The iPad Pro Is Not A Great Success Like The Microsoft Surface Pro 4, Despite Reports
Apple’s PR team is on high alert ever since devices such as the Apple Watch and the iPad Pro have not lived up to sales and critical expectations recently. The latest news on how “successful” the iPad Pro is sounds like it came out of Apple’s PR department. AppleInsider recently reported on the iPad Pro’s success.
“Consumers have apparently taken a liking to the iPad Pro following its November release, as new data suggests that Apple moved nearly half a million more of the jumbo tablets alone than Microsoft did of its entire Surface lineup.”
The article adds that a relatively unknown research director claims the iPad Pro sold 2 million units during the holiday season, while Microsoft’s entire Surface line (includes the regular Surface, Surface Pro 3, and Surface Pro 4) sold 1.6 million units. So far, there has been no confirmation of this other than an “insider” and much of the media is more than happy to report on the iPad Pro’s win and the Surface’s loss.
Even if the iPad Pro sold more during the holiday season due to marketing, it doesn’t have the lasting power of the Surface Pro 4, which is a device that will sell all throughout the year. It’s also more expensive than the iPad Pro (which is why it sold less but probably made more money) and has earned much better reviews. TechRadar gave the device four-and-a-half stars.
“Has Microsoft at last crafted a tablet that can reasonably, without considerable compromise, replace your laptop? Short of going back to the drawing board on the battery, this looks as close as it’s going to get,” claims the review.
The iPad Pro has not earned the reviews Apple is typically used to. Notable technology enthusiast Walt Mossberg of the Verge says he is sticking with his iPad Air.
“You’d think an iPad guy like me would be over the moon about the iPad Pro, despite its hefty base price of $799 for a Wi-Fi-only model with 32GB of memory, which stretches to $949 with 128GB of memory, and soars past $1,000 with cellular capability. But I’m not.”
Unlike the Surface Pro, the iPad Pro is not a laptop replacement. It only runs iOS. In other words, you can’t run full-powered versions of Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, or even Final Cut Pro on the iPad Pro. Both the Intel Core i5 and i7 versions of the Surface Pro run graphics software pretty well. Some have even called the Surface Pro 4 a desktop replacement in tablet form.
However, that’s not to say that the Surface Pro 4 doesn’t have its problems. While it is far more usable than its big brother, the incredibly buggy Surface Book, Microsoft recently had to issue an apology to users. However, that hasn’t stopped some of the complaints on Twitter.
#Technology Update: User reports of Surface Book and Surface Pro 4 problems proliferate – InfoWorld https://t.co/tVEoKsgLW7
— John Weidert (@johnweidert) January 28, 2016
https://twitter.com/bergiztheword/status/687481126298861574
Microsoft has produced a major firmware update recently that takes care of most of the Surface Pro 4 problems. Even with minor bugs, Microsoft’s laptop/tablet hybrid is still a much better buy than Apple’s iPad Pro, which won’t be remembered one year from now.
[Photo via Daryl Deino]
