Is Apple’s iPad Pro better than Microsoft’s Surface Pro?
The new iPad Pro has a more powerful processor, support for mice and trackpads and the tablet’s angle can be adjusted, making it easier to use in your lap or on a tabletop – just don’t call it a laptop
Apple may insist that the iPad Pro isn’t a laptop replacement, but this high-end tablet is closer than ever to becoming one, as evidenced by the new model announced this week.
If anything, the launch serves as another indication that Microsoft was onto something when it launched its Surface tablet/laptop hybrid in 2012, which is now nearly eight years old and popularised the concept of regularly using a keyboard and mouse with a tablet.
The 2020 iPad Pro, which Apple just announced on Wednesday March 25, features a Lidar sensor to give more realistic augmented reality experiences, a more powerful processor and, most importantly, support for mice and trackpads. The new keyboard Apple is launching for the iPad Pro also allows you to adjust the tablet’s angle, making it easier to use in your lap or on a tabletop, another feature that makes the Pro more capable for productivity.
Although mouse and touchpad support isn’t exclusive to the Pro – it will be coming to other models as well through a software update – it represents the missing piece of the puzzle the iPad Pro needed to serve as a viable work device. Apple has made a slew of updates to the iPad in recent years by introducing features that let you open apps in split-screen view, or in a smaller column on screen, and a new home screen that makes it easier to see more information at once.