Apple vs. Microsoft: Surface Pro Creator Claims iPad Pro Is a Copy of Their Laplet
Not long after the release of the new iPad Pro, Microsoft is calling copycat on Apple.
Surface general manager Ryan Gavin stated in an interview with Business Insider that its Cupertino-based rival is imitating what they are doing with the Surface Pro.
"Think about it, if we had been looking at [Apple] we wouldn't have made a product like Surface Pro or Surface Book," Gavin said.
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"We have been learning and perfecting our products in the 2-in-1 category for years now, [but] when Surface initially launched everyone was skeptical, including them. And then they followed, and the iPad Pro is a clear example of that," he went on to say.
CNET believes that Gavin may have a point here. After all, the release of the Surface Pro did not take off as they would expect and it just seemed to be a different product than a revolutionary one.
Part of it, the site says, could be blamed on the way the marketing for it was handled. The Surface line ultimately found its way back, but when it did, Apple started claiming the iPad Pro to be a computer.
As Phone Arena points out, the Surface Pro is leaning toward that function than the iPad Pro primarily because of the Windows operating system.
The publication also points out that Apple is just starting to dip its toe into the two-in-one scene. The company is preparing laptop-like features for the iPad Pro via the iOS 11.
The site added that Apple has sold iPad Pro products to creative professionals for a while now and "it's difficult to see how the iPad Pro is a product of followership, and not just a response to market demand."
Whether or not Apple had Surface Pro in mind when they were building their iPad Pro, there is no way of knowing. What's sure is that the laptop-tablet hybrid competition just got more cutthroat.
