After 3 years, can my iPad Pro replace my Surface?

Four years ago, in a simpler and happier time, I bought the first iPad Pro – not literally, obviously, or I would be richer – the first model. I had a Mac Air as well but it was four years old itself and so I thought perhaps the IPad Pro could replace the Mac Air. All I do is read, write, watch a bit of Netflix and YouTube, and draw, so it seemed doable. I thought a 2 in 1 would be the answer and I could scrap the laptop and tablet combo, I have been using till now.

It turns out is wasn’t doable and so three years ago I bought a Surface Pro. As a result, I had two devices that didn’t quite do what I wanted but almost did. I ended up carrying them both around, which kind of defeats the purpose. Over the past three years things have changed slightly, with the iPad Pro closing the gap. But has it closed it enough?

Can my iPad Pro finally replace my Surface Pro as my laptop? I will test it for a week

In the name of science, I will use only my iPad Pro (which is now old) as my main device for everything I do. The iPad Software has changed it a lot over 4 years and so maybe it is doable.

What was the original issue?

I wrote back then in 2017 after buying the Surface:

“A lot of my needs were met by my iPad Pro but I use Scrivener and Word a lot and they just aren’t as good on the iPad. They are great on the Surface though. The keyboard and pen on the Surface are likewise superb. I read somewhere (possibly more than one place) that the Ipad Pro is the superior tablet but inferior laptop replacement. I completely agree. When it comes to reading both books and comics, it is better on the iPad. (Comixology doesn’t even have a Windows app which is crap because reading in the browser is not as good.) However, the Surface Pro is a fully-fledged laptop with a full set of features. Scrivener is awesome on it. It isn’t a laptop replacement – it is a laptop. Albeit one where you can remove the keyboard and use as a tablet.

“Keeping with the iPad Pro vs Surface Pro comparison, I should mention keyboards. As a writer, this is obviously pretty important. For the iPad, I had the Apple keyboard (which stopped connecting after 18 months), a Lenovo thing (which was good but really heavy), and an Apple Bluetooth keyboard (which was fine but had slight lag). None were all that great though. The Surface Pro keyboard connects easily, is light, has no lag, and also has a trackpad. It is a lot better to write on and you don’t need to jab at the screen and painstakingly try to select a small passage when you want to delete something, which is infuriating when on a tablet.“

So how do things stand now?

Looking at my earlier complaints, what has changed? Arguably, for what I use it for, the iPad has changed and the Surface Pro hasn’t.

Surface Pro Versus IPad Pro 2020

Writing

The Surface is still my main writing device. When I bought it I was working part time for a University and one of my jobs was to do all their social media, write press releases for the paper and write articles on their website. I was frequently having to sign myself out and in from social media sites, while adding multiple photos to things, and doing formatting and so on. It was as fun as it sounds. The work was made a lot easier thanks to a proper OS (Windows 10) and a mouse. I no longer need to do any of that fiddle stuff but still obviously use words, videos and pictures. You can now use a mouse or trackpad on the iPad, which is awesome.

I do still use Word and Scrivener a lot, however, and as I started my one week experiment yesterday, I have already been on Scrivener. It is a lot better than I remember. I actually quite enjoyed writing on it. The way my files are organised are still easier on the Surface and Windows environment but for just sitting down and doing a bit of writing, it isn’t too bad. I will see how it feels after a week.

My main issue with writing on the iPad (and I am writing this on the iPad) is that the keyboards are all a bit crap. As I mentioned years before, I have three – the Bluetooth keyboard (button fell off, slight lag), the iPad folio (stopped connecting after 6 months), and the heavy, bulky Logitech – which is actually nice to write on but is heavy. I am writing on the latter keyboard now. I should add that the original iPad is also heavy so it all weighs more than my Surface right now. I am a big strapping lad and the weight isn’t really a problem.

This crap keyboard issue seems to be solved with the new floating magic keyboard thing everyone is wetting themselves about. It is a great keyboard and has a trackpad. It is ludicrously expensive but hey, this is Apple we’re talking about. If you can afford it and add in being able to use a mouse and a huge minus for my writing experience on the iPad has become a plus. The thing I hated most was when you write something and then need to do an edit and find yourself jabbing at the screen, trying to highlight a specific phrase. I now have a bluetooth mouth connected (actually my Microsoft mouse) and it works brilliantly.

RESULT:

Big plus for writing on iPad thanks to new keyboard, trackpad and mouse. Still not perfect on Scrivener but it is still the best app and I love it dearly. The Microsoft Surface is still currently the winner.

Reading

The Surface still doesn’t have an app for ComiXology and for some bizarre reason, the magazines that I subscribe to don’t appear on my Kindle account on the Surface. They do appear on my Kindle app on my Samsung phone and both iPads. Which is weird and apparently something to do with a spat. Or something. Similar deal in that I can use the app for The Week, New Scientist and Science Focus magazines on my iPad and phone every week/month but have to read those publications in a browser on my Surface. Which is annoying.

RESULT:

iPad wins for reading.

Watching stuff

Both are great for watching stuff although my Sony Bluetooth headphones seem to have a problem connecting to the Surface now. They did before. No idea why but it is probably something I could fix and may have nothing to do with the Surface. Both deliver a very satisfying experience when watching something.

RESULT:

Both are good for watching media. Or consuming media as some people like to inexplicably say.

Digital art and general sketching

I love Procreate and it is the only app I use for drawing and doing other stuff like painting and ink sketches and so on. It is currently an iPad exclusive. Both pencils/pens/whatevers are great. I love Procreate and so for me, iPad wins – at least until it comes out on the Surface, then maybe I will change my mind.

RESULT:

Purely on a personal level, as I really like Procreate and it is exclusive, the iPad wins.

So now the weeklong experiment begins

A lot of reviews from the average fellow in the street is that the iPad can now totally replace your laptop. But then the same sorts of people said the same kinds of things when I bought the original iPad back in the dim and distant year of 2016. If you are going to spend that kind of money on something you are going to want to big it up. Apparently, once you work out how to do things slightly differently, everything is great. Everything was mostly great but not all. The addition of a mouse and file systems and a decent keyboard might change everything for me.

I have been doing this iPad only experiment for an entire day already. Looking at my above analysis, it seems like if the iPad can crack it as my primary writing device, then I might have talked myself into it. I am purely freelance right now and consequently a bit broke. So if this works for a week, I will extend it and write a shitload more on the old iPad and when I make enough, I’ll buy a new one and it will be totally justified. If I get too annoyed with it, it will go back to being an awesome ‘everything but writing’ tablet.

Then I’ll get a Dell.