Free and Open Source Software

Disclaimer I've never done it myself but I've looked into it in the past. It doesn't seem like its too overly complicated. Just be sure to check out their features per device when deciding which surface to go with: https://github.com/linux-surface/linux-surface/wiki/Supported-Devices-and-Features#feature-matrix

I've done it on a Surface Go and while the install can be a bit more of a pain, once it's done it's a great little Linux unit.

Two PITA points are it doesn't have a normal BIOS so sometimes it won't boot from USB normally and you have to go into Windows and use it's Advanced Startup process to make it work. That then means you might have to keep Windows on dual boot.

The other PITA this can cause is you might also need to install a boot manager like rEFInd to get it to boot into your distro properly. I found I needed this with Kubuntu but not Manjaro, for whatever reason.

Both issues are a pain, but not difficult, just annoying. And once it's done you don't have to think about it again.

Yes, the only difference really is installing their custom kernel afterwards to enable missing features like touchscreen support.

It works pretty well, the only big thing still missing is camera support which will probably get solved soon.

Don’t get a surface book! I know it’s a laptop not a tablet but using Linux on it has been a nighthmare.

I’ve done it across a handful of surface products I’d say that if you’re comfortable using Linux it’ll be just fine

You install Linux normally first and then install the surface kernel after. Until then you can't use the pen and touch is limited. You'll probably need at least 2 free usb slots on the surface though, one for the isntallation medium and one for an external keyboard. If you don't have a usb c dock, you'll need to figure out how to get a linux iso on a usb that includes the surface kernel, which is possible but fairly compicated compared to the usual installation.