I would agree it's actually quite a big upgrade for the 9.7" iPad what with more RAM, more storage, faster CPU and GPU, camera flash, better display, better speakers, etc.
I suspect Apple will add more productivity Support in iOS 10 and probably a local file system (documents only) extension to iCloud Drive. What the Pro needs now are more full app ports from OS X. Serif have promised Affinity Photo and Designer, full versions, and when they arrive I will be able to justify an iPad Pro and pencil so I can move between Mac and iPad at will and with ease.
there already is a file system for documents only, its called icloud drive.. we need a real file system for any type of file. just restrict execute permissions if your worried about security.
That's exactly what I meant, a file system that was local. At the minute you can push many types of file to iCloud Drive but I was talking about a more Dropbox type of service - cloud (full or partial) mirror of local files that can sync across multiple devices. Apple have taken the first steps including being able to attach stuff from iCloud and Dropbox, etc. The next step could be Dropbox like.
-2gb ram will be a limitation in a year or two -camera bump causes iPad to wobble while drawing on it, can't believe they did this -lacks USB 3 support unlike larger pro -price premium -missing 64gb sweetspot in price/configuration -obscene accessory prices -silly pencil charging method -no leather case on launch
Nobody uses the Surface as a tablet because it sucks as one. Plus there are next to no tablet apps for it. Plus it just plain sucks. We have been testing them and even the Windows fans don't like it. http://www.gottabemobile.com/2016/01/15/9-surface-...
@Jumangi Ever heard the concept of a reasoned argument? What part of "Nobody uses the Surface as a tablet because it sucks as one. Plus there are next to no tablet apps for it." did you take issue with?
This also should have released at the same time as the 12.9" model, but apple held it back on purpose so they could get people to buy the 12.9 model to have the latest and greatest for a few months. Sales of the 12.9 would have been a whole lot different if this 10" was offered at the same time as the 12.9
@jasonelmore: "This also should have released at the same time as the 12.9" model, but apple held it back on purpose so they could get people to buy the 12.9 model to have the latest and greatest for a few months. Sales of the 12.9 would have been a whole lot different if this 10" was offered at the same time as the 12.9"
Totally agreed, but how would the give the illusion of consistent progress if they didn't artificially delay the release of new products to fill in the gaps between major releases?
I tend to agree. I just setup a Surface 4 Pro for someone, and it's pretty heavy and awkward in one hand. The display scaling is also terrible. Windows just doesn't do it well because legacy programs (basically anything before Windows 8/2012) don't scale. Even QuickBooks 2016 on the Surface 4 is borderline unusable because it's nearly 4K resolution for a program designed to run at most 2560x1440.
The Surface Pro is a great laptop replacement but not a great tablet. And at the end of the day, for $1000, there are a lot of great laptops such as HP Elitebooks, the Spectre 360, many Thinkpads, the XPS 13, and so on.
After a lot of back and forth on this I think that I agree. Yes it would be wonderful for a device to do everything a tablet and a laptop can do in one package, but its not really possible at this stage. Also the touch enabled app support for Windows is not really there yet in my opinion.
I've owned a Yoga, which was really nice, yet still went back to the SP3. Also typed a 68,000 document on a SP2 type keyboard so it's quite good (for me at least).
Surface Pro 4 isn't even close to 4K res, and Quicken is not at all the sort of application that should run nicely on a tablet. Re: single-handed use, yeah, it's too big for that. The original iPad Pro and Surface Pro 4 have near-identical weights, so if you want a 12"-ish tablet... well, that's your lot.
No product is perfect but your post and the one you're responding to smell of bias.
"The Surface Pro is a great laptop replacement but not a great tablet"
I have little to no issues while using the Pro as a tablet. I'm not going to limit the thing to A or B just because of x or y. I also have an iPad mini 4 for...messing around and gaming. ANYTHING else and I head straight for the SP4.
Again, Surface 3 would be the comparison to this product and that is a huge stretch since Surface 3 runs Windows 10 and this Apple product runs their phone OS. Surface 3 - $450 128GB / 4GB RAM USB3. Excellent as tablet, w/keyboard, pen. Display has setting for "legacy" programs scaling if necessary.
