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I have a SP4. I don't care what it is called. It is a device that, by design, requires at least a mouse or digital pen. In other words, it could not be used to the full extent with only touch input.

I use it plenty as a tablet without external mouse and keyboard and even for some productivity since it has a full on-screen keyboard option with control, alternate, function and windows keys which is non-existent or rare on ARM tablets.
 
I use it plenty as a tablet without external mouse and keyboard and even for some productivity since it has a full on-screen keyboard option with control, alternate, function and windows keys which is non-existent or rare on ARM tablets.

So? I used it with my eyes closed when streaming to music. But this not the point.

The point is one can't live with a Surface without EVER using a mouse/pen/keyboard. You could with an iPad. That's my point.
 
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Yes you can, if you use the Surface strictly as an iPad: for content consumption and for lightweight tasks.

How about now?

TO USE THE DEVICE TO ITS FULL EXTENT AS DESIGNED, one can't live with a Surface without EVER using a mouse/pen/keyboard. You could with an iPad.

The problem is many (or most) desktop apps don't upscale properly for the smaller screen size of the Surface. They are therefore very difficult to use with finger touch (without pen or trackpad).
 
TO USE THE DEVICE TO ITS FULL EXTENT AS DESIGNED, one can't live with a Surface without EVER using a mouse/pen/keyboard. You could with an iPad.


Why? You have 2 modes. One is a Win Desktop Mode for Mouse and Keyboard. And the other mode is the tablet mode where you have the fullscreen apps.

The problem: there are not that many tablet optimized apps for Surface
 
Why? You have 2 modes. One is a Win Desktop Mode for Mouse and Keyboard. And the other mode is the tablet mode where you have the fullscreen apps.

The problem: there are not that many tablet optimized apps for Surface

What full screen apps? Never heard of such.
 
Windows Universal Apps. Its just like iPad Apps in tablet mode and in Desktop mode you get the desktop style.

Forgot to turn on your sarcasm meter?
Anyway, I don't believe in unicorns and Santa Claus.
 
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"The Tablet That Can Replace Your Laptop"

Quoted from the official SP4 website. You could understand where others would be confused with your assertion its 'not a tablet' when microsoft themselves market it as a tablet

Open it up, what is inside? Ultrabook guts, not tablet guts.. Therefore it's an Ultrabook, not a tablet..

The Surface is a tablet, the Surface Pro isn't.
 
Except that those apps on iOS are 100x better than Windows.

Examples? Consumption is mostly browsing and watching media. Full desktop browser with add-ons and media player blow everything away because it works 100% with all sites and known codecs. Even for gaming nothing beats what's available on Steam.
 
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Except that those apps on iOS are 100x better than Windows.

Which apps specifically, so we can see for ourselves?

By your comment, you currently own both devices so can give detailed descriptions.

If you can't (or don't currently own both devices), - maybe you should rethink giving opinions and misdirecting posters..
 
Examples? Consumption is mostly browsing and watching media. Full desktop browser with add-ons and media player blow everything away because it works 100% with all sites and known codecs. Even for gaming nothing beats what's available on Steam.
@temna engaged in a little hyperbole, but generally speaking the quantity of quality iOS apps is significantly greater than the number of touch-optimized Modern UI apps. There is more to "apps" than simply being app-ified frontends to websites. Using a desktop app in touch mode is going to be inferior to using apps that have been designed from the ground-up for touch. Yes, they'll work in a pinch, but that would not be preferred solution.

There are apps for iOS that rival what can be done on a full desktop PC. One such app that I use is BossJock Studio.

Admittedly, this is not going to be universally true for everyone (that using an iPad will be superior to Windows tablets) but generally speaking because of the richness and maturity of the iOS ecosystem, it is easier to find just the right app for the task. With Windows tablets, if a solution exists, it is usually a single option... and one must go without or adapt to that one app.
 
Examples? Consumption is mostly browsing and watching media. Full desktop browser with add-ons and media player blow everything away because it works 100% with all sites and known codecs. Even for gaming nothing beats what's available on Steam.

Compare ANY iOS app vs it's Windows 10 Store app..
 
Which apps specifically, so we can see for ourselves?

By your comment, you currently own both devices so can give detailed descriptions.

If you can't (or don't currently own both devices), - maybe you should rethink giving opinions and misdirecting posters..

I have owned iOS devices from the beginning and own multiple Windows tablets. I am comparing native apps, not desktop applications.. Compare any iOS apps vs any Windows 8/10 app store app. Any one. Find one that works better on Windows than on iOS.
 
