I got my aeronautical engineering degree with my Surface Pro (the original!). I ran Solidworks, MATLAB, and a host of other engineering programs using the i5 processor and 128GB HDD. I LOVE OneNote. It's functionality was incredible. Being able to record the audio from lectures and play it back at the time I wrote the corresponding notes was so valuable.
Same here but on the surface pro 4. I remember being able to wow my friends using touch gestures in solidworks 😂 and taking notes in lectures… I even handed in a maths assignment that was printed off OneNote and when you can toggle the writing lines off for when you want to print, your work looks so much neater than anyone else’s so your supervisor gives you better marks
Is 8 ram enough for programs like Autocad or programming apps like Python? I am thinking about buying Surface device in future (for college), so i am not sure if i should spare more money for 16gb one (when the only available option is Surface pro 9) : P
I have a dell xps and a Ipad Air. Honestly it's the best of both worlds. Using the ipad for the hand written notes while using the Dell for computational work makes life easier. This keeps the load off the laptop and helps that I have onenote synced up so I am never without my notes.
Now that’s an awesome combination! It really sounds like you are getting a lot of value out of both devices and have found a good balance in terms of what tasks you complete on either one. Thanks for sharing this!
I get what you’re saying and you make a good point although I think in this case @Vedant is only taking the iPad into class and is using a computer at home :)
Nah man can't carry both in campus. When I have a coding tutorial and a math tutorial + lectures, I need to carry both in campus. It is too much for me. I sold mine for surface.
i did my masters in Electrical Engineering 2 years ago on a 150€ used Thinkpad T430. Its solïd as a rock even after 10 years and you can upgrade/replace every single components in it.
I’m gonna have to disagree. They need to stop the limitations on the iPadOS or allow for iPad version apps of MATLAB or Professional Structure Analysis…
@@Motion.Lotion they wont, I doubt it would kill their MacBook sales but theyre too scared to risk it. So currently Surface pros are for work, Ipads are for entertainment
I have both. iPad Pro 11 and Surface 9 Pro for business w/1TB SSD which just arrived at my house today. To PiperCub49's comment, I use OneNote extensively. I found when going overseas several times now for long periods, the iPad Pro 11 was great until I needed to write documents and then I found over time it fell short. Pros and Cons to both but this Surface 9 Pro for business is very light nor did I want to buy two of everything in important apps. One for the iPad and one for the windows device for example
you can use the double tap for lasso if you use any other app besides one note. In notability I set it to last used. so i only have to select the lasso if i was previously erasing. I find this feature more useful than a permanent eraser button at the top.
The reason I chose my iPad Pro 11' was purely because it was never intended to be a substitute for my laptop. I have a powerful laptop that I use for simulations and other software, and I now have an iPad to take notes so I don't have to carry around 5kgs of books! If you're looking for one device to do everything, go for the surface pro, if you're looking for something to just take notes and do other light work, go for the iPad.
MS Surface 8 Pro has the best of the Entertainment and Engineering worlds in a single powerful device indeed. If you want to expend your money purchasing more hardware, it's up to you.
I was fortunate to have a Surface pro 7 and entry level ipad during my computer engineering undergrad. Lots of engineering programs only run on Windows so it was an easy win for the Surface. When it came to notetaking, ipad was best and loved it. Quick things I had to do was done on the ipad. Everything else, the Surface.
Great Video! I was an engineering student as well. I used, and still use, the Surface pro 2 when I was in school, and it handled SolidWorks 2014 pretty decently with an i5 processor. Note taking was amazing with it because of One Note's ability to have all your notes organized and searchable. With math and physics courses, it was helpful because I did not have to waste time sharpening pencils or have illegible marks, or waste time turning a page. I did a little bit of Coding with Visual Studios, so the Surface pro did a great job handling it with ease. I now have the Surface pro 8 with an i7 processor and it handles SolidWorks great, and for fun, can run Rocket League very nicely.
Thanks! Surface Pro’s don’t get enough credit, I hadn’t heard of them until 2018 and by then Microsoft were up to the surface pro 6! You were on to them early haha I’m glad yours is still going and you are enjoying your new one still today!
Okay, one uses an iPhone, iPad, and a MBP. Notice each have their own OS and in many cases the same app has different features on each device setting oneself for frustration. Using Windows on the tablet and their PC all apps behave the same having the same feature set. Frustration and anxiety eliminated.
Hi, thanks for your information. I'm a math PhD student with a disability in my hands. So, I use my legs to do all my tasks. I'm considering buying a device with which I can take notes and run mathematical software. I have taken notes with an iPad and a pencil which was very smooth. I also worked with a Surface some years ago and I couldn't take notes with it. Since I have an iPad Air2 with which the apple pencil is not compatible, I don't know what to choose. I can either buy an Adonit dash4 stylus and work with my ipad air 2 for note taking, and buy a wacom intous as a substitute for my mouse and keyboard, or I can buy Surface pro 8. As you mentioned, note taking with an iPad is much easier than that with Surface pro 8. I wonder if the quality of note taking with surface pro 8 has drastically improved in comparison with the older versions.
A lot of people have said that the note taking experience on the newer surface pros is much better because the pen has been improved. I personally think that the Apple Pencil is still nicer to write with but maybe it’s something you need to go and try yourself and see what you prefer :)
Nice video What i don’t understand is why no tech reviewer does a comparison with a Surface Pro and a MacBook Air Laptop VS Laptop The user base of iPad Pro is not someone that doesn’t have a laptop as well. Shouldn’t reviews be based on user type? Of course Surface Pro is more suitable for engineering users. iPad Pro will never be a university tablet for engineering. Even Macbook Air is not suitable Nice review but the dilemma for students in engineering is MacOS vs Windows + portability. Im sure a comparison like this will give you tons of views! Good job anywayz mate
Only thing I hate about my surface pro 7 is how hot it gets. It overheats really easily when taking notes and starts to lag. The battery isn’t the best either. It lasts only one class for me. After seeing many of my classmates, I think I’m going to make the switch over for notetaking and easier assignment completion
Save yourself time and get the Surface Pro 7/8 or MacBook Air. MacBook Air if you plan on being a front-end web developer or study Java programming language. If your college focuses on C++ or C#, go with the Surface Pro 7/8.
