Long before the iPad Pro went on sale, I had the intention to basically purchase it to replace my laptop. Now my laptop is this guy-- it's a very heavy Windows 10 machine. It has pretty much enough power to edit basic videos but it's super heavy. It's heavy like none other and as a College student, I am always on the go. I need to have something a little bit more mobile and more portable so this guy isn't just cutting it for me.

So when Apple teased this device at the Watch event, I was all aboard the iPad Pro train. But as the launch of the iPad Pro neared, more details emerged. We learned that, first of all, the base model of the iPad Pro would start at about $800 for the Wi-Fi 32GB variant. And we also learned about the accessories and their prices. The accessories that launched along with the iPad Pro of course they are the Apple Pencil and the Apple Smart Keyboard. So if you purchase both of those accessories, it would set you back an additional $100-$300. I knew I didn't want or need the $100 Apple Pencil because I'm not a graphic designer. The only reason I would buy it is to test for all of you. But I did know that I wanted and I needed the Smart Keyboard to take notes and for homework and studying and writing papers. So I was looking at spending at least $970 for the base model iPad Pro and the Smart Keyboard. That's a lot of money no matter who you are, especially considering the device doesn't run full desktop apps. It runs iOS and iOS has come a long way. iOS 9 now features multi-tasking so you can now effectively run two apps on screen at once which is awesome. I'm really jealous that stock Android cannot do that as of right now. But it's not perfect. In fact, most applications do not actually work with the split-screen functionality; which ultimately limits my productivity. For example, when I skipped the video, I opened up Google Drive and I opened up Chrome or a browser like Safari to read search and I can't do that at the same time on the iPad Pro or iOS 9.

As I'm experiencing these limitations or drawbacks, I'm also reflecting on many of the pros of the iPad Pro. For example, the 12.9-inch 2732x2048 resolution display is beautiful. The Apple A9X processor with 4GB of RAM is seriously impressive. It's very fast. The stereo speakers are seriously impressive and the near 10-hour battery life is definitely a pro. These are all features of the iPad Pro that I really love. But I'm also thinking to myself how is the iPad Pro compared to other competing devices?

At around the same time I received the iPad Pro, AT&T actually sent me the Surface 3 LTE because they noticed we (at PhoneDog) haven't reviewed the Surface 3 LTE or the Surface 3. And I personally have yet to use the Surface 3. By no means am I going to compare these two devices in this video. But there are a few things I do like about the Surface 3 and the Surface 3 LTE. First of all, not only do I like the fact that I can save some money with the Surface 3 but I can run two full applications at once on the same screen and it's very portable just like the iPad Pro. So those are really the two or three things I'm looking for and the Surface 3 can also do those things.

I'm returning my iPad Pro because it doesn't execute these specific tasks I need it to. And there are more affordable devices on the market that do. It also didn't help that the Smart Keyboard and the Apple Pencil have been delayed due to shortages. And in my view, a physical keyboard is just absolutely essential for the iPad Pro. It's absolutely essential for my workflow.

If you share a similar viewpoint as I do, I encourage you to not settle. Don't be afraid to return the device if it doesn't meet your standards. The iPad Pro is a fantastic device but it's not made for everyone. If it doesn't perform the way you imagined it would or you intended to, you'd be doing yourself an injustice by keeping it.

We live in a beautiful time where we as a consumer have many options to choose from. So with that said, I really hope I made you think a little bit more about your past, current or future purchases.