(Surface Pro 4 vs iPad Pro) — Apple has unveiled a new iPad. That iPad – dubbed iPad Pro — is like no iPad before it. It’s a 12.9-inch device, with a detachable keyboard and a stylus, which Apple calls the Smart Keyboard and the Apple Pencil respectively. It’s a very good-looking device, which may attract people who have been looking for a tablet with enough real-estate and power to be able to replace a laptop.
For people in the that category, Microsoft already has a response: the Surface Pro 3. The SP3 – the third generation of Microsoft’s 2-in-1 devices – is a great gadget. It’s thin, lightweight, and powerful. Furthermore, it runs full Windows, which allows users to install all kinds of programs that are available for the Windows platform.
Despite previous disappointments with the first two versions of the Surface family, the Surface Pro 3 has received very great reviews and has established itself as the device to beat in its category. Recently, it has also become very popular with professionals and students who are looking for a device that can serve a workhorse while on-the-go as well as a sit-and-relax kind of gadget.
But with the arrival of the iPad Pro, many are already wondering about the fate of the Surface Pro 3 and its coming brother, the Surface Pro 4, which Microsoft will release – according to rumors – in October. Many are asking the question: will the Surface Pro 4 be dead on arrival?
To answer this question, we must take into consideration several aspects of both devices. What kind of devices are they? What can they do? Who are they for?
What kind of devices are they?
To start, there is a fundamental difference between the two devices. The iPad Pro runs iOS 9, a mobile OS designed for touch. It runs only apps found in the App Store. Though Apple has improved the multi-tasking ability of iOS with the latest version, the fact is that it’s still a mobile OS designed mostly for consumption rather than productivity. The Surface Pro 3 – and the coming Surface Pro 4 – runs Windows 10. Windows needs no introduction but for those who have been living under a work, we are obliged to do so. With Windows 10 on the Surface Pro, one is able to install both traditional desktop programs and modern applications found in the Windows Store. The ability of the Surface to run both category of applications makes it greatly more powerful and much more productive than the iPad Pro.
What can they do?
As mentioned in the previous paragraph, the iPad Pro runs iOS and the Surface Pro 3 (as well as Surface Pro 4 to come) runs Windows. There are a lot of apps in the App Store for iOS, but these are mostly developed for consumption and play. Though some productivity apps are available in the App Store, they are mostly run-down versions of their desktop counterparts. For example, while Microsoft’s own Office suite is available for the iPad, it is nowhere near as feature-rich as the ones developed for the desktop. The SP3, on the other hand, is really a full computer, running a universal OS, in the form of a tablet. It can run the powerful versions of Photoshop, Word, and PowerPoint among millions of others as found on a traditional laptop or desktop computers. And like the iPad Pro, it can also run the mobile versions of the aforementioned apps upon preference.
Furthermore, Windows 10 is a universal platform. It has the ability to reshape itself depending on the size of the device it is being run on. As a result, developers are able to build apps for the Windows Store that will run all of kind of devices, creating a seamless transition for users going back and forth between mobile and stationary.
Who are they for?
Both devices are more or less designed for professionals. The SP3 has so far been a hit with professionals as well as college students. Its power, versatility and form-factor make it a well-tried professional gadget. The iPad Pro, on the other hand, has not been released yet but given the information provided by Apple, the only thing Pro about it is the size of its screen. Using iOS for the iPad Pro gives Apple the ability to make a really thin and energy-conscious device, but it also comes with a lot of cons; most enterprises use desktop applications to run their day-to-day business and even designers, artists and music makers – among whom Apple devices have been a must – won’t find much that is appealing about the iPad Pro as the mobile versions of the apps that they use won’t be enough to do real professional work.
So who are they for? The SP3 and the coming SP4 are for real professionals, people who want to get things done while on-the-go, people who want a device that can replace a traditional computer while maintaining the size of a tablet. If you want a device that you can design on, code on, create on, the Surface Pro is for you. But if you want the best experience of a tablet – with its pros and cons – on a larger screen, then the iPad Pro is for you. In fact, there is nothing that the iPad Pro can do that its smaller brother the iPad Air cannot. As many are starting to describe it, the iPad Pro would be better named as the iPad Plus.
In conclusion, will the Surface Pro 4 be dead on arrival? You should be able to guess it by now. Not at all. At least, not because of Apple’s iPad Pro. While the latter may be able to sell very well, it is fundamentally different from the former. They are not the same, they don’t do the same things, and they are not for the same people. Perhaps, the best illustration of that fundamental difference between the two was provided to us by Apple and Microsoft themselves during the event on Wednesday when Kirk Koenigsbauer, corporate VP of Microsoft’s Office Division, took to the stage to showcase the latest mobile version of Office for the iPad.
RELATED SEARCHES
Source:
http://ift.tt/1NDSy8l