Home Uncategorized Windows Surface vs. Apple iPad – The Best Pro Tablets

Uncategorized

Windows Surface vs. Apple iPad – The Best Pro Tablets

October 19, 2022

Windows Surface vs. Apple iPad Windows Surface vs. Apple iPad ? Surface Pro 8 is an excellent laptop replacement. It has a stylus that allows you to add handwritten notes and large screens that make it comfortable for a whole day of work. To make the most out of the tablet, you will need $300 worth of accessories.

iPad Pro features

The iPad Pro features a faster processor, a better camera and a vivid screen. It also has access to many tablet apps that are finger-friendly. iPadOS is not for web developers and coders.
The iPad standard offers sufficient performance and a decent screen. However, it is small and has a limited Lightning port.
These slimmer, lighter devices can be carried around in smaller sizes than laptops. They can also work in different physical configurations such as being turned vertically to read a lengthy research paper. These tablets can also be used to take laptops or desktop software with you into the field.
The best pro tablet for you will depend on your intended use of it. Windows tablets perform better than laptop replacements or primary devices, as they use the same operating system that you would find on a desktop or laptop computer. iPads are better than other devices as they have a wider range of drawing and note-taking options, but can be slow when multitasking. Apple tablets can also be used as a second screen on a Mac computer to reinforce their status as a second device.
For some, an iPad can replace a laptop. For many, however, the limitations of multitasking and file-sharing, along with the limited functionality of mobile apps would make it more difficult to complete a workday.
Tablets for professionals are not the best choice. You won’t spend as much on a tablet if you don’t use the stylus or have a smaller screen. This is also true for gaming: While Apple Arcade and other iOS titles run well on iPads you shouldn’t expect to be able to play the most recent PC or console games on these tablets. Instead, consider a gaming laptop or pro laptop.

Performance

Pro tablets have seen a significant improvement in their performance over the years. The best tablets of the current generation were able to handle any task we tested. Only iPads equipped with Apple’s M1 chips and Windows tablets running Intel’s 11th-generation Core i5 CPUs were tested. Windows machines should have at least 256GB storage and 8GB RAM. 16GB is recommended if you use photos, or videos, or have a lot of tabs open. Apple does not allow you to select the hardware specifications for iPads. However, we recommend at least 128GB of storage.

Software

Windows Surface vs. Apple iPad and Windows OS and iPadOS are two very different operating systems. Windows was created during the PC era, while iPadOS was an extension of software that was originally developed for iPhones. Each was tested on a wide range of tasks.

We tested them all, including basic tasks like typing and attaching emails. But we also tested niche apps such as editing photos or coding. Windows tablets were better than iPadOS for replacing laptops because they have access to Windows apps and a traditional desktop.

Procreate, an iOS-exclusive app was far better for drawing and art. With Apple’s Sidecar feature, the iPad can be used as a second display on a Mac. We also tried two Android tablets, but both found Windows and iPadOS to be more user-friendly and had better apps.

Accessories

The accessories that make a pro tablet great are the ones that go with it. Who wants a $1000 tablet with a sloppy keyboard? Tablet keyboards that are well-placed and won’t bend or flex while you type are the best.

Windows Surface vs. Apple iPad will also hold the tablet in place when it is lifted from a desk or table. The kickstands must be strong enough that the tablet can be supported at all angles.

The stylus should be able to write clearly on the tablet and feel good to hold. The best models also have programmable buttons that can help with drawing or note-taking.

Display

Tablets are mostly screens, so the screen must look stunning. Screens that are larger than most tablets can be seen at 2560×1440 and higher resolutions, also known as QHD, 1440p, 2K or QHD. Our top picks also have high refresh rates, which indicate how frequently the display’s pixels change per second.

Typical monitors have 60 Hz refresh rates, but our top picks offer 120 Hz. This makes animations and motion look smoother.

Ports

You’ll need to plug in something eventually, regardless of the model. All tablets we looked at had at least one USB C port. Our budget choice, however, only has Apple’s Lightning ports.

Multiple USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 3 and Thunderbolt 4 allow you to send video from one or two external 4K displays. An SD card slot and a headphone jack are both appreciated, though they are becoming increasingly difficult to find.

Webcam: Windows Surface vs. Apple iPad

These tablets are intended to be used in the workplace, or for professional purposes. It is crucial that you look good during video calls.

