One of the better comparison reviews I've seen, FINALLY highlighting important differences in these "pro" labeled devices like desktop apps and trackpad.

Two other things that should've been pointed out though:

- Under "Split-screen multitasking", the surface can split screen up to 4 apps or put many more in cascaded Windows. IPad pro can ONLY do two at once, no more.

- the surface pen has a working eraser and a 1-year battery life; the apple pencil has no eraser and only a 12-hour charge.

All in all, pretty embarassing for the iPad Pro. Can't understand why anyone would buy this "Pro" device. But I think they'll sell, because people buy what most other people buy, and ultimately they all buy the hype.

Also one other huge difference - the surface pro can extend it's display onto a second (and third) screen, whereas the iPad Pro can only duplicate its screen onto a second display.

I just went to Microsoft's website and when I looked at what they have available, they only show i5 and i7 versions. They start at $999, not $899. Also, can the i5 version that's priced similar to the iPad Pro do 4K video editing as well? I believe that the power of the A9X is more comparable to the i7, which is considerably more expensive.
As far as how many apps one is going to use in a 13inch screen, MOST people use one or two apps on the screen at the same time, not much room to be usable with more applications than that. Being able to run more than 2 apps on the screen at the same time is done so rarely on a 13 inch screen, it's hardly worth even mentioning. That to me is hyping Windows with something that's simply not done that often, if at all.
No hands on comparison between the stylus, so which one performs better?
Just because something has a full blown OS doesn't mean it's better, most people just simply want to use an app and not have to play around with a file system, because there is not much need for it anymore due to Cloud computing. People can still run powerful enough applications on an iPad and if they want to run a more powerful application, they'll be using a REAL workstation class computer. The Surface Pros are more like notebook, they aren't even classified as Ultra Books or even a full fledged Laptop.
I don't think IBM and other major corporations are buying into the hype, they are buying iPad because they are easier to deploy, support and they do what the users want/need without overcomplicating the product with a bloated OS that's just not as easy to use. Ever look at IBM's latest comparison on what they have with IT Support? Only 5% of the Apple users at IBM need IT support, whereas 40% of the Windows users need IT support. IBM has 130,000 Apple devices and they only need 24 people to support them. That can't be done with Windows, it's a much more support oriented product.

RichDavis - "I don't think IBM and other major corporations are buying into the hype, they are buying iPad because they are easier to deploy, support and they do what the users want/need without overcomplicating the product with a bloated OS that's just not as easy to use. Ever look at IBM's latest comparison on what they have with IT Support? Only 5% of the Apple users at IBM need IT support, whereas 40% of the Windows users need IT support. IBM has 130,000 Apple devices and they only need 24 people to support them. That can't be done with Windows, it's a much more support oriented product."
Me- Where are you getting these stats from? And you have to look at usage of the product. I highly doubt employees use their iPads to do any real work. Even is they're using macs, I've never seen anyone doing drafting, etc on Apple products. And any coding guys I know mainly use Windows desktops, with some Linux thrown in for good measure, lol.
When I went to AT&T for my latest phone, the reps all carried around 2 iPads. They carried 2, because they switched back and forth when one would freeze up. Not exactly confidence inspiring...
Now as for Surface Pro 4 vs iPad Pro, I would definitely go with the Surface (I'm sure you already guessed that). It's a true PC substitute. I'm hoping I can talk my company into one (or the Surface book) for my next PC. I doubt iPad Pro can handle Inventor Pro.

I don't really understand comparisons between iOS devices and full blown systems from MS and Apple. iOS is awesome at what it does best - presenting a "computer lite" experience. It compels companies to create software that can exploit its strengths while having to mitigate the weaknesses. I use iOS devices (6 Plus and iPad mini), and enjoy them thoroughly. I also use a Surface Pro. The devices just don't compare well in terms of versatility. I'd even go so far as to say that my Surface was a far superior tool even in the college learning environment. Everything from note taking to doing assignments to logging in to complete assignments was far easier and less restrictive in the full blown operating system than on the limited iOS.