I really liked my Surface Pro 4 especially when it was working well. It was great for taking notes, light development, and other tasks like just leisure reading. When the processor started getting dated, I was able to use a low latency remote desktop app called Parsec to remedy the situation and it fit most purposes well -- extending the battery life, doing power tasks, and even some light gaming (not that there aren't caveats: the internet actually stutters when it was on battery, and touch doesn't feel like the way it natively does through the app). Around the 2-3 year mark, it developed flickergate and then the battery started swelling making it unsafe to use. As it was a very common issue, I am very hesitant to buy another Microsoft Surface product (I have two surfaces and both of them have flickergate). :(
There is probably two things I can suggest and one of them you can’t control because you already have it but it might put you at ease if you have acted in this way. The first one is: “Buy Nice or Buy Twice” I find that when you buy the devices that have the higher specs/storage you often get a greater life span out of device. The second one is not keeping a lot of junk on your computer. By this I mean you should delete all the stuff you’re not using and keep things as simple as possible for the processors. Hope this helps :)
If your major is computer engineering or electrical engineering, you definitely don't want an iPad. You would want to get a nicely configured Windows computer or MacBook pro.
for sure. after a couple days research the note taking with stylus just isn't work the tablets. unless you have money to get a. laptop and tablet stick to laptops :P
Yup. A fellow electrical engineering student. Ipad is just a nightmare for ee students especially if you are working with circuit simulation. You really need a mouse for that.
Guys, does anyone know or used archicad on Surface pro 8 or 9? Did they add the support of multitouch screen for AC24? I read, that in AC20 you can not navigate via touchscreen even
is there any way would combine two devices in a lecture? I am considering buy a 2-in-1 window tablet and Ipad mini for study, I know these two devices above have the OneNote app, are they could be syn without any bugs? thanks.😀
Hey Lewis! Yes because OneNote is saved using OneDrive the notes you write on an iPad will be synced automatically when connected to the internet and instantly available on your laptop. I have never experienced the issue of writing notes on an apple device and them not being there on a windows computer :)
And has a detachable keyboard so you can use it as a tablet or note book and plug in a external dvd drive to use it as a lap to to watch moves and there’s a docking station you can get and leave your printer speakers back up drive ect plugged in so you just pop it in and you have a full fledged desk top
I have a gaming computer for gaming and a surface pro 9 for work stuff, why use another system then Windows, Apple is not for me, used ipads and Mac computers for many years and hated it in the end, happy with Windows and you have more freedom.
But the ipad is cheaper, can be sold at a higher price, is easier to get and to repair (in south america, don't know if that happens in other countries). So if you really don't love or hate any of the os, the ipad is a better option for when you already have a computer.
@Mati Estrella My last Ipad was the most expensive pro version, after only 6 month the screen started to have white bleeding in the edges, apple dose not repair instead you get a refurbished iPad with only 3 month guarantee and that one froze all the time, sold it and erased my apple account, I hate everything about apple and its so frustrating when you can't do the same thing you can on windows.
Hmmm... Did I hear you right? Did you say that you are not able to use the split screen option with One Note on the iPad? Because I use One Note in split screen on my iPad all the time.
Yes you did hear correct… I show that it comes up with a little message saying that it’s not compatible. I’ve seen this pop up on other people’s iPad too and it seems to be a common issue talked about on Microsoft forums. Sooo what wizardry are you using to do this? Hahaha. I’ve seen one work around being that you open a window of OneNote in Safari
@@BEngHielscher I'm going to give it another try to double check but I use the One Note app. And I did this a few times in August. I'll check it tomorrow and let you know.
@@ftlalov yes it does but not at the same time without doing a dual boot system. The surface pro can run Android on memu or blue stacks with in windows and Crome apps and extentions in the crome browser plus you can add web pages to your desk top as icons so you just click on them instead of having to look for them in your book marks
KInda unfare on microsoft surface that you are compaing new gen I pad with fairly old outdated surface with old outdated microsoft pen esp when in comes down to note taking. would be fair if you compare surface 9 with slim pen with new gen Ipad.
Thanks for this nice comparism, I am radiation oncologist thinking to buy Samsung GS8 ,because I notice something that I need during making simulation on anatomy & patients videos that I can write while I watching the screen recording video during my reviews for cases with my colleagues that I didn't find such option neither in surface or ipad , please if any one can help me to find this feature on any surface or ipad , I watching many like your videos before going to buy the suitable device for me , thanks for any reply,,,
Yes I think they are good. What I will suggest you do though is look into what performance requirements you need for the design programs you will be using and make sure the surface you get is powerful enough :)
It really depends on the demand of the programs you are using. In general I would say that it would be ok. I had a surface pro 6 which has 8GB of ram and core I5 and it was ok. My surface has slowed down a lot now after almost 4 years but it was fine for the first couple of years which I had it at university:)
Basically there's no comparisn here. iPad is just a big phone with pencil that doesn't even do it's job as a phone. Surface Pro is a computer that's also a tab and both does it's job well.
Hi Ashish, I have a surface pro 6 but I found that when I used this surface with full brightness and with the computer performance set to “best” and I did things that really drain the battery like design programs, videos streaming etc. I would only get 3-4 hours. On the other hand when I turn the brightness down and set the computer performance to “battery saving” and did normal things like web browsing, Word documents, OneNote etc. I could get around 9 hours. I would assume the surface pro 8 battery would be even better than this :)
@@BEngHielscher Hey, thanks for the input on battery life! I was also wondering the lifespan of the surface pro as well. Most windows products (from my experience) tend to last only 2-3 years. Is that the case for the surface pro, specifically the surface pro 8?