Webcam placement was also important. We found that tablets with cameras along the longer edges of tablets are more intuitive to use, as they are centred on the upper portion of the screen in landscape mode.

Quality of design and construction: We tested the best tablets made from aluminium. It is lightweight but sturdy. To prop the tablet up, there should be a kickstand built into it.

If not, an accessory should add that functionality. This subjective measurement is used to assess how comfortable the tablet is to hold and use in a lap.

Battery life Windows Surface vs. Apple iPad

If you use your tablet as an alternative to a laptop, it should last you for at least a day. It can also last multiple days if it is used only as a second device and a note-taking tool. Our standard notebook battery life test was run for Windows devices.

It simulates a day of browsing the web, scrolling and watching YouTube videos. We used iPads for both daily work tasks as well as secondary note-taking.

Price Windows Surface vs. Apple iPad

A professional tablet is typically more expensive than a laptop that has the same processor, RAM and storage. Pro tablets are more compact and feature-rich than regular laptops. A great tablet for pro use can cost between $1,000 and $1500, with accessories around $300.

Our testing was intended to simulate common tasks such as loading many browser tabs, listening to Spotify music, watching 4K videos and processing 50,000 rows in Microsoft Excel. To validate the performance of tablets, we also used popular benchmarking software such as PCMark 10 or Geekbench 5 and checked their temperatures when they were working under heavy loads.

We took selfies of each tablet’s front-facing cameras and took a photo of a target to test its sharpness. Although we did not test the tablet cameras with different skin tones, Microsoft claims its Surface cameras take skin tone into consideration when setting exposure. To simulate typical web browsing and tablet use, we also ran three battery tests on each device.

Surface Pro 8

Surface Pro 8 is an excellent laptop replacement. It has a stylus that allows you to add handwritten notes and large screens that make it comfortable for a whole day of work. To make the most out of the tablet, you will need $300 worth accessories.
Microsoft Surface Pro 8 Professional Tablet is great for professionals who want to retain the core functionality of a tablet but add a stylus to take notes or sketch out ideas. Microsoft built the Surface Pro 8 with an efficient processor for office tasks, a 13-inch screen that is great for reading and watching movies, and a variety of ports, including two USB-C ports as well as an SD card reader. This allows you to add accessories as needed.
Two versions of the Surface Pro 8 were tested: one with an Intel Core i5 processor, and one with a Core i7 processor. The Surface Pro 8 with a Core i5 CPU is the best choice for most people. The performance of both processors was almost identical in our tests.
The Surface Pro 8 and the Lenovo ThinkPad X12 were nearly identical in performance. However, the Surface Pro 8 was faster than the Lenovo ThinkPad X12 which reached its limit of Chrome browser tabs, and applications, far ahead of the Surface Pro 8.
If you work with large files or video, or you open a lot of Chrome tabs frequently, the Surface Pro 8 might be worth upgrading to 16GB RAM. This is an increase from the 8GB that we tested.
Surface Pro 8 runs Windows 11. This gives you full access to all Windows applications. It also allows you to have multiple windows open at once, something that is possible with iPadOS but can still feel cumbersome. A full Windows 11 version is also available for use outside of the office. This allows you to access tools that only work with specific Windows programs such as niche measurement devices or CNC machines.

The Surface Pro Signature Keyboard by Microsoft and the Surface Slim Pen 2 stylus cost $300 each. It is strong and doesn’t flex when you type. The trackpad and a full row of function keys add to the Surface’s functionality.

The stylus is comfortable and responsive, with two buttons that trigger custom commands. When not in use, it can be slipped into a pocket between the tablet and the keyboard.

12.9-inch iPad Pro

Surface Pro 8’s keyboard is perfectly sized to match the screen. It feels as easy to use as a tablet or laptop. This is not always true, however, we discovered this with the combination of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro (and Apple’s Magic Keyboard), which felt heavy and unstable when moved or placed on a lap.
There are many ultrathin keyboards out there that make it difficult to type with unresponsive and mushy keys. However, the Surface Pro keyboard is as comfortable as any laptop keyboard.
To quickly write a note or to transition to sketching, grab the Slim Pen 2 stylus by the compartment on the keyboard. The stylus is not a traditional cylindrical pen shape.
It is a thin, round, flat slab that is easy to hold and responsive to touch on the screen. The stylus is compatible with Windows 11 and a small toolbar that displays a customized menu of apps appears on the screen as soon as it’s removed from its keyboard compartment.
To erase, you can flip the stylus around like a pencil. You can also customize the button at the eraser end of your stylus to launch Whiteboard, take screenshots, or open any other program on your computer. This functionality can be combined with scripting tools such as AutoHotkey to create powerful, pen-enabled micros.
The Surface Pro 8’s display is 120Hz, which is similar to the refresh rate of high-end smartphones and mid-range laptops. This makes motion appear smoother and crisper. The screen’s refresh rate is higher, so the text will be easier to read while it’s moving.

