Microsoft Flaunts Surface Pro 4, Says Apple’s Smart Keyboard Doesn’t Make iPad Pro a ‘Real Computer’

It seems as if Microsoft is at it again..

In the latest installment of the long and well-documented Surface Pro 4 vs. iPad Pro rivalry, the Redmond, Washington-based software-turned-hardware-giant takes perhaps its most pointed jabs yet at Apple’s iPad Pro — while, at the same time, promoting the company’s own Surface Pro 4 tablet-hybrid computer.

In the latest ad spot, Microsoft unleashes a few coy shots at Apple’s iPad Pro — and, more specifically, the Cupertino-company’s recent “What’s a Computer?” iPad Pro advertising campaign.

Literally less than two weeks after the aforementioned ad began making the rounds, Microsoft has responded with a rather clever counter attack, which shows the two devices, side-by-side, amidst a traditional white backdrop. Perhaps more specifically, however, it’s a duel between their respective virtual voice assistants — Siri and Cortana — hashing it out like old grade-school buddies catching up down at the local pub.

Cortana, Microsoft’s counterweight to Apple’s Siri, asks its rival “why she’s throwing a party?” — to which Siri responds that the “celebration” is because iPad Pro “just got a keyboard!”

In a somewhat comical twist, the iPad Pro then says to the Surface Pro 4 that it’s a computer now — “just like you.”

Apple’s iPad Pro has so far been rather successful in garnering interest from the general public; however, Microsoft’s new ad is clearly garnered to be a swift blow to the Cupertino-company’s jumbo-sized tablet. What’s perhaps most surprising here is that Microsoft’s rebuttal to Apple’s “What’s a Computer?” campaign is coming about 15 calendar days after it initially hit the airwaves.

In the ad, Microsoft’s Surface Pro 4 takes swift and pungent shots at Apple’s iPad Pro — noting how the former (most spec’d out model) runs on Intel’s latest Core i7 processors and is capable of running the full version of Microsoft Office — not just a watered-down version of the application, such as you’d find in the Apple App Store.

As if that wasn’t enough to destroy the iPad Pros integrity (and, not to mention, likely hurt its feelings pretty bad), Cortana also notes how the Surface Pros attachable keyboard features a slew of additional enhancements — including a laptop-style trackpad — as well as the availability of several external ports on the tablet computer-hybrid, itself — such as a single USB 3.0 port, a Mini Display Port, as well as Microsoft’s proprietary Surface Connect.

The ad concludes with Cortana boldly proclaiming that “Surface Pro does more!” — to which Siri concedes, admitting that maybe the keyboard celebration “wasn’t such a good idea” after all.

You can check out the entire Ad, which is provided below for your enjoyment!

Tablet computers, including Apple’s iPad, have long been considered first and foremost as content consumption devices — particularly because, not only do they lack many of the features of a fully-fledged laptop computer, but they’re also unable to run many of the apps that make a computer, a computer, in the first place. Even still, that hasn’t stopped Apple from repeatedly seeking to differentiate the iPad Pro from other tablets on the market — primarily by touting that many aspects of the behemoth device make it superior to most mainstream tablets on the market.

Then again, this new ad is almost certainly a direct shot at the sales performance of Apple’s iPad Pro. While sales of iPads, generally speaking, have been dwindling in recent years, the company’s latest 9.7- and 12.9-inch iPad Pros have actually outsold Microsoft’s Surface Pro — and they’ve only been on the market for a little less than a year and 6-months, respectively. So that kind of says a lot, wouldn’t you agree?

What do you think about this ad? Are you #TeamSurfacePro or #TeamiPadPro? Let us know in the comments!