Since the first Surface RT released in 2012, Microsoft's ambition has been to build a tablet that can replace your laptop. This was always a dangerous way to position the systems, because it drew comparisons with real laptops. Microsoft didn't even shy away from those comparisons, explicitly comparing the Surface Pro 3 to the contemporaneous MacBook Air.

In terms of size, weight, price, and performance, the comparison made some sense, but it was double-edged. While it highlighted the Surface Pro 3's undoubted advantages?better screen, touch and stylus input, tablet form factor?it also made clear the Surface Pro 3's big deficit relative to the laptop: it's not actually very good on your lap.

This is either crippling or irrelevant. There are plenty of laptop users?and I used to be one?who need a laptop because they want a machine that is portable, easily moved from desktop to coffee shop to kitchen table. In this role, the Surface Pro 3 had few real issues. Its footprint was a little larger than a similarly sized laptop due to the kickstand, and its touchpad remained a weak spot. But as a package it worked well: the Surface Pro 3 was a flexible, capable machine that was effective as a tablet but offered much of the productivity of a laptop.