Apple iPad Pro Vis-à-vis Microsoft Surface Pro 4

Microsoft introduced Surface Pro 4 along with various other products at the hardware event in New York on Tuesday. People will have a difficult choice to make as Surface Pro 4 is expected to give a tough fight to its archrival Apple iPad Pro.

Display:

Surface Pro 4: 12.3 inch PixelTouch display, 2736 x 1824 (267 PPI) screen resolution with 10-point multi-touch

Apple iPad Pro: 12.9 inch LED-backlit display, 2732×2048 (264 PPI) screen resolution with Multi‑Touch subsystem designed to accommodate two types of touch — finger and Apple Pencil

Memory

Surface Pro 4: 4 GB/8 GB/16 GB RAM, and 128GB/256GB/512GB/1TB storage options

Apple iPad Pro: 32 GB/128 GB storage options

Weight

Surface Pro 4: m3: 1.69lbs (766 grams), i5: 1.73lbs (786 grams), i7: 1.73lbs (786 grams)

Apple iPad Pro: 1.57 lbs (713 grams) for Wi-Fi model and 1.59 lbs (723 grams) for Wi-Fi + cellular

Sensors

Surface Pro 4: Ambient light sensor, Accelerometer, Gyroscope

Apple iPad Pro: Touch ID, Three-axis gyro, Accelerometer, Ambient light sensor, Barometer

Camera/Audio/Video

Surface Pro 4: 5.0 MP front-facing HD camera, 8.0 MP rear-facing autofocus camera, with 1080p HD video recording, Stereo microphones, Stereo speakers with Dolby audio

Apple iPad Pro: FaceTime HD camera – 1.2 MP photos, 720 p HD video; iSight camera – 8 MP photos; 1080p HD video recording with slo-mo video option; four innovative speakers

Battery Life

Surface Pro 4: Up to 9 hours of video playback

Apple iPad Pro: Up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi‑Fi, watching video, or listening to music, Up to 9 hours of surfing the web using cellular data network

Processors

Surface Pro 4: 6th generation of Intel Core processor that runs at a minimum clock-speed of 2.2 and 2.3GHz when embodying the Intel Core M3 or i5 processors (the Intel Core i7 runs at 2.7GHz)

Apple iPad Pro: A9X third-generation chip with 64-bit architecture, which should run at a max clock-speed of 2.25GHz

Price

Surface Pro 4: starts at $899

Apple iPad Pro: 32 GB model is priced at $799, 128 GB at $949 (wifi) and wifi + cellular model at $1079 (128 GB)

Going by the price, the difference is not very significant provided the customer segment these tablets are targeting.  TechnologyNewsExtra recommends “Surface Pro 4 is the choice to go with, as its hardware is on par with the iPad Pro in almost every aspect and is also more practical and accessible due to Windows 10 that powers it. Still, if one wants to put more weight to the looks and go for something that feels more stylish, then the iPad Pro is the best match.”