You're spot on. The fact that they moved all settings to one place and forced applications to do the same means a consistent feel - this is something that Windows has not got; each app may have options, preferences, hidden registry settings that can be tweaked, config files that can be tweaked, the system has Control Panel, MMC and snap-ins for other settings (or Computer Management) and then a new series of settings interfaces for Windows 8 and 10; settings can be accessed via multiple entry points (do I join a wifi network using the charm, the icon on the taskbar, control panel or something else???)
OSX has this to some extent with icons in the menu bar and changes in menu options when you press Alt, but on the iPad they were VERY wise to keep it in one place and to market the device as NOT a PC or workstation.
> Some people may consider the iPad Pro to be a Surface 3 with less features.
I think that's possibly because that's what a lot of people seemed to be wanting / hoping for, from this announcement. And it's not what Apple was looking to deliver - which is fine.
The iPad Pro is a big iPad. No x86, no fan, touch-based software stack, etc. It's not a computer, it doesn't have USB ports, it can't run desktop software. You can't plug it into a dock hook use it as a desktop machine.[1] On purpose. It's a very different point in the design space.
[1] Some people may consider the iPad Pro to be a Surface 3 with less features. And maybe it is depending on what you want from it. My take is that I've got a quad-core laptop with 16GB of RAM as my workhorse. I don't want a compromise device that's part tablet and part ULV laptop. I want a companion device with a big screen that I can mark up PDFs on. I want a bigger iPad, not a laptop with a detachable keyboard.