In the marketing materials, Microsoft was keen to compare the Surface Pro (2017) to both the MacBook and the iPad Pro, Apple's take on the tablet-laptop hybrid. Coincidentally, Apple just announced updated iPad Pros at its WWDC 2017 event yesterday. Microsoft placed a lot of emphasis on inking with the new Surface Pro, touting custom silicon to reduce the latency between the pen and the display, and new tilt support for the latest version of the Surface Pen.

We compared the Surface Pro 4 to the iPad Pro in the past, and as you might expect, it's hardly any contest. However, Apple won piles of praise for the inking experience with its "Apple Pencil," at least when you disregard its silly charging solution. Best VPN providers 2020: Learn about ExpressVPN, NordVPN & more We already determined that the Surface Pro 4 is superior to the iPad Pro in a previous comparison, and despite the latest iPad Pro Apple recently debuted for 2017, the Surface Pro's Kaby Lake processors, new Surface Pen, and new digitizer staves off any competition from Apple's Surface-clone. If you're looking for a side-by-side comparison, look no further.

Surface Pro (2017) vs. iPad Pro: Tech specs showdown Category Surface Pro (2017) iPad Pro (2017) OS Windows 10 iOS 10 Screen Size 12.3 inches 12.9 inches (10.5 inch model available) Screen Resolution 2763 x 1824 (267 ppi) 2732 x 2048 (264 ppi) Processor Seventh Gen Intel Core m3, i5, i7 Apple A10X Graphics m3 and i5: Intel HD 620; i7: Intel Iris Plus 640 Apple A10X Storage 128GB, 265GB, 512GB, 1TB + microSD expansion 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, 512GB LTE Option Yes Yes Rear Camera 8 MP 12 MP Front Camera 5 MP (With face authentication) 7 MP Ports Full USB 3.0, Mini DisplayPort, Surface Connect, headset jack Lightning, iPad Smart Connector, headset jack Height 11.5 inches 12 inches Width 7.93 inches 8.68 inches Thickness 0.33 inches 0.27 inches Weight 1.69 pounds 1.57 pounds Battery (listed) 13.5 hours 10 hours Price $799 to $2,699 $649 to $1,229 Windows vs. iOS There's really not much of a contest here, at least in our opinion. While iOS has some great inking and note-taking apps (including Microsoft's OneNote), they're a far cry from the full power of Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop, which require a desktop OS like Windows 10.

iOS is a mobile OS, designed for phones and tablets. As such, the programs available are capable but relatively lightweight. Your Surface Pro would be able to run any program available on a Windows desktop, whether at work or at home. Beyond inking, the Surface Pro's beefy internals make it a moderately capable video editing machine that can leverage tools like Adobe Premier, and run developer tools like Visual Studio. Whether you're going for the m3, i5, or i7 Surface Pro model, you'll be able to install and enjoy thousands of games on Steam and other PC gaming platforms. The Surface Pro is by no means designed as a gaming rig, but it will run Xbox 360-era games with relative ease, including Bioshock, World of Warcraft, and even some well-optimized modern games like Overwatch.

The iPad is capable of none of these things and is best thought of as a pure tablet with some word processing and inking capabilities, specifically for sketching, note-taking, and Microsoft Office. With the Surface Pro, you get way more versatility for the same price. Form factor The iPad Pro is Apple's first attempt at the tablet-laptop hybrid, owing to its "Smart Keyboard" cover. Microsoft has been doing the detachable keyboard thing for a long time now, and as such, it should come as no surprise that Redmond is simply better at it. The Surface Pro Type Cover has superior key travel, a full-size, glass trackpad for precision navigation, and the cover isn't necessary for propping the tablet portion up, either.