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Microsoft Surface general manager Ryan Gavin has had a dig at rivals Apple for copying its flagship products. Stirring the pot, Gavin accused Apple of copying the Surface in its designs for the iPad Pro.
"We have been learning and perfecting our products in the 2-in-1 category for years now, [but] when Surface initially launched everyone was skeptical, including them [Apple],” he said. “And then they followed, and the iPad Pro is a clear example of that. Think about it, if we had been looking at [Apple], we wouldn’t have made a product like Surface Pro or Surface Book."
Maybe he has a point. The Surface certainly launched first and was marketed as a 2-in-1, while Apple was concentrating on the tablet market. Does that constitute copying? Maybe, maybe not. But how do the latest incarnations of the two devices stack up against one another?
Like the laptops it’s intended to replace, the Surface Pro is available with a range of processors; each iPad comes with one processor and one processor only. Despite having a slightly smaller screen the iPad Pro is in fact bigger and weightier than its rival. The Surface Pro has a better front camera for selfie lovers, while the rear cameras are neck and neck.
The theme of who copied who has been centre stage in the tech industry ever since Jobs proudly agreed that ‘great artists steal’. The numbers talk for themselves and consumers will have the final say on who has the better product. Microsoft will say Apple copied them, while Apple will say the iPad Pro was a natural progression of their own product. At the end of the day who plays the chicken and who plays the egg doesn’t really matter. Apple and Microsoft can continue to take digs at one another… but surely, ompetition can only be a good thing in this industry!
