Microsoft Pits Surface Pro 7 Against iPad Pro, Says Surface is 'Still the Better Choice'

Microsoft today shared an ad that pits the Surface Pro 7 against Apple's iPad Pro, in a continuation of a Surface Pro 7 vs. MacBook ad campaign that kicked off in January.


The ad highlights the Surface Pro 7's kickstand, pointing out that the iPad does not have a built-in kickstand option, and it calls the ‌iPad Pro‌'s keyboard "a lot heavier" than the Surface option.

Microsoft also goes for the dongle angle, pointing out that the ‌iPad Pro‌ only has a single USB-C port while the Surface Pro 7 has several available ports. "You wanna be this guy?" says the actor in the ad, while holding up an ‌iPad‌ with a dongle attached.

"‌iPad Pro‌'s just a tablet," adds the actor. "Surface is a whole computer and a tablet." The ad ends by pointing out the price with the ‌iPad Pro‌ Smart Keyboard, which comes to $1,348 for the 12.9-inch model ($999 + $349 for the keyboard). Microsoft's Surface Pro 7 is priced starting at $750, and Microsoft says the version used in the ad is $880, which includes the cost of the keyboard.

Microsoft's previous Surface Pro 7 ad compared the tablet to the MacBook Pro, pointing out its touchscreen vs. the Touch Bar and calling the Surface Pro a "much better gaming device" than the ‌MacBook Pro‌.

Microsoft often likes to position its Surface line as a tablet/computer experience that Apple is unable to compete with because it has no convertible devices. Intel too has been claiming that touchscreen-based convertible computers are better than Apple's M1 Macs in its ongoing anti-Mac ad campaign.

Apple executives have long said that they have no plans to combine the Mac and ‌iPad‌ lineups, and Apple engineering chief Craig Federighi said in November that Apple does not have plans for a touchscreen Mac.

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in Three Months With These 12 New Features

Saturday June 14, 2025 5:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X through iPhone 14 Pro have a...
iPadOS 26 App Windowing

Apple Explains Why iPads Don't Just Run macOS

Friday June 13, 2025 7:46 am PDT by
iPadOS 26 allows iPads to function much more like Macs, with a new app windowing system, a swipe-down menu bar at the top of the screen, and more. However, Apple has stopped short of allowing iPads to run macOS, and it has now explained why. In an interview this week with Swiss tech journalist Rafael Zeier, Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi said that iPadOS 26's new Mac-like ...
Logitech Logo Feature

Logitech Announces Two New Accessories for WWDC

Friday June 13, 2025 7:22 am PDT by
Alongside WWDC this week, Logitech announced notable new accessories for the iPad and Apple Vision Pro. The Logitech Muse is a spatially-tracked stylus developed for use with the Apple Vision Pro. Introduced during the WWDC 2025 keynote address, Muse is intended to support the next generation of spatial computing workflows enabled by visionOS 26. The device incorporates six degrees of...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday June 12, 2025 8:58 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
iOS 26 Feature

Apple Seeds Revised iOS 26 Developer Beta to Fix Battery Issue

Friday June 13, 2025 10:15 am PDT by
Apple today provided developers with a revised version of the first iOS 26 beta for testing purposes. The update is only available for the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 models, so if you're running iOS 26 on an iPhone 14 or earlier, you won't see the revised beta. Registered developers can download the new beta software through the Settings app on each device. The revised beta addresses an...
Mac Studio Feature

Apple Begins Selling Refurbished Mac Studio With M4 Max and M3 Ultra Chips at a Discount

Thursday June 12, 2025 10:14 am PDT by
Apple today added Mac Studio models with M4 Max and M3 Ultra chips to its online certified refurbished store in the United States, Canada, Japan, Singapore, and many European countries, for the first time since they were released in March. As usual for refurbished Macs, prices are discounted by approximately 15% compared to the equivalent new models on Apple's online store. Note that Apple's ...
m4 macbook air pink

Apple Now Selling Refurbished M4 MacBook Air Models

Friday June 13, 2025 3:34 pm PDT by
Apple today added M4 MacBook Air models to its refurbished store in the United States, making the latest MacBook Air devices available at a discounted price for the first time since they launched earlier this year. Both 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models are available, with Apple offering multiple capacities and configurations. The refurbished devices are discounted by approximately 15...

Top Rated Comments

QCassidy352 Avatar
55 months ago
I’m sure this will be an unpopular opinion here, but yes I would choose the surface pro IF I were looking for a single device solution. iPad is a better tablet by far, but even now, it’s a poor substitute for a computer with a desktop OS.
Score: 84 Votes (Like | Disagree)
swm Avatar
55 months ago
better choice for gaming. sure. it still has solitaire preinstalled.
Score: 47 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nutmac Avatar
55 months ago

I’m sure this will be an unpopular opinion here, but yes I would choose the surface pro IF I were looking for a single device solution. iPad is a better tablet by far, but even now, it’s a poor substitute for a computer with a desktop OS.
You are absolutely correct. And to Microsoft's credit, their Surface ads are fact-based.

At the same time, Microsoft cherry picks its strength. That is, Surface Pro is neither a great notebook nor great tablet. iPad has far more compelling selection of apps and superior industrial design, and iPadOS offers superior tablet experience.

I would much rather carry entry level iPad ($329) and entry level MacBook Air ($999) than 2-in-1 Jack-of-all-trade-master-of-none device like Surface Pro 7.
Score: 45 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nvmls Avatar
55 months ago
"Surface Pro carries Windows"

Comparison over.

PS: ..and Intel.
Score: 38 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jz0309 Avatar
55 months ago
What else are they supposed to do? Endorse the iPad and Mac?????
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
apparatchik Avatar
55 months ago
That Surface is running an Intel i3 processor, has a fan, and its thicker, bulkier & heavier, almost a no go as a tablet (and let's not talk about tablet optimized apps in Windows), and at the same time is very slow as a laptop. The 2 in 1 Intel devices have always being a compromise, as they're usually inferior as both a tablet & a traditional laptop.

The iPad Pro is no laptop, but you get the best tablet experience available, best performance, battery life, app support, etc.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)