Apple iPad Air vs Microsoft Surface 2

Oh boy people! We’re nearing that time of the year when companies go all out to get products into the face of hungry consumers, who are starving for some good ‘ol fashion tech goodness. If you’re looking to snag a deal on a fancy new tablet this upcoming holiday season, you’ll have plenty to choose from, naturally – though, it seems like certain ones have a better balance between price, features, and performance. Apple and Microsoft have been in a never-ending quest to outduel one another, but in the tablet space, it’s been nothing but smooth sailing for Apple – and nothing but catching up for Microsoft.

Last year’s Microsoft Surface tablet didn’t pan out quite the way Microsoft envisioned, as it clearly didn’t do enough to capture the hearts of minds of consumers. In fact, it felt simply underpowered in comparison to the rest of the field at that time. This year, though, its successor is outfitted with beefier specs and an updated experience that’s more befitting for a flagship device, but the new iPad Air also has some new tricks under its sleeve – a totally new design that’s accompanied with a refreshingly updated experience as well. So what tablet is going to reign supreme this time? Let’s find out!

When these two employ quality characteristics that makes them premium devices in the arena, it’s really tough deciding which design we like better. With the iPad Air, it’s most notable for its thin and light construction – a marvel to behold no doubt, since it feels exquisitely easy in the hand. At the same time, its build quality isn’t compromised, since it’s constructed from that brushed aluminum material we’re familiar seeing with the beloved line. Even though it’s technically thicker and heavier than its rival, the Surface continues to have a slick industrial design that’s highlighted most by its angular cutouts and sturdy “VaporMg” chassis. Best of all, the Surface 2 packs along a very useful kickstand – a rare item to find with tablets.

Between them, we absolutely love how the Surface 2 features ports that are commonly found with today’s laptops – like a full-sized USB 3.0 port, microHDMI out port, microSD card slot, and a magnetic power connection port. They’re actually all quite useful and show the flexibility of the tablet, whereas with the iPad Air, it only packs along a Lightning docking port, which requires the purchase of an additional adapter to gain video-out functionality.

Last year’s Surface disappointed many with its low-resolution display, but Microsoft has seemingly quieted any concerns with its successor. Happily, we’re presented with a 10.6-inch 1920 x 1080 IPS LCD screen, which is a pleasant treat when compared to the iPad Air’s 9.7-inch 2048 x 1536 Retina Display. Indeed, its pixel density count of 208 ppi doesn’t match the iPad Air’s higher 264 ppi tally, but in all honesty, the difference is negligible – especially when they exhibit the same sharpness from a normal viewing distance.

Relying on good old IPS LCD technology, they produce colors that are neutral in tone. However, the iPad Air’s screen is brighter and offers better viewing angles, allowing it to shine when it’s viewed outdoors with the sun present. Don’t get us wrong, we appreciate how the Surface 2’s display is up with the times, but the iPad Air’s Retina Display continues to prove itself as being the more attractive one.

Interestingly, these new tablets are accompanied with updated software experiences too – albeit, there’s more of a profound change with the iPad Air’s iOS 7 experience. Comparing the two, the Surface 2’s updated Windows 8.1 RT experience continues to sport the more appealing visual flare, as its homescreen once again catches our attention more with its dynamic and animated presentation. Of course, the iOS 7 experience brings along some exciting changes too, but aside from its new layered design, translucency, and new animations, it still bears many of the classis elements of iOS – and that’s having a simplified presentation.

However, seeing that iOS has been on the market longer, it benefits from having a richer and more diverse apps ecosystem. Therefore, it naturally sees a ton more tablet-optimized apps than its competitor. On the flip side, we can’t knock on the Surface 2, mainly because it’s slowly building a healthy lineup of its own.

Notifications are better organized with the iPad Air’s implementation, since everything is pooled into the centralized hub of its notifications center. You’d think that Microsoft would adopt a similar implementation, since the process is widely used by other platforms, but instead, notifications are mostly handled by live tiles on the start screen. Unfortunately, it’s a messy process, seeing that notifications can be littered throughout different areas.

However, the Surface 2 does a better job with multi-tasking, much like it did before. With the enhancements made with the Windows 8.1 RT experience, it enables us to juggle around two apps side-by-side – allowing us to resize their windows to better fit our needs. We actually find this implementation far more practical than the way it’s handled with the iPad Air.

For those picking up the iPad Air, owners are given the chance to download for free the full suite of iWork apps, which consist of Pages, Numbers, Keynote, and much more. Indeed, it’s a pleasant gesture no doubt, but the Surface 2 is preloaded with Office 2013 – the full desktop version too! Apple’s set of apps help to keep us busy, but it’s no Office 2013.

Trying out the on-screen keyboards of both tablets, there’s not one that’s more advantageous than the other – that’s because they’re spacious, responsive, and offer really good auto-correct. Due to the widescreen nature of the Surface 2’s display, its on-screen landscape keyboard is wider, but we’re still able to encompass the iPad Air’s on-screen keyboard comfortably. Alternatively, they also feature split-style keyboards that are ideal when typing in portrait.

