I just thought of comparing with the MS Surface 3: 128Gb with pen, keyboard, LTE is $840. Ipad pro in the same configuration is $1100. But the surface is in fact a laptop replacement, it can run all windows programs. What are the advantages of the iPad pro, except being somewhat lighter? I had almost decided to get an iPad pro, but now I'm thinking: what about a Surface 3?
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The iPad pro IS expensive (e.g., compared to surface)
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Windows 7 > OSX > iOS > Windows 10 > Windows 8
this is my rationale for being mostly in an apple eco system right now
this is my rationale for being mostly in an apple eco system right now
Surface 4 would be better pluse it's newer and have the sky lake CPUS the surface 3 is about 1 or 2 years old now and it was a replace meant for the surface 2 that ran window RT
The main advantage of an iPad over a Windows tablet is that it doesn't run Windows.
You mean the Surface non-Pro 3?
I bought that one last May, out of curiosity in MS's Surface line. Unfortunately, I can say that is a very compromised product. The thing is heavy, it's slow in terms of CPU/graphics power & the storage (it uses very slow eMMCs), the screen is small (for the Windows desktop environment) with poor color accuracy and resolution, it runs hot, and the battery doesn't last longer than a short few hours if you do "real work" on it (hmmmm... I played MS's new Solitaire on it). The only good thing is the keyboard cover.
Of course, it runs full Windows and I can use full Microsoft Office and run some proprietary Windows only program from my company. But the screen is too small and I would prefer tablet optimised apps if they are available at all.
To conclude, it's not good as a tablet (heavy, short battery life) but the screen is too small and the hardware is not powerful enough for using "real" powerful Windows software suites.
Now it is sitting on my shelf collecting dust and out of a few times a year when I need to run those ancient Windows only program for my work at home, I will summon it. Otherwise most of the time I browse and work on my iPad and MBP.
I bought that one last May, out of curiosity in MS's Surface line. Unfortunately, I can say that is a very compromised product. The thing is heavy, it's slow in terms of CPU/graphics power & the storage (it uses very slow eMMCs), the screen is small (for the Windows desktop environment) with poor color accuracy and resolution, it runs hot, and the battery doesn't last longer than a short few hours if you do "real work" on it (hmmmm... I played MS's new Solitaire on it). The only good thing is the keyboard cover.
Of course, it runs full Windows and I can use full Microsoft Office and run some proprietary Windows only program from my company. But the screen is too small and I would prefer tablet optimised apps if they are available at all.
To conclude, it's not good as a tablet (heavy, short battery life) but the screen is too small and the hardware is not powerful enough for using "real" powerful Windows software suites.
Now it is sitting on my shelf collecting dust and out of a few times a year when I need to run those ancient Windows only program for my work at home, I will summon it. Otherwise most of the time I browse and work on my iPad and MBP.
Thanks, that's the kind of input I was looking for. Yes, I was thinking of the non-pro Surface 3. Not as a primary laptop (I have an rMB), but as a 9.7" iPad alternative: primarily used as a tablet, but occasionally used as a laptop.
Do you know how much maintenance the Surface Pro 4 requires? I have returned three of these devices, two i5's and one i7 version.....Windows 10 with skylake processors can be a buggy mess. Then to make matters worse, the Surface Pro 4 hardware is crap. The wifi antennas are cheap and slow and even the pen has inaccuracy issues. I rather give my money to apple for a device that performs as expected and has barely any bugs.
I28gb Surface Pro 4 with 4gb of ram is $999.
128gb iPad Pro with 4gb of ram is $949.
To be fair, Microsoft includes the surface pen. But you can get the same iPad configuration from B&H now for $879
And also, you're comparing a pro product to a non pro product. You can pick up an iPad Air 2 for $399 now.
128gb iPad Pro with 4gb of ram is $949.
To be fair, Microsoft includes the surface pen. But you can get the same iPad configuration from B&H now for $879
And also, you're comparing a pro product to a non pro product. You can pick up an iPad Air 2 for $399 now.
I was comparing the non-Pro surface 3 with the 9.7" iPad pro.
I've read that the surface is a mid range laptop that can mimic a tablet and the iPad is a high end tablet that can mimic a laptop.
I have to agree on this. My wife has a Surface Pro 4, and the issues she had with that scares me away. Still, a Surface non-pro 3 would be something I would try to use primarily as a tablet, which is perhaps less demanding.
