Microsoft's SQ1 ARM chip sits at the heart of the device and is part of the reason the Surface Pro X can be so thin and light. It's more powerful than any other ARM-based PC on the market — such as Samsung's Galaxy Book 2 — produces barely any heat and allows the PC to start instantly, but it isn't as powerful as the Surface Pro 7 or Apple's iPad Pro.

But using the mobility-focused ARM architecture in the PC world has its drawbacks, since most desktop applications are designed to run on more traditional x86 chips.

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Practically anything you download from Microsoft's own app store, like Office or the new Chromium-based Edge browser, will run fine. But most programs you get from elsewhere run through an emulation layer, resulting in a slight performance hit. Many more demanding applications that professionals might use, such as Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom, won't run at all.

ARM also lacks support for modern game engines, so gaming is pretty much out of the question.

In my testing I found app compatibility to be a bit of a crapshoot, with some apps like Netflix and Stan letting me watch one video before crashing, and Dropbox not working at all. Even Microsoft's own 'Your Phone' app ran extremely poorly with constant connectivity issues. Other hardware accessories and peripherals such as printers mightn't work either, unless their drivers have been designed for a Windows 10 ARM-based PC.

The problem is that there is really no definite way to know what will work and what won't before buying, as Microsoft doesn't maintain any sort of online resource when it comes to app compatibility and doesn't communicate the issue well to consumers.

I did come across a community initiative on Reddit that lists the apps that are supported and not supported on the Surface Pro X based on user testing, which can be viewed here.

Microsoft's app solution has implications for battery life too, as emulating apps consume more juice. My battery life was as low as 6 hours when using an x86 app like Google Chrome, but switching to Microsoft's ARM-based Edge browser boosted battery life closer to the 9 hour mark. While that's impressive for a device this thin and light, it's just an hour more runtime than the more capable Surface Pro 7 and well below other ARM-powered Windows PCs.

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Overall I really like the Surface Pro X but I would be hesitant to recommend it to most people since it simply isn't as capable or as versatile as the Surface Pro 7. The Pro X also starts at an eye-watering $2129 for the base 128GB model with the detachable keyboard and Surface Slim Pen; that's $400 more than a similarly equipped Surface Pro 7.

The Pro X is for a very specific type of user; one that values mobility and 4G connectivity above all else and is willing to live with the compromises that come with it. If your workflow primarily consists of using a web browser and apps downloaded from the Microsoft Store, then the Surface Pro X is worth the premium. Others looking for more of a general purpose 2-in-1 will be better served elsewhere.