Surface Devices

[xraydoc]

Have to chime in - I’m not surprised at kazmac’s experience with the laggy pen, I mentioned it here in my initial post in this thread re my SB2 (256gb version),

I wonder if the drive in the Surface device that kazmac experienced the slowdown was also, like mine, the 256gb version.

After a few minutes playing with the newest iPad Pros and new Pencil, I can say that the Pencil latency is lower (better) than most apps on my Surface Book 2, but that my SB2 is better than my 2015 12.9” iPad Pro & Pencil and my wife's 10.5” iPad Pro.

However, on Windows, inking seems to be more app-dependent than on the iPad. For example, PDF or screen markup on Edge is super super fast, while OneNote has an order of magnitude more milliseconds of latency.

 

[SDColorado]

After a few minutes playing with the newest iPad Pros and new Pencil, I can say that the Pencil latency is lower (better) than most apps on my Surface Book 2, but that my SB2 is better than my 2015 12.9” iPad Pro & Pencil and my wife's 10.5” iPad Pro.

However, on Windows, inking seems to be more app-dependent than on the iPad. For example, PDF or screen markup on Edge is super super fast, while OneNote has an order of magnitude more milliseconds of latency.

That is a good observation. My iPad Pro is a 2016 model and I briefly owned a 2017 model, but I have no experience with the new models for comparison purposes. Sounds like maybe Apple has taken the lead with the 2018's in terms of latency?

Looking at specs on paper, there doesn't seem to be much difference in latency, but I don't know how that translates for some IRL workflows.

• Apple Pencil: Unspecified pressure sensitivity, 20ms latency, tilt support, 12 hours battery life (rechargeable), Bluetooth 4
• 
  
• Surface Pen: 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity, 21ms latency, tilt/rotation support (on some devices), 9g of activation force, 1 year battery life (replaceable), Bluetooth 4

 

[Queen6]

I eventually opted for a Surface clone, an Acer Switch 5 as the Surface GO I felt was simply underpowered, and the SP6 overkill for the intended usage. The Switch 5 was a bargain at just $650 with active stylus & backlit keyboard included. I also like that the Switch 5 retains a USB A port and includes a USB C port.

Not a powerhouse by any means with this Asia specification model being an i3, 4Gb & 128 SSD, equally the dual core CPU will easily outperform the Surface GO, storage is upgradeable by microSDXC card and has a 12" 2160x1440 IPS display.

I much prefer the fingerprint Windows Hello login versus face recognition, which I feel is vastly inappropriate in many professional environment's. In short the Switch 5 is good enough for the intended usage and offers tremendous value for the asking price. Only downside is the 4Gb of RAM limitation on the i3 model and the bloat that Acer installs by default, equally all easily removed.

Hopefully the i3 being in the region of over 70% faster than the GO's Pentium 4415Y will mitigate the limitation of 4Gb of RAM to some extents. In comparison the Surface GO would be just short of $800 locally, although a more premium device the CPU is lacking IMO. Acer has i5 & i7 variant's of the Switch 5 with larger storage, although at these price points I'd be far more inclined to pay more for the SP6, as the differential is less.

Talk about "Chalk and Cheese" I spend much of my computing time on a 17.3" hex core with enough power for a small country Switch 5 will make a good replacement for the 12" Retina MacBook adding Pen, Touch and the tablet form factor into the mix and given it will be out in the field with me in all conditions on heavy engineering projects, less of a concern than Apple's rather humorously priced hardware

Q-6

 

[Dave245]

Update: I have been using my Surface Pro 6 for just over a week now, I can honestly say that I really do like it.

Pros - it can do what a laptop can as well as being a tablet, display is great, Windows 10 has some great multitasking features, Surface Pen works well for notes.

Cons - The tablet part isn't as good as the iPad, Windows isn't as refined as MacOS and doesnt look as good.

After using it for just over a week, I'm now convinced that my Surface Pro 6 has replaced both my iPad Pro and laptop. I will remain within the MacOS area by keeping my 2012 iMac around, but this thing is a great tablet and laptop replacement.

 

[c0ppo]

I'm gonna post my review of SB2 in 3-4-5-6 hours, as soon as I finish some work.
But just to be short, I would agree with @Dave245, Windows isn't as refined as Mac OS. Not even close. But with some tweaking and adjusting, you can make sure it gets out of your way for the most part. But additional functions of SB2 took me by surprise, since I never even dreamed about using a pen on a 'laptop'.