I use my SP4 as a tablet so you do not speak for everyone. Pop over to the 'Tablet pc review forum' for many, MANY people that use all kinds of tablets. I myself have a SP4 and iPad mini 4. The Surface pro, for me, wins hands down at productivity and general use. I did order an iPad Pro but it was simply far too big and not having a kick stand, out of the box, meant that it was of little real use to me unless I paid for ££.
@darwinosx: "Nobody uses the Surface as a tablet because it sucks as one. Plus there are next to no tablet apps for it."
Anecdotal evidence suggest that a Mr. Stan Nobody does in fact use a Surface as a tablet, but not because it sucks as one. He suggests that the tablet experience is actually pretty good and that while there aren't as many apps, he has all the apps he cares to have at the moment, though he'll take more games as they come. This includes apps like Netflix, Hulu, Pandora, several manga readers, Facebook, and a few games like Plague Inc. and XCOM: EW (verified it does in fact have a touch mode).
This is 100% not true. I love my SP4 as both a laptop and tablet. My wife mainly uses it with the keyboard, i mainly use the onscreen keyboard. I am buying a 9.7" iPad Pro to replace my Air 1, but the SP4 is hands down way better because it runs full windows programs. Nothing can touch that.
"...but the SP4 is hands down way better because it runs full windows programs..." That is only better, if want to run Windows programs. From long, painful experience, I care about my data too much to trust it to any version of Windows. So I only run Windows programs in a snapshotted virtual machine with all of the data on a [virtual] networked non Windows file system, and then roll the VM back after each use. Since the SP4 doesn't have enough RAM to make that practical, I wouldn't run Windows Programs on it anyway.
Surface 3 would be the comparison to this product and that is a huge stretch since Surface 3 runs Windows 10 and this Apple product runs their phone OS. $450 128GB / 4GB RAM USB3. I guess you (or your never heard of them link) speaks for everybody since you said "nobody" uses...
Interesting point but the Surface Pro runs Windows so whether it's a good or bad tablet is not relevant for some folks, myself included.
I use, and can see value in Windows server (especially AD) and I've used Windows Desktop since version 1. I preferred GEM and Risc-OS but that was like Betamax v VHS again. At least Mac OS survived and flourished with a UNIX base.
As an SP4 owner, it's incredibly relevant, because the damn thing can't sleep properly still. I get random wakeups, and different resources are using most of the CPU on wake and I have to reboot to clear it. That in itself makes it a horrible tablet.
I agree - I have an HP Windows tab and most of the time it's actually quite good (browsing and switching between apps etc is actually snappier than my old Android tabs or my wife's iPad). However, at least once a week I pick it up to find it's gone from 80%+ battery to dead because of an update or other wakelock. If I could schedule all updates to happen only when on AC power I think it would make a big difference.
Isn't it amazing that after 30 years Microsoft still can't get it right? These are the types of problems that have always plagued them. Apple manages to rate somewhere around 8/10 in design and execution, while MS still languishes around 4 or 5/10 on a good day. Even when they come out with a great OS like Windows 8 they manage to mess it up with a schizophrenic UI and updates that continue to be pushed out for months on end after they're known to break a huge % of systems.
While Apple has an advantage because they only have to support a small, controlled set of hardware targets, Microsoft has a mental problem. I suppose common sense isn't so common.
Yet Apple can also get it wrong. Are you ignoring the iPad pro charging issues? Or the quick 'point' releases to iOS after a major update to fix things?
Is this Microsoft's fault or Intel's fault? My guess is that there's so much complexity in what's required to manage sleep on "the PC platform" (ie the full Intel setup of CPU and various buses and IO controllers) that no human being on earth can fully understand it and put together a completely successful control/state machine. Apple does a ridiculously good job of sleep/wake on iOS, but sleep/wake on OSX is merely OK --- it sorta works mostly, but at least once a month something goes wrong. And I'm unaware that Linux does a better job --- mostly you don't see the issue there because almost no-one is running Linux under the sort of aggressive sleep/wake patterns that people expect from OSX and Windows.
