Are you appalled by the $999.99 starting price of Microsoft’s latest 2-in-1 Surface Pro computing machine with Snapdragon X processing power? Would you be willing to consider an older Windows-running tablet from the same manufacturer as long as it strikes a better balance between functionality and affordability?
Unfortunately, the 2022-released Surface Pro 9 is already starting to get a little hard to come by, with Microsoft’s official US e-store currently listing it as out of stock in all configurations and Best Buy running a few different “clearance” deals on a few variants before eventually discontinuing the device altogether as well.
Believe it or not, that’s where the even older Surface Pro 8 comes in, costing $679.99 with some pretty impressive specifications (especially for a 2021-released tablet) at Woot for a limited time. You only have one day to claim an unprecedented $520 discount from a list price of $1,199.99 for a brand-new, unused, unopened, and undamaged powerhouse of a 13-inch slate with an 11th Gen Intel Core i5 processor under the hood, as well as a hefty and speedy 512GB solid-state drive and 8GB RAM.
The Amazon-owned e-tailer can hook you up with a full 1-year manufacturer warranty for these deeply discounted devices, but while it appears that you could opt for one of two different colors when the deal was kicked off, you’re now left with a single platinum flavor after the graphite model went out of stock.
That seems to suggest you may only have a few hours to pull the trigger here, which makes sense considering how few other tablets available at less than $700 today come with 512 gigs of storage, let alone a processor as powerful as an Intel Core i5 (regardless of its generation).
The Surface Pro 8 also happens to look an awful lot like the Surface Pro 9 on the inside (or should it be the other way around?), with that massive PixelSense Flow touchscreen being surrounded by super-thin bezels while supporting 120Hz refresh rate technology. The battery life is more or less up there with the best tablets money can buy in 2024, the Dolby Atmos-enhanced 2W stereo speakers are also remarkably loud and clear, and the Windows 11-enabled productivity is still completely unrivaled by even the greatest Apple iPads and Android tablets around.
If you end up missing out on Woot’s outstanding new promotion for some reason, you may want to go directly on Amazon.com, where an identical Surface Pro 8 configuration currently costs 40 bucks more. The problem with that is there are no words on warranty terms and conditions, and with the deal actually handled by a third-party seller, certain trust issues could be impossible to avoid.
Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian’s passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for ‘adequate’ over ‘overpriced’.
