Microsoft Pits Surface Pro 7 Against iPad Pro, Says Surface is 'Still the Better Choice'

[Scottsoapbox]

It is the better choice.

I have an iPhone, an iPad Pro, a Surface Pro, and a workstation PC.

I use the workstation, iPhone, surface pro constantly. My iPad gathers dust on my charging station. My iPhone does 99% of what the iPad can do.

When I can't do it on the iPhone, 99% of the time the Surface or workstation is what I *need* to do it.

 

[Macintosh IIvx]

BREAKING NEWS: Company says their own product is better choice than their competitors product!​

 

[haydn!]

In pretty sure Apple has repeatedly said they have no interest in doing this. And honestly, they shouldn’t - it would be better to make iPadOS more functional than to cram macOS on to an iPad.

Exactly this. This is the reason (or one of them) why Apple seperated out iPadOS from iOS. So they can start to differentiate from iPhone more and create a robust tablet, capable of replacing a notebook. The last few OS updates for iPad have moved things on leaps and bounds too.

 

[The_Martini_Cat]

Doggone it! This cat got an iPad years ago ... I did not upgrade until about a year after the magic keyboards came out and, wow! The Surface might have a fine keyboard, but the iPad/Magic keyboard combo is so great, sized just right and works so well that I almost never use the iPad as a pad! I have written so much on the magic I would not hesitate to say it's the best keyboard I've ever had ... not counting that IBM card punch machine back in 1972. That as a really great one, too, but the cards were not that easy to edit, so iPad vs the 1972 IBM card punch machine, it's iPad FTW!

 

[RogueWarrior65]

Big whoop. I have a touch-screen PC. I never use the touch screen. My guess is that nobody does except for a few special use-cases which would explain why Apple ditched the Touchbar. I also have a MPB with one and it looks cool but I rarely use it for anything that traditional keyboard buttons used to do.

 

[alexandr]

What else are they supposed to do? Endorse the iPad and Mac?????

nothing. nothing would be the thing to do.

 

[DarthDon]

maybe if you install ubuntu 😂

 

[Charlesrfinal]

I love my Surface Pro 7. i7, 16GB RAM, Windows. My Surface Pro 1 lasted 6 years and was effective for all 6.

I use an iPhone 12 Pro Max / beats flex. My only Apple ecosystem products.

Sorry Apple people, I’ve been using Windows since 1996, the Mac ecosystem just isn’t for me.

 

[Saturnine]

I have an 11” iPad Pro and also a Surface Pro, which is my work device. Truth-be-told I couldn’t use my iPad for work. There are just too many apps and windows I have open at once. Too many tasks I undertake all the time, like connecting to fileshares, that just don’t work as seamlessly on the iPad, especially in an Active Directory environment.

That said, I’d never buy a Surface for my personal use either. I can’t stand Windows and its constant interruptions. I much prefer iPadOS and MacOS.

Neither is a bad device. For my purposes, neither are entirely suitable for my needs. Now, if only my workplace would allow me to use a MacBook...

 

[aesc80]

Microsoft's own marketing saying they're own stuff is better? Seems legit - let's shut it down y'all!!!

 

[huge_apple_fangirl]

Someone really needs to hack an iPad Pro to get it to run macOS... with the M1 so similar to the A-series it could work. Then it would be a perfect device (Unlike Surface which is mediocre at both tablet and laptop form).

 

[subi257]

even so, you would go with M1 macbooks

Not necessarily, we have video producer/editors on MacBook Pros. They are running maxed out 16" MacBook Pros...fastest CPU, 64GB RAM, upgraded GPU 8TB SSD...$7200. I don't think there will be any Apple Processor unit that will compete with that in the too near future. They are running things like Resolve, Flame.

 

[JCCL]

Erm, start reading this thread from the beginning, I had one, it's rubbish.

I see, didn't notice that or linked the same individual. Seems your experience has been completely opposite to mine. I've had a Surface Pro 3, Pro 4 and currently Pro 6 and my experience has been flawless with each of them.

Funny you've mention Face Recognition and it's been working great for me in both the Pro 4 and 6.

 

[subi257]

Someone really needs to hack an iPad Pro to get it to run macOS... with the M1 so similar to the A-series it could work. Then it would be a perfect device (Unlike Surface which is mediocre at both tablet and laptop form).

It would run like crap...not enough hardware resources....RAM, CPU....in my opinion

 

[cocoua]

well, none f the claims in the add are wrong.

iPad is a better tablet than Surface is, and a Macbook Pro is a better computer than the Surace Pro, but still Surface Pro has features that none the iPad or the Mac has, and that's why I have a Surface Pro and a Macbook (but not an iPad)

 

[billk711]

Microsoft today shared an ad that pits the Surface Pro 7 against Apple's iPad Pro, in a continuation of a Surface Pro 7 vs. MacBook ad campaign that kicked off in January.