SB2 is a complete beast and has no real competition at the moment. More to follow later...

 

[c0ppo]

Surface Book 2 review:

First, just a few things. I got this device from a dear friend from USA. He borrowed my fully loaded X1C, and I borrowed his fully loaded SB2. But funny thing is, he liked the X1C better, especially because it is way smaller and lighter then SB2. I liked the SB2 better. Now we are thinking that we just swap our devices permanently. I still haven't decided, but will have to do so in the next 3 days

I'm gonna comment hardware stuff first.

Screen:
3:2 is excellent for coders like myself. Screen is really bright and vibrant, and there is NO screen bleeding at all. This screen is phenomenal! How color accurate it is? I have no idea, since I'm really no artist or photo guy, but that is the info one can google up really easily. But the screen itself is really great, I highly doubt anyone can deny that.

Keyboard:
Well, this thing shines in this category. Besides thinkpads, this is the best keyboard I have ever used in a mobile device. Keys feel really tactile, there is some good travel on them, and they are not mushy at all. I can write really fast (or at least I like to think so ), and every keystroke I make is registered without any issues. I really dig the feel of this keyboard. Now, I really like thinkpad keyboards more, but this one is so good that I think it would be a personal preference which one you would like more. How is this keyboard compared to pre 2016 MBP? IMHO this one is way better. I won't even try to compare it to the joke of butterfly keyboards, that would be a insult to the great job MS has done here.

Speakers:
Well, even here MS have done a great job. Speakers are in the tablet portion of the device, so they fire right into your face. They are loud, and the sound is great (for a mobile device). I'm not a audiophile, so I can't comment much about these. All I remember is that MBP 2017 had great speakers. This one has as well. How do they compare? Honestly, I don't know since I don't own MBP anymore, and I can't compare them side by side. But honestly, I doubt anyone would pick this device up and think 'gosh, I really wish the speakers were better'.

CPU & GPU
SB2 uses a quad core 15W CPU. CPU is located in the tablet portion of this device, while GPU is in the base. This way when you are using this thing in tablet mode, integrated GPU is being used. If you want or need more power, connect it to the base and enjoy the mighty nVidia 1060 GPU.

Funny thing is, I never felt that CPU is just another 15W CPU. Researching it online confirmed my hunch. SB2 can do long boost modes, effectively using 30W without any issues. Especially if you are prepared to do some undervolting and tweaking on your own. Not hard even if you never done it. Complete tools are online free to download, and a lot of tutorials from good folks out there.

GPU is powerful enough for more then decent gaming, but I haven't tried any games, so won't comment on that.

Thermals and noise (hi @hajime )
This thing rarely gets hot. Actually, during light workloads (web browser, music, video, mail, WhatsApp, telegram, etc.), this thing is really silent, and even COLD. Yes, that is right - cold. Not hot, not warm, but cold. It's like I haven't even turned it on!

But pushing this thing will heat it up. But just a small bit, nothing to be concerned about. And still it will for the most part remain silent, even when connected to the external widescreen monitor.

I guess that's the positive when you have sperate cooling for GPU and CPU

Tablet mode
What shocked me is that I ended up using this thing in tablet mode as well. I despise tablets, tried multiple iPads, and all were just simple toys for my usage. For always I preferred surfing on laptops/desktops and despised using tablets or smartphones for surfing (unless I had no other choice of course).

But when I'm at my desk and using my desktop computer, this thing come in handy. I just detach the screen, and I can do some nice documentation for myself in OneNote using the pen. After I'm done for the day, I can just open OneNote on my desktop, and retype all what I have written down with the pen. Writing with pen is actually useful, for some reason I remember stuff way better when I write them down, compared to when I just type them down.

After realizing that, I started to use the pen way more for a lot of other stuff. And it's just in OneNote, but also in Edge browser, when clipping and making notes for myself. Brilliant!

Some dislikes:
Well, this a 2 in 1. So when using this thing in laptop mode on my lap like I'm doing right now, screen will wobble. And it will be noticeable! But that is a compromise I'm willing to make for being able to get the tablet mode as well.

And my final dislike is really obvious: lack of TB3 port.
This one is a dislike to every reviewer out there, and everyone mentions it all the time. Really stupid decision by MS not to include at least ONE TB3 port. I like the fact that I get 2 USB-A ports, but I would like just one TB3 port as well. Maybe with SB3? We'll see

I have a lot of small dislikes, but those are tied to Windows 10 in particular, and this is a SB2 review, not a Windows 10 review. But there are some great pen functions with Win10, everyone will like those.