No worries at all! I think the surface pro 8 should last longer than 2-3 years quite easily. Something I have found that makes computers/tablets last longer in general is if you buy to suit your future needs as well. Some of these future needs could include needing a larger amount of storage and also RAM. Hope this helps :)
Hey! If the laptop you have is still good to do all the programming related things you will need to do I think an iPad makes a great accompany device for purely note taking. I hope this helps and let me know if you have any follow up questions :)
I started university with a gaming laptop. Bought the M1 ipad pro later that year, was very happy with it. Next year I got fed up with the very poor battery life on my laptop (around 2 hours) so I bought a M1 macbook air. I'm now considering selling my laptop, ipad and macbook and buying the surface pro 9 with an egpu (the egpu is mainly for gaming). I didn't enjoy macOS like I thought I would. The file manager is horrendous and small things that annoy me, like not being able to move a window without making it smaller first, add up to the less enjoyable experience. I'm overall happy with the ipad but don't expect to do more than note taking and some basic word or excel use. I would highly recommend buying the surface pro as an engineering student. You don't need to bring 2 devices if you need an actual laptop and all my courses are windows based and I Did run in some problems with needing windows-only programs while I was using macOS which forced me to use a windows VM (which was a very bad experience as well). Imo, if you've used windows your whole life, don't switch to mac. ipad is not so bad but it's the first step in being pulled in the Apple ecosystem. P.S. arguably ipad's best note taking app, goodnotes, is coming to windows as well so unless you already have a mac and iphone, there is not really a reason to buy the ipad over the surface
Hi, I already have an iphone 13 and I'm thinking of getting an iPad for mechanical engineering (especially for mathematics and physics) and I'm undecided whether to get a surface leaving the apple ecosystem alone
@@nuelosw an iPad is nice to have but it's more of a luxury rather than a necessity. As an engineering student, a laptop is Wayyy more valuable to have. If you already have a MacBook, getting the iPad is probably gonna fit nicely into your system. If you're looking for a laptop as well, I would go for the surface so you have a 2 in 1. Make sure the programs you use work on your laptop, Autodesk Inventor eg. doesn't work on MacOS if I remember correctly. I have a MacBook and iPad rn as an software engineering student and I'm kinda regretting not sticking to Windows
@@nulla9601 (I only have iphone and beats for the apple ecosystem) I'm trying to save money, I can't afford an ipad and a windows laptop in addition for programs, I'd better spend €300 more and get a surface so I can take notes in class and do run the programs as an engineer. because with sheets of paper I've never been comfortable and only a laptop forces me to write the formulas on the sheets, right? Thank you
@@nuelosw yeah, if you're an engineering student, you shouldn't really consider a MacBook since basically all courses are expected to use Windows and a tablet alone is definitely not enough, you need a laptop so the surface is your best bet in that situation imo. There are some other, cheaper 2 in 1's but if you're on planning on writing a lot with a stylus, I would stick to the surface. Another, cheaper alternative to consider is buying a second hand surface pro 8 since there aren't many differences with the pro 9 other than a year older chip and you can get some great deals for it new or cheap ones second hand
I bought an iPad Pro and i’ll explain my choice. I have a laptop bought in 2017, at the time a Great device… but in the years it has become heavy and the battery life inneficient. From a software point of view it’s still perfect, i’m a student of phisics and all i need is in the pc , it basically became a home pc. On the other hand the iPad Pro is a light and durable device with an optimized battery life and a very smooth os for note taking and studying. But the surface pro still remains a fantastic device.
Nice comparison.. iPad pro is still a No No mostly for us engineering students. iPads are more like giant iPhones and killer factor is with the ipadOS maybe in the future if apple can use MacOS instead, then iPad pro will be best on till that happens the Surface pro is by far the best option
@@BEngHielscher Definitely...from a business stand point it makes sense why apple isn't using MacOS on iPads but fitting a Bugatti Chiron engine inside a sedan makes no sense. Like u said as students, we got these free subscriptions for these CAD apps and the rest most of which the ipadOS can't run which is really disappointing...
Great comparison! I made the leap from a Lenovo X1 laptop to a Surface Pro2 many years ago (now up to an SPro 7). In both cases, they were my main computer with dual monitors at the office via the Dock. I use MS Office, AutoCAD/Revit BDS, an SQL program that wraps around AutoCAD and other stuff. My current config at the office is based on a Samsung 34" curved monitor, which has a resolution that is very close to the SPro7 (a few hundred pixels). I agree with you that if your "tablet" is your only computer then the range of Windows tech apps and real multi-tasking makes it a no brainer. The idea of having a phone OS on a tablet for serious technical work freaks me out! Good video - keep it up.
As an engineering student, are you telling that Word and Excel on the iPad is comparable to the same experience in Windows (try to write complex equations or macros that doesn't work, for example)? Word and Excel in IPad on a real engineering scenario is useless. In Autocad terms, the iPad is garbage. So, avoid the iPad is you want to use it in a real engineering student scenario.
For basic usage it is similar but yes for things like macros or really heavy usage no it’s not. I personally never had to use or make any spreadsheets that run macros while I was at university so this wouldn’t have been an issue for me. The iPad would definitely have to be an accessory to a full computer for you if you were using macros a lot. What engineering major are you? :)
If you had to pick one and only one, obviously its the Surface Pro. The iPad simply cannot do everything you will need it to do. There is really no argument or debate. One can do all the things, the other one cannot. That is not to say the Surface Pro is perfect. The battery life is not that great. Its thermal design does throttle the CPU back quite a bit for heavier tasks despite spending more on the i7 or whatever. The SSD is not the fastest. And a few other gripes. However, if you can only buy one device, the Surface Pro is the one. Everyone thinks they are a power user. Truth is all these devices are overkill for any student in any field of study until you get well into the graduate level. By then whatever you bought will need to be replaced/upgraded anyway.
Just FYI (to the audience): windows's air-drop equivalent is called nearby sharing, which supports windows-to-windows. For mobile, there is no such wireless feature yet (phone link only supports photos as of now), but USB PTP is always an option.
With the new Surface pro 8 and 9 ....the ones most people will buy considering the others are not available anymore, the note taking and pen experience is better than the ipad. Your review should have come out in 2019/2020 then yeah I would have agreed with you but in 2022 come on....
@@BEngHielscher No, the Surface Pro 8/9 writing experience with the Surface Slim Pen 2 is objectively much better than what came before, due to the higher precision (allowing smaller writing), haptic feedback (feels more like paper), lower latency and zero initial activation force. And with their screen being larger compounded with the better pen performance makes them significantly better for splitscreen handwriting.
i'm an architect student i'm looking to buy a devise that I can sketch with and review my drawings and projects, I already have a computer but its a desktop and I'm into android ecosystem what do you suggest, go with android tab or Surface Pro
Does anyone know if you can use the lasso function with a samsung tablet? Very insightful video, tbh I havent even considered surface pro before... now I really dont know what to choose :/
looking to switch to a dell windows tablet,from android and a laptop, my laptop has shit battery life, is too big and a bit heavy to bring along, while the android tablet has the exact problems the ipad has (less so but still). switched to a lenovo ideapad 5 2in1 now, it has better cooling, better battery and a better keyboard but is heavier.
