Why Windows Tablets Are Finally Back in 2024

Microsoft launched the original Surface Pro with Windows 8 at a time when the tablets were expected to replace laptops. Unfortunately, after more than a decade, Microsoft is one of the few players still making Windows tablets, and the PC market continues to grow despite tech investors writing it off as a sleepy field in decline.

This will likely change in 2024 with the new breed of Microsoft Copilot+ PCs powered by ARM chips. These tablets will last longer and perform better while running a full-blown Windows operating system.

Why Windows Tablets Never Took Off

The idea behind a Windows tablet was simple: offer a full-fledged computer experience in a portable form factor that can also be used for media consumption and mobile apps. However, this niche market had its own challenges and seemed way ahead of its time. With Windows 8, Microsoft tried to create a touch-friendly Windows operating system while retaining the core functionality of desktop apps. However, it failed in both aspects.

While the Metro UI with its fancy Live Tiles worked well as a touchscreen interface, it was undone by the absence of a good app ecosystem. The Windows Store lacked quality apps like those on Android and Apple tablets, and the apps that were available weren't fully optimized for touch usage. Additionally, the x86-64 and ARM chips on lower-end devices were inefficient in handling the bulk of Windows and suffered from poor battery life.

Despite this, Microsoft has managed to carve a niche for its Surface devices, catering to professionals looking for a premium portable productivity machine. Since iPads and Galaxy Tabs are mostly an enlarged version of your smartphone and not exactly an alternative for your computer, a market for Windows tablets has always existed. With the introduction of new Copilot+ PCs running on ARM architecture, the Windows tablet market might change for the better.

The Transition to New ARM Chips and Copilot+ PCs

So, why is ARM important? Its significance lies in superior power efficiency, which is critical for a portable device like a tablet with limited space and battery capacity. With a small form factor, a powerful but efficient chip can handle the bulk of Windows without the usual issues of an x86-64 architecture. It also leaves room for better thermal performance in a fanless chassis.

While Windows on ARM has existed since Windows RT, it lacked support for native apps and was plagued by emulation issues. This is changing with Qualcomm's powerful Snapdragon X Elite / Plus chips and Microsoft's new Prism translation layer, which can translate x86 binaries on the fly. This is not the first Qualcomm ARM chip designed for PCs, but it is by far the most powerful and power-efficient chip.

Another aspect of Copilot+ PCs is their neural processing unit (NPU). Both variants of the Snapdragon X chips feature a 45 TOPS NPU to assist with the AI features baked into the operating system. This dedicated processor takes over whenever you want to do an AI task, like live captions, Copilot, or Studio Effect, to free up your CPU and GPU for other core tasks.

With an expanding ecosystem of native ARM apps, Microsoft has also announced an ARM Advisory Service to encourage developers to build ARM-optimized apps for Windows. In the absence of a native ARM app, you can still run the x86 apps on Microsoft's Prism emulation platform with reasonable performance and efficiency.

New Windows-on-ARM Focused Tablets

While there are plenty of new Copilot+ PCs running the latest Snapdragon X Elite and X Plus chips, the two devices of interest here are the new Microsoft Surface Pro (11) and the ASUS ProArt PZ13.

Starting with the Microsoft Surface Pro 11, the latest version of the fan-favorite Surface now boasts a Qualcomm 12-core Snapdragon X Elite or 10-core X Plus Arm processor, depending on the variant you get. On the storage front, you get up to 1TB of SSD, 16GB of RAM as a standard, an excellent high-resolution OLED touch display, and even impressive battery life.

What's more, you can hook it up to three external high-resolution monitors for more real estate or get the optional Stylus + keyboard (type cover) combo to turn it into a laptop.

L'ASUS ProArt PZ13, quant à elle, est une tablette Windows 11 ARM plus abordable. Il comprend un processeur Snapdragon X Plus à 10 cœurs, 16 Go de RAM, jusqu'à 1 To de stockage, un excellent écran tactile OLED, un indice IP52 pour la poussière et les éclaboussures, des ports d'E/S complets et un clavier et un stylet fournis. ASUS promet également une excellente autonomie avec une batterie de 70Wh.

Ces deux tablettes polyvalentes dotées de capacités d'ordinateur portable offrent des performances compétitives et, espérons-le, moins de problèmes de compatibilité pour la plupart des utilisateurs. Bien qu'ils soient adaptés à la consommation multimédia et à la navigation sur le Web, vous pouvez rapidement les transformer en ordinateur de travail sans compromettre la durée de vie ou les performances de la batterie. Quant au manque d'applications ARM natives, à quelques exceptions près, la plupart des applications Windows x86-64 devraient fonctionner correctement en émulation.

L'avenir des tablettes Windows est prometteur

Imaginez emmener votre tablette Windows au travail ou à votre bureau à domicile, y connecter un clavier, et voilà, vous disposez d'un ordinateur portable entièrement fonctionnel exécutant un système d'exploitation de bureau. Ou mieux encore, branchez un, deux ou même trois moniteurs et transformez-le en PC sans le bruit du ventilateur. Certes, la Galaxy Tab et les iPad peuvent faire une partie de cela. Cependant, ils utilisent toujours un système d’exploitation mobile, ce qui les empêche de remplacer les ordinateurs portables.

Les nouveaux PC Windows basés sur ARM peuvent offrir un excellent multitâche, des jeux occasionnels, une excellente gestion de fichiers et un accès au vaste écosystème d'applications Windows. Bien qu’ils ne disposent toujours pas de l’expérience d’application mobile tactile étendue qu’offrent l’iPad et Android, cela changera probablement avec l’adoption croissante des appareils Windows basés sur ARM. Avec les rapports selon lesquels de plus en plus de fabricants de puces se joignent à la course à Windows, l'avenir des tablettes Windows semble plus prometteur que jamais.

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