It's optional. Press and hold reload button in Safari, choose "Request Desktop Version" and you get the same website you get on any OS X or Windows computer, including Surface.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPad Pro Went to the Apple Store for the iPad Pro, came back home with a Surface Pro
- Thread starter blackoutz
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
It's optional. Press and hold reload button in Safari, choose "Request Desktop Version" and you get the same website you get on any OS X or Windows computer, including Surface.
We could just as easily say that you should be able to use an app instead of having to rely on the website, particularly on a touch device. There really is no "should" or "shouldn't" when it comes to how we interact with our devices; pick the option that works for you and move along.
Last edited:
Most sites are loaded in the desktop version on an iPad. It isn't Apple's fault some web developers don't do their job well. Either way, it's not a big deal. One extra step is certainly a better tradeoff compared to a lack of tablet-optimized apps.
But, basically, it all comes to this - some people prefer the Surface, some the iPad Pro and choice is great. Obviously, you're trying to convince people your choice in Surface is better. Fine - but why are you doing it on an iPad forum?
Just curious. Since you have a rMB, why not just run Windows on that? Is it just for the touch screen? Or just because the rMB is a bit underpowered? Could you trade that in for a MacBook Pro and have one device?
While I do run VMs, I've never been a boot-camp kind of guy. me, I let PCs be PCs, and Macs be Macs. The little rMB will still be my go-to mobil machine, but I occasionally need to do Windows stuff. The two are light and small enough that I can bring both on the road, using one for work and one for play. and I've always maintained at least one Windows system- I'm just upgrading from the SP3 to the XPS 13, for that role.
and no, the rMB s not underpowered. Actually, I looked long and hard at the Yoga Pro 3, which is probably in about the same performance level as the rMB. the reason I opted for the XPS 13 instead had more to do with the screen and the smaller footprint.
The MacBook Pro is great, i recently bought a 13" for my two boys to share. But for my ultra-portable system, the rMB is more the size that I'm looking for.
and no, the rMB s not underpowered. Actually, I looked long and hard at the Yoga Pro 3, which is probably in about the same performance level as the rMB. the reason I opted for the XPS 13 instead had more to do with the screen and the smaller footprint.
The MacBook Pro is great, i recently bought a 13" for my two boys to share. But for my ultra-portable system, the rMB is more the size that I'm looking for.
I tried to run Win on my MBP but some how it mass my Apple video setting. the screen without win is better, (i tried with bootcamp too).
I think honestly when it comes down to it, and coming from a huge Apple fan, the Surface Pro is just a better product than the iPad Pro. I really don't think the iPad Pro shows a lot of thought or indeed any sort of innovation in this product category and it certainly didn't take any cues from the success of the Surface Pro. Apple need to look again at this 'Pro' tablet and look at what it really needs to be, and have. I'd be inclined to say the Apple Pencil is an innovation, but really I don't think it's any better than top of the line graphic tablets on the market that are already available for artists albeit it with more powerful software behind it.
My biggest issue with iPad is iOS.
My biggest issue with iPad is iOS.
I with you on most of it, but at the moment i don't like the way microsoft going:
1- they canceled the unlimited storage on the one drive.
2- last win update removed some of the option we had.
I know they gave us it free so they Owen it.
that don't make me an happy customer, when I think what else they will do, so for now let them keep it.
Have you used the Surface Pro for any period of time? I always found it a great buy on paper, but I *have* bought it... twice, and returned it twice. At the end of the day it has tons of little nagging issues that you really start to notice with heavy use. I really think it only makes sense if you intend to use it as a laptop/desktop 95% of the time. The strengths of the iPad as a mobile device really start to stand out when all of the nagging Intel and desktop OS issues start cropping up.
Things as basic as waking from sleep and rotating the screen orientation are slower and more cumbersome. Display scaling is a constant problem that requires you to tinker with settings. Battery life is wildly variable depending on your tasks. The list really goes on. iPad you can leave it in a drawer for two months, pick it up and it unlocks in less than a second and it ready to go. No background processes and bloated OS to start running again that slow everything down.
People criticize iOS on the iPad Pro as being too lightweight, but MS deserves just as much criticism for Windows and how little has been done to make it a strong experience on their Surface products. If it's ridiculous to use a "phone OS" on a 13" device, it's just as ridiculous to use Windows, which really shines on displays 23", 34", etc. on a 13" device with 2K resolution.
