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Does the Surface Book have any one second thinking the iPad Pro?

I like how Microsoft is making a giant leap here. But the problem - as mentioned by others - is that operating system. I've always thought a tablet, or just any big touch screen device, is not supposed to be running a full-blown OS. True, iOS on the iPad isn't how many people want it to be. And I'm pretty sure Apple can do a lot more to make it much more powerful than it is now. But so far, they're doing well. Split View and the other new iPad specific features really show how Apple sees tablet computing.

Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book look like something we will be hearing of a lot more, and I'm excited about what Microsoft has been up to. But I still prefer the iPad, because of its easy-to-use OS. It's still very mobile, but iOS 9 shows how you can add powerful features, without sacrificing that simple UI. :)
 
Buying a $2000 windows laptop is the definition of insanity when there are plenty of $500 alternatives. The market will painfully point this out.
 
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Yes I'm considering moving away from the MBA and going to the new SP4. Perhaps my use case is small but my thinking is that for the price of a MBP (which is another possible upgrade) I could possibly get the SP4 for on the go work (commute etc) while some sort of desktop PC for back in the home office with Dropbox syncing files. Really I'd only be doing some light web development work but I'm guessing that would be far easier on a tablet with a full OS rather than iOS.

The iPP and iPA2 were on my radar but I think this new SP4 is a more capable machine. I will miss the integration between OS X and iOS though.
 
so MS finally caught up and knows how to put up a fight...

Apple on the other hand still has this very embarrassing excuse of office apps called 'iWork's'....Once, a long time ago, they promised us to give us updates. I thought 'wow, this is finally going to be a step up and we have a good competitor' but no... it's embarrassing to use.

getting tempting to switch again maybe...
 
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I was for a second. I had a Surface Pro 3 and it worked well for my (drawing) needs but it got hot quick and felt heavy after long use. The software was never intuitive but it got the job done. I Just read a blog about the Surface Pro 4. It looks like it fixes every issue about the Surface Pro 3 but the blogger pointed out an obvious issue that Windows has. Apps that are not optimized for a touch device. Windows still has problems developing touch based apps. They were demoing the tablet with a paint program for Windows 8. Really?

With Apple i know i'll have no issues with this. There will be Apps designed specifically for a tablet but also apps designed for the specific pencil. It's true Windows does have the better hardware and tools that a digital artist might need but Apple will create a more pleasing software experience.
 
At the end of the day, it'll always be software > hardware. New hardware is shiny, and there is always the feeling that what we buy IS the hardware, but the software is responsible for the larger part of the experience. Plenty of examples where superior hardware flopped because of a lack of software support.

A Windows tablet without the ecosystem that the iPad has doesn't do it for me. I don't have an iPad because the hardware is awesome (it is), but because there is so much software that is designed and optimized for it.

If I just end up running desktop apps that have rudimentary touch support (and still drain the battery and turn the device into a portable heater), I might as well get an inexpensive Windows laptop that I replace once a year, which costs a fraction of what a decently specced "Surface Book" will cost.

But I'm glad Microsoft is stepping up their game. The iPad Pro (which I find a little lacking in design and innovation) shows me that Apple can only benefit from competitive pressure.
 
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I really love the flat grey of the keyboard, and when it's open as a laptop it looks really really good. As time goes on that hinge will get thinner and they'll make even better hardware. The only bummer part is how thick it is, because the hinge doesn't allow it to close flat, which is weird because the internals are all in the monitor, so why is the bottom so thick?

It actually makes me want to see what it would look like if they made just a laptop that didn't disconnect, kind of like their version of the 'air'. I think it would be great.

But you really have to give MS some respect here. They killed it. It really marks a new era for them.
 
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sracer said:
I concur with your observations with the exception of the use of the word "mediocre" to describe the SP3 as a notebook. But I guess it depends upon how one uses it. SP3 in tablet mode? No argument here. Actually, you were being generous. :)
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Mediocre in that if you are only using it as a laptop there are far better options (especially in regards to the keyboard and trackpad).
 
PhoneI said:
Mediocre in that if you are only using it as a laptop there are far better options (especially in regards to the keyboard and trackpad).
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Yes, that makes sense. No argument either on the trackpad. But perceptions of keyboards are highly subjective, based on one's preferences. For some reason unknown to me, mechanical keyboards are all the rage these days... but after spending 40+ years on mechanical keyboards I dislike them and find that the TypeCover keyboard on the Surface to be outstanding. But I do understand how others would have a different opinion about it.
 
mashinhead said:
The only bummer part is how thick it is, because the hinge doesn't allow it to close flat, which is weird because the internals are all in the monitor, so why is the bottom so thick?
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I actually like that thick hinge. I'm sure it'll feel great when held it in the hand, it looks just like the spine of a book. It's refreshing to see a well designed laptop with a shape not being totally constrained by someone's obsession for thinness.
 
