My wallet is rather unhappy with me at the moment.
But it's only fair to test the most powerful Windows tablet: the Surface Pro 6.
Microsoft's flagship tablet was just recently released, running a full version of the Windows
operating system just like a PC, but in tablet form.
It's even got a little builtin kickstand.
Let's get started.
[Intro]
This 2018 Surface Pro 6 is currently $800 at Best Buy.
The exact same price as the 11 inch 2018 iPad Pro.
The big Surface does come with double the internal storage though.
The Surface is also a tad larger, with a 12.3 inch screen instead of the 11.
And a bit thicker at 8.5 millimeters, verses the 5.9 on the iPad Pro.
Two millimeter difference doesn't mean a whole lot to the naked eye though.
They are both very thin tablets.
But when two pieces of technology compete, it's only natural to compare them.
Some of the Surface Pro thickness stems from it's massive kick stand.
We'll see what that's made out of in a second, but it's definitely no flimsy Nintendo Switch
peg.
It holds the Surface Pro at basically any viewing angle you want.
Let's start with that durability test.
Oh wait, sorry.
The full file management system just opened up.
Let me minimize that before anyone gets jealous.
Let's start with the scratch test.
Screens can be made out of a number of materials.
Plastic would scratch at a level 3.
Glass would start scratching at a 5 or a 6.
And sapphire would scratch at a level 8.
But glass can have different compositions.
Tempered glass has the same hardness as regular glass, but it's less prone to fracturing.
Looking at the imprints from my Mohs hardness picks, the glass does appear to be a tad thicker
than the iPad's, but we can still see the pressure transferring through the glass onto
the LCD below.
As I was finishing up the level 7 scratches, there was a tiny pop and the entire length
of the tablet was hit with hairline fractures.
Not a good start.
Each fracture from the level 7 basically spidered out to the 4 corners.
So a screen protector is probably a good idea with this one.
The Surface Pro 6 does not handle scratches or damage very well.
The side of the tablet has a proprietary magnetic charging port.
It would be nice to see a USB-C over here, but it does have a full size normal USB port,
along with a mini display port for external monitors and stuff, all tucked into the metal
frame.
The bottom of the Surface Pro 6 has it's little docking pins, the little gold circles that
connect to a keyboard.
The Surface does allow you to plug a mouse into the USB port, just like you would on
a real computer.
The iPad Pro does not support a mouse.
The frame of the Surface Pro 6 is made from metal, but it's not anodized.
It's painted, making it slightly more vulnerable to scratches.
I do prefer Apple's layer of anodizing over this paint stuff.
The power button is made from plastic, along with the volume rocker...also plastic.
And strangely enough, the whole upper side of the tablet is made from plastic.
Once place the iPad definitely wins is with the camera.
This Surface Pro only has a 5 megapixel front facing camera tucked under the glass, with
an 8 megapixel rear camera on the back, also protected with this little circle of glass.
Not overly impressive.
It does come with an expandable micro SD card memory slot though, which is a perk.
I feel like a computer or tablet should adapt itself to the user, and not the other way
around.
The front facing speaker grilles are right next to our little headphone jack buddy.
Thankfully he's still around.
This tablet has little useful perks all over the place.
Each of the 2 front firing speaker grilles have a little bit of mesh over the top, but
they're definitely secure.
These two speakers are probably no match for Apple's 4 speakers, but of course, we're still
talking about tablet speakers.
Tiny speakers are always going to be tiny speakers.
The back of the Surface Pro 6 has quite a bit of real estate.
Microsoft has been pitching this tablet as a computer, mostly because it is, and not
so much of a drawing easel.
But it looks like art can still happen.
I turned the Microsoft logo into a cute little turtle.
Let me know what we should name it down in the comments.
The kickstand is made from metal.
You can see the shiny silver glistening through the paint later.
There are 2 halves to the back panel though, so a double session of Art Class with Jerry
is now in order.
We have the same shiny metal covering up the upper portion, so the build quality and material
is consistent on both halves.
What should we name the shark?
I went ahead and changed the background to a more suitable aquatic environment for the
buddies we just created.
The Surface Pro 6 is using a 12.3 inch 1824x2736 resolution LCD display, which has a few more
pixels than Apple's 1668x2388...but who's keeping track.
It lasted 12 seconds under the heat from my lighter and then fully recovered.
Tablets are definitely in a whole different construction class than cellphones.
Cellphones are by far the most used pieces of technology on the planet, but tablets are
still mobile and still should be durable.
The bend test is next.
Remember, the screen has already been cracked from our scratch test.
When I commence the bend, the Surface Pro has some massive flex, but does lock out,
and incredibly still works.
Trying from the other side, we get a very twisted tablet but with no catastrophic damage.
Bending round 2 from the back pops the LCD loose from the side adhesive.
You can see the literal gap as the screen pops away from the tablet, but the whole thing
is still functioning.
Pretty safe to say that this Surface Pro 6 can handle quite a bit more abuse than the
iPad Pro.
It could very well just be a weight issue.
The Surface weighs 40% more than the iPad.
And that weight definitely adds to the structure.
It's still incredibly light of course, there's just more structural material inside.
Plus the Surface doesn't have any flaws builtin to it's weakest points, like on the iPad,
with it's massive bend near the plastic cutout, and the crack exactly on top of the middle
microphone hole.
Intentionally adding structural flaws in a mobile product is a bad idea.
Pretty basic stuff.
The Surface Pro 6 passes the bend test.
The thing that probably helps keep things solid the most though was the kickstand.
And extra massive metal plate securely built into the tablet itself like a structural brace...can't
go wrong with that.
Let's do a quick jump inside so there's no question left over about the build quality.
I'll keep it all consolidated into one video.
Neither of these tablets were designed to be opened or repaired successfully – that's
a story for another day.
Warming up the adhesive does make it easier to remove the display, even though it still
gets sacrificed in the removal process either way.
The interesting thing to me though, is that the Surface Pro 6 is still holding onto life
with it's cracked, lit up display, while the iPad gave up the ghost the very first second
of the bend test.
Finally, pulling the screen away from the Surface Pro, we get our first glimpse inside.
With it's massive snaking copper heat pipes, and big, blocky batteries, it's easy to tell
that there's more hard wire and structure inside the Surface Pro than there is inside
the very flat elongated guts of the iPad.
Apple went for a thin, light weight design, and sacrificed structure in the process, while
Microsoft packed their tablet with guts and metal.
Not all tablets are created equal.
And there we have it.
A full computer in tablet form, verses a smartphone in tablet form.
To me, the iPad Pro is just an overpowered, hipped up, flexible Netflix machine.
It sure does make artwork look good though.
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Thanks a ton for watching, and I'll see you around.