Surface Pro 3

If there were a few takeaways at CES 2017 last week, it would be that cars are the new darlings of the tech industry, that Amazon Alexa is taking over the world, and that laptops are becoming tablets or tablets are becoming laptops - laptops and tablets are becoming one. Whichever angle you look at it, the lines separating these two forms of portable computing have become even more muddled, with detachables and convertibles sporting pens and tablets sporting keyboards.

As it seems to be a growing trend, we take a look at three of the most popular laptop/tablet hybrids, the Microsoft Surface Pro 3, the 9.7-inch Apple iPad Pro, and the new Lenovo Yoga Book, to see how they fare against each other in the "tablet that can replace your laptop" category.

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Is this finally the end of the Surface Pro 3’s woes? Will owners finally be able to move on? One would certainly hope so, but we’ll keep our fingers crossed nonetheless. Microsoft has just rolled out a firmware upgrade that should, hopefully, end all battery problems for the now “deprecated” Surface tablet, which has irked owners to no small extent. But perhaps even better, the company has changed its previous stance regarding out-of-warranty exchanges and has decided to refund those owners as well.

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Batteries on mobile devices are becoming a hot (sometimes literally) these days. On the one hand, that could help hasten the development of newer, safer, and more reliable power sources. On the other hand, it infuriates and worries consumers to no end. Even before the Galaxy Note 7’s battery fiasco, Surface Pro 3 owners were already up in arms about their own problems. But while a firmware update did seemingly fix the issue for those affected by it, it may have inadvertently trigger another, perhaps more debilitating, bug for others.

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Surface Pro 3 users have been getting pretty tense about the lives of their tablet/laptop hybrids over battery issues that somewhat mysteriously appeared just after the device reached the end of its warranty period. Some even already had theirs shipped for an out-of-warranty replacement, which, of course, costs no small amount of money. Hopefully, they can now breathe a sigh of relief as Microsoft has finally released the firmware update that will fix the issue once and for all. Or at least that’s the promise.

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For more than a few weeks now, Surface Pro 3 tablet owners have been suffering from a rapidly draining battery issue. Back in July, Microsoft told users that this was not a failure on the hardware's part, and that they should continue updating to the latest software version. Now the company has reiterated this message, saying that it has confirmed the battery problem can be fixed with a software patch which is currently in testing, and that users don't need to pursue hardware replacements.

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"Stay Calm and Keep Updating." That seems to be the message that Microsoft, at long last, is giving baffled and irate Surface Pro 3 owners regarding their concern about the suddenly degraded battery life of their beloved 2-in-1 tablets. Rather than a cunning marketing ploy to get those to upgrade to, say, a Surface Pro 4 or even a Surface Book after their warranties run out, Microsoft simply claims it is a simple case of a software bug and that it can simply be fixed with an update. Whenever that update comes.

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Microsoft's Surface devices may be some of the best tablet options available, but the company is still issuing a recall in the US over concerns the AC power adapters that shipped with some Surface Pro models pose risks of fire and electric shock. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission said on Tuesday that roughly 2.25 million power cords were involved, all having been sold before March 15th, 2015 with the Surface Pro, Surface Pro 2, and Surface Pro 3 models.

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Let the clone wars begin! Or something like that. Despite Dell (and HP) entering into a partnership with Microsoft to sell the latter's Surface Pro 3 tablets to former's enterprise customers, it seems that Dell also has plans to try to one up Microsoft in that category too. A new XPS 12 2-in-1 was recently leaked sporting the same design sense that has made Microsoft's tablet both popular and unpopular at the same time. This follows Lenovo's more official revelation of the MIIX 700 with exactly the same basic design.

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Microsoft and Dell have just announced a new partnership that aims to bring Windows 10 and the Surface tablet to more enterprise users. Starting in October, this arrangement will see Dell selling Microsoft’s Surface Pro devices and accessories to enterprises in the US and Canada, along with additional services and support. The surfaces sold through Dell will also come with options for Dell Services, which includes hardware warranties, damage service, managed deployment, and configuration services.

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If the 12-inch Surface Pro 3 isn't big enough for you, worry not. Rumors are now pointing to the possibility that Microsoft might unveil a variety of Surface Pro 4 hybrids in October, with models differing not only in internal specs like before. This time, there might also be differences in sizes, with 13- and 14- inch variants said to also be available. This makes Microsoft just one of the latest big names to join the growing list of device makers trying to revitalize the tablet market by stretching their sizes further.

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Microsoft has quietly slipped a new Surface Pro 3 configuration into its line-up, amid speculation that the Surface Pro 4 will never see the light of day. While you might expect the new model to lower the cost-of-entry to the Windows tablet with its detachable keyboard and pen input, in fact it slots neatly into the midst of the existing range, with a Core i7 processor like the flagship Surface Pro 3 versions, but with a compromise on storage.

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With the impending release of Windows 10, Microsoft's operating system is becoming interesting again. Or curious at the very least. But if you're looking around for a decent Windows tablet for work and for play, you don't have to wait for Windows 10 to come out to get one. And it doesn't matter how much you're willing to spend on a purchase. There is a surprisingly varied selection of Windows tablets out there. To help get you started, here are three of the top tablets in our eyes, one for each size of your wallet.

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