Tablet Review: iPad Pro vs. Surface Book

Wondering about which tablet to get between the iPad Pro or Surface Book? Here’s our tablet review to help you decide.

First, why compare a tablet and a laptop? Well, the iPad Pro is a tablet apparently wanting to be a laptop, and the Surface Book is a laptop attempting a crossover into the tablet universe. The best way to see if either accomplishes the task is to analyze them side by side.

Dimension and weight: When you take the Surface Book’s tablet off the keyboard attachment, it’s only slightly taller, wider, and thicker than the Pro. It also only weighs a few grams more. Of course, that’s only without the keyboard.

Appearance: the Surface sports a beautiful magnesium exterior and the Pro has the sleek aluminum we expect from Apple. So far, things are pretty even.

Display: The Surface Book is slightly smaller, with a screen size of 12.3″ (if that’s what you are looking for), whereas the Pro is 12.9″. Both are huge compared to 10” tablets. The Surface also has a minute advantage in resolution with 267 ppi to the 264 ppi of the Pro. Both screens allow you to multi-task by splitting the screen and using two apps alongside each other.

Microsoft Advantages

So what does the Surface have that the Pro doesn’t? Here are a few things:

• A Trackpad – Apple still won’t commit to making the iPad a “2-in-1” by adding a mouse or trackpad.
• Desktop Apps – The Surface book can run the same apps as your PC. The iPad Pro still requires that you shop in the App Store.
• Facial Recognition – When you sit down in front of your device, it unlocks. A simple and elegant solution.
• More RAM – While the Pro comes with 4 GB, the Surface has 8 and 16 GB options.
• USB – Two USB ports allow you to easily connect other devices to your Surface.
• More Storage – Let’s face it. The Surface Book is a laptop. That means storage ranging from 128 GB to a full terabyte vs. just 32 GB and 128 GB options for the Pro.
• SD Slot – Not enough storage or data transfer options for you yet? Use an SD card.

So is the Surface Book a clear winner? Not so fast.

Apple Advantages

Here are a few things the iPad Pro has that you won’t get from the Surface Book:

• Touch ID – It’s not just for unlocking your device. Many apps will let you log in with your fingerprint.
• Cellular Options – The iPad Pro has an LTE version, so you can use it to get connected anywhere you have cell service.
• Lower Price – Apple rarely wins the price war, but you can get a Pro with the keyboard and stylus for over 0 less than the Surface Book base model (although you lose a little bit of that if you choose the 128 GB model).

The bottom line: Our tablet review just lays out the specs. It’s a matter which is right for you. Between these two, it comes down to size and resolution. The Pro is larger but with less ppi, where as the Surface is slightly smaller but has better ppi.