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The original was posted on /r/surface by /u/wingspantt on 2023-10-16 22:15:30.

When Microsoft put out those early Surface product demos, my jaw was on the floor. A tablet that becomes a PC. A laptop that becomes a tablet. A monitor that becomes a canvas. Insane tech that was the perfect nexus of illustration machine, Adobe workhorse, notetaking pad, Office mainstay and fun gimmicks in a solid form factor.

I owned and used a Pro 4 as my personal daily driver for years, and also eventually got my work to make my main PC a Surface Studio 1 (not the laptop, the big one). While it was a little slow for its cost, the form factor is gorgeous, writing and drawing are a dream, and it’s just a joy to work on.

The stylus and transforming 2-in-1 are really what sold me. Being able to sketch concepts quickly at work during a meeting… or take notes with handwriting… giving a Powerpoint presentation and stopping to mark up slides or ideas… plus just an alternative to trackpad use (I hate trackpads).

As my Surface Pro 4 started aging out, with waning battery life and slower-than-needed processing, I began looking for a replacement. I needed something that had an great pen experience, but could also run serious apps.

  • A new Pro? Maybe, but after years of use, I wasn’t happy with the “lapability” as many say, and the cost of a new Pro 9, with keyboard and pen, was very high.
  • Surface Laptop? You can’t really write on the screen, and even if you could, there was nowhere to put the pen.
  • Surface Book? Amazing battery life and performance, but discontinued.
  • Surface Laptop Studio? The SLS1 was about to be replaced with SLS2. I said I’d wait and see. I really wanted to like SLS, but was concerned about weight and battery life, since portability was a big selling point.

SLS2 came and… it was heavier than SLS1. Bigger, slightly. The battery was the same or worse. And it cost a lot. The spec I’d want, with the pen, would cost three thousand dollars!!!

I bought and returned a few other laptops. Noted by users here, the Asus Flow X16 was the closest to an SLS2. It had a dGPU, pen support, and good specs with way more battery. But after a few days, I couldn’t love the X16.

  • It was so heavy and bulky
  • The build quality felt cheap compared to Surface
  • The 2-in-1 was so awkward to flip over and use
  • There was nowhere to store the pen

I reluctantly returned the X16 to Best Buy. While I was there, I walked past the PC section to try the SLS2, but something else caught my eye. It was… insane.

It was a laptop, kind of, but it had two monitors. It had a case that was also a stand. That also held a pen. It had a keyboard that was optional. It was small and light, with a big battery, and could be folded in like 6 or 7 positions instantly. The screens were stunning. The build quality was beautiful.

It was the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i.

Looking at this device in the store, I couldn’t shake how this thing captured my interest and imagination instantly. I felt the same way looking at it how I felt seeing the first Surface Book commercial or the first Surface Studio reveal. A feeling like “wow… I didn’t realize this was possible. And I didn’t realize I wanted it, but I do.”

“There’s no way this thing is any good,” I thought, picking it up and toying with the configurations. “It must be really slow, or really unresponsive. The pen must suck. The keyboard must feel bad.” But as I poked at this thing from every angle, I was just… impressed… over and over. Somehow, this thing was just… good? And boy did it feel amazing to use.

I spent the next several days reading and watching reviews online. Surely some tech influencer or website would reveal this thing was actually a lemon. But review after review, it was all glowing praise. Praise from coders, office workers, artists, and early adopters. So I bit the bullet and bought it.

So what’s your point, WINGSPANTT?

My point is this: The entire reason I bought Surface products to start with was a “no compromises” approach to how I do my day to day work. A device that can be good for writing, drawing, presenting, web surfing, media, everything. But when my oldest Surface products started to die, I realized the new ones just don’t do that anymore. Or the ones that do cost so much money it feels hard to justify them.

I’m not going to pretend the Yoga Book 9i is cheap. But at $1,000 less than and half the weight of an SLS2, it doesn’t feel like an insult. At the same price as a Pro but with the keyboard and pen (and stand and mouse) included, it doesn’t feel like I’m being fleeced. All that, and it has a stunning form factor that makes all that work and play and use easy and fun and also cutting-edge in a way I didn’t think I’d want until I saw it and tried it.

This isn’t a post saying “Anyone who wants a SLS or Pro, get a Book 9i instead.” It’s a post to say think about what drew you to Surface to start with, and explore from there. For me it wasn’t just a good screen and 2-in-1. It was a sense of tech wonder and fluidity. And unfortunately the 2023 Surface products don’t give me that sense in the same way.