When comparing ACER T272HL bmjjz vs Microsoft Surface Pro 4, the Slant community recommends Microsoft Surface Pro 4 for most people. In the question“What are the best touchscreen monitors?” Microsoft Surface Pro 4 is ranked 6th while ACER T272HL bmjjz is ranked 7th. The most important reason people chose Microsoft Surface Pro 4 is:
The (included) Surface Pen has a very interesting set of features - it allows for 1024 points of pressure, has an eraser on top, and when you click the eraser it will open Cortana (Microsoft's new voice assistant). It's magnetized, so it will stick to the left side of the Surface. The Surface achieves all of this via its new N-trig technology (replacing the Wacom technology found in older generation models). There's also palm rejection technology, so whenever the pen tip it close to the screen is will ignore all finger or palm touches.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Good quality screen
All aspects of the display itself are good - horizontal viewing angles are nearly 180 degrees, color accuracy is very good out of the box, and color saturation is very good as well thanks to its low black levels.
Pro Integrated speakers are included - no need to buy dedicated speakers
The built-in stereo speakers aren't the highest quality around, but they will get the job done in a pinch. It's nice to have them if you need to move your computer around, as it's less hardware and cords required to carry around.
Pro Fast response time reduces ghosting
Response time on this monitor is 5ms, which is suitable for even high-level gaming. Response time is the time delay between when the monitor receives a signal and when it refreshes the screen to reflect that new signal. While a low refresh rate generally benefits gamers most, its effects can help make your entire system feel just a touch more responsive for any task.
Pro USB pass-through allows for easy access to ports
There are 4 total USB ports on this monitor: 1 is an upstream port (to connect to your computer), and 3 are downstream ports (which you can connect peripherals to, such as a mouse, keyboard, and an external hard drive. This allows you to free up ports on your computer, and also helps keep your cords managed in one spot.
Pro Minimalistic front looks unobtrusive
The front of the display is a single piece of glass, which looks attractive (almost like the front of a very large tablet). Beneath it is a mostly-clear plastic which lets raises the screen above the table or desk, and allows you to see the single photo-frame-like stand on the rear.
Pro Great stand allows for lots of flexibility
The single legged stand can be adjusted from flat to 60 degrees, allowing it to lay flat on a table, nearly upright, or at many angles in-between. The tilt can be lifted or lowered with just one hand by pressing or pulling on the top of the monitor. It also doesn't bounce in regular use.
For added flexibility, there are VESA mounting screw ports on the rear which lets you mount this to a wall or a monitor stand.
Pro Great pen support
The (included) Surface Pen has a very interesting set of features - it allows for 1024 points of pressure, has an eraser on top, and when you click the eraser it will open Cortana (Microsoft's new voice assistant). It's magnetized, so it will stick to the left side of the Surface. The Surface achieves all of this via its new N-trig technology (replacing the Wacom technology found in older generation models). There's also palm rejection technology, so whenever the pen tip it close to the screen is will ignore all finger or palm touches.
Pro Laptop-level specs
The Surface Pro 4 comes in configurations from core M up to a core i7. RAM starts at 4GB, and goes to 16GB. Storage caps out at 256GB of SSD storage, which should be enough for most users. These are all specs that can be found in most laptops - even beating out some budget-midrange desktop options.
Pro Good expandability options
The Surface has a USB 3.0 port that can be used for a mouse to be plugged in, or you can plug in a USB hub or Microsoft's own Surface Dock, which has 4 USB 3.0 ports, audio output, Gigabit Ethernet, and two HD video ports. The Surface Dock allows for as much expandability (or more) as most laptops out there. There's also a SD card slot if you need more storage (current SD card sizes range up to 200GB, although this won't be as fast as the internal SSD speeds).
Cons
Con Integrated speakers lack any impact
The speakers built-into the T272HL may be stereo, but they don't offer a great listening experience overall. The bass is severely lacking, and clarity is alright for the odd soundbite but you'll want to add external speakers for movies or other media.
Con Very poor menu UI
There are 6 physical buttons on the right side near the bottom which you have to use to navigate the menu. These feel very dated, especially on a monitor that costs over $500 considering there are better solutions like a joystick or even using the touchscreen itself.
Con Very reflective screen isn't ideal
The screen is very reflective. It is best used in a dark area where there isn't other light to reflect.
Con Expensive
You can find a computer with similar specs for about half the price of the Surface Pro 4. You are paying a premium for the high-end build quality, for the engineering required to manufacture a fully portable computer, as well as for the high resolution touchscreen.
Con Lack of touch-focused apps
Windows has traditionally been a mouse-and-keyboard operating system. Finally, third party apps are starting to become more touch friendly, although it's a long, slow process. The Windows Store still lacks many big titles, which means the only option is to download the regular Windows version of most apps, which are rarely touch-friendly.