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iPad Pro iPad Pro vs Surface Pro 4

bounou

bounou

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 6, 2012
354
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I will be getting one of these for sure, they both have their pros and cons and I'm honestly having a really hard time making up my mind. I'll probably wait till the reviews are out for the iPad Pro before deciding.

The surface feels pretty compelling, I played around with it a few times in store and the keyboard is pretty amazing, the real problem with it is that it's running Windows 10 instead of OS X and the price, the 8GB i7 version with keyboard comes to 2600$ CAD, that's a low power dual core CPU with Iris graphics for 2600$...

The iPad Pro is looking pretty nice but iOS feels like a baby OS compare to Windows 10, having said that I think the iPad has some pretty amazing apps and in a lot of ways does single tasking way better then the surface pro 4 does. I also really like having LTE on the iPad Pro.

So yeah I can't make up my mind on which of them to get...
 
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I am also still debating with myself over which device to get (if any). But ask yourself: what is the main thing that you are going to use it for? I already have a 13" rMBP and an iPad Air 2 but I really want a device that works well with hand drawn sketches. And as far as I can see it looks like the iPad Pro will be better for that. But what are you going to use the device for?
 
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It really depends on what your specific needs are. Do the tools exist to do what you want to do on the iPad? I can't help thinking that no matter how good the iPad's new multi-tasking is, it won't really be a fit for many users without mouse input. I've used a keyboard with my iPad quite a lot, and having to reach up to touch the screen is really irritating. In fact Apple says this is the reason they'd never make a touch-screen laptop, yet, they release the iPad Pro that requires just this...

I see the iPad Pro as a tool for artists and a few other types of users, probably more in the creative end of the spectrum, but for the larger swath of users who have more typical workflows, it's not ready. Hopefully the Pro will be a platform that lets developers get more creative with what they can do in iOS, but I expect it will be a couple of years before we know how that story goes.
 
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bounou said:
I will be getting one of these for sure, they both have their pros and cons and I'm honestly having a really hard time making up my mind. I'll probably wait till the reviews are out for the iPad Pro before deciding.

The surface feels pretty compelling, I played around with it a few times in store and the keyboard is pretty amazing, the real problem with it is that it's running Windows 10 instead of OS X and the price, the 8GB i7 version with keyboard comes to 2600$ CAD, that's a low power dual core CPU with Iris graphics for 2600$...

The iPad Pro is looking pretty nice but iOS feels like a baby OS compare to Windows 10, having said that I think the iPad has some pretty amazing apps and in a lot of ways does single tasking way better then the surface pro 4 does. I also really like having LTE on the iPad Pro.

So yeah I can't make up my mind on which of them to get...
Click to expand...

I had the surface Pro three and ended up getting rid of it. As a laptop it was OK, however changing aspect ratios to an easier to see font was very Cloogy at best and the one problem that I absolutely could not get past was the fact that in tablet mode the keyboard would actually cover-up whatever you were looking at. And didn't scale up and push everything up so you can go up and down and see everything it actually just covered it up.

In the end after trying for about six months I gave up and went right back to my iPad. It's a much smooth experience much more refined and everything works a lot more efficiently.
 
I'd say go and test drive them, you won't get an objective answer here and only you know what works for you...
 
Dranix said:
Windows makes any Surface a non-buy for me. I hate Windows with a deep passion.
Click to expand...
Windows is the clumsiest, most gormless, most thoughtless, OS I could imagine. I have to use it every other day, and it is the least intuitive thing I ever could imagine. It's so awful that I have to cuss the screen just to relieve the frustration or inability when trying to get anywhere and do anything on Windows.

It is a retarded OS. Who uses that unless they HAVE to?

Therefore... the iPad Pro is the way to go.
 
mikezmac said:
the one problem that I absolutely could not get past was the fact that in tablet mode the keyboard would actually cover-up whatever you were looking at. And didn't scale up and push everything up so you can go up and down and see everything it actually just covered it up.
Click to expand...

It has either option. It can work as an overlay or as a separate window that forces the rest of the content above it.
 
I have a Surface Pro 3 and once though as the OP did. Here's what I've discovered - and this covers only my personal usage pattern.

For some applications, the SP3 is superior. Office, for example. Of course that's because obviously it runs the full MS Office suite. No brainier. The downside is that is requires a mouse & keyboard. The touch functionality is terrible, and for many things nonexistent. Photoshop? Sure, I suppose... But needs a mouse since it's not touch-optimized. But I don't own Photoshop since I don't need a $900 image editor. Something like Pixelmator for $10 on iOS or what, $20? on OSX does what I need just fine. And it's optimized for touch on the tablet side.