If no-one can get it right on Intel, and Apple/Android (and I think MS) can get it right on ARM, that seems to suggest the location of the problem, no?
I'd say that it is, in fact, amazing that they can keep up a such a powerful, robust and solidly stable OS running on a plethora of hardware configurations, including their own. Yet manage to make it arguably faster and lighter than any other fully fledged desktop OS out there...
Stop blaming Microsoft for driver issues they're obviously not responsible for. They meant for their latest products to be on the bleeding edge, and work exactly like how a modern consumer expects them to; sleep and wake like their smartphones. After a couple of hiccups (which again, aren't their fault), I'd say they surely delivered.
Are you on an Insider Build? If not, do you have the latest firmware update? Thurrott was pretty vocal about this particular issue, and he's now confirming that it's completely fixed, at least on his machines.
It turns out that the issue was mostly driver problems from Intel, and some (older?) Win32 applications not playing nicely with the new connected standby mechanism. The CPU/platform c-states newly supported by Skylake weren't being set correctly when the OS was set to sleep.
SP4 and Surface Books (and any other Skylake system with the option supported/enabled in BIOS) support instant sleep and wake, which works exactly like an ARM tablet/phone. And speaking from experience, Windows 10 in Tablet Mode is much more intuitive and fluid than Android and iOS on a tablet.
I can't see myself buying any of these phones or tablets with a camera hump. I often use them flat on a hard surface, like a table or desk. I've heard that the wobble is fairly small with the iPhone 6, but for the price, that's pretty unacceptable to me.
Maybe I'm an edge case, but this seems like a pretty upfront design failing in many products today.
Many folks put their expensive device in a protective case so I guess a camera bump , whilst imperfect, isn't usually a problem. I go one further and put front and rear protectors on too.
I don't understand this either - nor do I understand those who get no case at all. I've purchased thin (and usually leather) cases for every iDevice I've owned.
You don't understand why people buy differently styled clothes? You don't understand why people have different haircuts? I guess there ARE people like that --- after all someone presumably thought it was realistic to have a Star Trek future where everyone wears the exact same clothes...
As for "thick, heavy plastic case", those are not the only alternatives. The Apple cases, for example, are extremely thin but ALSO match the camera bump well. Personally I think Apple sees the combination of phone+case as pretty much the expected unit of use, allowing for a wide range of visual appearances to meet your tastes. (They see the exact same usage pattern, apparently accurately, in Apple Watch + band).
Yes. What madman thought up a protruding camera on the back of a tablet?! First thing I'd do with this tablet is slide it across a hard surface and get the lens all scratched or snag it on the edge of a table.
You can. Settings, display brightness and there's a linear and scrolling 'less warm/more' bar ...with not single points, rather a constant change as you slide left/right
Did they also up the number of microphones? Intel, in their never-ending (and usually fruitless) attempts to up the average quality of commodity PCs seemed last year to try to make 2016 a year of audio. They provided specs for how PCs (especially laptops) should use better speakers (essentially amp is built into the speaker and is aware of/compensates for speaker resonance, and will not drive the speaker out of compliance) AND suggested that 3 is really the minimum number of mics these devices should have for good echo/noise cancellation, with four as better.
Apple seems to have taken to heart the idea of better speakers (it will be interesting to see if the iPhone 7/7+ comes with two speakers); but as far as I know all iOS devices still have only two mics.
Interestingly last time I looked all iPhones since the 5 have had three mics. One top, one bottom, one back. That's what really helps with voice call quality.
Ah, that makes sense. I wondered how they did such a good job with what I thought was only two mics. (This is not just theory on my part. My iMac [late 2012] has two mics, and my brother complains about voice quality every time I call to him using it as speakerphone, but has no complaints when I switch the call to my iPhone 6.
Do you know how many mics a modern iPad has? Ifixit claims the iPad Air 2 has two, one on the back near the camera, one of the right hand side, again near the camera; but I could imagine one also nestling at the bottom behind one of the speaker grills. iFixit also claims two mics for the iPad Pro 12.7, in the same locations. But, like I suggested, maybe this is something Apple might be moving towards improving, starting with the Pro 9.7?