Final thoughts:
If you are considering SB2, stop it. Just go out and purchase one. Or even better, wait for SB3 and TB3 port(s). MS is rumored to release a Surface monitor, and if they do, I will purchase that one up in a heart beat. Or even two. Two 3:2 giant screens? Where do I sign up?

Now I'm in the really 'bad' place. I have to decide which one to keep, SB2 or X1C. I like both very much, and will have to decide soon. If SB3 was even rumored to be released, I would wait that one out. But the problem is that SB2 is just so damn seductive it's really hard to resist


EDIT:
Forgot to mention the battery life... Well, not much to discuss here. It's probably the best device in this category I have ever used. And this is not some ultrabook with just integrated GPU and 5W CPU. This thing is a workhorse with battery which last for a really long time. I thought about timing it, but I can't see the reason to do so. It will last me a full working day and still have about 30-40% left. My MBP 2017 would sometimes last my full working day, but barely. Most of the times it would be dead before I'm finished. SB2 never died on me, not even close.

 

[GoldfishRT]

Now I'm in the really 'bad' place. I have to decide which one to keep, SB2 or X1C. I like both very much, and will have to decide soon. If SB3 was even rumored to be released, I would wait that one out. But the problem is that SB2 is just so damn seductive it's really hard to resist

Funny. After going and playing with one at MicroCenter while returning my XPS 15 I have an X1 Carbon on the way as well and will be making this exact decision. It's a nice machine.

The Surface is the prettier, more fancy, lustful device but boy it costs a premium doesn't it?

I got in on one of the Black Friday coupons for the X1 and scored one with HDR, i7-8650u, 512gb storage, 16gb of ram, and 2 years of onsite for $1700 after tax. Lenovo's 1050 eGPU seems to run about $300. All in that's still $600 less than this Surface is costing me and I can probably live without the GPU and that puts it about $900 ahead. Yow.

I'll be honest too, the X1 is supremely portable in a way that evokes that original MacBook Air relative to other devices. It's not just thin but it is so supremely light. I also adore that it has such a modern suite of ports. I might miss the SD care a little bit, but having both thunderbolt 3 and HDMI (perhaps the two most useful ports in my life). This is supremely attractive to me.

I can't wait to get my hands on it to compare. With that said I'm sure I'll miss Windows Hello facial recognition and the touch display. I think the location of the fingerprint reader is dumb and the slight asymmetry is maybe an acquired taste (I don't hate it but I do see it).

 

[Falhófnir]

The 15" SB2 is looking increasingly appealing to me - in particular the taller 3:2 screen and the well praised keyboard. Even more than the MBP though, the price in relation to the storage tiers seems really difficult to get one's head around. Something like the Dell XPS or HP spectre X360 offers better value, but you only get a 16:9 screen, so not even as much vertical space as the 16:10 MBP offers. I hope the current fall in NAND prices will filter through so we're no longer getting £2.5k machines with 256GB by this time next year...

 

[c0ppo]

The Surface is the prettier, more fancy, lustful device but boy it costs a premium doesn't it?

Actually, I find the X1C to be the prettier device. I like the industrial design of X1C, and the simplicity of that design. But hey, everyone has their own taste

I'll be honest too, the X1 is supremely portable in a way that evokes that original MacBook Air relative to other devices. It's not just thin but it is so supremely light. I also adore that it has such a modern suite of ports. I might miss the SD care a little bit, but having both thunderbolt 3 and HDMI (perhaps the two most useful ports in my life). This is supremely attractive to me.

SB2 15" is portable, but even MBP 15" is more portable then SB2. X1C is way smaller device, and a really portable one.
As far as ports go, Lenovo is in the league of its own. And funny thing is, HDMI and TB3 are also very important to me. Those two ports + USB-A is all that I really need. LAN port would just be a bonus, but I learned to live without one since first rMBP.

I can't wait to get my hands on it to compare. With that said I'm sure I'll miss Windows Hello facial recognition and the touch display. I think the location of the fingerprint reader is dumb and the slight asymmetry is maybe an acquired taste (I don't hate it but I do see it).

Ahh.. I forgot to mention in my review. I hate Windows Hello. That thing rarely works for me. At first I thought that there is something wrong with SB2, but when I've asked my friend, he said it works like a charm. And everyone praises it. I guess Windows Hello just doesn't want to say hello to my ugly face?

