iPad Air vs. Microsoft's Surface Go: Which Is a Better Laptop Replacement?

[TheMacDaddy1]

iPad - better performance, better screen, better battery, better apps, better privacy, better security, better support. You could probably go on and on.

iPad = 98% consumption device for 98% of iPad users. The GO is a joke with its weak CPU. The best laptop replacement is a laptop.

Until the iPad has real mouse support (trackpad or mouse) I will not consider it at all as a replacement.

I have used a 12.9 inch iPad Pro, with Jump Destop, and a Citrix X1 BT mouse to RDP into a Windows computer at work. It works just like a laptop and was a fantastic experience since the iPad is lighter, thinner and has a better battery life than most laptops out there. Too bad the mouse does not work with the iPad in any other way.

 

[Mr. Dee]

I have both (Surface Pro 3 and 2017 iPad Pro). If I was in a desperate situation and productivity mattered, it would be Surface Go. Love watching videos, looking at photos and listening music on my iPad Pro though. You can do some basic productivity like email and even word processing. But when you are working on content between multiple apps it’s inconvenient. I remember one day I carried my iPad Pro to the bank thinking with split view I would be able to get work done.

It was a disaster, copying and pasting content, moving between apps, getting files off Dropbox was frustrating. The web browser interface was cramped and it was just so difficult to do more than one thing.

 

[Robnsn2015]

iPad = 98% consumption device for 98% of iPad users. The GO is a joke with its weak CPU. The best laptop replacement is a laptop.

Until the iPad has real mouse support (trackpad or mouse) I will not consider it at all as a replacement.

I have used a 12.9 inch iPad Pro, with Jump Destop, and a Citrix X1 BT mouse to RDP into a Windows computer at work. It works just like a laptop and was a fantastic experience since the iPad is lighter, thinner and has a better battery life than most laptops out there. Too bad the mouse does not work with the iPad in any other way.

The best laptop replacement is a laptop, or a Surface Pro, or a Windows on ARM device.

 

[TheMacDaddy1]

Will ios13 mouse support also mean that an external keyboard can have a trackpad for the iPad?

iOS 13 does not have actual mouse support. Its so called "mouse support" is hidden away. Once enabled it has a big fat cursor to mimic a finger tip. It has no right click contextual (think copy/paste) support. It is very limited and ugly if you ask me.

It is possible that a BT trackpad could work in the same limited fashion.

 

[imola.zhp]

Neither. iPad Pro 11" + keyboard is the future.

This is my new setup, and I can use OSX on my headless mini with Luna.

iPad Pro 11 Gen 2 will hopefully introduce multipule USB C ports.

iPad 11 is the secret sauce. when people say I want an A series macbook pro - just wait. Ipads are getting there. I firmly believe you will be able to one day attach a keyboard to an iPad and begin to run Mac OSX.. when its disconnected, you're back into iOS.

I'm doing this now with a headless mini and Luna.​

 

[Cosmosent]

As a true laptop replacement, neither !

As a mobile device / option, they are both viable.

The 2019 iPad Air ($499), 2018 iPad (329), & 2019 iPad mini ($499) each support Burst Photography @ 30 fps via their 8 Mpx back camera ... NOT sure about the Surface Go.

 

[MauiPa]

The iPad Air is the superior tablet.

The Surface Go is the superior (albeit slow) laptop replacement.

I recommend waiting until the fall (around September/October) to see if there is a second generation of Surface Go.

surface go (albeit really, really really slow). Microsoft should be ashamed of themselves for this terrible product. It has the glacial Intel 4415Y with really really slow memory (533MHz) and achieves a roaring Geekbench single/multi score of 2150/4200. Of course MS should get credit that the Go can even load Windows 10. so is an underperforming, really really slow tablet with a "laptop" OS really a laptop replacement. no. If that's what you really want, spend a little more and get a real laptop replacement.

BTW, the iPad mini has a modern A12 Bionic (which you might recognize as the processor in the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR) reaches speeds 0f 4800/11300. While you might not believe in the tablet style OS, it is plenty fast and plenty proficient to do most tasks you would expect at this price point (spreadsheets, WP, Mail, photos, movies, texting, FaceTime, PDF document - viewing, signing, creating from WP docs), even photo editing, and light movie editing), so yah, a pretty full plate.

 

[TheMacDaddy1]

The best laptop replacement is a laptop, or a Surface Pro, or a Windows on ARM device.

Windows on ARM is a joke as well.

There are almost NO native apps. What native apps that are available are "lite" versions, for example MS Office native is basically the mobile versions that you get on iOS/Android and not the desktop apps with way more features. The devices that are available are slow. It can emulate 32 bit Windows apps but emulation is slow and even slower on a ARM CPU. It cant at this time emulate a 64bit Windows app. I am not even sure why Microsoft continues to make it.

 

[heov]

iPad - better performance, better screen, better battery, better apps, better privacy, better security, better support. You could probably go on and on.

You could, but if you job involves heavy spreadsgeet use, for example, the iPad is basically a no-go.