For others, the SP3 is awful. Want OpenTable? You're better off using the website, whereas there's a nice dedicated app for the iPad. FedEx or UPS apps with push notifications? Forget it. Website. iWork? Obviously not... website. Bank, credit card, cable TV, cell carrier.... want a finger-friendly app? Nope. Website. I can keep listing examples where the only option (or the better option because the Windows App Store version sucks) is to fire up a web browser and log in. This of course puts you in a keyboard/mouse-centric environment and not a finger-friendly app. And that defeats the purpose of having a nice tablet. May as well just use a regular laptop with a better keyboard & trackpad and better battery life.

So, for laptop things, the SP3 (and SP4) are good. For tablet things, they're terrible (IMO). Mashing them together has little benefit since it's so bad at being a tablet.

Therefore I'm back in the camp of keeping separate laptop (of which MacBook > Surface) and tablet (iPad > Surface).

I still have my i5/8GB RAM/256GB SSD Surface Pro 3 and attempt to use it whenever possible to squeeze out some return on my nearly $2000 investment, but it's definitely not been the Jesus Device it was advertised as.
 
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i love Windows thoroughly. my chosen OS over OSX any day. (i only use macs on and off these days).

question is what do you want? the SP4 - a Windows run clunky looking laptop screen, which runs industry standard desktop grade software?, or IPP - an elegant ios run tablet that doesn't?

personally, because my work is run on pc's, anything else is just more for fun or for my minor business needs, so the non desktop software installed IOS IPP is for me. cant wait!!! the surface Pro is a nice thought, but a waste of money when my pc's piss all over it.
 
Windows 8 was ok, but difficult, and a step back form 7 in many ways. But now this 10 version is way better than I expected. They actually listened to every one, and decided to do it our way, instead of 'their' way. Smart move, and very Apple like. So now not only is their hardware Apple like, but their software also, so it really comes down to value, and the OS.

Having said that, I still find it glitchy as hell for what I do.

So it's the iPad for me :)
 
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I would say iPad Pro, the Surface uses Windows and from what i've heard it's not a very reliable device. A friend of mine who is a teacher got a Surface Pro 3 as part of an education thing that was offered, she regrets it! ever since having it she has had nothing but problems. Personally i prefer Apples devices, they are a lot more reliable, take a Mac for example they crash far less and last a lot longer. The Surface Pro has the specs that i can't and wont deny, but that isn't everything if the device is going to be far less reliable.
 
Surface owner for quite a while and an iPad owner in various forms for longer.

You need both and a big laptop/PC. Here is why,

You need a decent tablet so iPad. You need a portable laptop/hybrid that has a full OS and is portable. I'm in a coffee shop typing this and I wouldn't use any other device for this than my Surface 3. You need a full laptop/PC cause who wants to stare at a 10-12" screen for a long time. You need a 15.6"+ screen for that.

I should copy and paste this as a template for anyone who posts asking if what is basically a massive iPod touch is good enough as a full laptop replacement.

Disclaimer to cover the last sentence. I think the iPad is the best thing Apple produces BUT it's not a full OS laptop.
 
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bounou said:
I will be getting one of these for sure, they both have their pros and cons and I'm honestly having a really hard time making up my mind. I'll probably wait till the reviews are out for the iPad Pro before deciding.

The surface feels pretty compelling, I played around with it a few times in store and the keyboard is pretty amazing, the real problem with it is that it's running Windows 10 instead of OS X and the price, the 8GB i7 version with keyboard comes to 2600$ CAD, that's a low power dual core CPU with Iris graphics for 2600$...

The iPad Pro is looking pretty nice but iOS feels like a baby OS compare to Windows 10, having said that I think the iPad has some pretty amazing apps and in a lot of ways does single tasking way better then the surface pro 4 does. I also really like having LTE on the iPad Pro.

So yeah I can't make up my mind on which of them to get...
Click to expand...
It does depend upon what you'll be using it for. I heartily agree with @xraydoc 's comments... they mirror my experiences to a "T".

But another thing to keep in mind is if you need a full desktop browser. If you're in university (or in business), sometimes the website requires a browser plug-in in order to access online resources. That could be a problem when using a device with a mobile browser.
 
i hope i will help :
here in my Microsoft shop, since yesterday we have an hands-on surface pro 4 and book to try
When you use it with keyboard and mouse....it is a very compact computer and everything is working ok. But when you are trying to switch between 2 apps open (office was preinstalled) the lag is there and you feel you are not behind a proper laptop computer for that price. When you use it as a tablet...things goes even worse..the close button for apps is tiny for fingers, to open them you must put your finger in the middle of the icon (maybe a beta wind10?) i search and was windows10 pro installed, you can;t easy place/move an open app easily like you do with your mouse or trackpad.
I try to use excel and word to copy paste some information with youtube opened,, and while i was searching on youtube for how to do something in windows 10, the bottom gets really hot...like a macbook air 13" late 2012 to put in perspective.

