Surface Pro X Vs iPad Pro, which should I go for ?. It’s a very good and relevant question and I have been receiving a lot of request to cover this topic.
First I wanted to create a video and a post specifically for Surface Pro X.
But I realized it won’t have as much value as far as making a buying decision is considered.
So while I would want to create a post specific to surface pro x, like the one I did with surface neo.
A Surface pro x vs iPad Pro guide may help remove some conflicts that you might be having in your mind.
So here is a post and a video on whether you should go with an iPad Pro or is the Surface Pro worth the wait.
Because let’s face it if you are looking for something that is portable and that can if not completely replace your laptop for most of your tasks and maintains an elegant portability.
Surface Pro X Vs iPad Pro, what to go with might be troubling you.
Let’s go ahead and look into comprehensively, analytically and very reasonably as to what device will be suited for your needs.
Design
Well design is one of the attributes that both of these devices excel in.
But let’s go ahead and see some notable difference that exist between both of these devices in terms of design.
For one, the bezel in the iPad Pro are slim and uniform all across the borders, but the bezels of Surface Pro X are comparatively smaller on the sides but on the top and bottom they are still a bit Chunky.
The dimensions of Surface Pro X are 11.3 X 8.3 X 0.28 inches.
iPad Pro on the other hand measures 9.7 X 7 X 0.3 inches.
The Surface Pro x is 1.7 lbs when compared with iPad Pro which is 1.4 lbs.
Display
As far as display is concerned both of these devices are very high resolution options.
The Surface Pro X comes with a 2880 X 1920 resolution with 267 PPI, on the other hand iPad pro has a 2732 X 2048 resolution with 264 PPI.
One interesting thing about the Surface Pro X and what has been the tagline for the Microsoft Surface event is the 3 : 2 aspect ratio which is considered very good for productivity.
The iPad Pro on the other hand sports a 4 : 3 aspect ratio which is very good if you want a true tablet experience out of your iPad Pro.
And while it is true that the Surface Pro X has an edge over PPI but iPad Pro sports a brighter 600 nit 120 Hz true tone display which makes the operating experience quite smooth and responsive.
The Surface Pro X on the other hand is a little dim with 450 nit and a 60 hertz panel which is in tune with most Windows devices.
What pushes the Surface Pro X towards being a true two in one is the built in kickstand which makes the device easier to use on your desk.
Connectivity
So this is a crucial point which is very important to take into consideration as far as versatility of the devices is concerned.
The iPad Pro features a single USB-C port, a keyboard connector port and a Nano sim slot.
The Surface Pro X on the other hand doubles that up by featuring two USB-C ports, a Nano sim port as well as a Microsoft’s proprietary surface connector for charging.
In addition to that there is also a connector on the bottom of the device for the keyboard.
The headphone jack is missing from both the devices which means you will have to get a dongle or get a new pair of headphones to work with these devices.
You will be limited in terms of storage in the sense that you will have to pick one you feel will do the task for you as their is no expandable storage option for these devices.
Although, the Surface Pro X does feature feasibility to swap your SSD, if you are willing to increase the storage that is offered by Surface Pro X.
Accessories
The very element or accessory that make these devices a Bridge between tablets and laptops are the detachable keyboard that the devices append themselves to.
Apple’s smart keyboard costs around 170 $.
With what we have seen the smart keyboard is fairly comfortable and has a fair amount of key travel.
However, there is no Touch-pad on the board which makes holds back the iPad Pro to be a true laptop replacement.
Microsoft decided to go a little stylish with their keyboard this time and it seems for all the good reasons.
The optional 140 $ keyboard has a specific slot in the type cover for the surface pen that starts charging the pen as soon as it is placed in it.
The keyboard type cover also features a track-pad which makes Surface Pro X comparatively more inclined towards a true laptop replacement.
The App Environment,
With the release of iPad OS it is pretty clear that Apple has come very far to provide a great Software Solution for multitasking and productivity as far as iPad is considered.
There are new features and capabilities that are continuously been implemented into it that will make that make iPad OS a very enticing device to get your hands on.
But at the same time the full version of Windows 10 that the Surface Pro X is capable of running, will provide that familiar environment that almost everyone who uses a PC is comfortable with.
So if you look at these devices from the perspective of apps that are being offered.
It is pretty clear that if you are looking at these devices with a slight tablet usage inclination iPad Pro is the clear winner.
But if you truly want a tablet that can potentially replace most of your laptop demands you have to look towards Surface Pro X.
Performance
So this is an interesting dimension to be compared between the two devices.
