Why I'm opting for the Surface Pro 4 over the iPad Pro

[mrklaw]

I might buy both

Was thinking the entry level Sp4 for note taking in one note, plus steam home streaming from my gaming PC. Can also double up as a family laptop when the kids need it for homework.

But I'm in Japan for Christmas and the current exchange rate makes the 32GB iPad pro about £500 (£200 less than in the UK). I could probably sell my air 2 for £300-350 making the cost to change really affordable.

 

[silverblack]

Things iPP is better than SP4:

- Tilt pencil shading makes up for the crappy keyboard

- Connected standby time for ARM

(Continued on "Things where iPP is better than SP4)

- iPP is thinner, lighter, yet the screen is larger

- zero fan noise, and zero heat on iPP

- 10 hours battery, so you don't need to worry about charging it while using the iPad

- standby time is even longer, so you never need to turn off the iPad, which means 1) instant on, 2) your messaging and email apps work in the background to monitor incoming messages

- there will be many more accessories by 3rd party, you can court on it, which will include choices of keyboards and cases for iPP

- no constant antivirus and security updates

 

[Atomic Walrus]

(Continued on "Things where iPP is better than SP4)

- iPP is thinner, lighter, yet the screen is larger

- zero fan noise, and zero heat on iPP

That's a negative for me. Don't care about fan noise to begin with really, but the SP line had never used loud fans. The improvement in performance you get with active cooling is huge. It's also not right to say that the iPP won't generate heat, because it will generate the ~same heat as any SoC with the same TDP (such as the Core M CPUs) when it's actually under load, it just won't have anywhere to vent it and will throttle.

- 10 hours battery, so you don't need to worry about charging it while using the iPad

- standby time is even longer, so you never need to turn off the iPad, which means 1) instant on, 2) your messaging and email apps work in the background to monitor incoming messages

- there will be many more accessories by 3rd party, you can court on it, which will include choices of keyboards and cases for iPP

- no constant antivirus and security updates

I'd like to add "massively superior digitizer pen quality," because the current SP pen solution is not good, even compared to the SP1/2 Wacom Penabled digitizer. Might be fine if you'll only be writing, when the stroke speed will always be high. So much wobble.

 

[AttilaTheHun]

will comet when I get the pencil

 

[mi7chy]

(Continued on "Things where iPP is better than SP4)

- iPP is thinner, lighter, yet the screen is larger

- zero fan noise, and zero heat on iPP

- 10 hours battery, so you don't need to worry about charging it while using the iPad

- standby time is even longer, so you never need to turn off the iPad, which means 1) instant on, 2) your messaging and email apps work in the background to monitor incoming messages

- there will be many more accessories by 3rd party, you can court on it, which will include choices of keyboards and cases for iPP

- no constant antivirus and security updates

They're both comparable in thinness and lightness.

Even screen size is comparable but I'll give it to iPP for being 0.5" bigger. More importantly though is utilizing that screen space where SP4 is ahead while iOS home screen is still just an auto-arranged row of icons that you can't place anywhere or just show the ones you only want.

Core M3-6Y30 is fanless with options up to i7 although with fan, 16GB DRAM and 1TB storage. iPP only has two options, deficient 32GB or 128GB.

First day with SP4 so too soon to make an informed conclusion on battery life but I've had it on since 8'ish am and it's now 4:29pm with 48% battery left.

Already gave the advantage for connected standby time to ARM. Messaging and email are remedial tasks that the phone can handle so no big deal plus removing the distraction could be a benefit for productivity and creativity.

SP4 already has the best keyboard/touchpad/fingerprint cover but there are other options for USB and bluetooth. With USB 3.0 SP4 is already ahead in accessories.

This is about the SP3 but a lot still applies and a lot have been improved with SP4.

Antivirus isn't needed if you get your software from trusted sources but it's good insurance just like when malware sneak onto Apple App store. Explain how frequent iOS bug fixes and security updates are good but for Windows it's bad?

 

[tottenj]

Explain how frequent iOS bug fixes and security updates are good but for Windows it's bad?

Windows itself is malware - backdoors, spyware that you can't turn off, etc. What a weird creepy company, lol.

 

[glenohumeral]

SP4 can't handle being on for more than 5~6 hours...that's too short for me.

iPad Pro is perfect as a student who's main concerns are writing light reports, annotating lecture notes, etc.

 

[silverblack]

Antivirus isn't needed if you get your software from trusted sources but it's good insurance just like when malware sneak onto Apple App Store. Explain how frequent iOS bug fixes and security updates are good but for Windows it's bad?

If you think the level of security risk and their patches are equivalent between Windows and iOS, I have nothing to add. Enjoy your Surface. It's perfect for you.

By the way, antivirus is not optional for Windows 10. Windows Defender is built-in. Of course you can disable it, since you get your software from trusted source (?) Good luck with that.

 

[tottenj]

SP4 can't handle being on for more than 5~6 hours...that's too short for me.

iPad Pro is perfect as a student who's main concerns are writing light reports, annotating lecture notes, etc.

I work for a large university and I see a ton of iPads and MacBooks, but I haven't seen a Surface Pro in the wild yet. It seems that the only people who express interest in the Surface are those who are paid to.

 

[Renzatic]

i went with the iPad Pro because I can't trust Microsoft and their talentless shills with their astroturfing campaigns.

But the Microsoft™ Surface Pro 4 is the best thing ever! With a powerful Intel™ Skylake® Core i5 Processor and 8 Gigabytes of DDR4, it's a beast of a machine in a tiny package! Millions love it! Give one a chance by going out to Best Buy™ and picking one up today for just $899!

 

[Farrellcollie]

I have been very happy with my surface pro 3 - save for some windows challenges (which for me are not greater than some ios challenges preventing, for me, the ipad pro being useful in all situations). I will continue to use the surface pro for some situations where it is a better fit for me than the ipad pro. I see them as having different uses for me.