Microsoft Surface Pro vs. iPad Pro – Which is Better?

By Josh Teder

I’ve spent the past 6 months using both an iPad Pro and the new Microsoft Surface Pro, and I’m going to take you through how these devices compare to one another and which one I think is better.

Display Quality

First up, the display. The iPad Pro has a tandem OLED display that can get up to 1,000 nits of SDR brightness and 1,600 nits for HDR. I found it noticeably better at handling glare compared to the Surface Pro’s display—to the point where the Surface Pro’s glare is actually a downside. They also offer a nano-textured display for the iPad Pro, which reduces glare even further.

The Surface Pro 12-inch, which is the one I got, has a 90 Hz refresh rate, while the 13-inch comes with an optional OLED display with a dynamic refresh up to 120 Hz.

Operating Systems: iPadOS 18 vs. Windows

Next, let’s talk about operating systems. There are pluses and minuses to both. Windows on the Surface Pro is a full desktop operating system, so you can get the full version of Chrome. On the iPad Pro, the Chrome browser is really just a skin over Safari, and things like browser extensions don’t work on it.

While lacking full Chrome, the iPad Pro does shockingly feel a bit like your typical laptop, thanks in part to the new iPadOS 18. There’s a new windowing system, true background tasks, and the ability to have downloads and folders in the dock, and a new menu bar at the top for applications just like you have on the Mac. That’s something that’s always annoyed me a bit with Windows—some apps have a top menu bar while others don’t.

“The iPad Pro does shockingly feel a bit like your typical laptop, thanks in part to the new iPadOS 18.”

Now, is iPadOS as complete of an OS as a full desktop operating system like Windows? No. You can download apps from the web on Windows, but you can’t do that on an iPad. You have greater access to your files on Windows machines compared to iPadOS, and it’s more of a sandboxed OS with where its application files and other files are stored.

The Surface Pro can also run the full desktop versions of apps like those from the Adobe suite and other professional apps, while with iPadOS, you have to run iPad-specific versions of apps like those from Adobe. Now, one word of caution for the Surface Pro: that device is a Windows on ARM device, meaning it’s not running an Intel chip. So there might still be some compatibility issues with some Windows programs that were more optimized for the x86 architecture.

AI Integration

Now, another difference between these two comes to AI. Windows and Microsoft seem to be a bit more all-in on AI compared to Apple. They’ve gone so far as to dedicate a new key on their keyboard for Copilot, Microsoft’s ChatGPT-powered chatbot. You can also search with the power of AI, get AI summaries on websites and in apps.

And then there’s Windows Recall. This feature is actually pretty cool. It acts as a photographic memory for your entire computer, taking screenshots of everything displayed on your screen every few seconds. Windows will then index all of these snapshots, so you can search the index for key terms. Both the snapshots and the index are only stored locally on your device. It’s opt-in only. Though this is a feature that’s still listed as a beta feature almost a year after its initial release.

Overall, for me, 6 months later, I’d still give the edge to the Surface Pro because of its more open desktop operating system. I also think Microsoft’s window management is still easier with dragging and snapping windows. iPadOS 18 definitely improves upon window management and I like that we can now have overlapping windows, but it still feels just a hair worse than what Windows does.

Accessories: Stylus Showdown

Moving on to accessories, there are some pretty significant differences here as well. When comparing the Apple Pencil Pro to the Surface Slim Pen 2, both are surprisingly pretty great for note-taking and drawing.

I like Microsoft’s built-in eraser, the gestures on the Pencil Pro, and you artists out there will also appreciate the barrel roll of the Apple Pencil Pro. But I was also pleasantly surprised that the Slim Pen 2 has haptic feedback when you scribble or handwrite to try to trick your brain into thinking there’s some resistance that you’re encountering as you write, even though you’re still just writing on glass. You also get haptics for different things that you do in the OS as well, which is great.

I definitely noticed the haptics more with the Slim Pen 2 compared to the Pencil Pro, even though the Pencil Pro does have haptics. Another awesome thing about the Surface Slim Pen 2 design is that the eraser also acts as a shortcut button. And yes, you can customize it—not just for a single click. You can have a shortcut for a single click, double click, and press and hold.

The only thing I don’t love is being able to see the jagged edges of the pixels when I’m handwriting something. I don’t notice this as much on the iPad Pro. I do find I prefer how note-taking overall looks on the iPad.

Speaking of which, if you decide to go with an iPad for drawing, there are accessories that you can get that make drawing on it feel a little bit more natural. Like the new Paperlike 3 screen protector from this video sponsor, Paperlike. This is the latest evolution of the original paper-field screen protector. And what makes it special is their proprietary nanodots technology—tiny microbeads that create the perfect amount of friction for your Apple Pencil.

