Gadgetory

what's up prize five fans i'm brian tong and tablets are evolving into multifunctional devices so we're taking two lifelong rivals and throwing them into the ring it's a prize five foot out between Apple's iPad pro and Microsoft Surface pro for our judges for this fight our senior editor Dan the man Ackerman senior editor Scott primetime Stein and you know who can't go wrong Tom we'll take all three judges blind scores and average them out to the nearest tenth of a point the final prize five score will be an average of all rounds using the same system let's get ready to rumble round one is design no surprises here iPad pro brings the same classic ipad design with its smooth corners and edges and a 12-point 9 inch display bringing a 264 pixel per inch density it's literally a bigger iPad the surface pro design improves with a larger twelve point three inch screen at a 267 PPI density it still has its signature adjustable kickstand and its sharp corners and edges bring a more industrial feel to the design I is in the beauty of the beholder and our judges give the edge to the iPad with a four and the surface pro gets a three point eight next round is user interface and navigation iOS is still extremely easy to use but just because it's great on a phone doesn't mean it's as good on a big screen split-screen multitasking while watching a video clip is the most an iPad has ever done but iOS needs more if Apple wants us to truly replace your laptop Windows 10 was made to work with the surface pro 4 it's seamless when you're in desktop mode and a quick switch turns it into tablet mode both work nicely but it's better for desktop style work compared to tablet apps because it doesn't have nearly as many apps the surface pro takes this round 2 with the 4 and the iPad pro gets a 3.3 so after averaging two rounds Microsoft takes the lead surrounded speaker Apple Vegas asset has always been the App Store and it's no different with the iPad pro the App Store is really huge for this device it also has a side connector that has big potential for future uses for now it's just for the smart Keyboard case that's an awkward origami exercise to fold out and fold up the pencils arguably the best in the market for its accuracy when it comes down to finite drawing and writing and pressure sensitivity for broader strokes but will we see true Pro apps for digital artists that take 100% advantage of the pencil that remains to be seen now the surface pro 4 brings a USB 3.0 port a mini display port and a micro SD card slot the iPad pro has none of these it's type pad is superior in every way from the feel of its typing to its trackpad the surface pen is great and even though it's not as finite as the Apple pencil it's killer eraser feature will just make anyone jealous plus it magnetically attaches to the surface magnets baby Microsoft takes this round with a 4.2 and the iPad pro gets a 3.7 next round is multi functionality these tablets try to be everything but the iPad works best for someone who wants a really big iPad for content consumption or digital artists and media creatives it's all about the pencil but where again are the killer apps that will make it worth the price of admission plus you'll still have to buy that pencil separately now its keyboard cover is limited and trust me I tried using it to replace my laptop I really tried but for what I do it didn't even last 20 minutes now the surface Pro's pen is no chump and it does a lot but the rock star here is the type pad case it's really the standard that other tablets should emulate we know it lacks Apple's robust apps and you'll miss them if you're used to them but I tried using this as my primary computer and I was able to do about 80% of all my work comfortably this is truly a device that can replace your laptop if you want it to and I can't say the same for the iPad pro the surface pro 4 gets a perfect 5 and the iPad pro gets a 4 softer averaging 4 rounds Microsoft's lead grows round 5 is perform the iPad outperforms surfaces significantly when you compare the a9x processor to an entry-level m3 based processor but the results change in favor of the surface when you use its Core i5 processor now in everyday use you really can't feel much of a difference but when it comes to battery life the surface pro 4 falls well behind with around 6 and a half hours of battery life the iPad pro is easily getting 10 plus hours battery life is always important and the iPad takes us around with the floor and the surface gets a 328 the final round that decides it all is value now the surface pro with 128 gigs of storage starts at 899 the type pad case is 129 and the surface pen is bundled with the surface now you can configure these machines differently and the surface can even be customized to rival premium pcs the iPad pro can get as expensive as a premium laptop but still doesn't deliver enough to match that price and bottom line the surface is just the better value the surface pro gets a 4 and the iPad gets a 3 so after battle where the iPad took the lead in round 1 the surface pro 4 established its lead that it never let go and the surface takes this battle 4 point 1 to 3 point 7 and is your prize fight winner many of these fights come down to your ecosystem but in this case it's the promise of the Apple pencil for artists versus the multifunctional use of the surface pro 4 that separates these two from each other I'm Brian Tong thanks for watching and we'll catch you all next time for another prizefight