Examples? Consumption is mostly browsing and watching media. Full desktop browser with add-ons and media player blow everything away because it works 100% with all sites and known codecs. Even for gaming nothing beats what's available on Steam.

You're talking about desktop applications. Not apps. And for the record, I could care less than two .. about Steam.
 
I have owned iOS devices from the beginning and own multiple Windows tablets. I am comparing native apps, not desktop applications.. Compare any iOS apps vs any Windows 8/10 app store app. Any one. Find one that works better on Windows than on iOS.

Staffpad - good luck finding an iOS example that even competes with it. (Hint - there isn't).

Drawboard PDF - one of the best PDF/markup apps I've ever used. Much better than iAnnotate and PDF Expert. That annoying thing with PDF Expert where you have to press the pencil button to draw - doesn't exist on the Surface with Drawboard. You just start writing at any time - like it's a real pen!

OneNote - this is finally on equal footing with the W10 version, since Apple caved and added a stylus. You know what though? I've used this for over the past year......

Webbrowsers - iOS safari vs Edge = edge wins..

What else is there?

RSS Readers - W10 has good ones.
Reddit client - just use the website.
Facebook - just use the website.

The only game I played was Sudoku - and guess what?

The W10 version emulates the paper/pencil experience. You use the pen, as if you're playing from an actual book. Same thing with crosswords - you use the pen.

The state of those on iOS right now for the iPad Pro - pencil support isn't implemented like it is on the Surface. It is just a matter of time though - but it is another example.
 
Returned my iPad Pro because Microsoft Office didn't support inking yet on iPP. Got a Surface 3 instead, but it was too slow and both apps that I use the most frequently (Powerpoint and Chrome) were crashing regularly. Traded it in for a Surface Pro 4. The speed is much faster, But both Powerpoint and Chrome are still crashing.

Today is the beginning of my second week with SP4, both apps are crashing multiple times a day. Windows 10 itself is now crashing at least once a day, and force hard reboot is the only way to restart. I really wanted to return the SP4, but I rely on PowerPoint that support inking, which is not yet available on iPP...

Before anyone suggests, the issue I experienced is not an isolated incident:
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...p/f9a73aca-c13a-4e26-a1bf-f409eed1a96e?page=1
 
Returned my iPad Pro because Microsoft Office didn't support inking yet on iPP. Got a Surface 3 instead, but it was too slow and both apps that I use the most frequently (Powerpoint and Chrome) were crashing regularly. Traded it in for a Surface Pro 4. The speed is much faster, But both Powerpoint and Chrome are still crashing.

Today is the beginning of my second week with SP4, both apps are crashing multiple times a day. Windows 10 itself is now crashing at least once a day, and force hard reboot is the only way to restart. I really wanted to return the SP4, but I rely on PowerPoint that support inking, which is not yet available on iPP...

Before anyone suggests, the issue I experienced is not an isolated incident:
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...p/f9a73aca-c13a-4e26-a1bf-f409eed1a96e?page=1

There appears to be issues with the Skylake drivers. Microsoft updated the SP3 and got it very, very stable with W10 (which was terrible, at first) - so I expect them to do the same and take care of it.

One thing you may want to do - perform a fresh install of Windows 10. I had issues at first, but with a clean install, they went away.
 
One thing you may want to do - perform a fresh install of Windows 10. I had issues at first, but with a clean install, they went away.

I had already wiped and rebuilt 3 times. Microsoft may eventually fix their driver issues so it will not completely lock up. But the app crashing of Powerpoint and Chrome is something that I experienced on the Surface 3 too. So it is not related to Skylake, and it is just "the special feature" you get only with Windows.
 
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I had already wiped and rebuilt 3 times. Microsoft may eventually fix their driver issues so it will not completely lock up. But the app crashing of Powerpoint and Chrome is something that I experienced on the Surface 3 too. So it is not related to Skylake, and it is just "the special feature" you get only with Windows.

Yep - iOS totally never crashes...

 
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Yep - iOS totally never crashes...

Sure, apps crash in iOS and Mac OS too. But when it happens, usually something went wrong, and a uninstall/reinstall should fix it.

At least in my case, when apps crash in Windows, uninstall/reinstall and rebuilding Windows did not fix it. That is why I called it a "built-in feature", and it had been reproduced after multiple fresh installs, on at least two different models of Surface.
 
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