This was an interesting read. I bought a Surface Pro on sale recently although I already have an 2015 12.9" iPad Pro and a WONDERFUL 2014 MacBook Pro. I have attempted to take my IPad on vacation when I know there is some work I will need to do while traveling but don’t want the extra weight of the MacBook. As has been noted frequently by many tech writers, there are tasks that are just more cumbersome on the IPad - even with all the power of the new IPad Pros. For me the critical problem is that, for some web based apps, it is impossible to use the IPad. I put out a weekly newsletter using Sendinblue - a web-based email marketing app (similar to Constant Contact). Can’t be done with IOS Safari or Firefox. The app has a drag and drop function for the graphics that will not work on an IOS browser. On a recent trip I had to use the hotel’s Windows machine to get my newsletter out. Thus, the Surface Pro. Firefox and Chrome both function fine on the Surface Pro. I now travel with the Surface Pro and the IPad stays home.
I am itching to buy the new 12.9 IPad despite its ridiculous price because my old IPad is acting up - specifically the keyboard keeps losing it’s connection. I bought a new keyboard but it has the same problem. Seems the hardware is starting to fail. Nonetheless, I just can’t justify the expense until the IPad can do what my Surface Pro does.
I agree to that, I am in a position now that I need to develop on the go. I have iMac and iPad Pro. I need to use iPad for development, but it’s really giving me hard time. I beleive I am switching to MacBook Air and won’t upgrade iPad in the future.
I would say Surface Pro is powerful running a full fledged OS compared to iPad running iOS which is a very powerful hardware and software, but being limited in all possible ways.