As far as asymmetry of X1C trackpad goes, it bothered me for 1h or less. After that it never crossed my mind. X1C is simply the best portable small computer I have ever used.

And while I find that 16:9 screen isn't really good for productivity (my biggest complaint about X1C!), HDR screen is simply so good no other screen can compare with it. Not even MBP. Blacks are actually black, someone could have fooled me into believing it was a OLED screen

 

[SDColorado]

Ahh.. I forgot to mention in my review. I hate Windows Hello. That thing rarely works for me. At first I thought that there is something wrong with SB2, but when I've asked my friend, he said it works like a charm. And everyone praises it. I guess Windows Hello just doesn't want to say hello to my ugly face?

I actually really like Windows Hello as well. I find it about as accurate as my iPhone X and lightning fast to unlock the computer. BUT that said, there is a setting to improve Windows 10 facial recognition that seems to "train" it to better recognize your face. I redid that 3 or 4 times. You may find that helps

 

[OdT22]

I actually really like Windows Hello as well. I find it about as accurate as my iPhone X and lightning fast to unlock the computer. BUT that said, there is a setting to improve Windows 10 facial recognition that seems to "train" it to better recognize your face. I redid that 3 or 4 times. You may find that helps

Exactly. On both the SP5 and the SL2, double training Hello helped immensely. Sometimes my hat is on, sometimes my glasses are on, and sometimes the opposites. This morning I found out it doesn't like the bathrobe hoodie over my head in the dark. May have to give it a third training if that happens again.

I don't plan to ever own another computer without such convenience. It also works seamlessly with 1Password, which has been extremely convenient during our recent device swaps. Passwords need to die quietly IMO.

 

[SDColorado]

Exactly. On both the SP5 and the SL2, double training Hello helped immensely. Sometimes my hat is on, sometimes my glasses are on, and sometimes the opposites. This morning I found out it doesn't like the bathrobe hoodie over my head in the dark. May have to give it a third training if that happens again.

I don't plan to ever own another computer without such convenience. It also works seamlessly with 1Password, which has been extremely convenient during our recent device swaps. Passwords need to die quietly IMO.

I still can’t get my iPhone X to recognize me with my full face motorcycle helmet on

LastPass works well with Windows Hello as well. Otherwise I really don’t mind the PIN either. The only time I find I have to use it is when I am outside and the sun is directing hitting the display “blinding” the camera.

 

[OdT22]

I still can’t get my iPhone X to recognize me with my full face motorcycle helmet on

What a rip-off! Lol

I'll have to try it with shaving cream applied next.


What is LastPass? Same as 1password? Better?

 

[SDColorado]

What a rip-off! Lol

I'll have to try it with shaving cream applied next.


What is LastPass? Same as 1password? Better?

I haven't used 1Password in years, so I have no idea what has changed in it since, but where LastPass was a better option than 1Password, was primarily the Premium that allows 1 to many sharing, multi-factor authentication, and the ability to grant emergency access to spouse, friends or family upon death or disability. Also for small business or group/club use the Team option that allows unlimited sharing folders, seperate private vaults, Admin Dashboard, etc.

For an individual user, probably not much difference between the two, but with the 1 to many sharing of LastPass, I can share passwords for websites, email addresses, notes, etc. with my wife, family members, friends, groups, etc.

For example, we have a motorcycle riding club and there are several passwords that need to be shared for the website, PayPal and square accounts, club bank account, etc. among the clubs board members.

You can share with anyone who also has a LastPass account and you can choose whether to share the login info to where they can see the password or whether the password remains masked to the people you share it with.

 

[OdT22]

I haven't used 1Password in years, so I have no idea what has changed in it since, but where LastPass was a better option than 1Password, was primarily the Premium that allows 1 to many sharing, multi-factor authentication, and the ability to grant emergency access to spouse, friends or family upon death or disability. Also for small business or group/club use the Team option that allows unlimited sharing folders, seperate private vaults, Admin Dashboard, etc.

For an individual user, probably not much difference between the two, but with the 1 to many sharing of LastPass, I can share passwords for websites, email addresses, notes, etc. with my wife, family members, friends, groups, etc.

For example, we have a motorcycle riding club and there are several passwords that need to be shared for the website, PayPal and square accounts, club bank account, etc. among the clubs board members.

You can share with anyone who also has a LastPass account and you can choose whether to share the login info to where they can see the password or whether the password remains masked to the people you share it with.