This compares with older phones or monitors

This compares with older phones or monitors. Windows 11’s animations for scrolling, minimising, resizing and scrolling also look better at a higher refresh rate. The stylus makes pen strokes more responsive.
However, digital artists have shown (video) that the refresh rate of the screen doesn’t affect pen sensitivity. The default refresh rate is 60 Hz. You’ll need to adjust it in the display settings. The 120 Hz option drained the battery 15% faster than the 60Hz option during our testing. This translated into about 30 minutes of screen time.
The Surface Pro 8 has two USB-C ports. Previous Surface Pro versions did not have this feature. Both are capable of Thunderbolt 4 connections which can power up to two 4K monitors simultaneously.
The Surface Pro 8 also features a headphone jack and Microsoft’s Surface connector. This was surprising when we tested it with flash drives and peripherals. Our Surface port charged our device at 70% within an hour.
The Surface Pro 8 can be used in landscape orientation. However, the webcam is the same as any other laptop. Zoom meetings will work fine with this camera angle. This is a better positioning than iPads which place the webcam at the left edge of your screen and make the webcam image appear awkward.

Surface Pro 8’s webcam Windows Surface vs. Apple iPad

Windows Hello works with the Surface Pro 8’s webcam. This allows you to unlock your Surface tablet by scanning your facial features, just like Apple’s Face ID. Although we were unable to test it on other skin tones or faces, Microsoft explained that Windows Hello uses an infrared scanner instead of relying on a photo from the webcam to map your physical features. It makes it extremely easy to log in to your tablet when it works.
With the help of a kickstand that flips out from its back, the Surface Pro 8 can be held in its laptop position. The kickstand is sturdy and the hinge can support the Surface Pro 8’s weight at any angle. It is strong enough to hold the weight of a slightly rested hand. This allows you to use the stylus without moving the screen. The kickstand can be pushed to the limit and the device will rest at an incline which is great for drawing.
The Surface Pro 8 has surprisingly good speakers. They are loud enough to play background music or watch a movie for small groups. The Surface Pro 8 is among the top tablets for audiophile-quality sound. It is far superior to the Lenovo ThinkPad X12’s previous choice, whose speakers sounded muffled and tinny in comparison.
Two configurations of the Surface Pro 8 were tested. One with an Intel Core i5-1135G7 CPU and 8 GB RAM; and one with a Core i7-1128G7 processor with 16 GB RAM. These configurations were $1,200 and $1.900 respectively.
Windows 11 allows you to easily scribble in OneNote and annotate screenshots with a stylus. However, there aren’t many other Windows apps that can be tapped-friendly or stylus first. The Slim Pen 2 is worth the effort, especially if it’s used for handwritten notes. However, the iPad Pro, a more professional tablet, offers you the ability to explore tons of drawing apps and play touch-based games.
The Surface Pro 8 tablet was the least efficient Windows tablet, despite having the largest battery. This is not a problem as the Surface Pro 8 tablets that we tested lasted more than eight hours each.
In our battery tests, the Surface Pro 8 lasted just over eight hours. It would barely last you through a typical workday when it was new. Others lasted for one to two hours more.
Microsoft has priced the Surface Pro 8 premium device as a premium product. The starting price of $1,100 is higher than many of its competitors and does not include $300 worth of accessories. Although this pricing is standard for pro tablets, it is difficult to recommend a more expensive tablet with similar capabilities, given the capabilities of a $1,000 ultrabook.

iPad (9th Generation)