That said, when companies to step up and really do the work to fit into iOS, the results can be pretty amazing. Adobe is still evolving their PS suite for use in iOS, but five minutes in PS Fix will show anyone just how much can be done on the platform. What is happening, though, is a virtual pile of specific process apps that do the work of a single piece of computer software. I currently have PS Sketch, Fix, Mix, Lightroom, Express, Touch, beHance, Revel, and Creative Cloud on my phone and iPad. There is some overlap in these apps, but I can do more than all those combined with PSCC and LRCC on my Surface Pro.

This is a good example of different horses for different courses. I imagine I'll always have a need for both types of devices, though I can't see ever needing the "Pro" version of an iPad. That's just me, though.

Easy decision. I have wasted way to much money and more than way too much time with Microsoft software incompetence in the past. Apple is too expensive - always - upfront that is. They last longer, are more useful longer, and the time/effort/frustration I have saved these last ten years of only using Microsoft when I absolutely have to - thankfully less and less as time goes on - pays me back for the money spent on the initial outlay. And... I am presently using a 10 year old Mac that is STILL capable of the latest upgrades and is still powerful enough to be used as my primary machine. In 10 years I would spend double upgrading Windows platform machines when comparing to the initial outlay of my Mac. Let's see - easier to use, more reliable, much less frustrating, and overall I do save money. Nah - let's dump the common sense and go back to Micro(brain)soft.
I have always tried to keep an open mind and hope Microsoft will produce something worthy of being called anything other than a frustration system. And I will continue to do so. Been doing it since before Windows 95 - nothing yet.
And, BTW - Apple is far from perfect also. They are just the light-years-ahead option between the two, Unfortunately their software is becoming more and more Micro(brain)soft-like since Jobs is not there to correct them anymore.

Comparing a high powered general purpose computer (surface) to an overgrown cell phone (iPad) is just plain stupid.
They do not service the same application space, perform the same tasks, etc.
The only way you can compare these if you live your life with only a browser and angry bird type games.
If you only need this, then why not a quad core atom-based tablet for half the price of the iPad?
Apples and oranges. I work for a living and I use more than a browser, no overgrown cell phone for me thanks.

I think iPad Pro will be a huge success just because it will be the first ever biggest screen tablet that run on App Store and everyone knows that App Store is just so much bigger, better, and have more variety than Google Play.

RichDavis "I believe that the power of the A9X is more comparable to the i7..."
Yes, Rich, and 1 in 4 Americans believe that the sun revolves around the earth. Believing doesn't make some things true. Wait until the benchmarks come out for the iPad Pro and tell us whether you still believe that the A9X is as powerful as the i7 in the Surface Pro 4.
Here are some benchmark comparisons between the lowly i5 Surface Pro 4 and iPad Air 2 from Anandtech. (Yes, the iPad Pro will do better than the Air 2.)
WebXPRT 2015: SP4 - 326; Air2 - 164 (higher is better) Google Octane V2: SP4 - 30,064; Air2 - 10,457 (higher is better) Kraken 1.1: SP4 - 1,178.9; Air2 - 2,367.0 (lower is better)
Plus, the average GeekBench scores for the iPad Air 2 are 1809 and 4528 (Single and Multi-Core, respectively). For comparison, the current Geekbench scores for the i5 Surface Pro 4 range from 2975 to 3211 (single core) and 6264 to 6759 (multi-core).

Was waiting for iPad Pro to be released and later decide if I should buy iPad Pro or Surface Pro 4, looked at multiple reviews, most favoring Surface Pro 4. Below review was a decent comparison between the two.
Surface Pro 4 has desktop-class processors ranging up to the Core i7 vs. the iPad Pro’s mobile ARM processor
RAM up to 16GB vs. the iPad Pro’s 4GB maximum Storage up to 1TB vs. the iPad Pro’s 128GB maximum
USB port for easily connecting a broad array of industry-standard devices
Dedicated docking solutions that dramatically expand peripheral support
Multi-monitor support up to two external monitors (a total of three independent workspaces)
Built-in microSD card support with support for external application installation
Complete support for all third-party input devices, including keyboards, mice, trackpads, joysticks, etc.
My decision was just made easier, thank you for all the informative reviews.