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AFEPPL said:
ipad pro will be a huge flop, its just another me 2 release.
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I think the opposite, I think it will appeal to artists especially, Pixar and Disney have both said how much they like the iPad Pro and Apple Penicl. Having watched the videos that Disney have posted online, I have to say the iPad Pro looks great, I for one will be buying one and or pre-ordering (if available).
 
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The iPad Pro is DOA. It was already a massively compromised device because of the OS and now it's just a larger kids toy compared to what has been announced since.
 
jmgregory1 said:
The problem with the SP Book is that once you pull the screen off the keyboard, you loose the power of the GPU. So it's a compromise - either needing to be a laptop, with decent specs, or a tablet with ok specs. It is not going to be both. And drawing on a laptop screen is about as challenging of a thing to do as you can get, unless you have herculean strength to hold you hand up in the air AND maintain fine motor skills necessary to draw on-screen.

I think Apple recognized that the iPad Pro was going to become a Wacom competitor, more than a touch-screen laptop sort of thing. Just seeing how they market it tells me Apple recognizes the difficulty in using a touch screen laptop, while Microsoft pretends that it's no issue (while mostly showing people how they use their devices with keyboards connected...
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Where did it say you lose GPU power?
 
If MS decides to give us free ms office included on tablet and desktop ... I'm so in...
 
Warbrain said:
The iPad Pro is DOA. It was already a massively compromised device because of the OS and now it's just a larger kids toy compared to what has been announced since.
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Compromised in what way? It's a tablet. Important key areas are: portability, ease of use, battery life, great display and straight forward usage of OS.

iPad Pro wins SP4 in all of these key areas. And thanks to MS itself and other 3rd part developers you can do some pretty high level productivity on iPad these days.

Surface Pro is the compromised device here. Not the iPad.
 
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Skylitfly said:
Compromised in what way? It's a tablet. Important key areas are: portability, ease of use, battery life, great display and straight forward usage of OS.

iPad Pro wins SP4 in all of these key areas. And thanks to MS itself and other 3rd part developers you can do some pretty high level productivity on iPad these days.

Surface Pro is the compromised device here. Not the iPad.
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Surface Pro runs Windows apps. That's a huge win for most people. You're banking on developers making apps for the iPad, which at this point, isn't happening.

I think you're underestimating how the Surface hits those points and how the iPad doesn't really offer a good alternative to a proper laptop or hybrid.
 
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pat500000 said:
If MS decides to give us free ms office included on tablet and desktop ... I'm so in...
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Sorry, that's not going to happen. The best you could hope for is a free year's subscription to Office 365. The Surface 2 was the last Surface device to come with a free, permanently licensed version of Office.
 
You know, it's funny - it seems like every computer that I really want is between $2K and $2.5K. My first computer was a CompuColor II with an I8080A processor and 16K of RAM, and floppies that held 51.2KB. Price was just north of $2K in 1978. The computer I'm using now is a late 2013 MBP with extra RAM and flash drive, and the price was in that same range.

Same here: if I were interested in the Surface Book, the computer I'd really want would have the CPU bump, the RAM bump and a storage bump and spend north of $2K. The iPad Pro isn't the computer I really want - it's the tablet I really want. And although the use cases between a tablet and a computer have some overlap, in my world at least, they're sufficiently different to warrant having one of each.

I'm terribly impressed with what Microsoft has accomplished here; I'm just not in the market for this kind of hybrid product. I have the computer that I really want, and hopefully in a few weeks I can get the tablet that I really want.
 
Warbrain said:
Surface Pro runs Windows apps. That's a huge win for most people. You're banking on developers making apps for the iPad, which at this point, isn't happening.

I think you're underestimating how the Surface hits those points and how the iPad doesn't really offer a good alternative to a proper laptop or hybrid.
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Skylitfly said:
Compromised in what way? It's a tablet. Important key areas are: portability, ease of use, battery life, great display and straight forward usage of OS.

iPad Pro wins SP4 in all of these key areas. And thanks to MS itself and other 3rd part developers you can do some pretty high level productivity on iPad these days.

Surface Pro is the compromised device here. Not the iPad.
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It all depends upon what one's use cases and needs are. The device that doesn't meet those will be seen as "compromised".
Sometimes those deficiencies are situational. My Surface 2 is more "pro" than the iPad Pro when it comes to using the device for presentations. The Ability to connect to virtually any monitor/display/projector with true support for multiple displays and use a presentation remote make the Surface 2 (even running Windows RT) is far superior to the iPad Pro.

The ability to have a fully touch-optimized user experience on a tablet makes the iPad Pro far superior to any Windows tablet.

It all depends.
 
mr.bee said:
so MS finally caught up and knows how to put up a fight...

Apple on the other hand still has this very embarrassing excuse of office apps called 'iWork's'....Once, a long time ago, they promised us to give us updates. I thought 'wow, this is finally going to be a step up and we have a good competitor' but no... it's embarrassing to use.

getting tempting to switch again maybe...
Click to expand...
This is a good thing...hopefully the success of MS would keep Apple in check.
 
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