Microsoft Surface Go Vs 6th Gen iPad: Affordable tablets from flagship brands

Microsoft Surface Go runs on a special edition of Windows 10 OS

| Published: Tuesday, July 10, 2018, 11:32 [IST]

The Microsoft Surface Go and the Apple iPad 6th Gen are the two affordable tablets for the mass, which are priced similarly. Both devices have a different set of hardware specifications. However, these tablets have a single moto, to serve the entry-level audience with a constraint budget. Let us compare the most affordable offerings from two tech giants.

Microsoft Surface Go Vs 6th Gen iPad: Affordable yet premium tablets

We will be comparing the $399 priced Surface Go with 64 GB storage and the $429 priced Apple iPad with 128 GB storage. Both models do come with extra storage and LTE options, which will drive the cost of these tablets to a premium side, so let us stick to the basics. Both tablets do support pen /pencil input and also comes with an option to use the detachable keyboard. In both cases, the accessories have to be bought separately.

Display

The Apple iPad 6th Gen has a 9.7-inch display with a 2048 x 1536 resolution, which offers a 264 pixels per inch, which is a decent pixel density for a tablet. The Microsoft Surface Go has a 10-inch 1800 x 1200 Pixel resolution screen offering a 216 pixels per inch, which is slightly less than the iPad's offering. In terms of display, the Apple iPad 6th Gen is slightly ahead of the Microsoft Surface Go for sure.

Processor

The Microsoft Surface Go is running on the Intel Pentium Gold 4415Y SoC which scores 2943 points on the single core and 5630 points on the multi-core performance. The Apple iPad 6th Gen is running on the Apple A10 fusion chipset, which scores 3297 points on the single core and 5792 points on the multi-core performance. Do note that, these scores are based on the latest Geekbench 4.0 benchmarking platform. It is almost evident that the iPad is ahead in the single core and multicore performance, which should offer faster processing on the 6th Gen iPad.

RAM and Storage

The iPad 6th Gen has 2 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage, whereas the Microsoft Surface Go has 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage. Do note that the Microsoft Surface Go has a micro SD card slot, whereas the Apple iPad does not support storage expansion. If you planning to store a lot of data, then choosing the Surface Go moniker and using a micro SD card for storage expansion seems like a great idea.

Camera

The Apple iPad 6th Gen has an 8 MP primary camera and a 1.2 MP front-facing selfie camera, whereas the Microsoft Surface Go has an 8 MP rear-facing camera and a 5 MP front-facing camera. The iPad 6th Generation can record native 4K videos on the main camera whereas the Microsoft tops at 1080p. However, the Microsoft Surface Go does support Windows Hello, which enables Face Unlock and the iPad 6th Gen has a Touch ID, which is also fast and secure.

Conclusion

The Apple iPad 6th Gen looks like a great device, which dominates the Microsoft Go in Display, camera, and processor and OS. However, the Microsoft Go does support a micro SD card slot up to 1 TB. I prefer the iPad 6th over the Microsoft Go.