14 DAY TRIAL // The unveiling of the iPad Pro in September was surprising for most people, especially for Microsoft fans who believed that Apple was following the same path as their favorite company.
Truth be told, the iPad Pro appears to be based on the same approach as the Surface tablet first launched by Microsoft in 2012, so seeing Apple go for such a device was indeed unexpected. Especially for Microsoft, that is.
A company executive explained at the 2016 CES show in Las Vegas that, despite the similarities between the two, the Apple iPad Pro and the Microsoft Surface are not really twin brothers, pretty much because they fall into different categories.
“Microsoft really wants you to only carry one device for tablet and PC use. Whereas the iPad Pro is always going to be a companion device. The strategies are very different,” Dan Laycock, Senior Communications Manager for Microsoft Surface, was quoted as saying by TrustedReviews.
The companion device phrase means that the iPad Pro cannot be used as the one device to replace your laptop and remain productive on the go, although doing some work is indeed possible thanks to the detachable keyboard.
The Apple Pencil and the Surface Pen
But Laycock says he and his colleagues were mostly surprised to see the Pencil going live, not necessarily because they already have their own stylus on the market, but rather due to Apple’s initial position on such an accessory.
“At one point in time, Apple declared that if there’s a stylus, that’s failure. We’re a huge believer in the pen; we know our customers love it. So to see Apple do something that feels a little bit similar, that is clearly skewed for a bigger screen, and more productivity built in, and the ability to use a pen. We don’t see it as a one-to-one comparison, because this is a full PC, you’re running full apps,” he pointed out.
Right now, the Surface lineup is already pushing Microsoft’s hardware sales forward, so the company did manage to turn what was initially described as a flop into a successful product. It remains to be seen if Apple can succeed in its first attempt.