I'm not usually one to cry foul or claim that a business decision is inexcusable that doesn't fall into a category of being a legal or ethical violation, but no USB 3.0 in the 9.7" iPad Pro definitely has me perplexed.
I have a question - how the hell is it different from ipad air 3? Because it's a *pro*? Oh wow 32 GB internal,2016, congradulations Apple, finaly.for that talk about caring and progress. I guess next things in ipads and iphones would be things Android invented years ago. Like with that screen color thing I have on my 100$ for some years. Maybe I ll buy Apple again. When it "adds" integrated file manager "like never before and for first time". Seriously, they are worst. No progress whatsever and people happy to give their salary for THAT?
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NEDM64 - Monday, March 21, 2016 - link
I'm only sad for the camera.Otherwise, that's exactly the iPad I have been waiting for. Can't wait for day 24.
jollypike - Monday, March 21, 2016 - link
I would agree it's actually quite a big upgrade for the 9.7" iPad what with more RAM, more storage, faster CPU and GPU, camera flash, better display, better speakers, etc.I suspect Apple will add more productivity Support in iOS 10 and probably a local file system (documents only) extension to iCloud Drive. What the Pro needs now are more full app ports from OS X. Serif have promised Affinity Photo and Designer, full versions, and when they arrive I will be able to justify an iPad Pro and pencil so I can move between Mac and iPad at will and with ease.
jasonelmore - Monday, March 21, 2016 - link
there already is a file system for documents only, its called icloud drive.. we need a real file system for any type of file. just restrict execute permissions if your worried about security.jollypike - Tuesday, March 22, 2016 - link
That's exactly what I meant, a file system that was local. At the minute you can push many types of file to iCloud Drive but I was talking about a more Dropbox type of service - cloud (full or partial) mirror of local files that can sync across multiple devices. Apple have taken the first steps including being able to attach stuff from iCloud and Dropbox, etc. The next step could be Dropbox like.Henry 3 Dogg - Wednesday, April 20, 2016 - link
iCloud already syncs the files in iCloud Drive across multiple devices. So what is it you want?Henry 3 Dogg - Wednesday, April 20, 2016 - link
There already is a file system. It's exactly the same file system as on OSX.i.e. it's a Journaled HFS+. Only difference is the on OSX, the default installation is case insensitive whereas on iOS it is case sensitive.
The user data within it is in a highly stylised sandboxed structure which helps enforce much of the underlying robustness of the device.
A local virtualised mapped (fake) file system that replicates the behaviour of iCloud drive may be appropriate.
Grunthor77 - Wednesday, March 23, 2016 - link
The 9.7" iPad Pro doesn't have more RAM, it's the same 2GB as iPad Air. :(http://9to5mac.com/2016/03/22/9-7-inch-ipad-pro-in...Sliderpro93 - Thursday, March 24, 2016 - link
Ram is the same 2GB. New processor and slightly better speakers. Quite a big upgrade, yes.dsumanik - Friday, March 25, 2016 - link
Here are the showstoppers for me:-2gb ram will be a limitation in a year or two
-camera bump causes iPad to wobble while drawing on it, can't believe they did this
-lacks USB 3 support unlike larger pro
-price premium
-missing 64gb sweetspot in price/configuration
-obscene accessory prices
-silly pencil charging method
-no leather case on launch
Ill be waiting 2 more years sorry apple
zeeBomb - Monday, March 21, 2016 - link
Best tablet on the market? I'm feeling with the Surface Pro 4 it is.damianrobertjones - Monday, March 21, 2016 - link
Yes... The Surface Pro 4 IS the best tablet on the market.darwinosx - Monday, March 21, 2016 - link
Nobody uses the Surface as a tablet because it sucks as one.Plus there are next to no tablet apps for it.
Plus it just plain sucks.
We have been testing them and even the Windows fans don't like it.
http://www.gottabemobile.com/2016/01/15/9-surface-...
Jumangi - Monday, March 21, 2016 - link
Sure Apple wanker.Henry 3 Dogg - Wednesday, April 20, 2016 - link
@JumangiEver heard the concept of a reasoned argument?
