Microsoft 13.8" CU7 32 Review

The Microsoft 13.8" Tablet PC is a bit of a contradiction. On one hand, it's packing 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD, specs that put it in the 92nd percentile for both categories. That's workstation-level hardware in a tablet form factor. But on the other hand, its performance scores tell a different story. It's best suited for entertainment, scoring a 37.8 out of 100, but it's not exactly a powerhouse for anything else. Its weakest area is business tasks, with a score of just 25.6. So you've got a lot of memory and storage, but not necessarily the muscle to make the most of it.

Let's talk about those percentiles, because they tell you exactly what you're getting. The 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage are the clear stars here, landing in the 92nd percentile. That's top-tier for a tablet. But everything else is mid-range or lower. The CPU and GPU sit in the 34th and 36th percentiles, respectively. That means general performance is just okay. The screen is in the 27th percentile, and connectivity is down at the 13th. The battery life is perfectly average at the 50th percentile. This isn't a device built for speed or stunning visuals. It's built for having a lot of stuff open and stored locally, which is a very specific use case.

At a list price of $2,240, the value proposition is really narrow. You're paying a premium almost entirely for the high RAM and storage capacity. If your workflow absolutely requires having 32GB of memory in a tablet form factor, and you need a terabyte of space, this might be your only option. But for anyone else, that money buys a much more balanced and powerful device elsewhere. The mediocre performance scores across the board make that high price hard to justify.

Look at the competitors. The Microsoft Surface Pro 11 Copilot+ PC at a similar screen size will likely run circles around this tablet in CPU performance for a comparable price. The Apple iPad Pro with an M-series chip is in a completely different league for speed and screen quality, though you'll pay more for equivalent storage. Even the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra offers a better overall media experience with a larger, likely superior screen. This Microsoft tablet only wins if you compare raw RAM and storage specs head-to-head, and even then, you're sacrificing performance and features to get it.

I can't recommend this tablet for most people. The high RAM and storage are impressive on paper, but they're let down by mediocre performance everywhere else, especially for the $2,240 price. It scores poorly in business tasks and only okay in entertainment. Unless you have a very specific, memory-intensive workflow that must happen on a Windows tablet and nowhere else, you should look at the Surface Pro 11, an iPad Pro, or a high-end Samsung Galaxy Tab. They'll give you a much better overall experience for your money.