For you. I need something for illustration that I can just pick up and use, something reliable and consistent. I have Windows 10 on my Cintiq Companion 2. I love the thing but it's s mess, mostly because of Windows. It wakes up by itself in the middle of the night, reminds me to buy Office subscription daily (the irony being I alread have subscribed), every day my Outlook account stops working in Mail (and the only way to fix it is to restart a few times), my Wacom drivers stop working from time to time and I need to reboot and I never know if that restart will force me to wait for 10 minutes or more for Windows to install who knows what mysterious update. Best part? Most apps don't support hidpi modes and Windows 200% UI scaling on the 220ppi screen. Some apps have ridiculously small UIs, other have parts of the UI scaled, part small and look weird. Some apps just work really badly on touch - Evernote desktop is unusable without a mouse and the touch version is more a demo app without features. This is the case with many apps. Desktop apps: horribly scaled UI and require a mouse. Touch apps: featureless toys. These issues are present on a Surface too which also has a pen quite worse for illustration.
Depending on your needs a Surface may be better for you, but it's not a better product. If anything, it's worse. For me, iPad Pro beats the Surface in quality, reliability, performance and autonomy. And apps, depending on what apps you need.
I got mine 2 days ago and so far I like it for want it can do and the potential, I'm also a owner of the Samsung Note Pro 12.2 and Surface Pro 3.
This is pretty much my exact feelings about the Surface Pro vs iPad.. Just the process of turning the Surface Pro (waking it up) is a pain and I found it to be turned on almost everytime I pulled it out of my backpack with nearly a dead battery and a blazing hot metal body that had zero ventilation in my bag.. This would lead me to believe i'd eventually fry my Surface Pro 3 from the excess heat.. end of the day, Surface Pro isn't a quick, easy to use unit, period.
Yeah thermals is another thing I didn't mention but is definitely worth pointing out. Surface runs hot if you're doing pretty much anything on it. It might be fanless now (?), but previously you could hear the fans whirring all the time too. iPad runs warm at worst under max load with max brightness. iPad, at the end of the day, just doesn't even feel like a computer. You start to use it and the hardware just disappears.
Well that is your opinion. To me, the Surface Pro is an ok laptop and a terrible tablet. I dont even remember the last time I bothered to use my SP in tablet mode. So If I am stuck with a bad tablet and an OK (not great) laptop, I might as well just get a better laptop.
Comparing the Surface Pro to the iPad Pro is like comparing a car to a lawn mower. Sure, they both have wheels...
IIRC, the Core m3 (low end) Pro 4 is fanless, but the other SP4 models have fans. I've heard that the fan is quieter and it doesn't throttle as badly as the SP3 did.
If you want to make the switch from the iPad to the Surface Pro 4 specifically, be prepared to adjust your expectations. The big and little things you enjoy on the Apple side may not necessarily equate on the Windows (hardware and software) side. Battery life, UI responsiveness, driver stability, etc. Nothing's perfect, Apple products certainly are not, but I've certainly become spoiled with them.
I was at Costco yesterday, and played around with a Surface Pro 3. Very nice looking machine, first impressions when seeing it was that I wanted one. I did find Windows 10 a bit confusing and scrambled, hard to find things. I'm sure it's just a matter of getting used to. What I didn't see was anything that looked like it was designed to be run as a touch tablet. It basically felt like a small very portable Windows Lap top. Tried out the pen... it worked. But is that little cursor always on the screen when using the pen? It seemed distracting. For a desktop replacement, the screen was too small. I wouldn't really want to do much work on it. Maybe I was missing something, but it didn't seem like a replacement for an iPad, and didn't seem like a good replacement for a desktop, but did seem like a nice portable small Windows machine.
The Surface Pro isn't getting, on average, as many good reviews as the iPad Pro. The reviews there take fan boys and trolls out of the equation that this website introduces. As for me, I use Microsoft at work and Apple at home. There is no way I would ever buy a Microsoft product. They are too prone to problems and viruses. In the 5+ years that I've been using Apple I think I've had one significant problem and that was with my iPad. When I had Microsoft at home I seemed to always have problems. Yep, fanboy because Apple has proven itself with me.
Yes, that pen cursor can be turned off.
There is a tablet mode in Win10. It can be set to switch when you remove the keyboard. Or it can ask you each time you remove the keyboard. Or it can never go into tablet mode. Also, if you swipe from the right of the screen you get a control center where you can switch.