Honestly, $100 for the pen? That should honestly be included since the keyboard isn't.
Seriously how is Microsoft even supposed to compete when they're held to completely different standards to their rival. I do feel for them.
Not to mention Surface Pen works with REAL Photoshop and REAL Illustrator.
Honestly, there's no pleasing some people. When the pen was included, everyone was saying, "let me buy a cheaper SKU without the pen; I don't want it!", and now that they've done that everyone is complaining.
So far the only drawback of the SP4 is the battery life, so except if they improved it a lot I don't see the point of paying the 500-600$ more. They say it's possible to watch 13.5 hours of videos, but manufacturers tests are not trustable anyway. It would probably be more like 7-8 hours of real-world usage. Are the extra 3 hours worth the difference? Maybe, but for my usage no.
I mean, during the conference day I'm kind of depressed of not having battery any more, but with cold head I tell myself it is better for me.