Hey man,is Ipad (air or pro) good for ui/ux design? (Figma specifically),I am looking to buy one but I have never Used apple products before tbh and idk if it is good enough for this task. I would love to hear Your thoughts on it as it will help me a lot. (Also I have got a windows laptop which is really powerful but the battery isnt that good so I want the ipad in order to use Figma on the go)
Hey there! I haven’t used Figma before but I have used similar sort of design apps on apple products. In my experience the mobile version of these apps don’t work as well as the desktop version. They can definitely be used to fix up little things on the go but as long as you’re not relying on an iPad to do this work all the time a iPad could be useful to use in those other situations when you’re away from your desktop. Hope this helps :)
@@BEngHielscher yes it helps a lot,i would also love to hear what You think about the Xiaomi mi pad 5,should I choose a microsoft surface pro 4 or the mi pad 5?
I think you will run into the same issues with the Xiaomi pad 5 because it has a tablet interface. A surface pro would offer a lot more flexibility because it is a full desktop experience that is very portable :)
@@BEngHielscher bet bro,is 8gb of ram enough in your opinion for Figma (ui/ux desing in general) since the surface pro 4 in my country only comes with 8gb of ram and it is not upgradable
In theory I agree with this video. But in practical terms I don't anymore having lived with a surface pro for 3 years. My recommendation (and what I'm doing now in my master's degree) is to get a good PC or Laptop for the heavy lifting in labs or at home and an iPad for class and note taking. Some thoughts and observations of mine as to why: Yes the surface is a Windows PC that can run the necessary engineering programs, but it's not that great at it and frankly you will run into problems when files are getting larger and the computing more demanding (simulations and the like - mechanical, aerospace, automotive engineering etc.). The writing experience on a surface is sadly nowhere near as good as on an iPad. Windows is a buggy mess. Even more so if you use it for a year or two. It gets in the way. Clutter, constant updates, driver issues and all the fun things that you get with windows are all here. For me the kickstand was an annoyance that I never used, because yes it's sturdy, but it flexes a bit and you don't have anywhere to place your palm while writing on the right side of the page. Battery life is HORRIBLE on a surface if you're actually doing demanding things. If you have a long day at uni and plan on using it like a PC / laptop at times you'll run out of juice 100%. Its "half life" is worse then an iPad. With the way windows and programs in the PC world are developing the computing power of the surface won't last you as long as on the iPad.
Thanks for sharing your experience! I also think that if you have the choice and money to spare, getting a laptop for computer things and a iPad for note taking is the way to go :)
The newest ARM-based Surface Pro laptops are significantly better than prior iterations with respect to battery life and performance. Just make sure the apps you need to run are available natively or run properly with emulation.
![iPad Pro M2 vs Surface Pro 9 - Don’t Make a MISTAKE! [2023]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/5kfCpv8eudA/mqdefault.jpg)
I got my aeronautical engineering degree with my Surface Pro (the original!). I ran Solidworks, MATLAB, and a host of other engineering programs using the i5 processor and 128GB HDD. I LOVE OneNote. It's functionality was incredible. Being able to record the audio from lectures and play it back at the time I wrote the corresponding notes was so valuable.
Handy little devices aren’t they! It’s good to hear you really made the most of yours :)
Same here but on the surface pro 4. I remember being able to wow my friends using touch gestures in solidworks 😂 and taking notes in lectures… I even handed in a maths assignment that was printed off OneNote and when you can toggle the writing lines off for when you want to print, your work looks so much neater than anyone else’s so your supervisor gives you better marks
Is 8 ram enough for programs like Autocad or programming apps like Python? I am thinking about buying Surface device in future (for college), so i am not sure if i should spare more money for 16gb one (when the only available option is Surface pro 9) : P
@@aidenix5130 I made it work with 8GB of RAM, but I was a light user. If you're doing heavy CAD work, you'll want at least 16GB.
@@RcFlyer49 The price is pretty high for the 16gb, but the ability to do so many things on one device is stunning. Thanks!
I have a dell xps and a Ipad Air. Honestly it's the best of both worlds. Using the ipad for the hand written notes while using the Dell for computational work makes life easier. This keeps the load off the laptop and helps that I have onenote synced up so I am never without my notes.
Now that’s an awesome combination! It really sounds like you are getting a lot of value out of both devices and have found a good balance in terms of what tasks you complete on either one. Thanks for sharing this!
I get what you’re saying and you make a good point although I think in this case @Vedant is only taking the iPad into class and is using a computer at home :)
Nah man can't carry both in campus. When I have a coding tutorial and a math tutorial + lectures, I need to carry both in campus. It is too much for me. I sold mine for surface.
Running the same combination! Going into CS in a few days, let’s see how it goes. Sometimes I feel like I should’ve gotten a sp 8 lol.
i did my masters in Electrical Engineering 2 years ago on a 150€ used Thinkpad T430. Its solïd as a rock even after 10 years and you can upgrade/replace every single components in it.
Oh wow! Thanks for sharing this
Silicon Valley does not like your comment.
Haha!
Love my Surface Pro 8 but can't wait to upgrade to a blue surface pro 9!
How exciting!
Ipad is for entertainment and surface is for work
Exactly.
I’m gonna have to disagree. They need to stop the limitations on the iPadOS or allow for iPad version apps of MATLAB or Professional Structure Analysis…
@@Motion.Lotion they wont, I doubt it would kill their MacBook sales but theyre too scared to risk it. So currently Surface pros are for work, Ipads are for entertainment
Perfect description!
I have both. iPad Pro 11 and Surface 9 Pro for business w/1TB SSD which just arrived at my house today. To PiperCub49's comment, I use OneNote extensively. I found when going overseas several times now for long periods, the iPad Pro 11 was great until I needed to write documents and then I found over time it fell short. Pros and Cons to both but this Surface 9 Pro for business is very light nor did I want to buy two of everything in important apps. One for the iPad and one for the windows device for example
you can use the double tap for lasso if you use any other app besides one note. In notability I set it to last used. so i only have to select the lasso if i was previously erasing. I find this feature more useful than a permanent eraser button at the top.
The reason I chose my iPad Pro 11' was purely because it was never intended to be a substitute for my laptop. I have a powerful laptop that I use for simulations and other software, and I now have an iPad to take notes so I don't have to carry around 5kgs of books!
If you're looking for one device to do everything, go for the surface pro, if you're looking for something to just take notes and do other light work, go for the iPad.
