In our household we have a TabPro S and a Surface Pro 4 (both M3's with 4GB ram and 128GB SSD). I wonder how many people that say one or the other is 'much better value' have actually used both long term :smiley:

They are quite different machines. The TabPro S is quite a bit better as a tablet device as it's lighter, thinner and more comfortable to hold than a Surface Pro 4 is. The Surface is better once it comes to using it as a 'laptop' as the Surface has a much better keyboard and the kickstand gives you better options for the angle (though comes with it's own comfort issues in the lap)

The TabPro S has better battery life than a Surface Pro 4 (~8hrs vs 6.5-7hrs respectively), plus the TabPro S can be charged from ANY USB power bank since it accepts 5/9/12V charging. The surface does not and requires far more expensive power banks if you need more power on the go.

The Surface has better connectivity since it has more built in ports and MicroSD for expansion. The TabPro S doesn't so requires an extra hub/dongle if you need extra ports which can be limiting if you need external displays and/or extra storage routinely.

Ultimately, the TabPro S is a better portable device while the Surface Pro 4 is a better laptop alternative around the home. Even at exactly the same price one is not automatically better than the other and it really depends on what you want to use the device for, so also evaluate what you need from the device first :smiley:

you mentioned all that and I agree but you failed to mention one major advantage of the Tab Pro S : it's instantly and visibly superior OLED screen compared to Surface Pro's standard LCD screen.

The Tab Pro S is a tablet first,laptop next whereas the Surface Pro is a laptop first tablet next.

for me personally lack of microSD slot in Tab Pro S was unforgivable.so I completely lost interest when I found out it lacks it.

Ta will take a look

One thing I'm interested in is the dongle to link USB devices etc: they want £50 for the official one. Some third party have hit and miss reviews. Any reliable alternatives to the official kit?

Paying by Paypal credit seems to keep failing. Sales support know about it, but don't know when it will be fixed, and have no workaround either!

No Micro SD and only the really uncommon USB-C, personally Id take the Surface 3 which can be picked up for similar price which has micro SD, USB 3, micro USB and mini display port.

These prices for this product/surface/ipad is too high and nonsense anyways. Dont get you people.

The Pro 4 with keyboard is a lot more money so not an equal comparison, this is priced more at a S3 level. While the TabPro S is more powerful the Atom is the S3 is no slouch, its far superior to the older generations of Atom's. The S3 is probably sufficient power for a lot of home users and the extra connectivity and micro SD are far more useful features in my opinion. If you need a power platform then pay the extra for a Pro 4.

Got my daughter one for Christmas, for £450. Really impressed, nice kit. Battery is a bit meh

A surface 3 has a much much slower CPU and GPU, since the Surface 3 only uses an Atom. That's a huge downside to start with. Then lets factor in that it's got a smaller screen (some of us want a 12-13inch device), lower res, it's still actually thicker than the TabPro S (though it is about the same thickness as a SP4) and not much lighter either.

If the Surface 3 does what you need then great, but unfortunately it's not even in the same league as the SP4 / TabPro S in terms of performance.



The AMOLED screen is nice for sure, it's a great display to look at. That said the Pro 4's display isn't bad either. If you look at a lot of dark backgrounds (video/have dark themes) then the AMOLED is a big plus, but for general web browsing I don't see as much of a difference and you have to be careful of whites killing the battery life :disappointed:

What about that one killer feature to some - the rich AMOLED panel on the Samsung? I always thought the Samsung was massively overlooked but couldn't figure out why. I'm still using a Surface Pro 3 with an SP4 keyboard attached.

Thankyou for this, I was looking for a replacement for my now dead ipad air but wanted a windows pc for work purposes and you have helped massively. As i really just wanted a tablet with a decent keyboard as I have a laptop.

Yes USB C is better but devices using it are rare. I have a 950XL which uses it. Just buying a cable which supports charging and not just data transfer is a pain as the cheap cables don't work. I'd much rather a USB 3.0 socket, I can and do connect my Surface 3 to printers, SLR camera, sat nav and loads of USB pen drives. With the mini display port I don't need the video features. Maybe if USB C becomes more mainstream but it could be another FireWire.

Having used both Surface 3 and Pro 4 the downsides you highlight about the Pro 4 and addressed by the 3. Its significantly lighter and I find more convenient as a tablet and is charged via micro USB. The 3 keyboard is just as good as the Pro 4. I stand by my earlier comment that I would pick a Surface 3 deal over this.

In our household we have a TabPro S and a Surface Pro 4 (both M3's with 4GB ram and 128GB SSD). I wonder how many people that say one or the other is 'much better value' have actually used both long term :smiley:

They are quite different machines. The TabPro S is quite a bit better as a tablet device as it's lighter, thinner and more comfortable to hold than a Surface Pro 4 is. The Surface is better once it comes to using it as a 'laptop' as the Surface has a much better keyboard and the kickstand gives you better options for the angle (though comes with it's own comfort issues in the lap)

The TabPro S has better battery life than a Surface Pro 4 (~8hrs vs 6.5-7hrs respectively), plus the TabPro S can be charged from ANY USB power bank since it accepts 5/9/12V charging. The surface does not and requires far more expensive power banks if you need more power on the go.

The Surface has better connectivity since it has more built in ports and MicroSD for expansion. The TabPro S doesn't so requires an extra hub/dongle if you need extra ports which can be limiting if you need external displays and/or extra storage routinely.

Ultimately, the TabPro S is a better portable device while the Surface Pro 4 is a better laptop alternative around the home. Even at exactly the same price one is not automatically better than the other and it really depends on what you want to use the device for, so also evaluate what you need from the device first :smiley:

I naturally assumed this was android. If it's windows then You can get a surface pro 4 for a little more....much better value

I'd personally just try and get a Surface 3 or 4 for this kind of money.

Every printer manufacturer has a specific app for the job and Android has had some limited support for HP etc for a few years. Epson iPrint is one example of an app which is easy to use, of course you need an Epson printer, I know Brother, Canon and HP all have apps.

I think hes talking about the android tab s2

It's running Windows10 pro, so the same as any other Windows 10 pc. Settings, add printer.

Never tried it but supposedly Samsung Print allows you to.

I just added a Samsung keyboard to my tab S2 and added pretty much most office and work stuff on - yep it's not a full windows machine but does anybody really use such a device for full on work it is usually only travelling, evening, etcc

Lol hence my comment about this being the best current price. I mearly mentioned it has been this price for a while and has been available cheaper so people can make an informed choice as there are rumours of a new one launching soon which could push the price of this down to that kind of price again (as obv they can afford to sell it at that price so clearance at that price or cheaper would be logical)

It was cheaper before Xmas as it also had the 10% off making it less that £450 - although I know, no time machine lol, this is the best price currently but it has been this price for a while

yep been this price before Christmas

Think it's been this price for a while and already posted