It all depends on your use-case.

You know what else the iPad can't do? I can't project to a screen, and record at the same time (or live stream and HDMI out at same time). As a teacher, I want to record my lectures and present at the same time. It's really too bad I have to use a surface to do this.

 

[spinedoc77]

Surface Go sucks, and that's coming from the biggest surface cheerleader on this site. The base model is underpowered, under-RAMed. Tablet UI doesn't quite work on such a small screen. Bezels are massive. Battery life is abysmal. It's a shame because the surface pro variant IMO is by far the best tablet on the market and a pretty good (but not great) laptop. Still, with that said the ipad is still a pretty crappy laptop replacement IF you are looking for a Windows or Mac laptop replacement.

 

[PurpleDragon]

I actually did an iPad app with powerful window interface to make iPad as close to desktop experience as possible. However, it was rejected by Apple review, so unfortunately, it is not in App Store. Here is a video demo of that app:

 

[heov]

with the introduction of iOS 13 it is non sense to choose a surface most especially the GO

it is very slow, crashes many times and lags many times

not to mention the little difference it offers in terms of price.

i would rather get a snappy chromebook than a lagging surface go.

I do python and C++ compiling. Can the iPad or Chromebook do that (without weird workarounds)? It all depends on use-case.

 

[MauiPa]

The iPad Air is the superior tablet.

The Surface Go is the superior (albeit slow) laptop replacement.

I recommend waiting until the fall (around September/October) to see if there is a second generation of Surface Go.

surface go (albeit really, really really slow). Microsoft should be ashamed of themselves for this terrible product. It has the glacial Intel 4415Y with really really slow memory (533MHz) and achieves a roaring Geekbench single/multi score of 2150/4200. Of course MS should get credit that the Go can even load Windows 10, that is a feat in itself. so is an underperforming, really really slow tablet with a "laptop" OS really a laptop replacement? No, its incapable of performing any but the most rudimentary tasks and cannot therefore replace a laptop. If that's what you really want, spend a little more and get a real laptop.

BTW, the iPad mini has a modern A12 Bionic (which you might recognize as the processor in the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR) reaches speeds 0f 4800/11300. While you might not believe in the tablet style OS, it is plenty fast and plenty proficient to do most tasks you would expect at this price point (spreadsheets, WP, Mail, photos, movies, texting, FaceTime, PDF document - viewing, signing, creating from WP docs), even photo editing, and light movie editing, and not to mention the Apple Pencil), so yah, a pretty full plate. I guess it lacks a mouse (at least until iPadOS) and you have to use touch.

 

[GeoStructural]

iPad - better performance, better screen, better battery, better apps, better privacy, better security, better support. You could probably go on and on.

But bad at laptop replacement.

 

[MauiPa]

C

I do python and C++ compiling. Can the iPad or Chromebook do that (without weird workarounds)? It all depends on use-case.

can the surface Go, in a reasonable time-frame, (if at all?). That is what this article is about, not if either can perform all laptop/desktop functions. Most people don't program or use a compiler, albeit a dated C++.

I do understand that Swift can be used in Playgrounds, and Lua and Python have pretty good access, but honestly, I doubt many people would use an iPad for that and none would use a Go.

 

[Robnsn2015]

surface go (albeit really, really really slow). Microsoft should be ashamed of themselves for this terrible product. It has the glacial Intel 4415Y with really really slow memory (533MHz) and achieves a roaring Geekbench single/multi score of 2150/4200. Of course MS should get credit that the Go can even load Windows 10. so is an underperforming, really really slow tablet with a "laptop" OS really a laptop replacement. no. If that's what you really want, spend a little more and get a real laptop replacement.

BTW, the iPad mini has a modern A12 Bionic (which you might recognize as the processor in the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR) reaches speeds 0f 4800/11300. While you might not believe in the tablet style OS, it is plenty fast and plenty proficient to do most tasks you would expect at this price point (spreadsheets, WP, Mail, photos, movies, texting, FaceTime, PDF document - viewing, signing, creating from WP docs), even photo editing, and light movie editing), so yah, a pretty full plate.

Meh, Surface Go is a typical version 1/MVP. That's why I recommend waiting for a version 2. As an alternative, maybe consider a Windows on ARM device.

I had the original iPad Pro. It was a nice device, but the professional apps are lacking. Even the version of Excel that the iPad uses is limited. I assume people who want a laptop replacement also want to run laptop apps.

 

[Dave-Z]

I have a Surface Go and a 2nd gen. 12.9" iPad. If you're looking for a laptop replacement that you occasionally want as a tablet so you can watch shows or read, the Surface Go wins every time. It's not a comparison. (I'd really recommend getting the higher model with 128 GB SSD and 8 GB RAM as the performance is much better (though the price starts to get up there).)

Having used both, I wouldn't trade my Surface Go for an iPad. Ever. The simple fact that I can keep terminal and VoIP apps running in the background all day without any disconnects while browsing the web or watching videos makes a world of difference to me. Having a web browser with a proper web inspector is awesome. I really can't overstate how great having full desktop applications is.

