At its June 2019 Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple unveiled some significant changes to the iPad operating system, even christening the revamped version with a new name all its own: iPadOS. The changes bring Apple’s flagship tablet, especially the iPad Pro models, closer to the “hybrid PC” category that Microsoft has staked out with its Surface Pro line.
From a hardware standpoint, the latest 12.9-inch iPad Pro, with the addition of the Smart Folio Keyboard and an Apple Pencil, is remarkably similar to Microsoft’s Surface Pro 6, especially when viewed from the side. (The newer Surface Pro 7 is exactly the same size and shape as the Surface Pro 6, with only one noteworthy new feature: a USB Type-C port.)