Windows requires maintenance, but we love our i5 sp4. Whatever you mentioned in your post we have none of those issues. The sp4 is my wife's and the portability is amazing. If you do heavy Windows work you can't go wrong with the Sp4.
The ipp is amazing also, but our house is a Windows shop. Aside from 4 iPhones and 2 iPads.
You have none of these issues but plenty of reddit readers still have issues or will complain about a issue eventually.
Look on this site, plenty of Apple complaints as well for various reasons.
But not to the extent of surface pro 4 and surface book complaints...the complaints here are less threatening because the device is still mostly functional in apple's case.
The Surface 3, is actually good but slow while using as a laptop, but as a tablet it doesn't even compare to the iPP 9.7".
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If you can only have one, buy the Surface 3 if you need a laptop, and occasionally require a tablet. Buy an iPad if you primarily need a tablet and will only once in while need a laptop.
I'm about to go back to school this year (evening MBA program) and actually just finished up a technical degree last year. I usually studied/did research with my MBP in front of me, my Nexus 7 or the family iPad 2 to my left with text books and documents cued up, and a steno book and pen to my right, where I could jot down a quick flowchart or brainstorm. For my upcoming classes, I wanted to permanently ditch paper notes and I didn't want to lug around a 15" laptop. My Nexus 7 was pretty much dead, and my laptop is from 2011, so I bought a Surface 3 to replace both in my workflow. Unfortunately, although the Surface 3 is more than capable of replacing my MBP for non-technical business courses, it can't come close to replacing either of my tablets. Looking back, I was always grabbing either my Nexus 7 or the family iPad 2, and even if I wasn't actually writing my papers on them, I was doing a significant amount of work on those devices. OneNote was my go to app and I was dropping webpages into it, pasting documents, doing simple markups (highlighting), reading my text books on it, etc. My cohort didn't like it, but when it was time for my projects, Asana was my go-to app for project management, integrated with Google Docs. I then used my laptop to stitch everything together and do the other heavy lifting like running VMs and writing light Bash or Python scripts.
My current experience is that apps suck on the Surface. And I don't see that changing any time soon. Yes, I can use a browser or full program to duplicate everything I do from a tablet app, but a well designed, focused app beats a browser or computer version of the same service every time for me. So, I'm going back to the workflow I'm most comfortable with: a 128GB iPad Pro 12.9" tablet with my favorite apps as my primary device, where I do 90% of my work, and my Surface 3 on the backend to finish the product if necessary. And yes, my tablet will be larger than my computer. It's becoming a strange world, indeed.
I'm about to go back to school this year (evening MBA program) and actually just finished up a technical degree last year. I usually studied/did research with my MBP in front of me, my Nexus 7 or the family iPad 2 to my left with text books and documents cued up, and a steno book and pen to my right, where I could jot down a quick flowchart or brainstorm. For my upcoming classes, I wanted to permanently ditch paper notes and I didn't want to lug around a 15" laptop. My Nexus 7 was pretty much dead, and my laptop is from 2011, so I bought a Surface 3 to replace both in my workflow. Unfortunately, although the Surface 3 is more than capable of replacing my MBP for non-technical business courses, it can't come close to replacing either of my tablets. Looking back, I was always grabbing either my Nexus 7 or the family iPad 2, and even if I wasn't actually writing my papers on them, I was doing a significant amount of work on those devices. OneNote was my go to app and I was dropping webpages into it, pasting documents, doing simple markups (highlighting), reading my text books on it, etc. My cohort didn't like it, but when it was time for my projects, Asana was my go-to app for project management, integrated with Google Docs. I then used my laptop to stitch everything together and do the other heavy lifting like running VMs and writing light Bash or Python scripts.
My current experience is that apps suck on the Surface. And I don't see that changing any time soon. Yes, I can use a browser or full program to duplicate everything I do from a tablet app, but a well designed, focused app beats a browser or computer version of the same service every time for me. So, I'm going back to the workflow I'm most comfortable with: a 128GB iPad Pro 12.9" tablet with my favorite apps as my primary device, where I do 90% of my work, and my Surface 3 on the backend to finish the product if necessary. And yes, my tablet will be larger than my computer. It's becoming a strange world, indeed.
I don't know about that but I don't have to change your mind only relaying my experience. however as I said we are happy with it; and an iPad for us is not equivalent. It's different and good in its own right as a consumption device.
