Replacement for a MIIX720 (Surface pro alternative)

[R.C.Anderson]

I've been using a Lenovo MIIX720 for a couple years (bought cheap refurbished), and recently found a new mainboard that has a higher spec CPU & more RAM, so bought it to swap it over. In the process of doing so, I managed to crack the screen trying to undo one of the plastic clips. As the screen cost is pretty much more than the machine is worth, I figured I'd look for a whole new machine instead.

Requirements are:

• ~£500 max
• 2 in 1 type machine - Touchscreen, preferably with a detachable keyboard, but might consider one that flips round
• screen viewable outdoors in sunlight (my MIIX720 struggles a little in this regard)
• Windows/Linux OS. Android, Apple etc are no-go
• Doesn't need to be very powerful, but capable of general web browsing, word/excel use, video playback etc.
• USB-C with video output (thunderbolt 3/4 would be prefered) for connecting to a dock/external display
• USB-C PD charging
• 12-15" approx size, I'm not overly fussy on exact size, but that sort of region
• High-res screen. Current machine has a 2880x1920 screen, so don't want to drop too far from this.
• Battery >3 hours heavy use prefered, but I could live with less (I currently get ~1.5 hours video playback)
• I'm not fussed about pen input. If it's an option, I might use it occasionally, but I wouldn't be bothered if it's not a possibility (and probably wouldn't buy a pen seperately if there was one).
• Can be 2nd hand to get better value

A surface pro is an obvious option, but I know there are other competitiors, but not sure exactly what's out there, or what can be got for my budget. As it's an occasional use machine, rather than a daily driver, I don't want to spend too much on it, so if I can get all I need cheaper, even better.

 

[R.C.Anderson]

For anyone who comes across this in a similar boat, I narrowed my choices down to either a SP7+, or an SP8, mainly dependant on what I could find available. They both share the same processors, but the SP8 cooling is much improved, so doesn't throttle as hard, and the screen is much nicer on the 8 (although battery life is meant to be worse). SP8 also supports TB4.

I've ended up finding a used Surface Pro 8 on ebay (i7 model, with 16GB RAM & 512GB SSD) for just shy of £400 without a KB, and will be sourcing a KB seperatly. Should be arring in the next couple days, so hopefully I'll like it as much as I think I will.