An attendee photographs the new Microsoft Surface Pro 3, during the event in New York May 20, 2014.
An attendee photographs the new Microsoft Surface Pro 3, during the event in New York May 20, 2014. Reuters/Brendan McDermid

It is a well-known fact that Microsoft and Apple are competitors. With Surface Pro 4, Microsoft created a new trend of tablet-cum-laptop dubbed as “laplet” while Apple’s iPad Pro has become an ideal tablet that makes almost all the smartphone makers look up to this company. Needless to say, both companies are setting a bandwagon and are overpowering each other. In 2015, reports said that Microsoft Surface Pro 4 outwitted Apple iPad Pro in terms sales. It is anticipated that the battle between the two tech giants will intensify in 2016. Both companies’ innovation forces us to think that the devices have become a replacement for laptops.

So what makes both devices perfect competitors?

The Microsoft Surface Pro 4 inherited almost the same design from Surface Pro 3, which has a magnesium casing and the device measures 292 mm x 201 mm x 0.3 mm. The Surface Pro 4 comes with a 3.5 mm headphone port, a USB 3.0, a microSD slot, and a Mini DisplayPort which is useful for connecting with external monitors.

While the Apple iPad Pro also has the same design that of iPad Air 2, the only difference is its size. iPad Pro is slightly larger than iPad Air 2 with dimensions being 305.7 mm x 220.6 mm x 6.9 mm. iPad Pro is incorporated with the Lightning connector and a 3.5 mm headphone jack.

In terms of weight, Apple iPad Pro wins. The Wi-Fi only version weighs 713 grammes while the Wi-Fi + LTE version weighs 723 grammes. The counterpart, the Surface Pro 4, is slightly little heavier at 785 grammes for the Intel Core series processor variants.

Customers looking out for a lot of connectivity options for external drives and others features, the Surface Pro 4 would be an apt device for them.

The Surface Pro 4 sports a 12.3-inch display and offers a pixel resolution of 2,736 x 1,824. On the other hand, Apple iPad Pro has a 12.9-inch display and 2,732 x 2,048 pixel resolution. This display spec of pixel lighting is inherited from the 5K iMac desktop along with refresh rate capacities.

The Surface Pro 4 arrives with the Core i5 and Core i7 processor options and is available for pre-orders. The Core i5 model is further available at 4GB and 8GB RAM options, but the Core i7 model is available in 8GB RAM only. The device has an enhanced Iris graphics.