What part of "Nobody uses the Surface as a tablet because it sucks as one.
Plus there are next to no tablet apps for it." did you take issue with?
jasonelmore - Monday, March 21, 2016 - link
give it more time, windows 10 just launched, and it is forcing tablet mode for any universal app. apple didnt build their ecosystem over night.Also, nobody is mentioning this ipad is $100 more expensive
jasonelmore - Tuesday, March 22, 2016 - link
This also should have released at the same time as the 12.9" model, but apple held it back on purpose so they could get people to buy the 12.9 model to have the latest and greatest for a few months. Sales of the 12.9 would have been a whole lot different if this 10" was offered at the same time as the 12.9BurntMyBacon - Wednesday, March 23, 2016 - link
@jasonelmore: "This also should have released at the same time as the 12.9" model, but apple held it back on purpose so they could get people to buy the 12.9 model to have the latest and greatest for a few months. Sales of the 12.9 would have been a whole lot different if this 10" was offered at the same time as the 12.9"Totally agreed, but how would the give the illusion of consistent progress if they didn't artificially delay the release of new products to fill in the gaps between major releases?
Henry 3 Dogg - Wednesday, April 20, 2016 - link
a 128GB iPad Pro is cheaper than a 128GB Surface Pro 4Samus - Monday, March 21, 2016 - link
I tend to agree. I just setup a Surface 4 Pro for someone, and it's pretty heavy and awkward in one hand. The display scaling is also terrible. Windows just doesn't do it well because legacy programs (basically anything before Windows 8/2012) don't scale. Even QuickBooks 2016 on the Surface 4 is borderline unusable because it's nearly 4K resolution for a program designed to run at most 2560x1440.The Surface Pro is a great laptop replacement but not a great tablet. And at the end of the day, for $1000, there are a lot of great laptops such as HP Elitebooks, the Spectre 360, many Thinkpads, the XPS 13, and so on.
drainplugofideas - Monday, March 21, 2016 - link
After a lot of back and forth on this I think that I agree. Yes it would be wonderful for a device to do everything a tablet and a laptop can do in one package, but its not really possible at this stage. Also the touch enabled app support for Windows is not really there yet in my opinion.UtilityMax - Monday, March 21, 2016 - link
Most of surface pro worshipers don't realize that they could have been served much better by a convertible laptop, such as the Lenovo Yoga series.damianrobertjones - Tuesday, March 22, 2016 - link
I've owned a Yoga, which was really nice, yet still went back to the SP3. Also typed a 68,000 document on a SP2 type keyboard so it's quite good (for me at least).Spunjji - Tuesday, March 22, 2016 - link
I found the Yoga series to be clunky and unpleasant to use. YMMV.Byte - Tuesday, March 22, 2016 - link
Last year, iPad Pro. This year iPad Pro Mini, next year iPad Pro Nano! Yay!!!!Spunjji - Tuesday, March 22, 2016 - link
Surface Pro 4 isn't even close to 4K res, and Quicken is not at all the sort of application that should run nicely on a tablet. Re: single-handed use, yeah, it's too big for that. The original iPad Pro and Surface Pro 4 have near-identical weights, so if you want a 12"-ish tablet... well, that's your lot.No product is perfect but your post and the one you're responding to smell of bias.
damianrobertjones - Tuesday, March 22, 2016 - link
"The Surface Pro is a great laptop replacement but not a great tablet"I have little to no issues while using the Pro as a tablet. I'm not going to limit the thing to A or B just because of x or y. I also have an iPad mini 4 for...messing around and gaming. ANYTHING else and I head straight for the SP4.
Henry 3 Dogg - Wednesday, April 20, 2016 - link
Try using it standing up or walking around on a factory floor, or on the street.It's just too clumsy for words.
