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00:00iPad Pro, M2, 12.9, or Surface Pro 9.
00:04Both have Pro in their names, both are similarly priced-ish, and also both offer pretty good
00:10laptop and tablet experiences, but which should you buy?
00:14Well both of these have had a pretty mild spec bump in late 2022, with the 6th gen iPad
00:20Pros getting the new M2 processor, an Apple Pencil Hover feature, which is as underwhelming
00:25as it sounds, ProRes video capture, and also WiFi 6E.
00:29While the new Surface Pro 9 gets 12th generation Intel U-Series i5 and i7 CPUs, we also get
00:35faster RAM, a removable and therefore upgradable SSD, junior quality mics, improved repairability,
00:41WiFi 6E as well, and a couple of new colours, like this very nice Sapphire Blue.
00:47Either way though, prices range from pretty reasonable at the lower end, all the way up
00:51to mortgage deposit level.
00:53I mean top spec, add a keyboard, add a pen, maybe 3 grand, it's pretty ridiculous.
00:58Oh wait wait wait, I know what you're thinking, Tom you've got the wrong Surface Pro 9, this
01:02is the Intel one, but if you're going to compare it to the ARM-powered M2 iPad, then really
01:06you should compare it to the ARM-powered SQ3 version, the non-Intel Surface Pro 9.
01:12Which is a fair point, and there are advantages to the SQ3 version, including much longer
01:16battery life, 5G connectivity, and some webcam noise reduction and effects via the AI chip,
01:22which sounds like the better option, but I don't think it is, because like the previous
01:26Surface Pro X, which really the SQ3 version of this Pro 9 replaces, because it's not running
01:32x86 Intel chips, all the applications have to be emulated on Windows.
01:37And emulation has improved since the Surface Pro X, it's got better, but we still have
01:41a long way to go, it just doesn't compete with Apple and the M2 MacBooks right now.
01:46Hopefully one day soon, but right now if you are going to buy a Surface Pro 9 and use it
01:50like a laptop, unless you know for a fact that the applications you want to use are
01:54optimized for ARM on Windows, I would get the Intel version, which is also a couple
01:59of hundred dollars cheaper.
02:00I will caveat that saying I haven't reviewed the SQ3 version yet, I am keen to try that
02:04and test it side by side, and actually if you do fancy seeing a comparison between these
02:08two with the SQ3 Pro 9, then I'll leave a link to Mac's techs video in the description
02:12below.
02:13Moving on, and while these two may look pretty similar, boot them up and it's clear they're
02:18from completely different universes.
02:20Windows 11 on the Surface is as functional and unstylish as ever, but once you add a
02:25Surface Pen or a signature keyboard, this becomes a full-on laptop PC experience.
02:30In fact, the Surface really is much more at home as a laptop than a tablet.
02:34Regular Windows apps run fine, multitasking is easy, everyday tasks feel slick and lag-free,
02:39and that 120Hz refresh rate definitely helps.
02:42And you can even get away with some light gaming, or more realistically perhaps stream
02:45them via Nvidia's GeForce Now or Xbox Cloud.
02:48Which of course you can also do on the iPad.
02:51Now iPadOS 16 here definitely focuses on the tablet experience, and as a tablet, this blows
02:56Windows out of the water, it's not even close.
02:59It's slicker, far easier to use, the app store is fantastic, and everything just works.
03:04We also have a smooth 120Hz refresh rate, and mobile gaming is great, especially with
03:08the Apple Arcade, which actually offers some decent games.
03:11But the thing is, and the question we've been asking ourselves since the original iPad
03:14launched 12 years ago-ish, 2010, is can this replace my laptop?
03:19And 90% of the time, yes, probably.
03:23But honestly, as someone who has all these devices around them all the time, I never
03:26really want to take my iPad and use it as a laptop, unless I'm just doing some emails
03:30or some writing or something fairly basic.
03:32Yes, you can train yourself to get better and use this efficiently, and you also do
03:36have Stage Manager now with resizable and overlapping apps and app switching.
03:41And together with a fantastic Magic Keyboard, it's not far off.
03:44But then for simpler tasks, you may as well just go with the iPad Air and maybe a Magic
03:47Keyboard and save a bunch of money, and maybe the Surface Laptop or Surface Laptop Go on
03:51this side.
03:52But the problem is, this is the iPad Pro, it's for professionals, and while there are
03:56some definite professional use cases, particularly for designing and drawing, and except for
04:00a handful of apps, including the upcoming DaVinci Resolve, which I am very excited for,
04:04we just don't have desktop-level apps on the iPad.