Great points! Thanks for sharing this
MS Surface 8 Pro has the best of the Entertainment and Engineering worlds in a single powerful device indeed. If you want to expend your money purchasing more hardware, it's up to you.
Hi Mainor, thanks for sharing your thoughts! :)
Is surfave 5 or 6 is ok to for rngineers?
Came super fast and I love that I had to sign for me instead of them leaving it on the porch. The pink is so cute and I can’t wait to use it more!
I was fortunate to have a Surface pro 7 and entry level ipad during my computer engineering undergrad. Lots of engineering programs only run on Windows so it was an easy win for the Surface. When it came to notetaking, ipad was best and loved it. Quick things I had to do was done on the ipad. Everything else, the Surface.
Thanks for sharing this! :)
Great Video! I was an engineering student as well. I used, and still use, the Surface pro 2 when I was in school, and it handled SolidWorks 2014 pretty decently with an i5 processor. Note taking was amazing with it because of One Note's ability to have all your notes organized and searchable. With math and physics courses, it was helpful because I did not have to waste time sharpening pencils or have illegible marks, or waste time turning a page. I did a little bit of Coding with Visual Studios, so the Surface pro did a great job handling it with ease. I now have the Surface pro 8 with an i7 processor and it handles SolidWorks great, and for fun, can run Rocket League very nicely.
Thanks! Surface Pro’s don’t get enough credit, I hadn’t heard of them until 2018 and by then Microsoft were up to the surface pro 6! You were on to them early haha I’m glad yours is still going and you are enjoying your new one still today!
Okay, one uses an iPhone, iPad, and a MBP. Notice each have their own OS and in many cases the same app has different features on each device setting oneself for frustration. Using Windows on the tablet and their PC all apps behave the same having the same feature set. Frustration and anxiety eliminated.
Nicely summarised! Thanks for sharing :)
Hi, thanks for your information.
I'm a math PhD student with a disability in my hands. So, I use my legs to do all my tasks.
I'm considering buying a device with which I can take notes and run mathematical software. I have taken notes with an iPad and a pencil which was very smooth. I also worked with a Surface some years ago and I couldn't take notes with it. Since I have an iPad Air2 with which the apple pencil is not compatible, I don't know what to choose. I can either buy an Adonit dash4 stylus and work with my ipad air 2 for note taking, and buy a wacom intous as a substitute for my mouse and keyboard, or I can buy Surface pro 8. As you mentioned, note taking with an iPad is much easier than that with Surface pro 8. I wonder if the quality of note taking with surface pro 8 has drastically improved in comparison with the older versions.
A lot of people have said that the note taking experience on the newer surface pros is much better because the pen has been improved. I personally think that the Apple Pencil is still nicer to write with but maybe it’s something you need to go and try yourself and see what you prefer :)
Nice video
What i don’t understand is why no tech reviewer does a comparison with a Surface Pro and a MacBook Air
Laptop VS Laptop
The user base of iPad Pro is not someone that doesn’t have a laptop as well.
Shouldn’t reviews be based on user type?
Of course Surface Pro is more suitable for engineering users. iPad Pro will never be a university tablet for engineering. Even Macbook Air is not suitable
Nice review but the dilemma for students in engineering is MacOS vs Windows + portability.
Im sure a comparison like this will give you tons of views! Good job anywayz mate
Very informative comparison review.
Thanks Manny! :)
Only thing I hate about my surface pro 7 is how hot it gets. It overheats really easily when taking notes and starts to lag. The battery isn’t the best either. It lasts only one class for me. After seeing many of my classmates, I think I’m going to make the switch over for notetaking and easier assignment completion
I have a big rig at home, a macbook and an ipad for uni
Very nice! :)
Useful observations, thanks. Subbed
Thanks for subscribing, welcome! 🥳
amazing video.....thanks for the detailed information
Thanks, I’m glad you liked it!
U need to switch to the sp8 With slim pen 2. Another world, completely different from sp7 and before... Sp8 with slim pen 2 is far far better than sp7
Oh interesting! Thanks for the suggestion
Frank do you mean the pen is more sensitive like ipad pen ?
@@AliAli-nx7lr obviously yes ! you can check some video with the new stylus, it's really good. When u write no lag at all :)
Save yourself time and get the Surface Pro 7/8 or MacBook Air. MacBook Air if you plan on being a front-end web developer or study Java programming language. If your college focuses on C++ or C#, go with the Surface Pro 7/8.
Thanks for sharing this insight!
I really liked my Surface Pro 4 especially when it was working well. It was great for taking notes, light development, and other tasks like just leisure reading. When the processor started getting dated, I was able to use a low latency remote desktop app called Parsec to remedy the situation and it fit most purposes well -- extending the battery life, doing power tasks, and even some light gaming (not that there aren't caveats: the internet actually stutters when it was on battery, and touch doesn't feel like the way it natively does through the app). Around the 2-3 year mark, it developed flickergate and then the battery started swelling making it unsafe to use. As it was a very common issue, I am very hesitant to buy another Microsoft Surface product (I have two surfaces and both of them have flickergate). :(
Thanks for sharing your experience! :)
I bought the surfave pro 8 it was very expensive so i really dont want it to break after 2-3 years. How can i keep it going for 5+ years?
There is probably two things I can suggest and one of them you can’t control because you already have it but it might put you at ease if you have acted in this way. The first one is: “Buy Nice or Buy Twice” I find that when you buy the devices that have the higher specs/storage you often get a greater life span out of device. The second one is not keeping a lot of junk on your computer. By this I mean you should delete all the stuff you’re not using and keep things as simple as possible for the processors. Hope this helps :)
@@BEngHielscher thanks a lot for your advice
How many hours of battery life on Surface Pro 4
If your major is computer engineering or electrical engineering, you definitely don't want an iPad. You would want to get a nicely configured Windows computer or MacBook pro.
Thanks for sharing this Iziren :)
for sure. after a couple days research the note taking with stylus just isn't work the tablets. unless you have money to get a. laptop and tablet stick to laptops :P
Yup. A fellow electrical engineering student. Ipad is just a nightmare for ee students especially if you are working with circuit simulation. You really need a mouse for that.
Agreed! Too much computation needed for engineering students. Also 16GB of RAM is the standard now. Just get a Surface Pro or MacBook Air.
