Microsoft may no longer be under the sway of Steve Ballmer and his ill-advised bombast but that doesn’t mean the company can’t still take some shots at rivals. Dan Laycock, the senior communications manager for Microsoft Surface, tells TrustedReviews this week that Apple’s iPad Pro can’t compare to Microsoft’s own Surface line of laptop-tablet hybrids and he said it would never be anything more than a “companion” device.
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“Microsoft really wants you to only carry one device for tablet and PC use,” he explained. “Whereas the iPad Pro is always going to be a companion device… the strategies are very different.”
In making his case that the iPad Pro is little more than a companion device, Laycock brings up Steve Jobs’ professed distaste for styluses like the one Apple is using with the iPad Pro. He says that Apple is implementing its own stylus in the tablet as a half measure, whereas at Microsoft, “we’re a huge believer in the pen; we know our customers love it.”
He also notes that the Surface Pro 4 is a full Windows PC whereas the iPad Pro still runs on iOS and has some more productivity features added.
