Sadly, as expected, this type of thread brings out the elementary schoolyard mindset in people. Tech versions of "oh yeah, my dad is stronger than yours!", "Flash Gordon would beat Tarzan in a fight", and "Nintendo is better than Sega". 🙄
The fact is that both companies have been doing things to advance mobile technologies... sometimes following their own vision, other times responding to the competition. In the end, these devices are as good as they are because of healthy competition *AND* people willing to jump to WHATEVER is best for them at the time they need it.
That's perhaps the most important element... customers willing to buy what best suites their needs at the time they need to purchase a product. Devoted fanboyism that buys inferior (for their needs) products from their favorite company because their favorite company isn't producing what they really need does NOT help advance things. The only language companies understand is "money". The effectiveness of letters and emails to the CEO of your favorite company pale in comparison to what you actually buy.
The most effective thing to do for those, myself included, who want Apple to produce a well designed converged device capable of functioning well as a tablet and a notebook is to.... buy a Surface. If everyone who wanted that, did that, Apple would listen. They always do. 7" tablets sold well? Apple's response: iPad Mini. Phablets sell well? Apple's response: iPhone 6+. 2-in-1 hybrids sales on the rise? Apple's response: iPad Pro. But the iPad Pro was a reluctant baby-step. Apple needs more to "listen" to... that means more money to the competition.
I still own and use a Surface 2 (not a Pro, but the much maligned 2nd gen Windows RT Surface) It's a nice little tablet... full permanent license for MS Office, plenty of ports and expandability, and in some respects, more "pro" than my 12.9 iPad Pro.
I plan on waiting to see how iOS 11 materializes. I have a feeling that "Files" in iOS 11 will not be what I (and some others) were hoping for, but it's early. Multitasking certainly looks to be greatly improved. The dock as well. Life is short. I'm not going to wait around 3-5 years for Apple to tip-toe to the converged device line. If that means having to switch ecosystems in the meantime, I will. But I'd rather that Apple simply jump in and do it.
I could not agree more. These are just companies, with shareholders, who want people to buy their products. And people keep buying the image and style they sell. Fanboyism, that is. It does not matter which product is superior. C'mon people, you are not supporting your favorite football team. You are actually spending real money on this thing.
Apple created such an image that it inspires fanboyism, and Microsoft is trying to do the same (but it does not help that Microsoft was demonized in the past). Some people take a dogmatic approach. Apple is good, and Microsoft is bad, it does not matter which products they make.
I think Apple's products are in general very well done, although I am disappointed at some things. The new MacBooks are incredibly well-built, for instance. But if the iPad does not turn into a real computer in the near future, I will end up giving it up in favor of Surface or something else.
Sure, the iPad makes a better tablet. And Apple does not want compromises, so it restricts what the iPad can do. So the experience is always the best possible.
But know what? Sometimes I have to do something, regardless of the experience being great or not. And it is very frustrating if Apple does not allow me to. For this reason I cannot count on having only the iPad with me. Now, I am getting tired of waiting for the iPad to become a real computer. It was released seven years ago, and Apple still takes baby steps towards making it a real laptop. How long am I suppose to keep waiting? The rest of my life?
Microsoft has a different approach. It embraces compromises, as long as the work gets done. But these compromises are less and less every year. The Surface Pro still has a lot of compromises, but perhaps I can live with them now. The iPad, on all its greatness and perfection, will not allow me to do what I must do, because otherwise it would not be so great and perfect. So, while I like all the experience of the iPad, perhaps I should not spend at least USD 650 on another one just to carry additional weight with me, as I cannot get rid of the laptop.
