Compare tablets
| Global Score | |
| 77.9 | 66.3 |
| Basic Information | |
| Apple | Microsoft |
| iOS 8.x, 7.x | -- |
| 2013-10-22 | 2015-05-01 |
| 9.45 x 6.67 x 0.30 inches | 10.51 x 7.36 x 0.34 inches |
| 16.86 ounces | 21.92 ounces |
| Black, Gray and White | -- |
| Aluminium | -- |
| Scratch-Resistant Glass | -- |
| $ 273.00 | $ 375.00 |
| Display / Screen | |
| 9.7 inches | 10.8 inches |
| 2048 x 1536 pixels | 1280 x 1920 pixels |
| IPS LCD | -- |
| 264 pixels per inch | 214 pixels per inch |
| Capacitive, Multi-touch | No touch screen |
| 8.2 | 6.8 |
| Performance | |
| Apple A7 chipset | Intel Atom x7 Z8700 chipset |
| 64-bit Cyclone (Dual-Core 1400 MHz) processor | 64-bit, 14 nm (Quad-Core 1600 MHz) processor |
| 1 GB RAM | 4 GB RAM |
| PowerVR G6430 (600 MHz) GPU | Intel HD GPU |
| 9.27 | 8.55 |
| Storage | |
| 128 GB internal memory | 128 GB internal memory |
| No SD card slot | No SD card slot |
| 10.1 | 10.1 |
| Camera | |
| 5.00 MP + 1.20 MP | 8.00 MP + 3.50 MP |
| f/2.40 aperture | -- |
| 33.00mm focal length | -- |
| 1920 x 1080 (30 fps) (Full HD) video resolution | 1920 x 1080 (Full HD) video resolution |
| 7.92 | 6.49 |
| Networks | |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi |
| Mobile Hotspot | -- |
| LTE (4G), HSPA, UMTS, EV-DO A, EV-DO B, EDGE, GPRS, GSM and CDMA | LTE (4G), HSPA and HSUPA |
| Nano SIM | Nano SIM |
| 6.7 | 5.5 |
| Battery Life | |
| 8820mAh Li-Polymer Battery | -- |
| Non-Removable Battery | Non-Removable Battery |
| 9.52 | 1.36 |
| Other Features | |
| Bluetooth 4.0 | Bluetooth 4.0 |
| GPS | GPS |
| Accelerometer, Compass, Gyroscope and Light Sensor | Accelerometer, Compass, Gyroscope, Light Sensor and Proximity Sensor |
Comparison review
IPad Air is better than the Microsoft Surface 3, getting a 77.9 score against 66.3. Despite of the fact that the iPad Air is older than the Microsoft Surface 3, it's design is somewhat thinner and noticeably lighter. IPad Air has just a little better performance than Microsoft Surface 3, because although it has a lower amount of RAM and less and slower processing cores, it also counts with a GPU and a 64-bit processing unit.
The Apple iPad Air counts with a much more vibrant screen than Microsoft Surface 3, because although it has a bit smaller display, it also counts with a little higher 1536 x 2048 resolution and a bit better screen pixels density. The Apple iPad Air and the Microsoft Surface 3 both feature quite similar memory capacity to install applications and games or saving photos and videos, both have the same 128 GB internal storage.
The iPad Air has a really longer battery life than Microsoft Surface 3. The iPad Air captures way better photos and videos than Microsoft Surface 3, although it has a worse 1920x1080 video definition and a camera with lot less MP.
Even being the best tablet in this comparison, the iPad Air is also very cheap compared to the other devices, which makes buying this tablet an easy decision.
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