Apple products are always more expensive, that's just the way it is. Go over to the MacBook forum and complain that MacBooks are more expensive than Windows laptops. I'm sure you will get the same response.
People who prefer Apple devices do so because of the software. I prefer iOS over Windows. Every review I've read of the Surface says that it's basically a laptop that can work like a tablet, except very little tablet software is available.
I got the iPad Pro because I love the tablet operating system. I would never consider a Windows computer again. Been there, done that, not fun! Between worrying about your Firewall, Virus protection, Spyware protection, etc. I like iOS. It just works.
People who prefer Apple devices do so because of the software. I prefer iOS over Windows. Every review I've read of the Surface says that it's basically a laptop that can work like a tablet, except very little tablet software is available.
I got the iPad Pro because I love the tablet operating system. I would never consider a Windows computer again. Been there, done that, not fun! Between worrying about your Firewall, Virus protection, Spyware protection, etc. I like iOS. It just works.
The Surface products are just as pricey IMO, and offer a very different user experience. But Microsoft quality control is looking pretty spotty lately. Go look at some of the Amazon reviews for the Surface Pro 4 (and the Surface Book). Many have no issues, but there are also tons of negative reviews reporting numerous software and hardware bugs.
This pretty much sums it up. Surface is more laptop replacement than tablet given the woeful lack of touch-optimized apps.
My wife has a surface pro 4, and she has plenty problems. So, yes.
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Yes, that's a good point. In this case, though, the surface non-pro 3 is more capable in that it can run desktop programs.
Our family is everything Apple. Mac's, Air's, iPhone's. Apple TV and of iPad Air 2. I really like the whole Apple ecosystem. I did find the MS SP4 intriguing and purchased one last Nov. There are a lot of things I really like about it, like the bigger screen, the keyboard with touchpad, full operating system (also its downfall too) and the kickstand. I think the kickstand is one of my favorite features and I wish that the iPad had this too.
I also like how the SP4 pencil has an eraser and attaches to the side of the SP4. I wish the Apple pen could have an eraser and also attach.
Once, I get a Apple Keyboard then I can do a true comparison, as I will probably only end up keeping the iPad Pro 9.7 or the SP4. Battery life is definitely better on the iPad Pro.
I also like how the SP4 pencil has an eraser and attaches to the side of the SP4. I wish the Apple pen could have an eraser and also attach.
Once, I get a Apple Keyboard then I can do a true comparison, as I will probably only end up keeping the iPad Pro 9.7 or the SP4. Battery life is definitely better on the iPad Pro.
You also cannot compare specs 1 to 1 from a full Windows PC to iOS, it just doesn't work.
A 4gb RAM PC can be a complete dog, but 4gb on iOS is a rocket (12.9 iPad). iOS is a much lighter OS; and even gets by just fine on 2gb of RAM. A 2gb RAM PC is a complete dog these days.
Same with storage. While the free space is about the same after OS, windows apps are typically much larger than iOS apps; overall. Yes there are some 1gb games from iOS, but overall most Windows apps take up much more storage than Windows/PC apps. So it's not a 1 to 1 comparison.
You're also comparing and outgoing base model discounted, the Surface (non-pro) 3, vs a brand new bleeding edge tablet. Also a budget processor, the Atom on the Surface non-Pro line. In fact, the outgoing Air 2 benchmarked higher than the Surface 3 non-pro (as well as the Pro but not the issue here) in single and dual core by a lot http://www.computerworld.com/articl...n-surface-3-and-surface-pro-3-ipad-air-2.html
A 4gb RAM PC can be a complete dog, but 4gb on iOS is a rocket (12.9 iPad). iOS is a much lighter OS; and even gets by just fine on 2gb of RAM. A 2gb RAM PC is a complete dog these days.
Same with storage. While the free space is about the same after OS, windows apps are typically much larger than iOS apps; overall. Yes there are some 1gb games from iOS, but overall most Windows apps take up much more storage than Windows/PC apps. So it's not a 1 to 1 comparison.
You're also comparing and outgoing base model discounted, the Surface (non-pro) 3, vs a brand new bleeding edge tablet. Also a budget processor, the Atom on the Surface non-Pro line. In fact, the outgoing Air 2 benchmarked higher than the Surface 3 non-pro (as well as the Pro but not the issue here) in single and dual core by a lot http://www.computerworld.com/articl...n-surface-3-and-surface-pro-3-ipad-air-2.html