What app do you use to draw structural elements? Is there a note taking app that has a ruler? Thanks
The two note taking apps I use a lot are OneNote and Notability and both apps have rulers :)
Guys, does anyone know or used archicad on Surface pro 8 or 9? Did they add the support of multitouch screen for AC24? I read, that in AC20 you can not navigate via touchscreen even
is there any way would combine two devices in a lecture? I am considering buy a 2-in-1 window tablet and Ipad mini for study, I know these two devices above have the OneNote app, are they could be syn without any bugs? thanks.😀
Hey Lewis! Yes because OneNote is saved using OneDrive the notes you write on an iPad will be synced automatically when connected to the internet and instantly available on your laptop. I have never experienced the issue of writing notes on an apple device and them not being there on a windows computer :)
Get the surface pro
It runs windows and Android so you can use the same apps available for the iPad
And has a detachable keyboard so you can use it as a tablet or note book and plug in a external dvd drive to use it as a lap to to watch moves and there’s a docking station you can get and leave your printer speakers back up drive ect plugged in so you just pop it in and you have a full fledged desk top
So what do you think for the new samsung tab s9 ultra for engineering? I will go to the college next year and I need some advice please.
Summary: if you already have a good computer, go for the ipad, but if you don't, go for the surface pro
I have a gaming computer for gaming and a surface pro 9 for work stuff, why use another system then Windows, Apple is not for me, used ipads and Mac computers for many years and hated it in the end, happy with Windows and you have more freedom.
But the ipad is cheaper, can be sold at a higher price, is easier to get and to repair (in south america, don't know if that happens in other countries). So if you really don't love or hate any of the os, the ipad is a better option for when you already have a computer.
@Mati Estrella My last Ipad was the most expensive pro version, after only 6 month the screen started to have white bleeding in the edges, apple dose not repair instead you get a refurbished iPad with only 3 month guarantee and that one froze all the time, sold it and erased my apple account, I hate everything about apple and its so frustrating when you can't do the same thing you can on windows.
Hmmm... Did I hear you right? Did you say that you are not able to use the split screen option with One Note on the iPad? Because I use One Note in split screen on my iPad all the time.
Yes you did hear correct… I show that it comes up with a little message saying that it’s not compatible. I’ve seen this pop up on other people’s iPad too and it seems to be a common issue talked about on Microsoft forums. Sooo what wizardry are you using to do this? Hahaha. I’ve seen one work around being that you open a window of OneNote in Safari
@@BEngHielscher I'm going to give it another try to double check but I use the One Note app. And I did this a few times in August. I'll check it tomorrow and let you know.
Obviously the surface pro
It has more memory, upgradable and can run windows Android and chrome
The surface pro was my choice too! :)
And Linux thou
@@ftlalov yes it does but not at the same time without doing a dual boot system. The surface pro can run Android on memu or blue stacks with in windows and Crome apps and extentions in the crome browser plus you can add web pages to your desk top as icons so you just click on them instead of having to look for them in your book marks
KInda unfare on microsoft surface that you are compaing new gen I pad with fairly old outdated surface with old outdated microsoft pen esp when in comes down to note taking. would be fair if you compare surface 9 with slim pen with new gen Ipad.
Definitely all about the OS rather than the device. I love Apple hardware, but their OS is not my forte. There I said it.
Haha! Thanks for sharing this :)
Is planswift works on surface pro?
I’m not sure sorry. I never used that program on my surface :)
@@BEngHielscher Thank you.
Thanks for this nice comparism, I am radiation oncologist thinking to buy Samsung GS8 ,because I notice something that I need during making simulation on anatomy & patients videos that I can write while I watching the screen recording video during my reviews for cases with my colleagues that I didn't find such option neither in surface or ipad , please if any one can help me to find this feature on any surface or ipad , I watching many like your videos before going to buy the suitable device for me , thanks for any reply,,,
Multitasking on iPad will do this? Do you just want to watch a video and take notes at the same time? You can split screen two apps using iPad
Is the surface pro 8 good for aerospace engineering in doctoral section?
Yes I think they are good. What I will suggest you do though is look into what performance requirements you need for the design programs you will be using and make sure the surface you get is powerful enough :)
@@BEngHielscher Thank you for ur responsibility, what about the surface pro 4 is that good for a student (with 256gb/8gb ram/core I5)?
It really depends on the demand of the programs you are using. In general I would say that it would be ok. I had a surface pro 6 which has 8GB of ram and core I5 and it was ok. My surface has slowed down a lot now after almost 4 years but it was fine for the first couple of years which I had it at university:)
ipad meant to be a sidekick for every PC/macosx...so it's not apple-to-apple with surfaces
Agreed! The iPad is definitely a sidekick device :)
Basically there's no comparisn here.
iPad is just a big phone with pencil that doesn't even do it's job as a phone.
Surface Pro is a computer that's also a tab and both does it's job well.
No brainer. With its desktop OS, Surface Pro is by far the better device for serious computing tasks than a tablet.
No solid works on ipad. Its only on windows. however surface cant last whole day for taking notes. better to have both;.
Ipad is engineering unfriendly
how long does the surface pro 8 last?
Hi Ashish, I have a surface pro 6 but I found that when I used this surface with full brightness and with the computer performance set to “best” and I did things that really drain the battery like design programs, videos streaming etc. I would only get 3-4 hours. On the other hand when I turn the brightness down and set the computer performance to “battery saving” and did normal things like web browsing, Word documents, OneNote etc. I could get around 9 hours. I would assume the surface pro 8 battery would be even better than this :)
@@BEngHielscher Hey, thanks for the input on battery life! I was also wondering the lifespan of the surface pro as well. Most windows products (from my experience) tend to last only 2-3 years. Is that the case for the surface pro, specifically the surface pro 8?
No worries at all! I think the surface pro 8 should last longer than 2-3 years quite easily. Something I have found that makes computers/tablets last longer in general is if you buy to suit your future needs as well. Some of these future needs could include needing a larger amount of storage and also RAM. Hope this helps :)
@@BEngHielscher for programming do you think I should buy a surface pro or ipad pro, I already have a laptop but I need something to write notes
Hey! If the laptop you have is still good to do all the programming related things you will need to do I think an iPad makes a great accompany device for purely note taking. I hope this helps and let me know if you have any follow up questions :)
Simple… surface…
Nice choice! :)
iPad is the best media consumption and children's toy . It's actually blasphemy to even compare iPad with surface pro for any serious work .
so... basically get the Surface.
