Here’s the comparison between Microsoft Surface vs iPad. Complete features and specification are given below:
We have compared features of Microsoft Surface and iPad. Both these tablets have a business friendly operating system and lot of features packed in them.
Microsoft recently launched its two very amazing tablet PCs called the ‘Surface RT’ and ‘Surface Pro’, both of which run on Windows 8. This extravagant venture by Microsoft is expected to make Apple’s domination over the market to jitter.
Dimensions
The Microsoft Surface Pro is a bit bulky with thickness 13.5 mm and weighs 903 grams. The Surface RT gives a tough competition to Apple with 9.3 mm thickness and weight of 676 grams as compared to 9.4 mm thickness and weight of 662 grams in case of iPad.
Display Screen
Both Surface RT and Surface Pro come with a grand 10.6 inch clear HD type display with resolutions 720p and 1080p respectively incorporating ‘Digital Ink technology’ for crystal clear display. Whereas the new iPad, has a 9.7 inch ‘Retina Display technology’ which is definitely a plus point making it a worthy rival.
Processor
The Surface RT is equipped with NVidia Tegra 3 quad core processor with ARM chipset. This ARM based processor is a major USP of this product. The Surface Pro has Intel’s core ivy bridge processors. The new iPad on the other hand has the latest Apple’s A5X dual core chip with quad core graphics designed for high performance as claimed by the company. With Intel’s Ivy bridge processor, Surface Pro definitely has an upper hand here. But all this cannot be decided finally until and unless the exact specifications of the CPU are released.
Applications
The Surface RT will be running only metro apps which will be available on Microsoft’s upcoming Windows App Store. This tab requires a catalog of apps that will be coded in Windows Runtime, which gives the device its name; RT stands for RunTime. But Apple’s iPad has all its apps on the very popular Apple App Store, which is considered as the world’s best app ecosystem. But the Surface Pro will run all the apps which will run on the desktop version of Windows 8, thus giving a strong fight to the iPad in this domain.
Ports
The Surface RT has ports for USB 2.0, MicroSD and Mini HDMI Video Port. The Surface Pro has USB 3.0 port, microSDXC, and Mini HDMI Port. While the iPad has a 30 pin dock Apple connector port. In this context, the Surface(s) are definitely the winners, allowing various devices to be connected easily to them using the standard interfaces. Whereas, in case of iPad, it is a cumbersome deal to find devices that connect using its proprietary port.
Battery
Where Microsoft Surface RT and Pro come with batteries of 31.5 watt hour and 42 watt hour ratings respectively, the new iPad has a 42.5 Watt hour battery which gives it an uptime of 10 hours with moderate usage. Again, Apple iPad has an upper hand in this segment, but is not a further leap from Microsoft.
Operating System
The Microsoft Surface RT runs on Windows 8 RT which is a special version of Windows 8 for ARM based devices. Microsoft has also developed exclusive software targeting ARM based tabs. The Microsoft Surface Pro runs on Windows 8, which is claimed to make computing more brilliant. This Windows 8 Pro OS will run on both desktops as well as tablets with full compatibility.
The iPad, on the other hand, has its software excellence in the form of iOS 5 which will soon be upgraded to iOS 6 in Q4 2012. This is expected to be a major software update with over 200 new features. Both iOS and Windows 8 have excellent features and thus no one appears as a clear winner here.
Special Features
Both the Microsoft Surfaces come with add-ons such as touch cover, type covers, stylus and expandable backs for upright support which are absent in iPad.
If the Microsoft prices the Surface tablets lower than the Apple’s new iPad, they will surely be a great hit amongst the tech enthusiasts. Having a sheer blend of hardware and software, these Surface tabs will surely give a tough competition to Apple’s iPad.