iPad Pro and Apple Pencil Compared to Surface Pro 4 and Surface Pen

Apple released the iPad Pro last week as a direct competitor to Microsoft's new Surface Pro 4. The high-end tablets are primarily targeted at creative professionals, with the companion Apple Pencil and Surface Pen available as precise input tools to complement your finger.

iMore has shared a new video that compares sketching with the Apple Pencil on the iPad Pro to the Surface Pen on Microsoft's new Surface Book, which has equivalent display technology as the Surface Pro 4.


Editor Serenity Caldwell found the Surface Pen to be "about as responsive" as the Apple Pencil, but said Microsoft's stylus pressure was slightly harder to control and had more trouble at writing small type.

The Verge has created a similar video that provides more of a high-level comparison of the iPad Pro vs. Surface Pro 4, while also touching upon the Apple Pencil and Surface Pen and showing some limited usage of each accessory.

Editor Jacob Kastrenakes called the Apple Pencil "one of the best" he has ever used, adding that the Surface Pen "can be a little less natural" but benefits from having a hardware eraser -- which the Apple Pencil doesn't have.


Kastrenakes said the Apple Pencil is "really responsive" and has "amazing palm rejection," and he offered similar accolades for the Surface Pen, although quality will vary from app to app on both the iPad Pro and Surface Pro 4.

Apple Pencil online orders began to see movement earlier this week, while Apple retail stores started receiving more reliable Apple Pencil shipments on Tuesday for in-store purchase. The accessory is available to ship in 4-5 weeks online.

Related Roundup: iPad Pro
Buyer's Guide: iPad Pro (Buy Now)
Related Forum: iPad Accessories

Popular Stories

iOS 26 Feature

iOS 26.1 to iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Saturday October 18, 2025 11:00 am PDT by
iOS 26 was released last month, but the software train never stops, and iOS 26.1 beta testing is already underway. So far, iOS 26.1 makes both Apple Intelligence and Live Translation on compatible AirPods available in additional languages, and it includes some other minor changes across the Apple Music, Calendar, Photos, Clock, and Safari apps. More features and changes will follow in future ...
ios 26 1 liquid glass opaque

iOS 26.1 Beta 4 Lets Users Control Liquid Glass Transparency with New Toggle

Monday October 20, 2025 10:57 am PDT by
With the fourth betas of iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS 26.1, Apple has introduced a new setting that's designed to allow users to customize the look of Liquid Glass. The toggle lets users select from a clear look for Liquid Glass, or a tinted look. Clear is the current Liquid Glass design, which is more transparent and shows the background underneath buttons, bars, and menus, while tinted ...
iPhone Siri Glow

Some Apple Employees Have 'Concerns' About iOS 26.4's Revamped Siri

Sunday October 19, 2025 7:39 am PDT by
iOS 26.4 is expected to introduce a revamped version of Siri powered by Apple Intelligence, but not everyone is satisfied with how well it works. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said some of Apple's software engineers have "concerns" about the overhauled Siri's performance. However, he did not provide any specific details about the shortcomings. iOS 26.4 will...
iOS 26

iOS 26.0.2 Update for iPhones Coming Soon

Friday October 17, 2025 7:35 am PDT by
Apple's software engineers continue to internally test iOS 26.0.2, according to MacRumors logs, which have been a reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions. iOS 26.0.2 will be a minor update that addresses bugs and/or security vulnerabilities, but we do not know any specific details yet. The update will likely be released by the end of next week. Last month, Apple released iOS 26.0.1,...
iPhone Air

Report: 'Virtually No Demand' for iPhone Air

Wednesday October 22, 2025 3:22 am PDT by
Apple is "drastically" cutting production of the iPhone Air and shifting focus toward the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro models, Nikkei Asia reports. The business publication claims to have learned of a major cut to iPhone Air production motivated by weaker-than-expected consumer interest, nearly to "end of production levels." Despite early reports of the iPhone Air selling out within hours of...
Apple iPad Pro hero M5

New iPad Pro Has Six Key Upgrades Beyond M5 Chip

Saturday October 18, 2025 10:57 am PDT by
While the new iPad Pro's headline feature is the M5 chip, the device has some other changes, including N1 and C1X chips, faster storage speeds, and more. With the M5 chip, the new iPad Pro has up to a 20% faster CPU and up to a 40% faster GPU compared to the previous model with the M4 chip, according to Geekbench 6 results. Keep in mind that 256GB and 512GB configurations have a 9-core CPU,...
maxresdefault

Here's How the iOS 26.1 Transparency Toggle Changes Liquid Glass

Monday October 20, 2025 1:55 pm PDT by
With the fourth beta of iOS 26.1, Apple added a toggle that makes Liquid Glass more opaque and reduces transparency. We tested the beta to see where the toggle works and what it looks like. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. If you have the latest iOS 26.1 beta, you can go to Settings > Display and Brightness to get to the new option. Tap on Liquid Glass, then...
iOS 26

What's New in iOS 26.1 Beta 4

Monday October 20, 2025 1:02 pm PDT by
Even though we're at the fourth beta of iOS 26.1, Apple is continuing to add new features. In fact, the fourth beta has some of the biggest changes that we'll get when iOS 26.1 releases to the public later this month. We've rounded up what's new below. Liquid Glass Transparency Toggle Apple added a toggle for customizing the look of Liquid Glass. In Settings > Display and Brightness,...

Top Rated Comments

Marx55 Avatar
130 months ago
Apple should make a Mac tablet.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dannys1 Avatar
130 months ago
She's wearing an Apple Watch. 1. According to this forum no one bought one 2. She's drinking "that Apple koolaid" (whatever that ridiculous expression means) so her opinion is massively biased towards Apple...

Apple should make a Mac tablet.
And no. No they shouldn't.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Icaras Avatar
130 months ago
Apple should make a Mac tablet.
Nah.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Joseph C Avatar
130 months ago
That iMore video REALLY annoyed me the way the angle of the camera prevented you seeing the tip of the pencil touching the screen to see the latency.

Any direct angled shot of "pen to pad" was sped up, and the real time shots were obscured by her hand.

Surely deliberate? Unquestionably annoying.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ThunderSkunk Avatar
130 months ago
Apple has made it clear that their vision for tablet computing is limited to mobile devices, essentially PDA's, and they have no greater vision of how creative people & professionals will work more efficiently going forward into the future. ...or they can see it, but have decided that like every other area of the once thriving "pro" product line, it's not worth the investment. They'd rather sell short lifecycle watches and phones and cars to teenagers with disposable income.

And so, it falls upon, of all companies, Microsoft, to grab the baton and make the bigger strides pushing computing forward again. ...and we know how that goes.

This will be the biggest missed opportunity for Apple to lead of Cooks career.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JackieInCo Avatar
130 months ago
Apple should make a Mac tablet.
They just want to pass the iPad Pro off as one. It's no Surface competitor.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)