You talk too fast ...
I started university with a gaming laptop. Bought the M1 ipad pro later that year, was very happy with it. Next year I got fed up with the very poor battery life on my laptop (around 2 hours) so I bought a M1 macbook air. I'm now considering selling my laptop, ipad and macbook and buying the surface pro 9 with an egpu (the egpu is mainly for gaming). I didn't enjoy macOS like I thought I would. The file manager is horrendous and small things that annoy me, like not being able to move a window without making it smaller first, add up to the less enjoyable experience. I'm overall happy with the ipad but don't expect to do more than note taking and some basic word or excel use.
I would highly recommend buying the surface pro as an engineering student. You don't need to bring 2 devices if you need an actual laptop and all my courses are windows based and I Did run in some problems with needing windows-only programs while I was using macOS which forced me to use a windows VM (which was a very bad experience as well).
Imo, if you've used windows your whole life, don't switch to mac. ipad is not so bad but it's the first step in being pulled in the Apple ecosystem.
P.S. arguably ipad's best note taking app, goodnotes, is coming to windows as well so unless you already have a mac and iphone, there is not really a reason to buy the ipad over the surface
Thank you for sharing your experience!
Hi,
I already have an iphone 13 and I'm thinking of getting an iPad for mechanical engineering (especially for mathematics and physics) and I'm undecided whether to get a surface leaving the apple ecosystem alone
@@nuelosw an iPad is nice to have but it's more of a luxury rather than a necessity. As an engineering student, a laptop is Wayyy more valuable to have.
If you already have a MacBook, getting the iPad is probably gonna fit nicely into your system. If you're looking for a laptop as well, I would go for the surface so you have a 2 in 1. Make sure the programs you use work on your laptop, Autodesk Inventor eg. doesn't work on MacOS if I remember correctly.
I have a MacBook and iPad rn as an software engineering student and I'm kinda regretting not sticking to Windows
@@nulla9601 (I only have iphone and beats for the apple ecosystem) I'm trying to save money, I can't afford an ipad and a windows laptop in addition for programs, I'd better spend €300 more and get a surface so I can take notes in class and do run the programs as an engineer. because with sheets of paper I've never been comfortable and only a laptop forces me to write the formulas on the sheets, right? Thank you
@@nuelosw yeah, if you're an engineering student, you shouldn't really consider a MacBook since basically all courses are expected to use Windows and a tablet alone is definitely not enough, you need a laptop so the surface is your best bet in that situation imo.
There are some other, cheaper 2 in 1's but if you're on planning on writing a lot with a stylus, I would stick to the surface.
Another, cheaper alternative to consider is buying a second hand surface pro 8 since there aren't many differences with the pro 9 other than a year older chip and you can get some great deals for it new or cheap ones second hand
The “Final Thoughts” section was very helpful and carefully thought out
Thanks! I’m glad it helped :)
This is exactly what I was looking for. Hours of searching and I finally found you. You are very well spoken and clear. Thank you.
Thank you! :)
I bought an iPad Pro and i’ll explain my choice. I have a laptop bought in 2017, at the time a Great device… but in the years it has become heavy and the battery life inneficient. From a software point of view it’s still perfect, i’m a student of phisics and all i need is in the pc , it basically became a home pc. On the other hand the iPad Pro is a light and durable device with an optimized battery life and a very smooth os for note taking and studying. But the surface pro still remains a fantastic device.
Thanks for sharing your choice and experience!
Nice comparison.. iPad pro is still a No No mostly for us engineering students. iPads are more like giant iPhones and killer factor is with the ipadOS maybe in the future if apple can use MacOS instead, then iPad pro will be best on till that happens the Surface pro is by far the best option
Thanks! I think it would be great to utilise the efficiency of MacOS or iPadOS but there are still a few road blocks at the moment isn’t there… :)
@@BEngHielscher Definitely...from a business stand point it makes sense why apple isn't using MacOS on iPads but fitting a Bugatti Chiron engine inside a sedan makes no sense. Like u said as students, we got these free subscriptions for these CAD apps and the rest most of which the ipadOS can't run which is really disappointing...
Hahahaha well said!
Great comparison! I made the leap from a Lenovo X1 laptop to a Surface Pro2 many years ago (now up to an SPro 7). In both cases, they were my main computer with dual monitors at the office via the Dock. I use MS Office, AutoCAD/Revit BDS, an SQL program that wraps around AutoCAD and other stuff. My current config at the office is based on a Samsung 34" curved monitor, which has a resolution that is very close to the SPro7 (a few hundred pixels).
I agree with you that if your "tablet" is your only computer then the range of Windows tech apps and real multi-tasking makes it a no brainer. The idea of having a phone OS on a tablet for serious technical work freaks me out! Good video - keep it up.
Thanks for sharing this Peter! I’m glad you liked the video :)
That structures video at 1:50 looks familiar 🤣
Haha thanks for the help!
I really like mi iPad Pro, its my main computer BUT I am 99% sure that the Surface will be the Winner in this comparison.
Oh wow, that’s cool to hear that the iPad is your main computer. Thanks for sharing!
As an engineering student, are you telling that Word and Excel on the iPad is comparable to the same experience in Windows (try to write complex equations or macros that doesn't work, for example)?
Word and Excel in IPad on a real engineering scenario is useless.
In Autocad terms, the iPad is garbage. So, avoid the iPad is you want to use it in a real engineering student scenario.
For basic usage it is similar but yes for things like macros or really heavy usage no it’s not. I personally never had to use or make any spreadsheets that run macros while I was at university so this wouldn’t have been an issue for me. The iPad would definitely have to be an accessory to a full computer for you if you were using macros a lot. What engineering major are you? :)
If you had to pick one and only one, obviously its the Surface Pro. The iPad simply cannot do everything you will need it to do. There is really no argument or debate. One can do all the things, the other one cannot. That is not to say the Surface Pro is perfect. The battery life is not that great. Its thermal design does throttle the CPU back quite a bit for heavier tasks despite spending more on the i7 or whatever. The SSD is not the fastest. And a few other gripes. However, if you can only buy one device, the Surface Pro is the one. Everyone thinks they are a power user. Truth is all these devices are overkill for any student in any field of study until you get well into the graduate level. By then whatever you bought will need to be replaced/upgraded anyway.
Thanks for sharing this!
