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iPad Pro vs Surface Pro 4 Digitizer Showdown
9 years ago
I've been on the hunt for a portable art tablet for a while.. This is just a quickie write-up to summarize my thoughts after using both devices.
Everything here is biased as heck and based on my own experiences and tastes. : D
iPad Pro 9.7" / Surface Pro 4 i5 8gb (SP4)
Stylus Input (Winner iPad Pro):
==============
This is the most important category to me. Without good input ya got nothin. :V NOTHIN!!!
-Screen/Stylus parallax is close enough for me not to care. Both are spot on.
-Pressure sensitivity. Both are excellent.. the SP4 bumped this up from 512 to 1024 levels and I honestly can't tell at all.
-Responsiveness goes to Apple hands down. Citiq's passive stylus run at around 120hz, Apple pencil is 250hz, MS haven't advertised their polling rate. iPad pro stylus feels more responsive than anything I've used before hand down.
-Stair-casing/Jitter problems. This has been a problem on active digitizers forever though not a problem depending how you draw. When drawing slow diagonal lines the tracking can form a wavy pattern. See here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Z0YurhNy88
On SP3 the issue was quite obvious, it's still present on the SP4 though slightly improved. It's near imperceptible on the iPad Pro. I was able to reproduce it when moving EXTREMELY slowly and it was very minute bumps, a non-issue.
Stylus Physical Design (Winner Surface Pro 4):
==============
Microsoft destroys in this category imo...
-Better material and shape for grip
-A Button! (buttons are nice to have)
-Size, the Apple pencil is loooong and back-heavy
-Magnets! (it sticks to the side of your tablet, super handy)
-Eraser
-Changable tips with options to choose from (grippy, slippery, etc)
-Charging mechanism is awful on the Pencil. Plugging it directly into the iPad leaves it rigidly sticking out from the bottom.. one wrong move and that puppy's toast. They ship a female-female connector to let you charge it on a cable at least (something tiny to lose). Feel like they could have come up with a way to snap it onto the magnetic pins where the keyboard connects to charge. I much prefer the 1 year battery on the surface pen in this regard.
Size/Weight (Winner iPad Pro):
==============
Surface: 786g / iPad Pro 9.7: 437g
To be fair, there's a hell of a lot more going on in the Surface so no surprise here. It also is substantially smaller in terms of screen size (the 9.7" model).
Software (Winner Surface Pro 4):
==============
Being able to run any software I run on my desktop machine is a huge bonus (Clip Studio, zbrush, desktop Photoshop/Flash). To be fair there's some SICK software on the iPad like ProCreate (only NINE bux!!!).
File management also is way breezier imo on the SP4/Win 10.
One thing not brought up enough is hover. From what I understand tablet iOS has no capability to display cursors.. so despite having an active stylus it STILL can't display a brush cursor unless you're drawing. This sucks butts. Though it could be fixed down the line (software limitation).. we don't know that it will be.
Cost (????)
This is pretty up in the air. In one way they're bargains compared to equivalent Cintiq's... though if you ask me they're still overpriced for what they are.
On one hand you've got a $1040CAD tablet for watching netflix and drawing furry porn. Alternatively for a mid-range SP4 you're spending over $2000CAD (EEK), though it's definitely a capable a laptop replacement and not just a monster-drawing/netflix machine.
Conclusion: I still can't decide. :(
Everything here is biased as heck and based on my own experiences and tastes. : D
iPad Pro 9.7" / Surface Pro 4 i5 8gb (SP4)
Stylus Input (Winner iPad Pro):
==============
This is the most important category to me. Without good input ya got nothin. :V NOTHIN!!!
-Screen/Stylus parallax is close enough for me not to care. Both are spot on.
-Pressure sensitivity. Both are excellent.. the SP4 bumped this up from 512 to 1024 levels and I honestly can't tell at all.
-Responsiveness goes to Apple hands down. Citiq's passive stylus run at around 120hz, Apple pencil is 250hz, MS haven't advertised their polling rate. iPad pro stylus feels more responsive than anything I've used before hand down.
-Stair-casing/Jitter problems. This has been a problem on active digitizers forever though not a problem depending how you draw. When drawing slow diagonal lines the tracking can form a wavy pattern. See here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Z0YurhNy88
On SP3 the issue was quite obvious, it's still present on the SP4 though slightly improved. It's near imperceptible on the iPad Pro. I was able to reproduce it when moving EXTREMELY slowly and it was very minute bumps, a non-issue.
Stylus Physical Design (Winner Surface Pro 4):
==============
Microsoft destroys in this category imo...
-Better material and shape for grip
-A Button! (buttons are nice to have)
-Size, the Apple pencil is loooong and back-heavy
-Magnets! (it sticks to the side of your tablet, super handy)
-Eraser
-Changable tips with options to choose from (grippy, slippery, etc)
-Charging mechanism is awful on the Pencil. Plugging it directly into the iPad leaves it rigidly sticking out from the bottom.. one wrong move and that puppy's toast. They ship a female-female connector to let you charge it on a cable at least (something tiny to lose). Feel like they could have come up with a way to snap it onto the magnetic pins where the keyboard connects to charge. I much prefer the 1 year battery on the surface pen in this regard.
Size/Weight (Winner iPad Pro):
==============
Surface: 786g / iPad Pro 9.7: 437g
To be fair, there's a hell of a lot more going on in the Surface so no surprise here. It also is substantially smaller in terms of screen size (the 9.7" model).
