iPad Pro The surface Pro 8 destroys the iPad Pro 12.9" in terms of value and productivity.

[Kung gu]

Now that a new Surface Pro has been released I would like to compare with iPad Pro. Apple also likes to say the 12.9" is a laptop "replacement" in their ads, so lets compare.

Pros of Surface Pro 8:
* Desktop OS with touch 120hz screen
* 2 Thunderbolt 4 ports with also the surface charger port.
* 3.5mm headphone jack
* Comes with kickstand
* Has great range of productivity apps and huge Steam game library
* Pen with haptic support
* USER UPGRADABLE SSD
* supports MORE than 1 monitor
* E-GPU support

Cons of Surface Pro 8:
* weight - 891 grams

Surface Pro 8 – The most powerful Pro – Microsoft Surface

Unlock more possibilities with our most powerful Surface 2-in-1 PC. Surface Pro 8 with WiFi, which combines the power of a laptop with the flexibility of a tablet, and every angle in between. Designed to light up the best of Windows 11.

www.microsoft.com

Pros of iPad Pro 12.9":
* 120hz screen with HDR
* Honestly can't think of any for the OS but the Apple pencil is great
* Fanless
* weight - 682 grams

Cons of iPad Pro:
* Very very few desktop like apps
* Poor OS, cannot take full advantage of M1
* VERY limited file browser and poor multitasking
* No headphone jack
* No user upgradable SSD
* Only 1 Thunderbolt Port
* No kickstand
* Only support 1 external monitor but with bad external monitor support.

iPad Pro - Technical Specifications

See full technical specifications for iPad Pro — resolution, size, weight, battery life and storage capacity — for Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + Cellular models.

www.apple.com

What do you guys think? Is the Surface more of a productivity device?

I do think that Surface can do more!

 

[sparksd]

I have the Surface Pro 7 (i7 16GB 256GB) and the 2021 12.9 iPad Pro. I see them as complementary devices, not replacements. The SP7 is a great lightweight laptop but the tablet experience is nowhere as good as the iPad's. The iPad is a great tablet but not a replacement for the laptop. I like to attach my SP7 to a 4K monitor for most work but the iPad's monitor support stinks. I also need support for interfacing over USB with a few devices not supported on the iPad. If I absolutely had to go with one device, it would be the SP7 but by choice I want both. More of a productivity device? Absolutely depends on the tasks you have to be productive for.

 

[mashinhead]

You know where it doesn't destroy the iPad? Software. Apple's real product is its OS. Why do you think they do not license it. It doesn't matter how great Microsoft's hardware design is, and it has gotten very good and can rival Apple, or how great their specs or their value are, I would not use Windows over MacOS. Or Android over iOS.

 

[sparksd]

You know where it doesn't destroy the iPad? Software. Apple's real product is its OS. Why do you think they do not license it. It doesn't matter how great Microsoft's hardware design is, and it has gotten very good and can rival Apple, or how great their specs or their value are, I would not use Windows over MacOS. Or Android over iOS.

Except for the Office365 apps on the iPad are not usable for me because of missing functionality. I like Windows 11.

 

[mashinhead]

Except for the Office365 apps on the iPad are not usable for me because of missing functionality. I like Windows 11.

And who do you suppose designed the Office 365 apps for the iPad

 

[Kung gu]

More of a productivity device? Absolutely depends on the tasks you have to be productive for.

Well, its easy to tell which device is more productive. Desktop Office, full blown Adobe Suite, Davinci Resolve.

Coding and programming and networking is great on Surface. WSL( Linux Subsystem is there as well).

Multi-tasking is huge on Surface.

The surface 3:2 aspect ratio is great too.

 

[Kung gu]

And who do you suppose designed the Office 365 apps for the iPad

Even the Mac Office is bad. At least MS give some Office functionality on Apple devices even if its inferior.

 

[Kung gu]

You know where it doesn't destroy the iPad? Software.

Yes for the base iPad, iPad mini and iPad Air. iPadOS is good NOT AT ALL for iPad Pro 12.9". macOS will be much better iPadOS on 12.9". Software IMO sucks on iPad Pros.

 

[mashinhead]

Yes for the base iPad, iPad mini and iPad Air. iPadOS is good NOT AT ALL for iPad Pro 12.9". macOS will be much better iPadOS on 12.9". Software IMO sucks on iPad Pros.

I do agree the software on the iPad isn't as good as Mac or iOS. However, while it could be improved (I wrote a thread about this) the really bad software on the iPad isn't the OS.. It's from developers who do not invest in making good software for the iPad. Developers that have made the same software work on the other OSes.

 

[sparksd]

Well, its easy to tell which device is more productive. Desktop Office, full blown Adobe Suite, Davinci Resolve.