WillBthr - Saturday, March 26, 2016 - link
Again, Surface 3 would be the comparison to this product and that is a huge stretch since Surface 3 runs Windows 10 and this Apple product runs their phone OS. Surface 3 - $450 128GB / 4GB RAM USB3. Excellent as tablet, w/keyboard, pen.Display has setting for "legacy" programs scaling if necessary.
damianrobertjones - Tuesday, March 22, 2016 - link
Did you miss the iPad pro charging issue?I use my SP4 as a tablet so you do not speak for everyone. Pop over to the 'Tablet pc review forum' for many, MANY people that use all kinds of tablets. I myself have a SP4 and iPad mini 4. The Surface pro, for me, wins hands down at productivity and general use. I did order an iPad Pro but it was simply far too big and not having a kick stand, out of the box, meant that it was of little real use to me unless I paid for ££.
BurntMyBacon - Wednesday, March 23, 2016 - link
@darwinosx: "Nobody uses the Surface as a tablet because it sucks as one.Plus there are next to no tablet apps for it."
Anecdotal evidence suggest that a Mr. Stan Nobody does in fact use a Surface as a tablet, but not because it sucks as one. He suggests that the tablet experience is actually pretty good and that while there aren't as many apps, he has all the apps he cares to have at the moment, though he'll take more games as they come. This includes apps like Netflix, Hulu, Pandora, several manga readers, Facebook, and a few games like Plague Inc. and XCOM: EW (verified it does in fact have a touch mode).
Prod1702 - Saturday, March 26, 2016 - link
This is 100% not true. I love my SP4 as both a laptop and tablet. My wife mainly uses it with the keyboard, i mainly use the onscreen keyboard. I am buying a 9.7" iPad Pro to replace my Air 1, but the SP4 is hands down way better because it runs full windows programs. Nothing can touch that.Henry 3 Dogg - Wednesday, April 20, 2016 - link
"...but the SP4 is hands down way better because it runs full windows programs..."That is only better, if want to run Windows programs. From long, painful experience, I care about my data too much to trust it to any version of Windows.
So I only run Windows programs in a snapshotted virtual machine with all of the data on a [virtual] networked non Windows file system, and then roll the VM back after each use. Since the SP4 doesn't have enough RAM to make that practical, I wouldn't run Windows Programs on it anyway.
WillBthr - Saturday, March 26, 2016 - link
Surface 3 would be the comparison to this product and that is a huge stretch since Surface 3 runs Windows 10 and this Apple product runs their phone OS. $450 128GB / 4GB RAM USB3.I guess you (or your never heard of them link) speaks for everybody since you said "nobody" uses...
jollypike - Monday, March 21, 2016 - link
Interesting point but the Surface Pro runs Windows so whether it's a good or bad tablet is not relevant for some folks, myself included.I use, and can see value in Windows server (especially AD) and I've used Windows Desktop since version 1. I preferred GEM and Risc-OS but that was like Betamax v VHS again. At least Mac OS survived and flourished with a UNIX base.
secretmanofagent - Monday, March 21, 2016 - link
As an SP4 owner, it's incredibly relevant, because the damn thing can't sleep properly still. I get random wakeups, and different resources are using most of the CPU on wake and I have to reboot to clear it. That in itself makes it a horrible tablet.asfletch - Monday, March 21, 2016 - link
I agree - I have an HP Windows tab and most of the time it's actually quite good (browsing and switching between apps etc is actually snappier than my old Android tabs or my wife's iPad). However, at least once a week I pick it up to find it's gone from 80%+ battery to dead because of an update or other wakelock. If I could schedule all updates to happen only when on AC power I think it would make a big difference.DCide - Tuesday, March 22, 2016 - link
Isn't it amazing that after 30 years Microsoft still can't get it right? These are the types of problems that have always plagued them. Apple manages to rate somewhere around 8/10 in design and execution, while MS still languishes around 4 or 5/10 on a good day. Even when they come out with a great OS like Windows 8 they manage to mess it up with a schizophrenic UI and updates that continue to be pushed out for months on end after they're known to break a huge % of systems.While Apple has an advantage because they only have to support a small, controlled set of hardware targets, Microsoft has a mental problem. I suppose common sense isn't so common.
