New name, same hardware: Microsoft has been using the exact same LG Philips panel for its Surface Pro series for the past three years

When you buy the latest iPhone or MacBook, you'd expect them to have better displays than last year's models even if the improvements are mostly marginal. At the very least, they should offer better displays than models that are two years or older. Had the flagship iPhone from 2019 come with the exact same display as the flagship iPhone from 2017, fan response probably wouldn't have been so kind.

Unfortunately for Microsoft, this is exactly what we're seeing on the 2019 Surface Pro 7. Launched earlier this month, the model supplants the 2017 Surface Pro 5 and 2018 Surface Pro 6 with brand new Intel Ice Lake-U processor options. On the flip side, it uses the same 12.3-inch LG Philips LP123WQ112604 IPS panel that dates back to the 2017 Surface Pro 5. This means that display characteristics like response times, colors, contrast, resolution, and brightness have not improved between three generations of Surface Pro devices as shown by our table below.

One might argue that since the Surface Pro 7 utilizes the same chassis as the Surface Pro 6, it's ok for it to have the same display year-over-year. This point-of-view is flawed because OEMs like MSI, Dell, Asus, and others often use the same chassis designs across several years but with updated display options to keep revisions fresh. Microsoft could have at least offered a brighter display to give older Surface Pro owners more reasons to upgrade.

Expect our full review on the Surface Pro 7 Core i5-1035G4 to come soon.