If tablet wars was a Street Fighter based video game, Samsung’s fresh-faced Galaxy TabPro S would be entering the ring whilst the tired, battle-weary Surface Pro 4 and iPad Pro look on in terror.
Entering the market months after its rivals gives the Galaxy TabPro S one clear advantage: time. But has Samsung used it wisely and capitalised on the now much-publicised problems of its rivals? Here’s how the three tablet/laptop hybrids compare in the numbers war.
Size and Weight
Considering that the devices are selling themselves as on-the-go laptops, portability and versatility are key functions here. The Surface Pro is the most cumbersome of the three, with a thickness of 8.4mm and weighing 786g. Both the iPad Pro (6.9mm, 713g) and the Galaxy TabPro S (6.3mm, 693g) are slimmer and thinner, with Samsung’s latest winning the width war.
The Surface Pro, however, is bulked out by the need for physical connections: a full-sized USB 3 slot and mini Display Port are both included. With the Galaxy TabPro S and iPad Pro you’re limited to one connection each.
Operating System
Both the Surface Pro and the TabPro S run Windows 10, which means getting the full desktop experience on a demi-mobile device. TabPro is actually the first flagship Galaxy device to use Windows: until now, they’ve all been Android. This shift indicates that Samsung is all too aware of the need to have a versatile tablet that isn’t just for big-screen-browsing on the couch. People want something that can double up as thier work laptop too.
Despite the fact that the iPad Pro runs iOS, Apple’s marketing it as a full-on laptop replacement - provided you buy the keyboard accessory. iOS has its limitations when it comes to being a desktop replacement, but there are some really nice multitasking features (Split View, Slide Over etc) that makes the Pro a wonderfully nimble tablet. Check out Ian Morris’ take on the iPad Pro a full-on laptop replacement in the video below.
Power and Battery Life
In terms of raw performance, the Surface Pro 4 is a powerhouse. It comes with differing options for processors (Intel Core M3, i5 or i7) and RAM, (4GB, 8GB, or 16GB), with all variants comfortably handling programmes like Premiere Pro, with the latter options even running some spec-hungry games. But with great power comes great battery drain. The Surface Pro 4, in my tests, lasted no longer than 3.5 hours after a full charge. It’s not clear what causes the drain, but issues about it continuing to draw power when in sleep mode have been persistent. Microsoft is reportedly working on a fix.
The iPad Pro isn’t shy in the performance ranks either with its new A9X processor (1.8 times faster than the iPad Air 2), 4GB of RAM and a battery life at around 9 hours- which actually lasts as long as Apple claims.
It remains to be seen how the Galaxy TabPro S is going to stand up in battery tests, but Samsung claims it will last for 10.5 hours. Under the hood there’s Intel’s brand new sixth-generation low-power Core M processor and 4GB of RAM. We’ll find out soon if Intel makes good on its promise that its new chips will do more on less power.
Display
The Surface Pro 4 tops the resolution table with a 2736 x 1824 display and 267ppi. The iPad Pro comes a close second with a 2732 x 2048 resolution and 264ppi. The reality is that both devices have incredibly crisp and bright screens. There’s little chance you’ll be able to tell the difference between the two.
4K footage on the Pro 4 looks stunning. Image credit: Jay McGregor
Samsung, for its part, is one of the few companies in the world that’s innovating and manufacturing display technology. And, as you’d expect, its industry leading AMOLED display technology is what’s included in the TabPro. This means deeper blacks and more colour accuracy than the LCD tech used in the iPad Pro and Surface Pro. In raw numbers, the TabPro doesn’t match up to its rivals with a 2160 x1440 resolution, but I’ll see how they match up in real-world terms when I review it properly.
Keyboard
Neither the iPad Pro or the Surface Pro 4 come bundled with a keyboard included in the box. Samsung has, fortunately, picked up on this bugbear, as the TabPro comes with a keyboard accessory. Just like the iPad and Surface, the TabPro’s keyboard has a physical connection to the device so there’s no faffing around with bluetooth like other frustrating keyboard tablet add-ons.
The Surface’s keyboard is decent, particularly for a tablet add-on accessory.It has a large built-in trackpad, which is 40 percent larger than the previous Surface model, as well as spaced out backlit keys. The only real downside is how flimsy it is when it’s propped up at an angle, you can really feel the space between the desk and the keyboard when you’re hammering down on the keys.
The iPad Pro’s Smart Keyboard add-on only has one fixed angle, unlike the Surface Pro. But it’s a lot nicer to type on than the Surface and, typically, looks the part with its stylish woven fabric design.
Stylus
Unlike its rivals, Samsung has not made much fanfare about the TabPro's accompanying stylus - which makes me think there isn’t much to shout about. What we do know is that the Bluetooth Pen will be available to purchase separately from the TabPro. Whether or not it’s as accomplished as the Pencil or Surface Pen remains to be seen.
Both the Apple Pencil and the Surface Pen, however, are great add-ons. In general, I’ve found that the Surface Pen is somewhat more functional: the eraser on top of the Pen actually erases, it magnetically attaches to the device, and its nibs are interchangeable depending on what kind of doodling you're doing. It’s also accompanied by some nice software features like annotating web pages and documents.
The Apple Pencil is also a very accomplished stylus, minus some of the Surface Pen's functionality like interchangeable nibs and a magnetic attachment. As a stylus, it does feel somewhat more natural to hold than the Surface Pen, with its slender and simplistic design (it doesn’t have buttons). What’s more, it’s insanely accurate.
Summing up
The Surface Pro 4 still reigns supreme for me. The pen's functionality, the versatility of the Windows 10 as both a desktop and mobile OS, the ports and that insanely crisp screen make it a near perfect all-rounder (points are lost for the shockingly poor battery life - hopefully Microsoft will find a fix soon). But, and it's a big but, this is a spec-out, not a full comparison. Actual day to day performance of the Galaxy TabPro S is yet to be seen, so stay tuned for my upcoming review.
In the meantime, check out me Surface Pro 4 review below. And don't forget to watch Ian Morris’ iPad Pro review here.