04:08So at the end of the day, picking between these two really is all about the software
04:11and the apps that you use, and the flexibility and the user experience you need or prefer.
04:16Everything else, including the hardware, comes a distant second.
04:19And so also, when it comes to performance, the comparison here is a bit moot, really.
04:23They're completely different operating systems, completely different chips, and also the use
04:26cases mostly are also pretty different.
04:29And they're both really nice to use, just in slightly different ways.
04:33The other issue, and really the biggest frustration with the iPad, is just that untapped potential.
04:38If we had desktop-level apps, if we had a slimmed-down macOS on here instead of iPadOS,
04:44and we could really take advantage of that M.2 chip in Premiere Pro or Blender or other
04:48desktop apps, then this would just, hands down, completely destroy this.
04:52But the fact that we are limited to mobile or iPad apps on here means that the vast majority
04:57of the time, we're just not utilising that crazy performance of the M.2, which is a real shame.
05:02I do understand why.
05:03I mean, if they gave this desktop apps, then no one would buy a MacBook Air anymore.
05:06And the same with MacBooks.
05:07If they put a touchscreen on there, then it would eat into iPad sales.
05:11They want them to be two distinct products, and they want you to buy both.
05:14So the M.2 is just a bit restricted, although it does mean that it'll keep everything feeling
05:17fast for a long time.
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06:10Design-wise, they're both basically identical to their previous generations, and that's
06:14no bad thing.
06:15They both still feel fresh, we have narrow bezels, fantastic build quality, and lovely
06:19screens.
06:20The Surface is a fair bit thicker though to make room for the cooling and vents for the
06:23CPU, and it's also around 29% heavier, meaning the iPad is a lot more comfortable to use
06:28as a tablet and even hold one-handed.
06:31But the Surface has a bit of an ace up its sleeve in the form of this kickstand because
06:35unlike the iPad, even with the Magic Keyboard, which only gives you a little bit of flexibility,
06:41with the awesome kickstand on the Surface, you can basically have any angle you like
06:46all the way down to nearly flat.
06:48And actually, this is a great angle for doing some drawing or typing because you've got
06:52just a little bit of an incline, so it's quite comfortable.
06:54And so it also means while this does jab into your leg a little bit, if you are using it
06:57on your lap, you do have a bit more flexibility with this.
07:00Although, if you're happy with this level of flexibility, then I would probably say
07:04this is more comfortable to use on your lap because it doesn't dig in like the sharp edge
07:08of the Microsoft Surface stand, but on a desk, I think the Surface wins because of that flexibility.
07:14And also, I do appreciate that the Surface keyboard can pop up and give you a more comfortable
07:18typing position as well, and this keyboard also hides the Surface Pen inside, which I
07:23think is actually an even better storage option than the magnetic Apple Pencil 2 that we have
07:28on the iPad, although that's very good as well.
07:30As for the screens, they're both very nice, sharp and smooth, thanks to the high refresh
07:34rates.
07:35And while the Surface's 13-inch PixelSense Flow IPS touch display does look great, and
07:40we also get Dolby Vision IQ HDR, it's colour-accurate enough for most workloads, and it's also
07:45reasonably bright at 440 nits, the problem is the iPad screen is just so much better.
07:51This gets Apple's top-drawer Mini-LED Liquid Retina XDR IPS panel, which will give you
07:57up to 600 nits in SDR and a whopping 1,600 in HDR.
08:01It's more colour-accurate and the contrast is way better.
08:04The 2,500 or so local dimming zones mean that dark areas of the screen look so much darker,
08:09and you get those inky blacks, as the cliche goes.
08:12In terms of cameras, I think it's a pretty clear win for the iPad, although credit to
08:17the Surface, we do have the webcam on the top horizontal bezel, which we have on the
08:22new 10th-gen iPad, but the Pros, for some reason, still have it on the left side.
08:26So, when you are staying central to the iPad, you are off-centre, but generally the camera
08:30quality, the fact that you can shoot in 4K, we have Stage Manager, and also the triple
08:34setup on the back with the main, the ultra-wide, and the LiDAR sensor, which is great for AR
08:39and, well, mainly it's used in the measuring app.
08:42The Surface Pro 9 is fine, and we do also have that rear 10-megapixel camera, but generally
08:47the cameras on the iPad are much better.
08:49Now, in terms of ports and connectivity, I'm going to give the win to the Surface Pro 9,
08:53because we get two Thunderbolt 4 ports now, and also the Surface connector on the other
08:58side, which you really want to use for charging, although you can charge via USB, but then
09:01it frees these up.