damianrobertjones - Tuesday, March 22, 2016 - link
Yet Apple can also get it wrong. Are you ignoring the iPad pro charging issues? Or the quick 'point' releases to iOS after a major update to fix things?damianrobertjones - Tuesday, March 22, 2016 - link
"Isn't it amazing that after 30 years Microsoft still can't get it right?"I'm sure that Intel has a part in all of this
name99 - Tuesday, March 22, 2016 - link
Is this Microsoft's fault or Intel's fault? My guess is that there's so much complexity in what's required to manage sleep on "the PC platform" (ie the full Intel setup of CPU and various buses and IO controllers) that no human being on earth can fully understand it and put together a completely successful control/state machine.Apple does a ridiculously good job of sleep/wake on iOS, but sleep/wake on OSX is merely OK --- it sorta works mostly, but at least once a month something goes wrong. And I'm unaware that Linux does a better job --- mostly you don't see the issue there because almost no-one is running Linux under the sort of aggressive sleep/wake patterns that people expect from OSX and Windows.
If no-one can get it right on Intel, and Apple/Android (and I think MS) can get it right on ARM, that seems to suggest the location of the problem, no?
lilmoe - Tuesday, March 22, 2016 - link
I'd say that it is, in fact, amazing that they can keep up a such a powerful, robust and solidly stable OS running on a plethora of hardware configurations, including their own. Yet manage to make it arguably faster and lighter than any other fully fledged desktop OS out there...Stop blaming Microsoft for driver issues they're obviously not responsible for. They meant for their latest products to be on the bleeding edge, and work exactly like how a modern consumer expects them to; sleep and wake like their smartphones. After a couple of hiccups (which again, aren't their fault), I'd say they surely delivered.
damianrobertjones - Tuesday, March 22, 2016 - link
Suggestion: As it's already fast enough why not actually shut the thing down?lilmoe - Tuesday, March 22, 2016 - link
Are you on an Insider Build? If not, do you have the latest firmware update?Thurrott was pretty vocal about this particular issue, and he's now confirming that it's completely fixed, at least on his machines.
It turns out that the issue was mostly driver problems from Intel, and some (older?) Win32 applications not playing nicely with the new connected standby mechanism. The CPU/platform c-states newly supported by Skylake weren't being set correctly when the OS was set to sleep.
SP4 and Surface Books (and any other Skylake system with the option supported/enabled in BIOS) support instant sleep and wake, which works exactly like an ARM tablet/phone. And speaking from experience, Windows 10 in Tablet Mode is much more intuitive and fluid than Android and iOS on a tablet.
Henry 3 Dogg - Wednesday, April 20, 2016 - link
The Surface Pro 4 is a great high end netbook. But pricey.It really isn't usable as a tablet.
Cygni - Monday, March 21, 2016 - link
I can't see myself buying any of these phones or tablets with a camera hump. I often use them flat on a hard surface, like a table or desk. I've heard that the wobble is fairly small with the iPhone 6, but for the price, that's pretty unacceptable to me.Maybe I'm an edge case, but this seems like a pretty upfront design failing in many products today.
Murloc - Monday, March 21, 2016 - link
rather than a failing it's a forced choice since customers want the latest and better.jollypike - Monday, March 21, 2016 - link
Many folks put their expensive device in a protective case so I guess a camera bump , whilst imperfect, isn't usually a problem. I go one further and put front and rear protectors on too.Cygni - Monday, March 21, 2016 - link
A 9.7in tablet in a case...?secretmanofagent - Monday, March 21, 2016 - link
Smart Case, any number of third party ones that protect both the back and the screen. It's pretty common.stephenbrooks - Tuesday, March 22, 2016 - link
(I also never understood the people who get the "thinnest, lightest" phone and then put it in a thick, heavy plastic case.)DCide - Tuesday, March 22, 2016 - link
I don't understand this either - nor do I understand those who get no case at all. I've purchased thin (and usually leather) cases for every iDevice I've owned.name99 - Tuesday, March 22, 2016 - link
You don't understand why people buy differently styled clothes? You don't understand why people have different haircuts?I guess there ARE people like that --- after all someone presumably thought it was realistic to have a Star Trek future where everyone wears the exact same clothes...
