Posted on 10/29/2014 10:46:59 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Apple’s latest and greatest tablet has only just hit the shelves at retails stores nationwide, and although sales of the device have been outstanding — as has come to be the expectation of new Apple products — tech analysts say the iPad has only one competitor across the gamut of devices on the market today.
And the iPad is losing.
Despite being host to a throng of new features and sporting a lighter, thinner build, Apple’s newest technological must-have can’t seem to escape the shadow left by the Surface Pro 3, of all things. It’s not surprising considering the Surface Pro 3 is more laptop than tablet, and therefore has the beefier specs to back it up. But benchmark tests posted by Laptop Mag show the iPad Air 2 has some ground to gain before it can be called “a Surface Pro 3 killer.”
This isn’t to say that it’s not a threat to Apple’s tablet market share. Sales figures of Microsoft’s Surface Pro 3 indicate there is a strong market of consumers looking for a fuller-functioning hybrid, and it’s been kicking iPads out of businesses since the original Surface Pro. The NFL is even using them on the gridiron to analyze plays and coordinate with coaches.
It’s not exactly an even match, however. The iPad Air 2 carries a price tag starting at $499 whereas the Surface Pro 3 comes in starting at $799, which doesn’t include the nifty Type Cover accessory that’ll add another $130 to the bill. Additionally, the two devices are in two different classes. As mentioned earlier, the Surface Pro 3 is a laptop disguised as a tablet, and the iPad is purely a tablet that isn’t designed to replace anything other than another tablet. Apple is hard at work on an iPad Pro that should fare better against the Surface Pro 3, but that shouldn’t be hitting shelves until sometime in 2015, armed with an upgraded version of the iPhone 6’s A8 processor.
If the iPad Pro benchmarks higher than the Surface Pro 3, it should be noted that it did so against a device launched over a year prior. By that time, however, Microsoft may have released or will be releasing a Surface Pro 4 to tip the scales back into its favor.
What does this mean for Apple?
In short, it means that Apple is now playing catch-up in a field it had essentially built. After the flubs they’ve recently made, like the iPhone 6 launch in which almost every aspect of the phone was pulled from Samsung, and the disastrous idea to force the new U2 album onto every single iCloud user’s music storage whether they wanted it or not, they’ve essentially become the monolithic, unfeeling corporation they were rebelling against in their famous TV spot. They seem to be upgrading rather than innovating, something they used to be able to say about their competition. Their ability to remain ahead of the technology curve has fallen completely flat, and now they’ve got a lot of work to do to gain ground to beat the Surface Pro line.
By the way, that corporation they were rebelling against? It was Microsoft.
Didn’t I read that Microsoft was discontinuing the Surface?
RE: Didn’t I read that Microsoft was discontinuing the Surface?
Yes, the Surface Pro 2, not the Surface Pro 3, for which it is making money.
I remember growing up in the 80s/90s how benchmark tests were a big deal because each new generation of chips meant a noticeable jump in speed and performance. But with chips now so fast does someone notice the speed difference between the iPad Air and Surface 3?
Blasphemy! Oh, you’ll smoke a turd in hell for that!
This author is out in la-la land. Not even Microsoft compares the Surface Pro to the iPad - their ads compare it to the MacBook Air. And for good reason as they’re both in the not-quite-a-desktop-replacement notebook category.
This article is poorly written. Moreover, the author has little historical perspective that would allow him to avoid some of the false platitudes he was making.
Most egregiously, the famous “1984” ad was against IBM, NOT Microsoft. In those days, Microsoft was widely considered an imperfect good guy, licensing the PC-DOS they peddled to IBM because they oursmarted Big Blue on the original deal.
The author has NO memory of the Amelio and Spindler eras.
The U2 whatever wasn’t even a blip on the MacRumors forum (mostly fanboys, but enough real users to make it a reasonable place to check).
Finally, the presumption that Geekbench speed isa the only benchmark to count on a tablet is LAUGHABLE. Will a decent Intel processor beat a decent ARM processor in a broad array of uses? Of course.
And my old 1965 Chrysler 300, properly tuned, can pass almost anything except a gas station.
Tablet users generally value battery life OVER computational performance. In Apple’s case, many iOS users GREATLY value the gated garden software and OS approach. Those who want more options and more control at a possible cost of stability would opt for Android.
My guess is that the Surface is cannibalizing sales from Windows based laptops, and very little from iPad/Android.
Perhaps, but then you’ll still be using MS software and UI. I’ll pass. I have moved on.
Indeed so.
Weren’t the surface pro and surface pro2 both flops?
Not buying into the pro3.
Microsoft has a nasty habit of obsoleting hardware with their frequent system upgrades. Haven’t had that problem since I switched to Apple !
Rot in (redacted) Microsoft.
Does the MS Surface run Windows 8?
OH ...
Game, set, match, Apple wins!
(Windows 8 is horrible.)
Intellectual posts like yours ...
There are a few things that have me down on Apple and a few things that have me up on Microsoft.
A first thing negative at Apple is the guy at the top. He is a disaster and although his PR Team have been busy writing a narrative of how wonderful he is, it is a lie and a sham that will increasingly come into focus in time.
A second thing negative about Apple is there is an Apple culture that extends to the streets and into cyberspace. In particular, there are those who praise Apple and talk smack about Microsoft at every instance.
Then there is the issue of sabotage of Microsoft products. I have personally witnessed in Best Buy a row of Microsoft phones and Windows 8 laptops that did not work at all because the keyboards had been messed with or the monitors damaged WHEREAS all the Apple products were unmolested.
I confirmed my suspicion of sabotage in 2 stores of GAMESTOP where demo units of XBOX ONE, Playstation 4, and the new Wii U Console (Nintendo) have all been out on their floors for several weeks now. In both stores, the XBOX ONE unit controllers were not working WHEREAS the Playstation and Wii U demo units were. And it is not the possibility that Microsoft has defective controllers because an XBOX ONE Kiosk at a major shopping center has had all its equipment working without failures or incidents.
When I asked the GAMESTOP floor managers why he thought XBOX ONE was not working while the other competing demo units were working, he said he thought some persons had messed around with the controllers (which are quite durable). I told him what I had witnessed at Best Buy and also the other GAMESTOP store as well the Microsoft XBOX Kiosk, and he nodded in agreement.
I think the jury is still out on Microsoft but I think it’s safe to say they have turned a corner whereas Apple could be flying towards a flameout.
The new Chief at Microsoft is a family oriented guy who came up through the ranks and appears to be indifferent to politics which I like and think can be good for business as it sets a tone for all their products and marketing.
The Surface 3 Pro is a full desktop replacement and I will be looking to acquire one or two or possibly the followup product. I have read a little about Windows 9 and 10 and I like how the company is working with the public and user community to upgrade or introduce new features that are driven a lot by those that use Microsoft products. Apparently they’ve gotten the message to avoid shocks and surprises to their current customers.
All in all, Microsoft appears to be on a better track.
BS...
It’s too expensive though, IMO
I will always be a desktop/laptop guy.
BFL
hahahaha citing the NFL as your example???? MS paid the NFL a boatload of money to have them use them, it wasn’t a choice by coaches or announcers, it was the NFL taking a big fat check from MS and telling coaches and announcers they had to use them...
What a joke.
The Surface is a hybrid product for a niche market, and that’s where it will stay.
The price point for surface is fine for folks who want a hybrid.. its about on par with a ultrabook... Because that’s really what it is, its a light laptop with touch and a detacable keyboard...
Its no threat to the true tablet market, but a fine option for those with a hybrid need.
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