I am sorry however my Floor Professional nonetheless beats the iPad in 3 key methods

Earlier than getting my arms on the new Microsoft Surface Pro 12-inch, I had by no means a lot as held a Floor pill exterior a retail show setting. As a lover of pill computing, I’ve used a justifiable share of Apple iPads, Android tabs, and even the Blackberry Playbook over time, however the Floor line remained a mysterious and nearly unique product line in my eyes.

The Floor Professional’s kickstand, attachable keyboard cowl, I/O choice, 3:2 facet ratio, and Windows-based PC working system are attributes which have all the time intrigued me, and apparently they’ve piqued the curiosity of massive tech corporations, too: Apple, Samsung, Google and different giants have been steadily shifting within the course of pill PCificastion lately, supercharging their slates with extra succesful {hardware} and software program.

I have been testing out the Floor Professional 12-inch for just a few days now, and I’ve had the prospect to include the system into my workflow proper alongside considered one of its direct rivals — the iPad Air (working the first beta of iPadOS 26, no much less). After pitting the 2 machines towards each other in the true world, I’ve come to understand a number of key features of the Floor Professional expertise. Listed here are three issues particularly that my Floor gives me, and that my iPad merely does not.

1

It might probably stand upright by itself

The Floor kickstand is in a league of its personal

Since the very beginning of Surface, Microsoft has held a specific {hardware} conviction that I could not agree extra with: tablets with built-in kickstands are higher than these with out one. Through the years, the corporate has perfected the artwork of friction hinges, and the brand new Floor Professional 12-inch inherits this engineering prowess. Its full-width kickstand feels extremely sturdy, articulates easily, and provides quite a lot of angle flexibility (as much as 165 levels when totally prolonged).

Against this, my iPad cannot perch itself in a helpful angle with out the usage of equipment, such because the Magic Keyboard or the Good Folio. These peripherals are wonderful, however additionally they price a reasonably penny. Third-party circumstances and stands can be found at quite a lot of worth factors, too, however they’re nonetheless one other factor you’ll want to buy and hull round. There’s an magnificence to having a built-in kickstand on a slate-style laptop, and it makes interacting with and consuming media on a big show all of the extra handy and easy.

Associated

The next iPad should copy the Surface Pro’s homework

If tablets ever wish to exchange conventional PCs, they’re going to want to start out spawning extra USB-C ports – to date, solely the Floor Professional has gotten the memo.

2

It has extra I/O

Two USB-C ports are higher than one

One other staple of the Floor Professional expertise is its laptop-class choice of I/O ports. Gone are the times of USB-A, Mini DisplayPort, a 3.5 mm headphone jack, a microSD card slot, and a Surface Connect port, however Microsoft’s newest slab does not less than supply x2 USB-C ports. In the meantime, each iPad mannequin ships with solely a single USB-C port — even the highest-end iPad Professional with an M4 chipset and 16 GB of RAM is constrained to just one lowly port for charging, knowledge switch, and exterior show connectivity.

It goes with out saying that more USB-C ports are better than less with regards to modern-day cell devices, and that is very true within the pill house. USB-C is an extremely versatile I/O commonplace, and entry to a number of ports on a single system is usually a game-changer relying on workflow. Pairing an iPad Air with considered one of Apple’s Magic Keyboard circumstances provides a secondary USB-C port for charging into the combination, however that is hardly an appropriate different to having a second full-fledged port proper on the slab itself.

Associated

5 upcoming Windows 11 additions that I can’t wait for

Home windows 11 stays a piece in progress for Microsoft – listed below are 5 PC options the corporate is engaged on which have me desperate to faucet on Home windows Replace.

3

It runs full-fat Home windows

A blessing and a curse — however largely a blessing

Microsoft’s Floor Professional line has all the time been distinctive inside the pill house, because it’s powered by a full-fat desktop working system. The brand new Floor Professional 12-inch runs Home windows 11, with entry to all of the AI-based Copilot+ PC software features that require a robust Neural Processing Unit (NPU) with a view to operate. Against this, my iPad is working iPadOS 26 developer beta 1, with software program roots firmly entrenched inside the iPhone’s cell OS paradigm.

iPadOS 26 brings numerous Mac-like additions to the iPad expertise, together with background duties, an improved cursor, higher window administration, and a correct Menu Bar, however the system nonetheless lacks many necessities, like the power to play a number of audio sources on the similar time. Windows 11, however, is a robust PC OS that makes the Floor Professional 12-inch feel and look identical to a laptop computer or desktop laptop, making for a productiveness machine that Apple nonetheless cannot fairly measure as much as.

In fact, Home windows is not fairly as slick as iPadOS with regards to contact interplay and gestures, but it surely’s ok that I could make do at any time when I am with out a mouse and keyboard. That being stated, I’d love to see Microsoft re-implement a number of the wonderful touchscreen UX options that have been initially part of 2012’s Home windows 8 — particularly the great left bezel multitasking gesture.

Associated

I added MagSafe to this old tablet to create the ultimate car smart screen

After realizing I hardly use my iPad mini whereas at house, I slapped a MagSafe ring adapter onto it, giving it a second auto-related lease on life.