The ad highlights the Surface Pro 7's kickstand, pointing out that the iPad does not have a built-in kickstand option, and it calls the iPad Pro's keyboard "a lot heavier" than the Surface option.

Microsoft also goes for the dongle angle, pointing out that the iPad Pro only has a single USB-C port while the Surface Pro 7 has several available ports. "You wanna be this guy?" says the actor in the ad, while holding up an iPad with a dongle attached.

"iPad Pro's just a tablet," adds the actor. "Surface is a whole computer and a tablet." The ad ends by pointing out the price with the iPad Pro Smart Keyboard, which comes to $1,348 for the 12.9-inch model ($999 + $349 for the keyboard). Microsoft's Surface Pro 7 is priced starting at $750, and Microsoft says the version used in the ad is $880, which includes the cost of the keyboard.

Microsoft's previous Surface Pro 7 ad compared the tablet to the MacBook Pro, pointing out its touchscreen vs. the Touch Bar and calling the Surface Pro a "much better gaming device" than the MacBook Pro.

Microsoft often likes to position its Surface line as a tablet/computer experience that Apple is unable to compete with because it has no convertible devices. Intel too has been claiming that touchscreen-based convertible computers are better than Apple's M1 Macs in its ongoing anti-Mac ad campaign.

Apple executives have long said that they have no plans to combine the Mac and iPad lineups, and Apple engineering chief Craig Federighi said in November that Apple does not have plans for a touchscreen Mac.

Article Link: Microsoft Pits Surface Pro 7 Against iPad Pro, Says Surface is 'Still the Better Choice'

Hate this kid, like he is paying for it himself.
Got one from work, it's so bad.

 

[Rafterman]

It struggles with almost everything, I turned on facial recognition, works half the time, or can't find the camera...erm what, pinch to zoom is laggy and trying to set it to a certain zoom level is nearly impossible for instance using PDF files.

Surface Pro 7+ LTE, upgraded to 1TB drive - works great for me, as does my iPad Pro. Different devices for different tasks.

 

[Zaft]

For me having a hybrid device makes it not good at either. I like Apples approach in that the Mac is a traditional computer and the iPad is a tablet.

 

[Rafterman]

Ur right, u come across as not so smart

He disagrees with you, so you call him (or her) not smart? Really?

 

[Unregistered 4U]

it’s a poor substitute for a computer with a desktop OS.

When you consider what the vast majority use a computer with a desktop OS for, it’s really a 1:1 substitute. Are there millions who have needs above and beyond any tablet form factor? ABSOLUTELY true. Are there hundreds of millions that only check email, surf the web, and other light tasks? Also true. Just considering that the majority of people running a “Desktop OS” are doing so on some mobile device, indicates that for most people, a computer is “that thing I check my email on and face my books” for which even a phone would be sufficient.

The main miss I see with the Surface is the lack of cellular support. It’s a mobile device capable of accessing the internet but can only do so with the help of additional hardware.

 

[Apple Freak]

I love how comments are turned off on the YouTube video for this.

 

[fenderbass146]

I’m sure this will be an unpopular opinion here, but yes I would choose the surface pro IF I were looking for a single device solution. iPad is a better tablet by far, but even now, it’s a poor substitute for a computer with a desktop OS.

I mostly agree, I work in Managed IT services. I love my iPadPro with Magic Keyboard and it's good for a lot of things. It's my primary device, but there are still plenty of times I need real apps. If I could only have one device I'd rather have Surface. That said, my iPad Pro will likely last and be relevant a lot longer then any Surface and I still have a Macbook Pro 15" for heavy lifting...but yes, in a unperfect world where I was limited to one device, I'll take a Surface....with that said though....if I could really only have one device...it be a Macbook.

 

[Moonjumper]

A hybrid is a compromised laptop and a very compromised tablet. Apple has taken the right approach by focusing on dedicated hardware for each approach.

I bought my iPad Pro 12.9 second-hand and it came with the official keyboard as well, but I have never used the keyboard, even though I use an iMac, not a laptop.

 

[subi257]

Hate this kid, like he is paying for it himself.
Got one from work, it's so bad.

I have actually seen 1in use ever

 

[Yaboze]

I’m sure this will be an unpopular opinion here, but yes I would choose the surface pro IF I were looking for a single device solution. iPad is a better tablet by far, but even now, it’s a poor substitute for a computer with a desktop OS.

I agree. If I were to have a single device, I would pick the Surface. I don't know of anyone that can get by with an "iPad only" (unless you are a CEO that just reads emails). There have been articles written about this, people switching to the iPad for a month and they end up going back to a laptop of some sort. It's too limited.