Coding and programming and networking is great on Surface. WSL( Linux Subsystem is there as well).

Multi-tasking is huge on Surface.

The surface 3:2 aspect ratio is great too.

Not if you don't care about those apps and associated use cases. The Surface is definitely not better for an artist nor do I feel it fares as well for handwritten notetaking.

 

[Rafterman]

Now that a new Surface Pro has been released I would like to compare with iPad Pro. Apple also likes to say the 12.9" is a laptop "replacement" in their ads, so lets compare.

Pros of Surface Pro 8:
* Desktop OS with touch 120hz screen
* 2 Thunderbolt 4 ports with also the surface charger port.
* 3.5mm headphone jack
* Comes with kickstand
* Has great range of productivity apps and huge Steam game library
* Pen with haptic support
* USER UPGRADABLE SSD
* supports MORE than 1 monitor

Cons of Surface Pro 8:
* weight - 891 grams

Surface Pro 8 – The most powerful Pro – Microsoft Surface

Unlock more possibilities with our most powerful Surface 2-in-1 PC. Surface Pro 8 with WiFi, which combines the power of a laptop with the flexibility of a tablet, and every angle in between. Designed to light up the best of Windows 11.

www.microsoft.com

Pros of iPad Pro 12.9":
* 120hz screen with HDR
* Honestly can't think of any for the OS but the Apple pencil is great
* Fanless
* weight - 682 grams

Cons of iPad Pro:
* Very very few desktop like apps
* Poor OS, cannot take full advantage of M1
* VERY limited file browser and poor multitasking
* No headphone jack
* No user upgradable SSD
* Only 1 Thunderbolt Port
* No kickstand
* Only support 1 external monitor but with bad external monitor support.

iPad Pro - Technical Specifications

See full technical specifications for iPad Pro — resolution, size, weight, battery life and storage capacity — for Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + Cellular models.

www.apple.com

What do you guys think? Is the Surface more of a productivity device?

I do think that Surface can do more!

I think the Surface Studio notebook is more imteresting though.

 

[Kung gu]

I think the Surface Studio notebook is more imteresting though.

yes that's also an interesting machine. It also supports e-gpus so that's great for more gpu power.

The Laptop studio has a RTX 3050 ti which destroys the M1 GPU

 

[cupcakes2000]

We still doing Surface Pro is better than the iPad because of arbitrary list of an op use case threads? Awesome.

 

[Wdave]

I have the Surface Pro 7 (i7 16GB 256GB) and the 2021 12.9 iPad Pro. I see them as complementary devices, not replacements. The SP7 is a great lightweight laptop but the tablet experience is nowhere as good as the iPad's. The iPad is a great tablet but not a replacement for the laptop. I like to attach my SP7 to a 4K monitor for most work but the iPad's monitor support stinks. I also need support for interfacing over USB with a few devices not supported on the iPad. If I absolutely had to go with one device, it would be the SP7 but by choice I want both. More of a productivity device? Absolutely depends on the tasks you have to be productive for.

I view it the same way as well.
I was disappointed with the battery life on my SP7 while writing notes in OneNote, I would regularly get about 4 hours of battery out of it, so I purchased an iPad so I would have longer battery life. The iPad is also a much better media consumption device than the surface.
However if I need to get assignments done, write a long paper, or use any of the Microsoft applications such as excel or word the SP7 is just a better device overall for productivity purposes.
I carry both in my bag now, it covers the gamut of what I need to do personally. Do I wish that MS had a better product, yeah I do but the Surface Pro series is always going to be the jack of all trades and master of none product in the Microsoft lineup.

 

[joshwithachance]

The iPad Pro M1 has nearly 50% better single-core and DOUBLE the multi-core performance of the Surface. Also a better screen and twice the graphics performance on the iPad as well... Unfortunately a lot of Apple users despise Windows so it doesn't matter how good/powerful a Surface gets, it will never be purchased over an iPad or MacBook.

 

[bobcomer]

Now that a new Surface Pro has been released I would like to compare with iPad Pro. Apple also likes to say the 12.9" is a laptop "replacement" in their ads, so lets compare.