The iPad (9th Generation) is our budget choice for this category. If you are more concerned about price than processing power, but still need note-taking and digital-art capabilities, then the iPad (9th Generation) is the perfect tablet.
The Apple iPad Pro (11-inch, 3rd Generation) is a great tablet if you intend to use it for tablet-y stuff like reading and watching videos. However, you may also need to do some work, such as emailing and writing, or doing a lot more visual and illustrating work. The iPad Pro feels natural in landscape and portrait orientations thanks to its uniform, slim bezels. This simple design feature makes the iPad Pro stand apart from other tablets and makes Apple’s pro tablet enjoyable to use.
Apple tablets are all excellent, with the exception of the iPad Pro’s Apple M1 processor. Switching between tabs and apps, using 3D games, editing photos and videos, drawing and drafting apps, and loading and switching between them all feels fluid.
The iPads do not require a fan, unlike other Intel-powered Windows tablets. While some parts of the tablet may get hot if you use it for extended periods of time, it will remain cool and quiet regardless of what you do. The battery will last most people for a whole workday. With light to moderate use, your iPad Pro can last multiple days without needing to be charged.
The iPad Pro’s bright, sharp, sharp screen is ideal for designers and photographers. The iPad Pro’s screen refreshes 120x per second (120Hz) just like the Surface Pro 8’s. This is twice the speed of the 60Hz rate found in cheaper iPads. It makes it easy to scroll through documents and web pages and allows for seamless transitions between apps. Although it’s not necessary for work, it looks fantastic.
The second-generation Apple Pencil makes it a joy to use. This stylus is the only one that is fully compatible with iPadOS and its apps. It has one flat side and a matte finish. This makes it comfortable to grip for extended periods of use.
The Pencil can adjust the lines that you draw on the screen depending on how hard you press and the angle at which you hold it. To toggle between the drawing tools, double-tap on the side of the second-gen Pencil.

This is faster than flipping the stylus to use the eraser tool like with the Surface Slim Pen 2. The Pencil can be stored, paired, and charged easily. It magnetically clips to your tablet’s top (in landscape mode, it is at the right edge; in portrait mode, it is at the left edge). iPadOS will automatically pair it with you and show you the battery level.

Contrary to the Surface Pro 8’s add-on keyboard which is comparable with many laptops, we do not recommend the iPad Pro for people who do a lot of typing. There are two options for Apple keyboard cases for the iPad Pro, apart from those made by third-party case manufacturers.

Although the $180 Smart Keyboard Folio may be less comfortable to use than other keyboards, it is more user-friendly in cramped spaces and on a lap. The Apple Magic Keyboard costs $300 and adds a trackpad, backlit keys, a charging port to free up the iPad’s USB C port for external accessories, as well as a sturdy aluminium frame.

Because the hinge of the Magic Keyboard is only partially openable, the iPad Pro becomes more difficult to use as a tablet. Smart Keyboard Folio flips over the iPad Pro if you don’t require a keyboard. This makes it easier to use the tablet in portrait orientation. A third-party case such as Logitech’s Folio Touch may be better if you don’t need a trackpad or a keyboard but are willing to spend less.

The iPad Pro’s 1-pound weight makes it extremely lightweight and easy to transport. It can also be held in one or both of your hands. The Face ID camera scans your face to log you in.

This is similar to the iPhone’s Face ID. It might take some time to get used to, especially if you have an older iPad or iPad Pro with a Touch ID fingerprint scanner integrated into the home button or power button. However, Face ID was fast and accurate in our testing.

Although Face ID is faster than Windows Hello, both are well-functioning enough to make it a minor difference. The tablet’s back has a dual-lens camera, an LED flash, and Apple’s LiDAR scanner. This can be used to measure the depth of space for augmented reality apps.

The iPad standard offers sufficient performance and a decent screen. However, it is small and has a limited Lightning port.

Although the 128GB Apple iPad (9th Generation) is a lower-end model than more expensive iPad models it is still a great value for those with less than $500.

The screen isn’t as big as the iPad Air, the Lightning port is used instead of USB-C and the Apple Pencil support isn’t as comfortable. It is also less portable than the second-generation Pencil, which is easier to pair and charge.

It runs the same operating system as the iPad Pro and iPad Air, has the same number of tablet-friendly apps, multitasking works in the same way, and comes with a Smart Connector to attach external keyboards.

The iPad’s strength lies in its performance. The A13 processor from Apple handles multitasking, multi-browser tabs and iPadOS games with ease. While the other iPad models are more powerful and have more memory, you can still use layers in photo editing or drawing apps.

However, the majority of this tablet is responsive and snappy. The battery can last for a whole day without charging, even if you only use the tablet for an hour or two per day.

Also, Read

Windows Surface vs. Apple iPad – The Best Pro Tablets