Microsoft Surface Book vs Apple iPad Pro: Surface Book flattens the competition

(Apple/Microsoft)Microsoft Surface Book (left) vs iPad Pro (right)

During its Oct. 6 event, Microsoft took the wraps off of its first laptop, the Surface Book, and then surprisingly demonstrated how it could also turn into a tablet. It is clear that this laptop-tablet hybrid will also challenge the iPad Pro, which was announced recently by Apple. Here is how these two devices compare. 

Design

When it comes to design, both devices have metal bodies but the iPad Pro is made from aluminum and is more of a tablet and so it does not have a keyboard attached to it. However, it has a fingerprint sensor incorporated into its home button and comes with an optional Smart Keyboard and Apple Pencil stylus. As for colors, there are three options: silver, gold, and space gray.

Compared to this, the Surface Book is a bigger and heavier device but it has a full keyboard that laptops have. The hinge allows the keyboard to be detached for the device to convert into a tablet. As for its body, it is made from magnesium and it comes along with the Surface Pen.  

Display

The Surface Book is the bigger device and comes with a 13.5-inch PixelSense display with a resolution of 3000 x 2000 pixels and a density of 267 pixels per inch. The iPad Pro's screen measures 12.9 inches and it has a resolution of 2732 x 2048 pixels and density of 274 pixels per inch. 

Specs

In terms of hardware, the Surface Book has several options and users can choose processors starting from Intel Core i5 to i7 while the iPad Pro comes with the Apple A9X chipset. 

Memory

There is no memory slot on the iPad Pro and it comes with either 32 GB or 128 GB onboard storage with 4 GB RAM. Compared to this, the Surface Book has a microSD card reader, and has 128 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB and 1TB storage options. As for RAM, it has either 8 GB or 16 GB. 

Camera

There is an 8-megapixel camera at the rear of the Surface Book and a 5-megapixel version in front. The IPad Pro has a similar camera at its back while its front-facing camera is a 1.2-megapixel version. 

Price

The iPad Pro has a starting price of $799 excluding its keyboard and Apple Pencil, while the Surface Book has a $1,499 price tag with keyboard and Surface Pen included. 

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