Get a surface pro for god's sake!
Just FYI (to the audience): windows's air-drop equivalent is called nearby sharing, which supports windows-to-windows. For mobile, there is no such wireless feature yet (phone link only supports photos as of now), but USB PTP is always an option.
Thanks for sharing this! :)
An alternative would be using sendy or send anywhere app. Works across all devices altho its not really an air drop.
Oh cool! Thanks :)
Landrop has been my go-to for simple crossplatform filesharing
Thanks for sharing this JP! :)
With the new Surface pro 8 and 9 ....the ones most people will buy considering the others are not available anymore, the note taking and pen experience is better than the ipad. Your review should have come out in 2019/2020 then yeah I would have agreed with you but in 2022 come on....
The note taking feel is very subjective. It mostly comes down to personal preference :)
@@BEngHielscher No, the Surface Pro 8/9 writing experience with the Surface Slim Pen 2 is objectively much better than what came before, due to the higher precision (allowing smaller writing), haptic feedback (feels more like paper), lower latency and zero initial activation force.
And with their screen being larger compounded with the better pen performance makes them significantly better for splitscreen handwriting.
You are a civil engineer right??
I work as a structural engineer :)
I also always ask the question if this is your only device or you already have a computer? because an iPad can't replace a real computer.
i'm an architect student i'm looking to buy a devise that I can sketch with and review my drawings and projects, I already have a computer but its a desktop and I'm into android ecosystem what do you suggest, go with android tab or Surface Pro
Surface Pro maybe. But definitely not iPad.
Haha! What’s your device of choice? :)
well done buddy, thank you for the great overview.
Thank you!
I need a Surface Pro 8 and it's not available in India.
Oh no! That sucks. Are older generations available in India? Is it possible to order one internationally?
@@BEngHielscher Older gen SP won't help. 13 inch is perfect screen size for my work. Some sellers with bad ratings are selling on Amazon India.
Fair enough. I hope you can find one. I know first hand how useful mine was for me :)
Thanks very much for this video. Best review video on iPad vs surface.
That’s very kind of you to say. Thanks so much!
Which is good sketch up editor
One I’ve played around a bit with on iPad is called “Concepts”
Macros on the iPad though?
No I don’t believe you can run macros on the iPad
Does anyone know if you can use the lasso function with a samsung tablet?
Very insightful video, tbh I havent even considered surface pro before... now I really dont know what to choose :/
looking to switch to a dell windows tablet,from android and a laptop, my laptop has shit battery life, is too big and a bit heavy to bring along, while the android tablet has the exact problems the ipad has (less so but still). switched to a lenovo ideapad 5 2in1 now, it has better cooling, better battery and a better keyboard but is heavier.
Hey man,is Ipad (air or pro) good for ui/ux design? (Figma specifically),I am looking to buy one but I have never Used apple products before tbh and idk if it is good enough for this task. I would love to hear Your thoughts on it as it will help me a lot. (Also I have got a windows laptop which is really powerful but the battery isnt that good so I want the ipad in order to use Figma on the go)
Hey there! I haven’t used Figma before but I have used similar sort of design apps on apple products. In my experience the mobile version of these apps don’t work as well as the desktop version. They can definitely be used to fix up little things on the go but as long as you’re not relying on an iPad to do this work all the time a iPad could be useful to use in those other situations when you’re away from your desktop. Hope this helps :)
@@BEngHielscher yes it helps a lot,i would also love to hear what You think about the Xiaomi mi pad 5,should I choose a microsoft surface pro 4 or the mi pad 5?
I think you will run into the same issues with the Xiaomi pad 5 because it has a tablet interface. A surface pro would offer a lot more flexibility because it is a full desktop experience that is very portable :)
@@BEngHielscher bet bro,is 8gb of ram enough in your opinion for Figma (ui/ux desing in general) since the surface pro 4 in my country only comes with 8gb of ram and it is not upgradable
Yeah I think 8GB of ram will be perfectly fine!
I have both. Surface pro is a full blown cpu. iPad is tablet. Enough said.
Good notes coming to windows 🤩
Yes!! I am keen to see how it works :)
just buy a laptop , cheaper and better than both , i own 2 ipads and macbook air and a windows laptop , i prefer macbooks and laptops over tablets
Thanks for sharing this! :)
Just put linux on surface pro and you have the best tablet ever!!!
Interesting idea!
How?
In theory I agree with this video. But in practical terms I don't anymore having lived with a surface pro for 3 years. My recommendation (and what I'm doing now in my master's degree) is to get a good PC or Laptop for the heavy lifting in labs or at home and an iPad for class and note taking. Some thoughts and observations of mine as to why:
Yes the surface is a Windows PC that can run the necessary engineering programs, but it's not that great at it and frankly you will run into problems when files are getting larger and the computing more demanding (simulations and the like - mechanical, aerospace, automotive engineering etc.).
The writing experience on a surface is sadly nowhere near as good as on an iPad.
Windows is a buggy mess. Even more so if you use it for a year or two. It gets in the way. Clutter, constant updates, driver issues and all the fun things that you get with windows are all here.
For me the kickstand was an annoyance that I never used, because yes it's sturdy, but it flexes a bit and you don't have anywhere to place your palm while writing on the right side of the page.
Battery life is HORRIBLE on a surface if you're actually doing demanding things. If you have a long day at uni and plan on using it like a PC / laptop at times you'll run out of juice 100%.
Its "half life" is worse then an iPad. With the way windows and programs in the PC world are developing the computing power of the surface won't last you as long as on the iPad.
Thanks for sharing your experience! I also think that if you have the choice and money to spare, getting a laptop for computer things and a iPad for note taking is the way to go :)
This is bias cuz Im using a desktop pc and a MacbookPro 16inch. Depends on your needs and how u work.
Agreed! You definitely need to tailor your device to the work you are doing :)
@@BEngHielscher yeah but I found I can be mre productive with apple os
Glad to hear you have found something that works well for you, great job! :)
The surface pro is shit! ive got one.. the batery runs out quick, The screen flickers, and it runs slow! Apples the best..
Sorry to hear that you had troubles with your surface :)
Apple hardware is nice, but Apples are completely useless if you need to use engineering software which is mostly Windows based.
The newest ARM-based Surface Pro laptops are significantly better than prior iterations with respect to battery life and performance. Just make sure the apps you need to run are available natively or run properly with emulation.