LAPTOP ... GO PRO
Savio D’Souza reviews the Surface Go and the iPad Pro to
give you a lowdown on what you can expect and which one’s for you...
MICROSOFT SURFACE GO
The Go is the latest device from the highly-acclaimed
line of Surface 2-in-1s and ultra-light laptops. Like its predecessors, it
boasts of a magnesium body that is sturdy and feels premium. It is fronted by a
10-inch, multi-touch screen with a 5MP camera in the middle (like it is in
laptops) so users will intuitively hold it horizontally during use. Its slim
8.4mm profile and 522g weight also makes it the lightest slate to carry the
Microsoft branding.
On either side of its ‘1800x1200px’ IPS screen, you
get frontfacing mics and stereo speakers with Dolby Audio Premium. At the rear,
you get another 8MP shooter with auto focus.
The Go carries a 3.5mm earphone port, a USB Type-C
port that can be used with a compatible pen drive or converter, and a magnetic
Surface Connect slot to charge the tablet. You can also use the USB port to
charge the device.
At the back, you get a kickstand with a
‘full-friction’ 165-degree hinge that allows you to prop-up the device. This
hinge is firm, slip-free and guarantees to stay put at the angle you choose.
Hidden below the kickstand, there’s a slot for microSDXC cards. At the bottom
edge, there is an eight-pin connector for a keyboard. When attached, the
keyboard is held together firmly by magnets.
PERFORMANCE
The Go is available in two variants: One with 4GB RAM
and 64GB flash-based storage and the higher-end device, which we reviewed, that
comes with 8GB RAM and a 128GB SSD. Both run on the 1.6GHz dual-core Intel
Pentium Gold 4415Y – an entrylevel processor that is suitable for office
productivity, web browsing, e-mailing, basic photo editing and 3D gaming, as
well as multimedia entertainment. In tests, the Go booted up Windows 10 in
under 20 seconds consistently. It played 4K movies without any hitch, while
games like Asphalt 9: Legends and sketching software
like Concepts and Bamboo Paper also worked
smoothly.
Its touchscreen is bright and capable of rich
colours, while its speakers are sufficiently loud for audio playback, though
they do lack a bass punch. Still, this is not a deal breaker because the sound
is defined by crisp mids and highs. Audio via the headphone jack sounds
balanced across the aural range. Touches and taps are registered with
precision, allowing you to use the device fantastically as a tablet. The Go
also comes with an accelerometer and gyroscope that allows you to play driving
games—in tablet mode—by tilting the screen to steer your vehicles, and to
change the display orientation from horizontal to vertical and vice versa when
browsing the web.
Its front camera supports Microsoft’s Hello face sign
in, which means it can be configured to recognise its user to sign into the
device securely. Video calls are smooth, and the cameras can even be used to
shoot 16:9 Full HD videos with digital video stabilisation. The clips are clear
and crisp, and you also get quick editing tools that let you trim its length,
add slo-mo and draw over your video productions.
To guarantee a smooth user experience, the device
runs Win 10 in S mode. This means you can only install apps and games that you
have downloaded from the Microsoft Store. These include the MS Office suite,
basic photo and video editors, casual and entry-level 3D games, as well as a
streaming app for Netflix.
You can, however, switch from the S mode to a
standard Win 10 Home installation—by using an app from the
Store—if you want to run software like the Chrome browser
or WPS Office Suite. This switch is permanent and cannot be undone.
ACCESSORIES
The Surface Go is essentially a tablet that’s
supported by a good number of apps and games from the Microsoft Store. But add
a keyboard to the mix—the black Surface Go Type Cover (₹8,699), or the Surface
Go Signature Type Cover (₹11,799) that’s
available with stain-resistant Alcantara in three colours, platinum, burgundy
and blue—and you get a lightweight laptop.
When not in use as a keyboard, the Type Cover can be
used to shield the screen when you carry it around.
Both keyboards are backlit—with three levels of
illumination—and feature mechanical keys. Given the Go’s size, these are
tightly spaced and will take some getting used to, but they have a nice clicky
feel—with a 1mm travel—that will have you touch typing in no time. Besides, you
also get a 3.8- x 2.1-inch glass touchpad that’s precise and even recognises
multiple-finger gestures.
For those that like to scribble and sketch, the Go
supports the Surface Pen (₹8,499) – a stylus that recognises the pressure applied during
doodling to create perfect light and dark strokes. It even supports tilt
functionality to allow users granular control over what’s being reproduced on
the screen, based on the angle. The Pen also sports a single button on the top,
and this can be configured in Settings to perform different
actions such as one click to launch the OneNote app, double
click to send a screen shot to OneNote and press and hold to
launch the Windows assistant Cortana.
The Surface Pen is powered by a AAAA battery and
attaches itself magnetically to the Go’s edges so you don’t misplace it.
IPAD PRO
While Microsoft is courting users who need a
productivity device with their entry-level Surface Go, Apple is targeting the
high end in this 2-in-1 space. The iPad Pro, available in two sizes—with 11-
and 12.9-inch displays—are built for those who need a computer that works as an
all-round entertainment device, and which can also be used to get some serious
design work done.
The 11-inch iPad Pro weighs 468g and comes with a
‘2388x1668px’ IPS multi-touch display, while the 12.9-inch model tilts the
scales at 631g and crams a resolution of 2732x2048px. Both devices are just
5.8mm thin. Size and display resolutions apart, they sport identical hardware
specs and aluminium unibody builds, coupled with fully-laminated oleophobic
glass.
While the slates seem sturdy and well-built, they
also seem susceptible to bends given their large size, so users will need to be
careful when handling their iPad Pros.
