Depends what you're using it for. If it's mostly tablet-y things (consuming stuff, casual infront-of-TV use), iOS is clearly superior. You can try and tear the iPads from my parents' cold dead hands.

If you want to 'get work done', sure you'd have to take Windows over iOS. But then Apple users would be reaching for a Macbook instead.

I get why people want 'both' from the Surface, but to an Apple user like me, Windows doesn't appeal for either use-case. I'll take macOS for work and iOS for casual use, and put up with separate devices for now.

Right, but this submission is about the iPad Pro announcement, not iPads in general. I have an iPad. It gets used for exactly what you describe. Work gets done on my Macbook.

I like iOS on my iPhone. I like OSX on my Macbook. The only thing I'm pushing back on is the idea that iOS (via the iPad Pro) is set to consume my Macbook.

That was not at all clear from your comment.

Depends on what kind of work — some very very strong iOS design/photo/graphics apps exist. And music (Audiobus ecosystem).

Mostly the surface is more of a portable laptop. Slow to wake, short autonomy. Not the kind of thing you charge once a week and can forget in the sofa, and can be turned on instantaneously. Not the same market at all.

Why two separate devices when you can do it all on one? Right, so Apple can sell you more over priced hardware.

I think I just explained why I prefer two separate devices, but to clarify further: I don't like Windows, I prefer a unix-based OS for work, and iOS is a much better tablet OS in my opinion.

Also I don't agree with 'over priced hardware'. I tend to find if you look for comparable hardware from other manufacturers the prices are similar (e.g. Samsung S8 vs iPhone, Dell XPS vs Macbook).

So the best processor you can get on a macbook pro is an i5. Dell XPS comes with an i7. Same memory, same SSD, Mac has worse graphics card. Mac has soldered in memory. And it 600 bucks more.

https://www.amazon.com/Dell-XPS-15-15-6-Inch-i7-6700HQ/dp/B0...

https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/macbook-pro

On a 13-inch, sure. The 15 inch all have i7 processors.

The screen resolution is much higher, they come with double the ram, not a "home OS" (whatever that is), and I'm not sure how an AMD 560m stacks up against an Nvidia 960m.

Not to say the MacBook will be cheaper, just pointing out discrepancies in your comparison.

Here you go: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N1Q0M4O

Dell is $1,000 cheaper than a comparable MBP.

A plastic computer is not the same as one from machined aluminium. They may have similar specs, but they are not the same computer and the premium you pay falls directly into the spots where your specs fall apart.

But that still doesn't mean I'd pay $1000 more for aluminium. $100? Okay. $1000? No.

That's fine, but if aluminium costs $1000 more and there are obvious benefits, then it's no longer the same computer for $1000 less. The quoted Dell is not $1000 cheaper for the same computer because it's objectively not the same computer.

Got any data to support you opinion?

Wut? Are you suggesting that it's just my opinion that machined aluminium is not the same as formed plastic?

No, I agree they are not the same. I thought you were implying machined aluminum is better.

The word "better" is too subjective to make any kind of meaningful assessment.

It's running windows though

Here's a one-star review of it: https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R3GEM7V96Z5EIH/re...

Well I have one of those and it was properly packaged, sounds like the reviewer bought one that dropped off the back of a van to me.

I recall reading a familiar source I usually expect to be sensible (I've had memory problems since a head trauma a couple years back, which frustrate me constantly over seemingly unimportant context that's actually more disorientating than I like to admit) anyhow I received the impression that only the 13" models of the MBP with the new oled bar actually perform solidly for the headline spec and I can't recall any reason why now. Am I completely misinformed by my recollection or is the reality of a $2700 laptop that is the practical price of the performance one might expect just a garbage datum stuck in my mind? I'm not at all anti Apple, in fact particularly careful recently to seek a entry point into the ecosystem for a variety of reasons. This iPad announcement at least solves what my first Apple device in 27 years is going to be...

Edit typo contract-context

I've run a top of the range MBP for 4 years. 60% of the time I run Windows 10 perfectly via bootcamp, only takes a few seconds to switch. Previously I would have bought a new laptop once a year, Apple build quality and durability is light years ahead of Dell or the umpteen other pc brands I've tried so ends up being much cheaper in the long run. As with clothes, cost per wear not cost of purchase.

Why buy forks and knives and beer openers and such when you can just have a swiss army knife?

Indeed.

My mobile office has been reduced to a 12" iPad Pro with a 13" MB. All files are kept in iCloud and shared between the portable devices, a MBP, an iMac, and a custom PC.

The two portables together - inside a shared soft case with plastic protectors on each - weigh a lot less than my 15" 2015 MBP, and vastly less than a 17" Dell laptop I tried to use for a while. Having two big screens and one real keyboard is hugely more productive than trying to do everything on a single device.

The MBP gets hauled out for anything that needs more power or a bigger screen - not often in practice, because the battery life isn't anywhere close to being good enough for a full day of work.

I moved to this setup from the MBP about six months ago, and it's been a big step up in productivity. With two fairly light devices I can do almost anything I need to do almost anywhere. It's at least as productive for coding, research, and social as my old non-portable dual-screen Mac Mini setup from a few years ago.

It's not powerful enough for content creation, but that needs extra music hardware and bigger displays, and for now I'm happy to leave the tools for that at home.

As a bonus, the big iPad on its own is also the best ereader I've ever used.

Maybe I want to use my fork and knife at the same time, in each hand?

Not to mention, the knife in a Swiss Army knife is going to be way worse than a similarly priced knife. There's a number of things you can do with a $60 knife you can't with a Swiss Army knife.

Off-topic, but I'm a lifelong collector of knives, and I use my $13 Spartan about 100x more than any of the others. Honestly, probably not an exaggeration. Its utility divided by its cost is extremely happy-making.

I think that was the parent's point.

Indeed.

I'd rather have 2 devices made for dedicated form factors that play to the pros and cons of said form factor, than a jack of all trades, master of none.

Would definitely choose iOS over Windows any day of the week. Luckily, I can get both macOS and iOS so no worries.

I talk to OSX users all the time aboud OSX vs Win 10, and where they really like OSX?? Is at the command line!

Basically, OS X's big win is its quite good integration with the ecosystems that grew up and around the GNU/Unix ecosystem. The lure of a GTX 1070 GPU in a laptop was very strong, but in the end, it was more comfortable for me to run Linux virtually than to use Windows 10 bash. My 2012 Macbook Pro is still more productive than a shiny new Windows 10 laptop.

I guess you are talking to UNIX refugees using OS X instead of other UNIX alternatives.

Majority of OS X users outside that UNIX crowd, barely know where the Terminal.app is located.

iOS comes with support for multiple languages.

My Surface 3 came with support only for Chinese without even an English option. I had to buy and reinstall a totally different SKU to make it functional for me (and this was an employee purchase program, grumble).

I get what you are saying, but when iOS can manage to support more languages than Windows, well, we are in a totally different world these days.

I prefer my parents to have iOS over Windows. Do you think the folks who prefer Chromebooks really value feature parity?