Unlike Apple’s nano-textured display that just reduces glare, Paperlike 3 actually gives you that tactile feedback that makes digital writing feel more natural. At just 0.095 mm thick, thinner than a human hair, it stays below Apple’s maximum thickness guidelines, so your Apple Pencil remains as responsive as ever.

But what really impressed me about this latest version is the new butterfly application system. Gone are the days of dust bubbles and misaligned installations. This redesigned system eliminates the primary cause of failed installations with its four-layer sheet design and helper tool. The interactive guide walks you through each step right on your iPad. Each pack includes two screen protectors and comes with a 100-day money-back guarantee. Get your Paperlike 3 today by using the link in the description. And thanks to Paperlike for sponsoring this video.

Keyboard Comparison

When it comes to keyboards, the Magic Keyboard for the iPad Pro feels more sturdy on various surfaces such as your lap. The Surface Pro’s keyboard feels a little bit less sturdy when using its kickstand and more flexible keyboard. The kickstand can dig into your legs a bit if you have it on your lap for a while.

The 13-inch keyboard has a divot to store your Slim Pen, while the 12-inch does not. It just attaches at the back of the device. But I do really like that a little status light will light up on the back of the pen when you first wake up the device. That’s a really nice touch.

Another difference between the keyboards is actually color. The Surface comes in colors like ocean and violet compared to Apple’s white and black.

Other notable differences involve trackpads. The Surface Pro has a physical trackpad, which overall feels good and is incredibly responsive. But I do like it less than Apple’s haptic trackpad, which is just as good as the version found on MacBooks, which I love using because you don’t have to physically force down the trackpad every time you want to click, which I find less fatiguing on your fingers over long periods of use.

Performance and Battery Life

Next, performance. For battery life, the Surface Pro is rated for 16 hours of video playback for the 12-inch, 14 hours for the 13-inch, while the iPad Pro is rated for up to 10 hours of video playback. And this does track with my own experience. Overall, the iPad Pro’s battery life is a bit worse, especially with its standby battery life compared to the Surface Pro.

When it comes to processors, the iPad Pro features the M4 chip, a desktop-class chip built on a 3-nanometer process, which is ideal for both performance and power efficiency. The Surface Pro has two chip choices: the Snapdragon X Elite or X Plus. And frankly, for most of the things you’re likely to be using these devices for—like writing, web browsing, watching movies, social media, etc.—the chips are all fine for that.

Now, the only exception would be gaming. This isn’t something I’ve really done with either device because I dislike most of the games I’ve tried on the iPad. Apple’s control of the iPad’s app distribution limits the models that gaming companies will use to sell you games, meaning most are free to download, but they have in-app purchases, a model I personally detest.

Now, the Surface Pro will give you access to any game that you can play on Windows, but because of its form factor, chip, and ARM architecture, don’t expect to be able to run really graphics-intensive games like you could on a desktop PC.

Hardware Design Details

Moving on, let’s discuss the hardware design a bit further. The Surface Pro only has USB-C ports on one side, whereas with the iPad Pro, when docked on a Magic Keyboard, it has ports on both sides, which I find a bit more convenient, even though the Surface Pro does give you two USB-C ports built into the tablet itself.

I also love the surface of the Surface Pro’s palm rest, though I also really like how much the Magic Keyboard’s aluminum surface makes it feel like you’re using a Mac. It definitely feels a bit sleeker and more premium than the Surface keyboard.

The iPad Pro is slightly thinner and has slightly thinner bezels than the Surface Pro. The tablet itself is significantly lighter than the Surface Pro, giving it an advantage, though it’s not much of one. When you add the keyboards and the Surface Pen and the Apple Pencil, they’re almost the same weight to carry around.

Speakers: A Surprising Winner

Now, for speakers, I don’t have the 13-inch Surface Pro, which would be a better comparison to the 13-inch iPad Pro that I have, but I still listened to both speakers. And the thing that surprised me was I preferred the speakers on the Surface Pro.

The main reason for this is the Surface Pro speakers direct the sound from the front of the tablet towards you. And I find that to be a more pleasing listening experience than the quad speaker system Apple designed, which in theory should be better, but because the sound is directed out of the sides of the iPad and not directly towards you, I don’t find it to sound as good.

Another surprise was that the Surface Pro speakers can actually get just about as loud as the iPad Pro’s. But what about sound quality? Well, the iPad Pro’s overall sound is slightly more well-rounded and it has a bit more bass, and the Surface Pro has slightly more distortion at higher volumes. But they’re both pretty decent tablet speakers, though yes, I do still prefer wearing earbuds or headphones versus listening to their speakers.

Storage and Connectivity Options

Another big difference to note between these two is the iPad Pro has a cellular option for both sizes, while the Surface Pro only has that option for the 13-inch configuration.

Another key difference involves storage. There is no way to upgrade storage on the iPad Pro. And one huge difference between the 13-inch Surface Pro and the 12-inch version is that the 13-inch is built with a removable SSD, which is awesome. The 12-inch model has UFS storage that’s integrated into the motherboard, and it cannot be swapped out later.

