Microsoft released their new Surface Pro 3 tablet in June. Until the release of the iPad Air 2, there wasn’t a worthy opponent to compete with the Microsoft tablet. However, Apple has been riding a wave of success with the drop of their new iPhones. So let’s see can they hold on to their winning streak.
Display and Design
The Surface Pro 3 is .36 inches thick and weighs 800 grams. The iPad Air 3 weighs only 437 grams and is only .24 inch thick. So it is clearly lighter and slimmer than the Microsoft tablet.
The iPad Air 2 looks similar to its predecessor, however since it is slimmer it does come with a few changes that its premium in look and feel. The Surface Pro 3 proves a premium design with a magnesium-based chassis, coupled with a ventilation system on the edges, helps in boosting its performance.
The Surface Pro 3 comes with a Full HD 12 inch display with 216 ppi pixel density and a resolution of 2160 x 1440 pixels. The iPad Air 2 comes with an IPS LCD 9.7 inch display, with 264 ppi pixel density and 1536 x 2048 pixel resolution.
Software and Hardware
You will find a range of processing options on the Surface Pro 3. It has three variants in which you can choose from an i3, i5, and i7 Intel processors. You also can choose a 4GB or 8GB RAM capacity version. The iPad Air 2 comes with triple-core processor powered by Apple’s A8 CPU, that has a RAM capacity of 2GB and speeds of 1.5GHz. It comes in three variants for memory, including a 16, 64, and 128 GB. While the Surface Pro 3 is also available in 64, 128, and 512GB options. The iPad Air 2 comes with a fingerprint scanner while you can find the Surface Pen Stylus on the Surface Pro 3 which is helpful when writing.
The Surface Pro 3 runs on the Windows 8 operating system. The Apple iPad Air 3 runs on the Apple’s iOS.
Camera
The cameras are quite different as they don’t really stand out from each other. The iPad Air 2 has a rear 8MP shooter, with a front 1.2MP camera. The Surface Pro 3 has a rear 5MP camera on the back and similar 5MP on the front.
Battery
The Surface Pro 3 can last for over 9 hours while the iPad Air 2 last for an additional hour of usage.
Price
On Amazon, you can find the Surface Pro 3 is priced at $775. You can also find the iPad Air 2 in 64GB for $660 on Amazon as well.