As for "thick, heavy plastic case", those are not the only alternatives. The Apple cases, for example, are extremely thin but ALSO match the camera bump well. Personally I think Apple sees the combination of phone+case as pretty much the expected unit of use, allowing for a wide range of visual appearances to meet your tastes. (They see the exact same usage pattern, apparently accurately, in Apple Watch + band).
stephenbrooks - Tuesday, March 22, 2016 - link
Yes. What madman thought up a protruding camera on the back of a tablet?! First thing I'd do with this tablet is slide it across a hard surface and get the lens all scratched or snag it on the edge of a table.Wheaties88 - Monday, March 21, 2016 - link
Josh, is this thing the thickness of the 12.9" iPad Pro, Air 2, or neither?Ryan Smith - Monday, March 21, 2016 - link
Air 2. 6.1mmhttp://anandtech.com/show/10165/apple-unveils-97in...
jabber - Monday, March 21, 2016 - link
One word...tired!DigitalFreak - Monday, March 21, 2016 - link
Maybe you should have mommy put you to bed?Lolimaster - Monday, March 21, 2016 - link
Why can't they simply give the option of choosing color temp, the "true tone" seems like the 6500K, disabling it looks like 7000-7500K white.akdj - Tuesday, March 22, 2016 - link
You can. Settings, display brightness and there's a linear and scrolling 'less warm/more' bar ...with not single points, rather a constant change as you slide left/rightLolimaster - Monday, March 21, 2016 - link
What's the bad thing? Surface Pro 4 / Surface Book and Galaxy Tab Pro S exists.You get an actual usuble PC with a real OS and tons of real productivity apps.
3:2 aspect ratio is another plus.
name99 - Tuesday, March 22, 2016 - link
Did they also up the number of microphones?Intel, in their never-ending (and usually fruitless) attempts to up the average quality of commodity PCs seemed last year to try to make 2016 a year of audio. They provided specs for how PCs (especially laptops) should use better speakers (essentially amp is built into the speaker and is aware of/compensates for speaker resonance, and will not drive the speaker out of compliance) AND suggested that 3 is really the minimum number of mics these devices should have for good echo/noise cancellation, with four as better.
Apple seems to have taken to heart the idea of better speakers (it will be interesting to see if the iPhone 7/7+ comes with two speakers); but as far as I know all iOS devices still have only two mics.
jollypike - Tuesday, March 22, 2016 - link
Interestingly last time I looked all iPhones since the 5 have had three mics. One top, one bottom, one back. That's what really helps with voice call quality.name99 - Tuesday, March 22, 2016 - link
Ah, that makes sense. I wondered how they did such a good job with what I thought was only two mics. (This is not just theory on my part. My iMac [late 2012] has two mics, and my brother complains about voice quality every time I call to him using it as speakerphone, but has no complaints when I switch the call to my iPhone 6.Do you know how many mics a modern iPad has? Ifixit claims the iPad Air 2 has two, one on the back near the camera, one of the right hand side, again near the camera; but I could imagine one also nestling at the bottom behind one of the speaker grills.
iFixit also claims two mics for the iPad Pro 12.7, in the same locations.
But, like I suggested, maybe this is something Apple might be moving towards improving, starting with the Pro 9.7?
JoshHo - Wednesday, March 23, 2016 - link
I'm not sure about microphones, but mobile devices have had speaker protection ICs for quite some time now, as far back as the One M7.solipsism - Wednesday, March 23, 2016 - link
I'm not usually one to cry foul or claim that a business decision is inexcusable that doesn't fall into a category of being a legal or ethical violation, but no USB 3.0 in the 9.7" iPad Pro definitely has me perplexed.Sliderpro93 - Thursday, March 24, 2016 - link
I have a question - how the hell is it different from ipad air 3? Because it's a *pro*? Oh wow 32 GB internal,2016, congradulations Apple, finaly.for that talk about caring and progress.I guess next things in ipads and iphones would be things Android invented years ago. Like with that screen color thing I have on my 100$ for some years.
Maybe I ll buy Apple again. When it "adds" integrated file manager "like never before and for first time".
Seriously, they are worst. No progress whatsever and people happy to give their salary for THAT?
Sliderpro93 - Thursday, March 24, 2016 - link
Oh well maybe they will allow custom launchers and call themselves "iOS Honeycomb". Would be nice