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So what is the verdict iPad Pro or Surface?

M

max2

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May 31, 2015
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Looking to get my Mom a iPad Pro or Surface for drawing. Which one is the best for this?
 
I compared Surface Pro4 to ipad Pro when it first released. I like the bigger screen for drawing.

I went with IPP

I like that Surface allowed me to run full blown Adobe products in Windows. But I use Astropad with my IPP. It works, but loved drawing direct.

What I didn't like about the Surface Pro4 was weight, too heavy to hold while drawing. Bat life really sucked too. The Pen was ok, but the Apple Pencil is much better for me.

Good luck with you decision..
 
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easystickerco said:
What I didn't like about the Surface Pro4 was weight, too heavy to hold while drawing. Bat life really sucked too. The Pen was ok, but the Apple Pencil is much better for me.
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The Surface Pro 4 is 1.73 lbs. while the IPP 12.9 is 1.57 lbs., so weight is about the same unless you got the 9.7 and then the weight difference would be noticeable. I agree with you that the Apple Pencil is better than the Surface Pro 4 pen. I have an IPP 12.9.
 
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max2 said:
Looking to get my Mom a iPad Pro or Surface for drawing. Which one is the best for this?
Click to expand...
I already have a PC and I already have a Laptop whats missing ? a Tablet the 9.7 iPad Pro is hands down the best tablet and best drawing device period.

Its like having a family SUV and a daily driver car, whats missing a Sports Car. The iPad Pro 9.7 is that sports car it may not be the best at hauling kids or running full PC applications but its faster sleeker and sexier than anything else and its does things like drawing and watching videos and music great.

The Surface Pro is a great Laptop with tablet functionality its a Hybrid
 
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Personally, neither was a good option for me.

That being said, for drawing, the iPad Pro blew the surface out of the water. So it's the one I'd recommend.

Get it on sale though, because while it's a nice iPad, it's not worth $1k.
 
I'm no artist myself, but I do own both the iPad Pro (9.7" version) and a Surface Pro 4 (thanks to my work issuing me one). I can tell you that I'd prefer the iPad Pro for drawing. The Surface Pro 4 pencil is clever in a few ways. (I like the idea that it has an "eraser" end, which Apple neglected to implement. And I like how you can click or double-click the "eraser" portion to do specific actions on the Surface Pro.) But when it comes to actual use for drawing things? It's like people said.... Windows 10 is too much OS to load up and deal with. You don't need a START menu full of colored, distracting tiles of information and the potential for it to crash and not properly wake from sleep, forcing you to wait for the whole thing to boot back up and log you back in again. Battery life is about half of the iPad Pro too, and IMO, it's less comfortable to hold as a tablet. (Maybe with the right case, that would change? I'm just comparing stock unit with stock unit here.)
 
I got to play with both now and I just find the realism with the apple pencil amazing for sketching!!! I found the surface was laggy and felt like a stylus... while the apple pencil felt like drawing with a real pencil and instant response. The surface kind of lagged behind where the tip was. Maybe half a second behind, not much I know, but was definitely noticeable enough. The battery life will last much longer on IPP and IPP is thinner and easier to hold.
 
wmadan said:
The Surface Pro 4 is 1.73 lbs. while the IPP 12.9 is 1.57 lbs., so weight is about the same unless you got the 9.7 and then the weight difference would be noticeable. I agree with you that the Apple Pencil is better than the Surface Pro 4 pen. I have an IPP 12.9.
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You have to consider how it's going to be held, and the Surface Pro is a lot wider than the iPad Pro. If you hold either of them with one hand in landscape mode, the one with the wider screen is probably going to feel heavier to hold even if it actually isn't, because gravity. And then you're also pressing on the screen with your other hand, since you're drawing, and that adds more perceived 'weight' to the wider screen.
 
I personally own an iPad Pro 12.9" and a Surface Pro 3. The SP3 was absolutely top of the class - until the iPad Pro came out.

  • iPad Pro Advanatges:
    • Apple Pencil is far superior to any other stylus
      • The feel of holding
      • The glide across the screen
      • The tilt
      • The fast charging (and it charges by plugging into the Lightning port of the iPad)
    • The iPad is MUCH more comfortable to hold for long periods of time (thinner, rounded corners compared to the sharper square corners of the surface)
    • Adobe Sketch, Sketchbook, Paper by 53, and Procreate are amazing apps for drawing (in my opinion, far better than drawing with Photosop which feels too clunky)
  • Surface Pro Advantages:
    • Runs Windows 10, which will allow you to run Photoshop (you can also run Sketchbook on the Surface - I really wish Adobe would bring Sketch to the Surface because, as I said, Photoshop feels too clumsy if all you want to do is sketch)
    • The Surface Pen isn't bad (though still behind the Apple Pencil)
      • it has interchangeable tips (which are backwards compatible with the Surface Pro 3) which is neat
      • It has a magnetic clip (though I find it's far too weak to trust to leave attacked while in transit, in which case I attach to the keyboard cover)
      • The SP4 pen is better at screen glide, though not as good as the Apple Pencil)
Overall, the iPad Pro is my device for anything that needs a stylus.
 
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For drawing? Definitely the iPad Pro. The Surface Pro 4 has Windows support but the latency between the stylus and the screen is still quite noticeable and it can get irritating. If you can live without the Adobe Creative suite on Windows, get the iPad Pro.
 
bensisko said:
Totally true!!

...unless you do a lot of drawing, you want to do multiple media types (pencil, pen, color pencil, watercolor, paint, etc.), larger canvas, etc.

Non-digital art can get expensive FAST.
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Exactly. Also, with digital art, you can undo. How many drawings get ruined by one misstroke? With digital, you can keep redoing that stroke until you get it right.
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AFEPPL said:
MS Surface.
It's simply a more complete device with wider software appeal.
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Sure, but does Mom need all that software?
 
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Drawing experience is much more natural on the iPP than on the Surface. (I have both).
 
jarodlee88 said:
The Surface Pro 4 has Windows support but the latency between the stylus and the screen is still quite noticeable and it can get irritating.
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Not true for most softwares. True for freshPaint!
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AFEPPL said:
MS Surface.
It's simply a more complete device with wider software appeal.
Click to expand...
It requires more user overhead and knowlege--If I was a hobbyist or buying for one i'd go IPP
 
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