And you can see the current prices for all the accessories via our products link found in the description and pinned comment.

Ecosystem Integration

Another really important thing to consider with each of these devices is ecosystem integrations. The iPad Pro is going to be much better integrated into the Apple ecosystem. You can use it as a second display for your Mac, hand off things from your iPhone or Mac to it. Your AirPods can automatically switch to it and play content in Dolby Atmos, making it sound like there’s a surround sound system around you. And then, of course, your passwords sync across your Apple devices. You have iMessage on there, AirPlay, so you can AirPlay audio to speakers around your home. And of course, one of my favorites, AirDrop, which makes moving files wirelessly between your Apple devices such a breeze.

Now, for the Surface Pro, there’s actually quite a lot of ecosystem features to consider here as well. If you have an Android phone, you can get your notifications on the Surface Pro and use your phone as a camera for video calls, which given the form factor is probably less of a feature you’ll utilize with this device compared to a proper laptop or desktop. You can make calls from your Surface. There’s also dynamic lock which secures your Surface by having it automatically lock when you walk away from it. And then of course, if you’re a Microsoft user or use it for work, there are really great OneDrive integrations as well as integrations with Microsoft 365.

Price Comparison

Now, you might be thinking, “Hmm, maybe I’m just going to go with whichever one is cheaper,” and that’s probably going to be the Microsoft one because those devices are typically less expensive. And that here is true. You’ll likely save a few hundred dollars by going with the Surface Pro, but it’s not that much cheaper, especially when you consider the accessories. Though you might be able to save some money with a bundle from Microsoft, something Apple does not do with their iPad and their accessories.

Minor Downsides

Next, let me take you through a few other downsides I’ve noticed with both devices. First is waking from sleep. Sometimes this can just take longer on the Surface Pro than the iPad Pro. Though on the plus side, that does mean you get better standby battery life in my experience at least.

And neither device has a user-replaceable battery in either the stylus or of the tablet itself, which I definitely like to see each company move to with future versions so people can prolong the life of their tech.

The Verdict

“Despite my complaints about Apple not opening up iPadOS’s app distribution to be more like the Mac’s, it is the device that I found myself using more than the Surface Pro.”

So, which one do I think is better? Well, that’s harder for me to answer than which one I’ve gravitated towards more. So let me answer that first and I’ll back into the other question.

Despite my complaints about Apple not opening up iPadOS’s app distribution to be more like the Mac’s, it is the device that I found myself using more than the Surface Pro. And that’s mainly for a few reasons.

Now, one is obviously ecosystem. Even when I’m daily driving an Android device, just being able to use the iPad in conjunction with my Mac can be great. Though, of course, if you’re primarily a Windows or Android user, you won’t find similar benefits.

But another reason I’ve gravitated towards using the iPad more is actually its Magic Keyboard. Even though Microsoft did an excellent job with how solid the kickstand feels on the new Surface and the quality of their hardware overall, the Magic Keyboard is still more sturdy to type on when I place it on my lap. I prefer its foldout method of setting it up and being able to adjust its display angle without having to mess with the mechanism that props the tablet up like you have to do with the Surface’s more traditional two-in-one design.

But the other reason I like using it more is the anti-reflective coating Apple uses on their display. It just makes it a lot easier to look at in a variety of situations. And the OLED display is much brighter than the 13-inch Surface Pro’s, which is going to make it a better choice for those wanting to use this device outside or in other environments with harsh lighting.

So overall, from a hardware and ergonomics standpoint, I do think the iPad Pro is the slightly better device if you want a touchscreen detachable tablet with an optional laptop form factor. But that’s about the only major difference I could really pin on one of these devices being better than the other because the Surface Pro is also just an excellent device.

The keyboard is a joy to type on. It’s easier to fold the keyboard up and have it in a tablet configuration compared to the Magic Keyboard. And if you’re in the Microsoft or even Android ecosystem and you want a tablet and a computer that can download apps and programs from the web in a two-in-one device, I think this would be an excellent choice.

And you can see the current prices for both of these devices across different retailers and see where else we’ve covered them by clicking the eye icon in the top right of the product card. Link to that page in the description and pinned comment.

More Comparisons and Reviews

So those are all of my thoughts, but let me know if you disagree and why you would choose one of these devices over the other in the comments. And you can see more of my comparisons, like my MacBook Air versus iPad Pro video or my upcoming Surface Pro versus Surface Laptop comparison video.

You can get to all those videos by clicking here. And then click here to see more of my popular 6 Months Later reviews like my review of the iPad Pro, Meta Ray-Ban, and AirPods Pro.

And to see all of the devices we recommend at any time, you can do that by visiting sixmonthslater.net/shop.

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For 6 Months Later, I’m Josh Teder. Thanks for reading