Software (Winner Surface Pro 4):
==============
Being able to run any software I run on my desktop machine is a huge bonus (Clip Studio, zbrush, desktop Photoshop/Flash). To be fair there's some SICK software on the iPad like ProCreate (only NINE bux!!!).
File management also is way breezier imo on the SP4/Win 10.
One thing not brought up enough is hover. From what I understand tablet iOS has no capability to display cursors.. so despite having an active stylus it STILL can't display a brush cursor unless you're drawing. This sucks butts. Though it could be fixed down the line (software limitation).. we don't know that it will be.
Cost (????)
This is pretty up in the air. In one way they're bargains compared to equivalent Cintiq's... though if you ask me they're still overpriced for what they are.
On one hand you've got a $1040CAD tablet for watching netflix and drawing furry porn. Alternatively for a mid-range SP4 you're spending over $2000CAD (EEK), though it's definitely a capable a laptop replacement and not just a monster-drawing/netflix machine.
Conclusion: I still can't decide. :(
A lot of people seem to prefer the SP2 for this since there's no stair-casing/jitter.
http://forum.tabletpcreview.com/thr.....-stylus.67533/
This thread has been keeping track of tablet releases with active digitizers, and they also link to a handy Excel chart detailing all of the known specs for these models. They also link to forum threads for most of these devices so you can see what the community thinks of any model you're interested in. The forums there have been instrumental to me in my ongoing quest to find the best art tablet to eventually buy one day when I can afford better than a cheap import. x3 They also really helped when I got my first tablet, the Samsung ATIV Tab 7.
This is helping me decide which to go with when I do as well. Wish I had some experience with them to input here for you. D:
All I know is when I saw you doodling on the SP4 at MFF I nearly drooled every rainbow known to mankind. SO FREAKING SHINY. OwO
I've also heard that the Apple Pencil is totally unrivaled in its capabilities. SO wish you could combine the two, or at least add a button to the Apple Pencil. xD
If I had to decide right now I'd probably go with the SP4 just for the all around features and convenience. It would also probably depend on the day too.
Someone far more capable than me said good things about it once.. : ) So it's probably great.
Think the part that would bug me most is being limited to the android software library since there's not as much going on there in terms of art apps.
I guess it really depends , I mean it seems like you are stuck between the two (leaving out the cost obviously). I got my SP4 on deals cause I wasn't going to go full retail on that thing, so I guess in order to get a good deal you may just have to wait until one pops up!
Hopefully whatever you decide, you enjoy it and not regret it :)
I've had a Surface Pro 2 for about 2.5 years now, I picked mine up late 2013 to use as a note taking device for school. I love it for the pen functionality, but something unique that the Surface Pro 2 has that neither the iPad Pro or the Surface Pro 4 has the extra eraser function on the other end of the pen as a built in feature. The parallax on the pro two is bearable, it takes a bit of configuring and a bit of getting used to, but the pen functionality on the surface series is absolutely great.
The biggest issues I foresee with using either device for heavier pen usage (I'm only writing words and numbers on mine) comes down to the following;
Surface Pro: Sheer expense. If you're looking for a device that's going to handle multiple layers of a high resolution image with very little issue, the surface pro will nail that with little difficulty, assuming you've shelled out for the higher end model. The Core i5 variant thankfully comes with 4GBs of RAM, but it's hardly future proof as a standalone tablet and drawing device, especially with programs like photoshop being complete hogs on processing power, which is already limited by the tablet form factor, and any streaming software you may be using to go along with it.
The only other downside to the surface is, frankly, the parallax. I've noticed that before every session I use it, I need to recalibrate the screen for my stylus so that it writes correctly, and so that my lines aren't getting pulled left or right. This is something the Pro 4 has over the Pro 2, but I don't feel like they completely solved it.
iPad Pro: Biggest downside is you can't stream using it. The limited operating system coupled with the frankly sub par multitasking makes this a really significant downside if you're looking to stream your work.
The iPad pro's other downside can barely be called a downside in the long run, and that's going to be program compatibility. The device itself is only several months old, and proprietary programs are all there is, currently. This isn't good for now, but as companies familiarize themselves with the capabilities of the pro, and its accessories, we'll likely have full suites of drawing applications thanks to the pro's exceptional processing power.
I think if you're looking to stream, the Surface is the way to go. A high end one, to support both the drawing application and the resource hogs that are art programs. If you're looking to do personal stuff with no need for multitasking or streaming, I recommend the iPad Pro for the pen functionality, which simply can not be beat.
Yeah, I'm totally out-classed >.< At least it's nicer than my former Wii remote + wired infrared LED pen + draw-on-reflective-screen setup...
Still a helpful review! I'll pass it along to anyone asking about serious art setups :)
And I really hate to say that, because they had a huge opportunity to cater to a very under-served customer base there. Wacom is the only company currently making standalone tablets + digitizers specifically designed for artists. Microsoft dropped the ball for artists when they went the cheap route by switching to N-Trig on their digitizer tech in the SP3 and beyond. So while the biggest competitor in the mainstream tablet+digitizer space was letting their pen quality slide, they had a chance to show everyone up with a pen that did it all better. And I don't know, but I just find it so indicative of the Apple mantra. Make it look great, make it advertise itself well, make it feel great at first glance, but throw all the standard features out the door, even though they're there for good reasons.
Wacom: Expensive proprietary and patented tech monopoly.
Microsoft: Seemingly brings everything together but fumbles the most essential part (input) of the stylus. Actual input.
Apple: Gets the input right but fails on every other stylus front.