Now that M$ gross annual revenue would rank as the 70th highest GDP among the 228 nations in the world, they could say “We’re as big as the government, so we’re here to help too!”
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Back up and running on the SP8 - and have to say I am already enjoying being back. So much so I thought about selling off the iPP 11, but think I’ll keep it for reading, FaceTime, and Duet Display (second screen for the SP8).
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If you ask for advance replacement via chat, you can hold onto the old unit while they send the replacement and then you just switch out the SSDs before sending off the old one.
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Thanks - I thought about that after I’d already erased the first unit and then they set up an advance return. Probably wouldn’t have swapped anyway because they (MS) were concerned it was a driver problem anyway. Best of all, I got the replacement in 72 hours from it being authorized - pretty cool in anybody’s book.
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DUET DISPLAY -
Wasn’t sure where to post this as a utility for Windows users, but it let’s you “Sidecar” an iPad to your Windows laptop:
It gives you a nice second display on the move (or as here on the lap tray). I have the resolution cranked up at 150% scaling (the largest choice) so the text is small but very sharp. Have to say I love it; may lower the resolution though and increase the text size. So far no impact on performance, but I’m using a SP8 i7 1185 and M1 iPad Pro, so if there were an impact it would be a worthless utility.
Strongly recommend using the USB-C charging cable that came with the iPad Pro - the Belkin I use with my SanDisk Extreme backup SSD sometimes connects and disconnects randomly.
PS - this is weighing heavily in my decision to keep the iPP11…
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Ewan Spence at Forbes is definitely an acquired taste (very opinionated - guess that’s why he reminds me of me), and he has an interesting analysis of the Surface Pro 8:
Microsoft’s Surface Pro 8 Redefines Tablet Computing… Again
His conclusion about the entire Surface portfolio of devices is interesting:
"That has to be balanced out by the cost. The Surface Pro 8 family is expensive. Once you add on the Signature Keyboard and Slim Pen 2 to get the full experience, you are drawing comparisons with high-end laptops and tablets - plus Apple’s iPad Pro family is lurking just over the horizon. Which is why Microsoft’s Surface Laptop and Surface Laptop Studio are important parts of the portfolio. They can take on the ‘regular’ duties of both a workhorse and a flagship laptop respectively.
That leaves the Surface Pro 8 to do what it does best. To be the computer that works away from the desk, that you can take out to work with in the field, that offers a premium experience backed up by the strength and flexibility of Windows 11."
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Indeed. I don’t disagree with his conclusion but once again I find myself annoyed by a “tech writer” feeling obligated to point out a negative and inventing one that doesn’t exist. From the article:
Where the Surface Pro 8 falls short of more traditional laptops, both from Microsoft and elsewhere, is in the GPU. The integrated Intel Iris Xe works well with day to day tasks, and handles itself solidly for media creation tasks, but it’s never going to match machines which offer the likes of the Nvidia RTX range. For a portable 2 in 1 though, the Xe fits the expected use cases with aplomb.
Except for a very few smaller gaming laptops (e.g. Razer Blade Stealth 13), 13” “traditional laptops” do not have dGPUs. You need to bump the size up to 14” before you start seeing them in non-gamer laptops (e.g. MSI Prestige 14). The writer should know better. 
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Do you guys/gals/she/her/him etc update your graphics driver?
My driver date is 23.07.2021.
FWIW we specifically with Surface devices always stick with the MS certified/provided driver. The primary reason is caution (perhaps paranoia) as MS more so than the rest of the OEMs makes “unique” tweaks via firmware to the chipsets they deploy in the surface lines.
It was most noticeable recently with the Surface Book 2 with NVidia dedicated graphics where the version MS certified was often at least a couple of versions back from the most recent version from Nvidia.
What we discovered as did several customers, is that while using the newer driver might improve performance over the one qualified by MS. it also could lead to thermal throttling of the system or even temporary shutdown.
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Any idea where they are on a dynamic refresh rate driver for the SP8?
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not official but last we heard, they were awaiting info/new drivers from Intel. Allegedly one of the issues with the Intel driver at the moment is adverse affects on PixelSense
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Sweet (new favourite word). Thank you for the info.
I only ask as I’m about to connect it to a Razer Core X (with a 1070). Obviously EVERY article suggests ensuring that I have the latest driver(s). We’ll see.
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Yes. you are likely safe there as it will still use the MS certified driver of the onboard XE graphics and any heat should be dealt with by the Core X enclosure
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Those of you on the Insider Dev on your Pro 8 - new firmware updates, UEFI update, SAM Controller and Intel Management Engine firmware…
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LAST CALL: FYI - got tied up with some personal matters last weekend, so the SP8 goes on the auction block in a couple of days. Luckily I just found my Dock 1 that I am throwing in on this sale. It works good with the SP8 but Dock 1has no USB-C ports and uses miniDP to DP and miniDP to HDMI cables to run external video, which I am also adding to the box. PM by Wednesday if you want to make an offer.
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Any rumors of a Surface Pro 8 Plus or 9 this year?
I suspect a 12th Gen Alder Lake update is in the cards since all of the rest of the 2-in-1 and tablet PC market has adopted it and is really making the Pro 8’s 11th Gen look old and slow. The performance boost which is roughly double in multicore would be sufficient reason to add a full single digit jump in the model number to the Pro 9.
How’s the battery life on these 12th gen devices vs the 11th gen counterparts?