Type | Mobile Windows Experience |
| Outlook | Web app | Better |
| Gmail | Web app | Better |
| Slack | Web app | Better |
| GitHub | Web app | Better |
| Office | Native | Better |
| Shapr3D | Native | Better |
| Visual Studio | Native | Better |
| VS Code | Electron app | Better |
| Ink Calendar & Journal | Native | Better |
| Figma | Electron app | Better |
| DaVinci Resolve | Native | Better |
| Photos | Native | Equivalent |
Audio, Video, & Social MEDIA
Average experience grade: 0.4, Passable
| App | App Type | Mobile Windows Experience |
| YouTube | Web app | Equivalent |
| Spotify | Electron app | Equivalent |
| Sonos | Web app | Equivalent |
| Web app | Passable | |
| Weather | Native | Equivalent |
| Mastodon | Web app | Equivalent |
| Web app | Equivalent | |
| Strava | Web app | Passable, good for routes and planning, but cannot track workouts |
| Web app | Equivalent | |
| Web app | Equivalent | |
| Overcast | Web app | Passable |
| Libro.fm | Web app | Worse |
| Local radio station | Web app | Equivalent |
| Marco Polo | N/A | Not possible |
Miscellaneous apps
Average experience grade: -0.2, Worse
| App | App Type | Mobile Windows Experience |
| Instacart | Web app | Equivalent |
| Seek | N/A | Not possible |
| Authenticator apps | N/A | Not possible |
| Banking apps | Web app | Equivalent |
| Flight Aware | Web app | Equivalent |
JoeFin Apps 