Pros of Surface Pro 8:
* Desktop OS with touch 120hz screen
* 2 Thunderbolt 4 ports with also the surface charger port.
* 3.5mm headphone jack
* Comes with kickstand
* Has great range of productivity apps and huge Steam game library
* Pen with haptic support
* USER UPGRADABLE SSD
* supports MORE than 1 monitor
* E-GPU support

Cons of Surface Pro 8:
* weight - 891 grams

Surface Pro 8 – The most powerful Pro – Microsoft Surface

Unlock more possibilities with our most powerful Surface 2-in-1 PC. Surface Pro 8 with WiFi, which combines the power of a laptop with the flexibility of a tablet, and every angle in between. Designed to light up the best of Windows 11.

www.microsoft.com

Pros of iPad Pro 12.9":
* 120hz screen with HDR
* Honestly can't think of any for the OS but the Apple pencil is great
* Fanless
* weight - 682 grams

Cons of iPad Pro:
* Very very few desktop like apps
* Poor OS, cannot take full advantage of M1
* VERY limited file browser and poor multitasking
* No headphone jack
* No user upgradable SSD
* Only 1 Thunderbolt Port
* No kickstand
* Only support 1 external monitor but with bad external monitor support.

iPad Pro - Technical Specifications

See full technical specifications for iPad Pro — resolution, size, weight, battery life and storage capacity — for Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + Cellular models.

www.apple.com

What do you guys think? Is the Surface more of a productivity device?

I do think that Surface can do more!

The Surface is more of a laptop replacement, that's for sure, but productivity -- that's a different question. If the iPad does all you want to do, then it would be just as productive, but if you need an actual multitasking computer, the Surface wins.

 

[turbineseaplane]

It's definitely an interesting product line that keeps getting better.

I work with many in real estate and it's been interesting to see them switch from cellular iPads over to Surface devices over the last two years (and continuing).

It legitimately has replaced the agent computers for a large chunk of the staff.

I find this situation frustrating, as I think if Apple put their mind to it, they could knock it out of the park with a combo macOS/iOS iPad/Macbook thing -- but they seem intent on continuing to just do both alongside each other.

Not that it isn't ok I guess -- it just seems like there is an opportunity missed to hit a home run with folks who don't want (or just don't want to pay for) a $1200 iPad and a $1200 MacBook (being rough on the prices just for sake of discussion).

 

[dmr727]

I have the Surface Pro 7 (i7 16GB 256GB) and the 2021 12.9 iPad Pro. I see them as complementary devices, not replacements. The SP7 is a great lightweight laptop but the tablet experience is nowhere as good as the iPad's. The iPad is a great tablet but not a replacement for the laptop.

This is the kind of post that's helpful for me. I think the SP8 is a really compelling piece of hardware, but you and others seem to think Microsoft has some work to do to get the tablet experience to the level of the iPad. So if I have to carry around both anyway, I find myself cross shopping the Surface with other premium 13" laptops such as the XPS. It'd be awesome to just have one device, but it sounds like MS isn't quite there yet.

 

[sparksd]

This is the kind of post that's helpful for me. I think the SP8 is a really compelling piece of hardware, but you and others seem to think Microsoft has some work to do to get the tablet experience to the level of the iPad. So if I have to carry around both anyway, I find myself cross shopping the Surface with other premium 13" laptops such as the XPS. It'd be awesome to just have one device, but it sounds like MS isn't quite there yet.

In the end, I don't think that MS will get the Surface tablet experience to the level of the iPad. On the flipside, I don't see Apple getting the full laptop replacement experience for the iPad. I say this with the caveat that there are users on both sides who could make do with the crossover capabilities of each device.

 

[Macalway]

You do realize that Intel 11gen is 10nm.

 

[sparksd]

You do realize that Intel 11gen is 10nm.

Hilarious, and it was just moved from 14nm! The Surface GO is still gen10, 14nm!

This is ancient tech folks. Chips will soon be 2 and 3nm. Not to say Intel won't catch up. All they need to do is just jump a few generations. Easy peasy.

These things need extensive cooling and fans of course. Other wise they will catch fire. Fire hazards.

Odd - my i7 SP7 has never caught fire. It's a great laptop for me.

 

[Macalway]

Odd - my i7 SP7 has never caught fire. It's a great laptop for me.

Sorry, I edited that out. You are too quick. My main laptop is a Galaxy Book Pro and it's Intel 11gen. It's fine.
I was just trying to make a point.

 

[NT1440]

By all means get the device that’s right for you.

What does the steam library have to do with productivity? ?‍♂️

 

[LogicalApex]

I am honestly still a bit shocked that Apple added the horsepower for the M1 iPad Pro to compete a lot better, but failed to execute the software side to allow it to actually do so. They’re boxing the iPad Pro out of a position IMHO by letting it be dragged down by the lowest tier iPad With next to no differentiation.

 

[dmr727]

In the end, I don't think that MS will get the Surface tablet experience to the level of the iPad. On the flipside, I don't see Apple getting the full laptop replacement experience for the iPad. I say this with the caveat that there are users on both sides who could make do with the crossover capabilities of each device.

Yeah, I hear you. I'm thinking I might buy a low-end Surface just to give the touch/pen interface a try and see what I think. As you said, it doesn't necessarily have to be as good or better than my iPad Air - just good enough that I'd leave the iPad at home.