Microsoft Slams Apple And Believes The Surface Pro Beats iPad Pro

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JAN 13, 2016 @ 02:23 PM 7,207 VIEWS

Microsoft Slams Apple And Believes The Surface Pro Beats iPad Pro

Ewan Spence , CONTRIBUTOR

I look at the impact of mobile technology and online media.

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Which is better, Apple’s iPad Pro or Microsoft’s Surface Pro 4? Naturally Microsoft believes the latter is the winner, and its argument is clear. The iPad Pro is little more than an oversized companion device, while the Surface is the only game in town that will do everything.

Senior Communications Manager Dan Laycock pigeon-holed the iPad Pro as a ‘companion’ device at CES (reports Trusted Review’s Sean Keach), implying that an iPad Pro user will always need to have another computer to be fully productive.

Microsoft really wants you to only carry one device for tablet and PC use, whereas the iPad Pro is always going to be a companion device. The strategies are very different.

“At one point in time, Apple declared that if there’s a stylus, that’s failure. We’re a huge believer in the pen; we know our customers love it. So to see Apple do something that feels a little bit similar, that is clearly skewed for a bigger screen, and more productivity built in, and the ability to use a pen.

“We don’t see it as a one-to-one comparison, because this is a full PC, you’re running full apps.”

Microsoft Surface Pro 4 ( image : Ewan Spence )

Microsoft’s principle with the Surface family is to provide a single device that is suitable for various modes of use, be it tablet computing, a portable laptop-styled device, or a desk-bound office machine. The implication that the ‘mythical one machine ‘to rule them all is the Surface Pro 4, and the iPad Pro is still living in the gimmick-fuelled land of Cupertino.

Pointing out that Microsoft has always believed in the pen is an interesting angle. It’s right to do so, because with the Surface Pro 4′s pen it final has the combination of weight, design, electronics and ergonomics in place for a digital pen that works. But it took a lot of time to get it right, and it is marketed as a key component of the Surface range.

That said, referring to Apple’s previous dismissal of the stylus and its return in the iPad Pro (Steve Jobs’ famous “If you see a stylus, they blew it”) is a bit below the belt. That quote should always be put into context – it was highlighting early generation smartphones with resistive screens that were rarely bigger than three inches, not monster tablets like the iPad Pro or the Surface Pro 3 or Pro 4.

What’s more important here is the broad thrust of Microsoft’s argument that the Surface Pro 4 is able to be used for every task possible, while the iPad Pro is a much more limited machine, thanks to running iOS instead of a ‘desktop grade’ OS such as OSX or Windows 10. I have a lot of time for this argument. I know that with my own personal workflow I would not be able to do what needs to be done using the iPad Pro (or any iOS device), including video edition, audio editing, and live radio broadcasting.

But everyone’s workflow is different and I acknowledge that mine is a bit more specialised than most. The iPad Pro can accommodate a lot of users. The volume of third-party apps have much to offer, including Microsoft Office to ensure you can stay up to date with documents, spreadsheets and powerpoints without too much hassle over file formats and compatibility. But it is certainly a step down in capability.

Microsoft is rightly trying to ensure the conversation discussed is about full-blown productivity apps and experiences, in which case the Surface range will naturally come out on top. But that’s delivering to the small subset of users who will need everything. I think the majority of users are going to be happy with a more focused set of apps and experiences. The iPad Pro manages email, IM, social media, web browsing, and most office-based editing tasks.

As always, it comes down to a consumer having a clear vision of what they want to achieve with a new purchase, and then making smart decisions after looking at what they need, not what they think they need or what a manufacturer tells them they need.

The Surface Pro 4 is focused on doing everything you will ever want to do with a computer. The iPad Pro focuses on smaller set of features that should offer you everything you need to do.

iPad Pro ( image : Apple.com )

Pushing the Surface Pro 4 against the iPad Pro is a mismatched distraction, but useful from a PR angle to establish the Surface portables and their capabilities. The more interesting match-up would be the Surface Book and the MacBook Pro. If there’s a head to head that I’d love to run. It’s not a distraction, and if you’ll pardon the pun it’s an apples-to-apples comparison.

It’s also a battle where Microsoft’s hardware team simply need to get it right.