The battle of the tablets for the year has begun. While no official statements from both Microsoft and Apple have been released regarding their new devices, rumors are plenty on what users could expect. With talks that both the Microsoft Surface Pro 4 and iPad Plus are coming out this year, it begs the question on which is the better device.
As no official name has been given to Apple's rumored bigger sized tablet, some sites are calling it the iPad Plus, iPad Air Plus or iPad Pro, noted IB Times.
The device is rumored to have a 12-inch display according to Macworld. If this is true, then it would be the company's biggest to date, which might be a good thing for users who are looking for a bigger screen. Weight may not be a problem as rumors say that its thickness is only 7mm.
On the other hand, Microsoft's Surface Pro 4 might come in not just one but two sizes. Design & Trend said that a possible 8-in Pro 4 is in the works. Initial talks pegged the bigger-sized Pro 4 to be 12-in. But recent reports speculated display size to be as big as 14-inches for the other unit. With this large screen plus the keyboard, the tablet becomes an instant laptop.
With the iPad Air 2 outfitted with an A8X processor, it does not seem far-fetched that the upcoming device would have the same chip, noted The Fuse Joplin. The A8X is 55 percent faster than the A8 chip installed in the iPhone 6 so the device would be faster. In terms of RAM, the new iPad may reportedly feature 2 GB or RAM. Meanwhile the Surface Pro 4 would be more powerful than ever with a possible Intel Core M processor and up to 8GB of RAM, which is bigger than the previous Surface Pro version.
Apple's iOS 8 is the company's latest version so there's a big possibility that the iPad Plus would come with this operating system. Another scenario painted by IB Times is that Apple comes up with a newer version of iOS 8 in time for the iPad Plus' release, which would then be the one included in the unit. In the meantime, with Microsoft scheduled to release Windows 10 early this year, the Surface Pro 4's launch may follow right after this so units would carry the new OS, reported The Latino Post.
Details are scant on the possible price range of the iPad Plus and Surface Pro 4. However, Design & Trend have pegged the hybride device of Microsoft to be somewhere within the $799 to $1,549 price range.
