The Surface Pro 7 is just shy of five years old, and today (February 28) marks the end of support for Microsoft’s once-flagship 2-in-1 computer. So, if you’re still holding onto your model, be warned: there will be no more firmware updates, no new fixes, maintenance improvements, and performance updates from now on.
When the Surface Pro 7 launched back in October 2019, it received pretty… okay review scores. While many appreciated the fun colors and the addition of USB-C, it had few design changes that warranted jumping from the Surface Pro 6.
Our review of the Surface Pro 7 gave it three and a half stars, highlighting an overall loss of battery life and thick screen bezels (especially for a device launched in 2019) as some of the reasons why it was given a rather mediocre score. In contrast, the Surface Pro 6 scored a slightly higher rating, earning four stars - not a very good look for the successor that’s supposed to be an upgrade.
Where is the love?
While the Surface Pro 7 wasn’t a critical hit, there’s no clear reason why Microsoft would ditch the Surface Pro 7 support. If you look at Microsoft’s lifecycle table, you can see several other laptop models released around the same time that have longer cut-off points. For example, the Surface Pro X SQ1 launched in November 2019, a month after the Surface Pro 7, and has an end-of-service date of August 2025. Microsoft might argue that the Surface Pro X has a unique chip designed in part by the company, so it’s easier to continue issuing updates and fixes for that device, but there are plenty of older Windows 10 laptops that remain supported.
Also, Microsoft’s competitor, Apple, has a better track record when it comes to continuing support for its older hardware. The first generation iPad Pro was launched in 2015, and while the model is discontinued, it’s still listed as being able to run iPadOS 17, the latest operating system.w These are expensive products, so you’d like to think they would be supported for a decent amount of time - so it’s a shame that Microsoft isn’t doing that, especially when compared to Apple (and Apple isn’t perfect in this regard anyway).
So, what should you do if you’re still using a Surface Pro 7? A lack of software support doesn’t render your device completely useless. In fact, it will probably work just as well as it always has. It does however leave you vulnerable since you’ll no longer be receiving security updates or bug fixes. You’ll also likely miss out on cooler, more useful new features since the Surface Pro 7 won’t be getting firmware updates either. So, if you’ve got any outstanding updates you’ve been putting off, now is the time to download and install them.
We may not know exactly why Microsoft has decided to cut software support for the Surface Pro 7 so early on, but we can say it hints at a lack of love for the 2-in-1 lineup which used to be so important to the company. After the Surface Pro’s biggest cheerleader at Microsoft, Panos Panay, left the company last year, it feels like the company is losing interest in the devices. By cutting off support for older models relatively quickly, and showing no sign of releasing the much-anticipated Surface Pro 10, Microsoft hasn’t done much to prove that feeling wrong.
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