Thank you! That's great info, that helps me look ahead. I'm a new 1Password user, and I wasn't aware of the options. I really appreciate your detailed observations.

 

[SDColorado]

Thank you! That's great info, that helps me look ahead. I'm a new 1Password user, and I wasn't aware of the options. I really appreciate your detailed observations.

No worries. 1Password may have added those options over the years, I really don't know. But at the time we really needed the ability to share login info among many. At least at the time, 1Password lacked the ability to do this.

1Password has a free trial if you decide you want to compare them.

Dashlane is another I have heard good things about and it has a cool feature called of Site Breach Alerts, that notify you if a site where you have an account is breached. Of course, that feature is only as good as the site sharing the fact that it has been breached, but it's something . I have not tried this Dashlane yet. I don't think it supports the one to many sharing.

 

[Queen6]

Surface Book is a tremendous notebook and a good tablet (for Windows), I still miss my old 1st Gen. I can easily see myself with a 3rd Gen or if I see a good deal on the current 15" it could be very easily done Still a few niggles, equally I don't see any real deal breakers with the Surface Book, although I tend to agree Microsoft should ease up on the pricing of storage, especially as Surface employs standard M.2 SSD's

I think Microsoft omits USB C/TB-3 as it has it's own proprietary Surface connection, which serves similar purpose, equally for the next generation of Surface TB-3 should be an inclusion replacing DisplayPort.

Q-6
[doublepost=1544020788][/doublepost]

I'm gonna post my review of SB2 in 3-4-5-6 hours, as soon as I finish some work.
But just to be short, I would agree with @Dave245, Windows isn't as refined as Mac OS. Not even close. But with some tweaking and adjusting, you can make sure it gets out of your way for the most part. But additional functions of SB2 took me by surprise, since I never even dreamed about using a pen on a 'laptop'.

SB2 is a complete beast and has no real competition at the moment. More to follow later...

Resistance is futile Really nice notebooks with just a few niggles, Surface Book exudes quality & flexibility, more powerful than some would have you believe

Often said that Surface Book is the notebook that I once believed that only Apple could possibly design and bring to market, how surprised was I at Microsoft delivering. It's a little like Apple used to be, in that the sum of the experience adds up to something more. The more you use and explore it's capabilities the more you realise that the Surface Book is very much a standout product.

Q-6

 

[xraydoc]

Surface Book is a tremendous notebook and a good tablet (for Windows), I still miss my old 1st Gen. I can easily see myself with a 3rd Gen or if I see a good deal on the current 15" it could be very easily done Still a few niggles, equally I don't see any real deal breakers with the Surface Book, although I tend to agree Microsoft should ease up on the pricing of storage, especially as Surface employs standard M.2 SSD's

I think Microsoft omits USB C/TB-3 as it has it's own proprietary Surface connection, which serves similar purpose, equally for the next generation of Surface TB-3 should be an inclusion replacing DisplayPort.

Q-6
[doublepost=1544020788][/doublepost]

Resistance is futile Really nice notebooks with just a few niggles, Surface Book exudes quality & flexibility, more powerful than some would have you believe

Often said that Surface Book is the notebook that I once believed that only Apple could possibly design and bring to market, how surprised was I at Microsoft delivering. It's a little like Apple used to be, in that the sum of the experience adds up to something more. The more you use and explore it's capabilities the more you realise that the Surface Book is very much a standout product.

Q-6

Agreed. I find my SB2 extremely powerful, flexible and has great battery life.

The only thing that would make it better would be some kind of smartcover so I could carry around the 'clipboard' without fear of bumping the glass. Granted the battery life on the clipboard isn't more than a few hours, but it's all I need for meetings. I have a soft padded nylon case I use for that purpose, but it's not quite as elegant as a smartcover would be.

 

[SDColorado]

Agreed. I find my SB2 extremely powerful, flexible and has great battery life.

The only thing that would make it better would be some kind of smartcover so I could carry around the 'clipboard' without fear of bumping the glass. Granted the battery life on the clipboard isn't more than a few hours, but it's all I need for meetings. I have a soft padded nylon case I use for that purpose, but it's not quite as elegant as a smartcover would be.

UAG (Urban Armor Gear) makes an armored case that will raise up the back end a little for general use and armor the tablet portion some.

https://urbanarmorgear.com/products/plasma-series-microsoft-surface-book-2-case

 

[Queen6]

Agreed. I find my SB2 extremely powerful, flexible and has great battery life.