the keyboard is better than surface pro 3 because of the space between the keys..the trackpad a little bit larger

what i see and hope to see for ipad pro: lag free whatever you do, never get hot, same apps from desktop OS, and the pencil to be more precise and with lower latency than surface pro 4

i can see surface pro to be a killer machine for school collage. I blame because i never had surface pro on my collage years but yet there is the macbook that is even better without touch :) but in the rest it;s an ok product..and i will try the ipad pro and probably buy it if my hopes are answered
 
in the next iOS10 or 11 we will have some sort of file management between OSX and iPad and icloud
time will bring iOS very closed to OSX in terms of apps complexity and file management
 
After add ons both will be more than I care to spend. I rather try the IPP though and probably will. Extended holiday return period should be in effect when the IPP is released which gives time to give it a good going over.

I'm typing this from a Windows 10 Dell 2 in 1, lol.
 
Lesser Evets said:
Windows is the clumsiest, most gormless, most thoughtless, OS I could imagine. I have to use it every other day, and it is the least intuitive thing I ever could imagine. It's so awful that I have to cuss the screen just to relieve the frustration or inability when trying to get anywhere and do anything on Windows.

It is a retarded OS. Who uses that unless they HAVE to?

Therefore... the iPad Pro is the way to go.
Click to expand...

but windows 10 has a finder and mission control, it's literally osx with a different GUI.
 
xraydoc said:
I have a Surface Pro 3 and once though as the OP did. Here's what I've discovered - and this covers only my personal usage pattern.

For some applications, the SP3 is superior. Office, for example. Of course that's because obviously it runs the full MS Office suite. No brainier. The downside is that is requires a mouse & keyboard. The touch functionality is terrible, and for many things nonexistent. Photoshop? Sure, I suppose... But needs a mouse since it's not touch-optimized. But I don't own Photoshop since I don't need a $900 image editor. Something like Pixelmator for $10 on iOS or what, $20? on OSX does what I need just fine. And it's optimized for touch on the tablet side.

For others, the SP3 is awful. Want OpenTable? You're better off using the website, whereas there's a nice dedicated app for the iPad. FedEx or UPS apps with push notifications? Forget it. Website. iWork? Obviously not... website. Bank, credit card, cable TV, cell carrier.... want a finger-friendly app? Nope. Website. I can keep listing examples where the only option (or the better option because the Windows App Store version sucks) is to fire up a web browser and log in. This of course puts you in a keyboard/mouse-centric environment and not a finger-friendly app. And that defeats the purpose of having a nice tablet. May as well just use a regular laptop with a better keyboard & trackpad and better battery life.

So, for laptop things, the SP3 (and SP4) are good. For tablet things, they're terrible (IMO). Mashing them together has little benefit since it's so bad at being a tablet.

Therefore I'm back in the camp of keeping separate laptop (of which MacBook > Surface) and tablet (iPad > Surface).

I still have my i5/8GB RAM/256GB SSD Surface Pro 3 and attempt to use it whenever possible to squeeze out some return on my nearly $2000 investment, but it's definitely not been the Jesus Device it was advertised as.
Click to expand...

After reading through all the posts I think I'll probably end up going with the iPad Pro assuming the reviews are good.

Both are interesting to me because of the pen/pencil and the size of the screen, going to wait for reviews to be sure but yeah I think it will be the iPad pro.

I'll probably get a SP at some point, maybe the SP5 lol
 
felt. said:
but windows 10 has a finder and mission control, it's literally osx with a different GUI.
Click to expand...

Well, yes. On the surface (no pun int.), it's fantastic, but i keep running into issues with it. I want to like it, why not? The tablet is fantastic. I just hate trying to get things to work all the time. It's bad enough on OS X.

iOS really is plug and play. Rairly, are there issues. There may be issues of compatibility, or shoddy apps, but you know what i mean. Instant on, etc, etc.
 
Dranix said:
Windows makes any Surface a non-buy for me. I hate Windows with a deep passion.
Click to expand...

I am the same way, even though it has more powerful hardware I always choose Apple products because they are such a delight to use. I will be getting the iPad pro to use as a text book and to take notes as well.
 
Theoretically, both could work well. As people have said, and keep in mind that we are on an Apple-centric site, The Surface runs Windows. If the Surface was the same and ran OSX, no-one would pick the iPad Pro over it at those prices. The Surface is a lot more well rounded than the iPad Pro appears to be, and the people saying the pencil is better than the Surface stylus have obviously never used a Surface.

Me personally, I like the Surface, but I need OSX in my home. I have dug a huge hole into the ecosystem and can'y get out. I may go the iPad Pro route and use my rMBP on my desk.
 
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