Unlike previous Intel base surface devices Microsoft this time partnered with Qualcomm to create a custom arm based SQ1 processor.
iPad Pro on the other hand sports a custom arm based chip called the A12 Bionic.
From the specifications, we know that the custom SQ1 chip will run at 3 GHz has 8 cores and two tera-flops of graphics power.
The Chip will also take advantage of neural processing which means the graphics module will work together with the CPU to provide some incredible graphical performance.
Microsoft is saying that the Surface Pro X will be three times more powerful in terms of performance per watt when compared with Surface Pro 6 which featured Intel’s 8th generation chip.
What will be the true real world performance that one will be able to receive out of Microsoft Surface Pro X is not clear at this point.
For example, there are certain limitations that may affect the performance such as the 64 bit app optimization for the SQ1 chip.
Whether Microsoft has optimized its apps to work well with this new arm-based chipset or not is not clear at this point.
We will need some testing but in any case, the Surface Pro X should act as a great machine for web browsing and other day to day productivity activities.
The A12 Bionic in iPad Pro features 8 cores and has an embedded M12 co-processor for increasing graphical performance.
This makes the iPad quite fast in apps like lightroom and photoshop and even some games like Civilization 5 ran without any major hiccup.
And the evolution of iPadOS makes it pretty obvious that all apps that you will use from the app store will for sure run at blazing fast speeds owing to the exclusive support.
When compared with the Surface Pro X this may look like a limitation as well because you will be only able to run apps from the Apple store.
With the exception of certain 32-bit apps you will be able to access all apps that you are comfortable with in your traditional windows environment.
Portability and Convenience
Both of these devices are manufactured with convenience, portability and productivity in mind.
But the differences between both of them on these lines are minute and will depend on personal preference.
Battery
A the time of release iPad Pro promised a battery life of around 10 hours.
But we have seen people use iPad Pro continuously up to 13 hours in a single charge which is very good.
In addition to that iPad Pro also supports fast charging with an optional 30 Watt USB-C power adapter.
Microsoft in its surface launch event promised that the Surface Pro X will offer a battery life of up to 13 hours with screen at 150 nits of brightness.
This is of course not confirmed in real world situations but if it is anywhere near what it, the Surface Pro X is going to give some serious competition to iPad Pro in terms of battery life.
The Surface Pro X also supports fast charging via the surface connect port and Microsoft claims that you can charge the device 80% in just one hour.
LTE
Surface Pro X supports a Nano sim tray inherently but with iPad Pro you will have to pay an extra 150$ if you want a model with LTE and stay connected all the time.
Accessories
To make the full use of both the devices for what they are you will have to get a pen which is sold separately in both the cases.
The surface slim pen fits right into the type cover keyboard and charges wirelessly which gives Surface Pro X a big check mark for professional design.
But that will also put your wallet down by about 145$.
The Apple pencil which also charges wirelessly and can be attached to the top of iPad Pro will cost you around 129$.
Final conclusion
As is true with everything, nothing is black and white in this world. And if someone says this is right and that is wrong is in an illusion.
So if we look into this subjectively and objectively, this is what we arrive at.
Since the Surface Pro X isn’t tested in Real world situations deciding anything conclusively on what we have been seeing in the launch and otherwise won’t be an effective benchmark to just go ahead and pick the device.
On the other hand iPad pro has been accepted as one the best laptop replacement that you can get that will replace most if not all the features that your of laptop is offering right now.
So how does one go about picking one from both of these two devices.
It’s Simple.
If you already are into the Apple ecosystem where you are well versed with all the Apple devices interacting with each other.
Going ahead and picking a 2 in 1 laptop cum tablet which doesn’t gel in the ecosystem won’t be a wise choice unless that is want you specifically want to do.
So in that case iPad Pro must be clear pick.
On the other hand, if you are not a part of that apple ecosystem and your daily driver devices are Windows based.
Given that there are areas where the iPad Pro is bound to excel, the Surface Pro X will be a great choice.
There are a few reasons for that.
- The ecosystem that from the looks of it Microsoft is willing to create with its new surface devices such as the surface neo and the duo are beginnings of something special.
- Microsoft is consciously picking the evolving needs of consumer base and creating their devices on the basis of that.
- The fact that you can swap your SSD on your Surface Pro X is also a positive add on.
- The MS ecosystem isn’t as “strict” as the iOS one, for the better use of words.
So if you are not already into an apple ecosystem and unless you specifically want to be a part of it.
Surface Pro X is something that you can bet on to replace most if not all of your laptop as far as productivity and professional usage is concerned.
I will also append a video along with the post to make things much more clear, so stay tuned for that.
See ya in the next one.
Namaskaram _/\_ 🙂