The only thing that would make it better would be some kind of smartcover so I could carry around the 'clipboard' without fear of bumping the glass. Granted the battery life on the clipboard isn't more than a few hours, but it's all I need for meetings. I have a soft padded nylon case I use for that purpose, but it's not quite as elegant as a smartcover would be.

That's a really good idea for when you want to drop the keyboard and only have a light workload on the go. For me it's just a matter of time before I pick up another Surface Book. I spent a couple of months going back and forth over the Surface Go and the SP6 however neither really was exactly what I wanted, new Acer Switch 5 is as it's just a touch more flexible for my needs in this role.

Right now I don't have need of a Surface Book as I have my trusty hex core abacus that said wont take much to pull the trigger on a new 15" I love the sheer performance of this notebook, equally it definitely lacks the finesse of Surface Book, although I also have my eye on an i9 notebook nor is it the ThrottleBook Pro being something that can actually lever the i9's performance

Q-6

 

[xraydoc]

UAG (Urban Armor Gear) makes an armored case that will raise up the back end a little for general use and armor the tablet portion some.

https://urbanarmorgear.com/products/plasma-series-microsoft-surface-book-2-case

I've seen that, however I'm more concerned about the screen glass than the back of the tablet when walking around with it without the keyboard base.

 

[SDColorado]

I've seen that, however I'm more concerned about the screen glass than the back of the tablet when walking around with it without the keyboard base.

I get that, but it actually does wrap around the bezel in the front. It doesn't protect quite the same as something like a Lifeproof or Otterbox phone case with the plastic screen cover, but it would protect it somewhat.

There are a few designs like this one that wraps around the bezel as well.

Otherwise, Spigen and others have the tempered glass screen covers.

 

[Dave245]

It's been nearly 2 weeks, I'm still very happy with my Surface Pro 6, no issues as of yet and I'm even finding my way around Window 10 There have been times where I miss the iPad Pro and that's just for Pixelmator Pro (it's a Mac only app) which I have now brought on my iMac anyway so it isn't a problem!

The Surface Pro is a great device that so far I love using on a daily basis. Much more useful than my iPad Pro ever was (on a separate note it died completely and i'm currently in talks with Apple on a repair, if they do it for free I will either keep it as a back up or pass it down to my mum who is still using an iPad Air 2).

The only thing I'm not sure of is the setting on the battery icon (at the bottom of the dock next to the volume) there is a slider for "Best battery life" "Better performance" or "Best performance" do these affect the way in which the Surface Pro 6 works?

 

[c0ppo]

The only thing I'm not sure of is the setting on the battery icon (at the bottom of the dock next to the volume) there is a slider for "Best battery life" "Better performance" or "Best performance" do these affect the way in which the Surface Pro 6 works?

They do, and the title of each option says it all. For example, when I'm using my laptop just for browsing, I always switch to best battery life. No need for extra performance there, browsing isn't cpu/gpu extensive. At least it shouldn't be

As far as Pixelmator goes, I loved the original Pixelmator. But they made no progress over the years.
Check out Affinity Photo, way more powerful application. And there are already a bunch of tutorials online, but start with affinity video tutorials for basics. Great app. Affinity Designer as well.

 

[xraydoc]

I get that, but it actually does wrap around the bezel in the front. It doesn't protect quite the same as something like a Lifeproof or Otterbox phone case with the plastic screen cover, but it would protect it somewhat.

There are a few designs like this one that wraps around the bezel as well.

Otherwise, Spigen and others have the tempered glass screen covers.

Yeah, but what I'd prefer is a smart cover design like Apple's iPads. No biggie - the slipcase I have will suffice. I've looked but as far as I can tell, a cover flap for just the tablet doesn't exist.
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The only thing I'm not sure of is the setting on the battery icon (at the bottom of the dock next to the volume) there is a slider for "Best battery life" "Better performance" or "Best performance" do these affect the way in which the Surface Pro 6 works?

I typically leave mine (Surface Book 2) on "Recommended" when on battery and "Better Performance" when on AC.

The setting manages the CPU's base and turbo frequencies and power draw.

When I'm on battery and I know I'm going to be using it heavily while away from a power source (or when using just the tablet portion of my Surface Book 2, which has only a small battery; not applicable to your Surface Pro), I'll switch to the Battery Saver setting. That drops the screen brightness levels & max brightness and drops the CPU frequency down significantly, though performance is still more than sufficient for most things on my SB2.