There’s nothing that these two tablets can handle, since their internal hardware help to keep their performances top-notch, smooth and zippy in fact. A rarity in the tablet space, the iPad Air boasts a 64-bit base dual-core 1.4GHz Apple A7 processor with 1GB of RAM. Meanwhile, the Surface 2 is also outfitted with an impressive gear as well – a mighty quad-core 1.7GHz NVIDIA Tegra 4 processor with 2GB of RAM. Thankfully, there’s barely any evidence of lag with their performances! Rather, everything is accompanied with tight and instant responses that make them oh-so snappy.

In terms of storage options, the Apple iPad Air is available in 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB capacities – with each separated by a $100 cost. Conversely, the Surface 2 is only made available in two capacities, 32GB and 64GB, but it has the added benefit of supplementing its tally thanks to its microSD card slot and USB 3.0 port.

Already proving to us that these two are relenting with their performances, it doesn’t surprise us that they also deliver a very engaging web browsing. Connected via Wi-Fi, they’re both more than equipped in loading up complex pages rich with multimedia content. Better yet, the combination between their smooth navigational controls and sharp looking displays, all help to solidify their excellent experiences. 

At the moment, it’s only the iPad Air that’s made available with cellular 4G LTE connectivity – in addition to Wi-Fi models. Despite that, they’re both stuffed with all of the usual connectivity features we expect to find nowadays, so they consist of aGPS, Bluetooth 4.0, and dual-band 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi.

Not everyone will jump at the idea of taking snapshots with tablets, but nonetheless, these are outfitting with rear and front facing ones. Specifically, they both pack along 5-megapixel cameras, but it’s only the iPad Air’s camera that benefits by having an auto-focus one – whereas it’s a fixed focused one with the Surface 2. When it comes to their front-facing cameras, it’s a 1.2-megapixel one in the iPad Air, and a larger 3.5-megapixel one in the Surface 2.It doesn’t shock us that their respective camera apps are pretty sparse with their shooting modes and manual controls, so don’t expect to be tinkering around much with either of them. Instead, the experience is a simplified one, as they focus on making the experience straightforward.

Okay, we’re not going to beat around the bush here people! Frankly, the iPad Air is unanimously the better performer with its 5-megapixel camera – that’s because it features auto-focus, something that’s strangely omitted with the Surface 2. Bearing that in mind, the iPad Air can snap macro shots that place emphasis on the subject. As for the fixed focused 5-megapixel shooter of the Surface 2, subjects that are snapped very close to the camera appear out of focus. In general, the iPad Air is just simply more equipped, since its boasts the sharper visuals.

Under low lighting situations, there’s a dip with details out of the two, a common occurrence no doubt. However, there’s just more noise with the Surface 2’s shots, which softens its overall quality more so than the iPad Air.

Likewise, we’re going to stick with the iPad Air when it comes to shooting high-definition 1080p videos. First and foremost, the iPad Air exhibits enough pleasant qualities for us to accept its quality – like its more defined details, balanced exposure, and clear audio recording. Unfortunately, the quality out of the Surface 2 isn’t as enticing, seeing that detractive elements like heavy artifacting, washed out colors, and muted audio recording, softens its overall quality considerably. 

Although the functionalities of their respective music players mirror one another, there’s a higher presentation value seen with the Surface 2’s offering. It’s just different, and unlike the iPad Air’s conventional stance, we’re really drawn to its dynamic looks. Yes, they both feature dual speakers, though positioned in different areas, but interestingly enough, it’s the iPad Air’s set that produces the stronger volume.

Out of the box, the Surface 2 has more video codec support, which means that we can simply copy videos to a flash drive or something, and have it playing right away. However, the iPad Air requires us to convert videos prior to loading them, so they’re properly fitted to play on its screen. Obviously, their sharp looking display help to draw us in, but the Surface 2’s kickstand is an added treat to the entire experience.

Luckily, we’re able to get through a solid 8-hour work shift with heavy usage out of both of them – so there are no worries about constant recharging. Still, in our experience, we find the Surface 2 pulling out more juice from its battery. In fact, a full charge gets us up to 2 days of normal usage – whereas it’s only just over a single day with the iPad Air.

It’s still early in the holiday season, but you know that the competition is going to be fierce between these two prized tablets. In its attempt to try and gain ground on Apple’s stranglehold, Microsoft strategically prices the Surface 2 at the base price of $450; $50 less than the iPad Air’s starting price of $500. Of course, it’s a great tactic that should help to shine some light on it – especially when the Surface 2 is more PC-like than your average tablet.

Meanwhile, the iPad Air is gearing up to take the holiday season by storm, despite the competition it sees from the lower priced Surface 2. Should it be scared at all? Well, not really.Donning a new design, one that’s remarkably thin and lightweight, it’s sure to catch some eye brows from prying shoppers who are eager to pick up a tablet. And as we’ve seen, it continues to prove itself as a venerable competitor – mainly due to its excellent performance and diverse apps ecosystem.

Seriously though, we can go either way with this comparison. Depending on your needs, either tablet can suffice in a number of ways – albeit, the savings is found with the Surface 2. If you’re in the mood to experiment, or want something that can almost double as a laptop, the Surface 2 is a fantastic choice. If not, the obvious decision is to go with the safe route of picking up the iPad Air. Whatever decision you make, there’s no arguing that they’re equipped in dealing with a handful of needs.