The video criticizes the performance of the Surface Go and perhaps that's justified as iPad's native apps (Safari, etc.) all perform amazingly well. But the Surface Go does perform amazingly well, too, if you don't multi-task too much. And the truth is that on iPad you can't multi-task much anyway so it really is the same. The Surface Go lets you load a hundred programs at once, and suffer for it. The iPad lets you open four (split screen with two, slide over, plus a video). If you restricted the Surface Go to four apps it'd run perfectly fine.

The build quality of the Surface Go is absolutely awesome. Right on par with iPad. Kickstand is amazing. The bezels are large, for sure, but I actually prefer that in a tablet because it gives me something to hold without covering the screen, or if I'm resting the device on my chest while laying down, there's a bit of space so the screen isn't obscured shirts, blankets, etc.

If you're just planning to write an occasional email, read, or watch shows; the iPad is the best device. For a laptop replacement, it's not even a comparison, it's the Surface Go.

 

[myapple2019]

iPad - better performance, better screen, better battery, better apps, better privacy, better security, better support. You could probably go on and on.

While iPad has better performance, better screen, better battery, better apps, better privacy, better security, better support. It has NOT been yet a laptop replacement. See below post, which is the fact.

I don't think of any iPad as a serious person's laptop replacement... but at work we've been through many iterations of Microsoft Surface devices, and they all suck in various ways. Even when the hardware itself is okay, the drivers are often wonky - which is surprising since it's Microsoft's own hardware.

If you want a Windows laptop there are much better options than anything with Microsoft's name on it.

Of course I'm partial to Macs, but there's no accounting for taste.

 

[Dave-Z]

I understand having the trackpad below the keyboard for a laptop, but why does MS insist of keeping that design for a tablet keyboard? It's not like there's any batteries taking up space in those areas around the trackpad. Makes no sense to me. Because of this, Apple's Smart Keyboard's low profile wins aesthetics hands down.

Because in non-tablet mode Windows uses a mouse, so the keyboard cover has a trackpad.

Also, the keyboard for Surface has two positions. One flat just like iPad, the other raised a bit.

 

[MauiPa]

Will ios13 mouse support also mean that an external keyboard can have a trackpad for the iPad?

You haven't read all the 2-in-1 supporters? the screen is the trackpad. LOL. I don't believe any of them, I would love trackpad support. I used an iPad as a laptop replacement on project, It was great except for reaching across the keyboard and touching the screen, that was not convenient. I used Pages and Numbers, and shipped those in MS format to other members of the team, never had a problem. Only missing features I found I really wanted were 1) a trackpad, 2) programming support, 3) macOS interface is just nicer.

 

[SoN1NjA]

iPad - better performance, better screen, better battery, better apps, better privacy, better security, better support. You could probably go on and on.

Which means nothing because it can’t do real laptop stuff

 

[GeoStructural]

C


can the surface Go, in a reasonable time-frame, (if at all?). That is what this article is about, not if either can perform all laptop/desktop functions. Most people don't program or use a compiler, albeit a dated C++.

I do understand that Swift can be used in Playgrounds, and Lua and Python have pretty good access, but honestly, I doubt many people would use an iPad for that and none would use a Go.

Many people do not use an iPad for that simply because it is impossible or as the original comment said "you need a weird workaround".

Every time I hear someone say their iPad replaced their computer I imagine all they do is media consumption... watching videos is the only thing I find my beloved iPad to be superior to my computer, and that is after installing a decent app since native format support is terrible.

iPad will replace my computer the day I can run in it full versions of XCode, MatLab, Spyder, SAP2000, Solidworks, Excel (the real one), tons of other professional software... the ability to access files out of the sandbox, to connect two monitors and use proper mouse and keyboard, or connect several external drives, format them, work on them... If a single one of those is not met, it cannot replace my computer.

 

[flat five]

lol.. MR staff trolling (some) MR readers with that question

 

[Robnsn2015]

Many people do not use an iPad for that simply because it is impossible or as the original comment said "you need a weird workaround".

Every time I hear someone say their iPad replaced their computer I imagine all they do is media consumption... watching videos is the only thing I find my beloved iPad to be superior to my computer, and that is after installing a decent app since native format support is terrible.

iPad will replace my computer the day I can run in it full versions of XCode, MatLab, Spyder, SAP2000, Solidworks, Excel (the real one), tons of other professional software... the ability to access files out of the sandbox, to connect two monitors and use proper mouse and keyboard, or connect several external drives, format them, work on them... If a single one of those is not met, it cannot replace my computer.

If I'm not mistaken, you can't even run all that stuff on a "regular" Mac. Am I right?

 

[MacRS4]

I have an iPad Pro 11 and a Surface Go...and when I travel I have to take both. Why? Copying stuff from cameras/drones etc. If that's fixed in IOS13 and it becomes a reality, perhaps then it'll be down to one device.