09:03But the fact that we do now have Thunderbolt 4 on here opens up a lot more options for
09:06docks.
09:07Whereas on the iPad, we have just the single USB-C, also Thunderbolt 4, so you can also
09:12plug in your external storage drives and your SD cards, well, via adapters, and you can
09:16use it on iPadOS like that, and the Magic Keyboard does add an extra USB-C, which is
09:21really handy for charging both the iPad and the keyboard.
09:24Both Wi-Fi 6E, although this does get the option of 5G, whereas that's only available
09:27on the SQ3 version, so it depends what you want, really.
09:31But for me, also with the Windows OS versus iPadOS, I think connectivity is a little bit
09:35better on the Surface.
09:36Now, the thing is, you can buy these tablets as just tablets if you want, but you shouldn't.
09:41No one should do that.
09:42If you're going to buy a Pro Surface or a Pro iPad, get the keyboard with it.
09:46Yes, it does add quite a lot more money, particularly the Magic Keyboard, but it gives you so much
09:50more functionality and versatility for these tablets.
09:52It does turn them into proper two-in-ones.
09:55The Surface Slim Pen 2 and also the Apple Pencil Gen 2 are both lovely to use as well,
10:00especially if you are a doodler, a drawer, or a designer.
10:04Although I think I do prefer the Apple Pencil just because of how it feels in the hand,
10:07and also there are some great iPad drawing and note-taking apps, including Apple's
10:12brand new Freeform app, which is basically Microsoft OneNote.
10:16As for battery life, well, it's a pretty clear win for the iPad.
10:19People say you'll get about 10 hours on this, and that's pretty much bang on.
10:22In my everyday varied use, I get more like eight to nine hours, but if you are just going
10:27to watch videos, then you'll easily get 12 hours on this.
10:29Whereas on the Surface Pro 9, I'm getting more like seven and a half hours, which is
10:33still pretty good considering we have a full-fat Intel CPU in here and it's Windows 11, which
10:38of course is not as optimized as an M.2 chip on iPad OS.
10:42Also, I guess if battery is really important to you and you don't mind some of the other
10:45limitations, then you could consider the SQ3 version of this, which actually bumps
10:49the battery by like three or four more hours.
10:52So apart from the keyboard, which if you are buying either of these Pro devices, you should
10:55definitely get, how should you spec these?
10:57Well, I reckon the 256 gig and 512 iPad Pros are the best value.
11:02And also I would avoid the cellular 5G model as it's almost 200 pounds more, and you can
11:07always just use your phone as a hotspot instead.
11:09Although I guess if your company's paying for it, then go nuts.
11:13As for the Surface Pro, the $1,000 base spec Intel i5 is a bit of a bargain compared with
11:18the rest of the range.
11:20Bumping the storage adds hundreds.
11:21So I would probably opt for an external SSD instead, like a Crucial X8 or a Samsung T7,
11:27as 256 gigs is pretty limited if you're going to use this as your main work laptop.
11:31And also last but not least, if you are tempted by one of these, but don't quite have the
11:34budget, then I would definitely consider the last gen versions.
11:37Yes, these are a little bit faster, but they're not that much different than the Surface Pro
11:418 or the M1 iPad Pro, and if you can find those still in stock and on sale, then I would
11:46probably go for that instead.
11:49So let's wrap this up.
11:50And it's an interesting comparison because I suspect from the start you already knew
11:53which one you would go for.
11:55It's really going to come down to Windows or iPadOS.
11:58And it's pretty simple, really.
11:59If you want the best tablet, go for the iPad.
12:01If you want the best laptop, go for the Pro 9.
12:03But they both just have these frustrating limitations, the lack of desktop apps to take
12:07advantage of the M2 and the iPad, and the fact that even with the SQ3 emulated ARM version
12:12of this, we're still just not there compared to Apple in terms of the performance.
12:17Which one would I go for?
12:18Well, if we're assuming I don't have another laptop, then I would probably go with the
12:22Pro 9.
12:23If I can bring my MacBook Pro with me, I generally edit and work on the MacBook Pro 16, then
12:28I would also go with the iPad.
12:29It keeps me in that lovely and warm Apple ecosystem.
12:32But what do you think?
12:33Which one would you go for between the two or none of the above?
12:36Let me know in the comments below.
12:37If you've got any questions at all about these, also let me know in the comments.
12:39And if you did enjoy the video and want to see more from me, which hopefully you did
12:42because you watched the whole thing, then a cheeky like and subscribe would be very
12:46much appreciated.
12:47Thanks for watching, guys.
12:48I'll see you next time right here on The Tech Chap.
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