Unlike the Surface Go, the Pros are designed with a
portrait orientation in mind: This is apparent from the way the Apple logo and
it’s 7MP front and 12MP rear camera (with LED flash) are placed. Both shooters
are top of the line: With the ‘selfie’ cam, you can record Full HD videos,
while the rear is capable of 4K output at up to 60fps. You, of course, get a
bunch of sterling photo and video editing features built-in.
Notably, the front 12MP camera that sits right atop
its screen when in portrait mode also supports secure sign-in. It uses Apple’s
proprietary Face ID with its TrueDepth camera
system to map and recognise facial features to securely unlock the iPad Pro.
You will need to set this up in vertical mode, but Face Unlock works in
landscape mode subsequently.
The iPad Pro comes with three mics that allow for
clear echofree voice pickup and four speakers, with two on each of its smaller
edges. You also get a nano-SIM tray, a magnetic connector that lets you pair
and charge the Apple Pencil 2 by mere contact, a USB Type-C charging port that
doubles up as a headphone jack, and a discrete three-pin contact that lets you
attach the Pro to its Keyboard Folio accessory.
One of the biggest changes with these iPad Pros is
that it now boasts of an almost edge-to-edge display. Apple has dropped its
single-button interface, so navigating apps and services are by way of swipes
and multi-touch gestures only.
PERFORMANCE
The iPad Pros come with Apple’s new octa-core A12X
Bionic processor that comprises four performance cores, four efficiency cores,
and a performance controller that utilises all eight cores during
multi-threaded tasks. Techtonic reviewed the larger model that
packs in 6GB RAM and 1TB storage.
In benchmark tests, the tablet surpassed all existing
performance scores and posted an almost 100% jump over the iPad Pro from 2017,
and over 50% boost over this year’s fastest iPhone XS and XS Max. Its screen is
bright, vibrant and sharp, and its four speakers are capable of outputting
sound that is loud, crisp and served with a good amount of bass. In landscape
mode, during movie watching, its speakers are placed ideally to give you stereo
sound with discernable channel separation. During video calls, microphone
pickup is nuanced and clear.
The cellular models support a 4G SIM allowing you to
access the internet in areas where there is no Wi-Fi connectivity. But you
still don’t get a memory card slot for storage expansion.
That said, the tablets come preinstalled with Apple’s
newest iOS 12 and apps such as GarageBand (to compose
music), Keynote(for presentations), Numbers (for
spreadsheets), Pages (to create documents), iMovie (for
movie editing), iTunes Store (for movies and music), iTunes
U (for educational content) and FaceTime (for video
chat). You can even use the Animoji and Memoji feature
to transform yourself into animated avatars for fun conversations.
Another new feature is Screen Time that
informs you of how much time you’ve spent on your iPad: You can set reminders
for when it’s time to move away from your tablet and even keep an eye on the
apps and features your kids use on it.
Additionally, in its App Store, you can find design
and painting apps from names like Adobe and Autodesk, music- and movieediting
tools, streaming apps for Netflix and Prime Video,
productivity apps such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Skype,
and more.
Also, when it comes to gaming, you can expect to play
some great casual and 3D titles. The Pro’s excess processing muscle also means
it will challenge developers to create new tools and games that can leverage
its hardware.
ACCESSORIES
T he iPad Pro does not come with a kickstand like the
Surface Go. Instead, you will need to buy a Smart Keyboard Folio (₹15,900 onwards) that
attaches to the tablet via strong magnets and a three-point connector. This
accessory allows you to prop up the iPad horizontally at two different angles
depending on your comfort, though this is still way behind the multiple angles
that the Surface Go allows.
Its keys are well spaced, but it lacks travel and
therefore tactile feedback. Also, given that iOS is a mobile operating system,
you don’t get a touchpad to navigate your display. Typing on this device will
also take some getting used to though we do not see many using the iPad Pro to
churn out multiple pages of text.
Now, given that the Pro’s front cameras sit on the
left side of the screen in landscape mode, conducting video chats also seem
awkward. When you look at your screen during the call, the person at the other
end could feel like you might be avoiding eye contact. Video calls are
therefore best made in portrait mode.
But there is no denying that these iPads are more
suited for sketching and design, and this is where the all new Apple Pencil
comes in. Pairing the Pencil 2 (₹10,900) or charging its batteries is as simple as
attaching it to the magnet at the top of the iPad. You get about 10 hours of
battery life on a full charge, or about 30 minutes of use after a 15-second
charge.
The new stylus also packs in extra interactivity,
where you can double tap its body to change the tool in your drawing appsay
from the brush tool to the eraser. It supports multiple levels of pressure,
which means you get full control on the thickness and darkness of your lines as
you sketch on the iPad Pro’s surface. The tip even supports multiple angles to
give you wider areas when painting of working with calligraphy tools.
IN CONCLUSION…
The Microsoft Surface Go is the 2-in-1 device for you
if you are looking for a secondary portable PC that you can easily carry along.
Once you get accustomed to its smaller keyboard, it works well to author
documents. You can of course also use it for hobby sketches, some photo
touching up and movie watching, provided you don’t rely on its stereo speakers
that sound tinny when compared to the new iPad Pro.
The Apple iPad Pro is an out-and-out design tool that
allows for expansive brush strokes. Given the huge collection of design apps
that are available on this platform, it works fantastically for sketch and
graphic artists. Besides, its huge processing power makes it futureproof.
Opt for the Surface if you’re all about productivity
on the ‘Go’.
Or, go ‘Pro’ if you’re looking for an all-round iPad
that even allows for professional class design work
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