Apple
Apple iPad Pro 13-inch (M5)
$1299
Released 2025-10
Best Tablets · head-to-head
Apple iPad Pro 13-inch (M5) vs Microsoft Surface Pro 11th Edition
A sourced, side-by-side comparison. Microsoft Surface Pro 11th Edition is cheaper at $999. Every spec and price links to its source.
Microsoft
Microsoft Surface Pro 11th Edition
$999Cheaper
Released 2024-06
Which is better: the Apple iPad Pro 13-inch (M5) or Microsoft Surface Pro 11th Edition?
The Microsoft Surface Pro 11th Edition wins 2 of the 3 specs we compare head to head; the other wins 1. The Microsoft Surface Pro 11th Edition is the cheaper at $999. The Microsoft Surface Pro 11th Edition both leads on specs and costs less — the straightforward pick.
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Key specs, head to head
The numbers that decide it, drawn to scale — longer bar wins, the accent bar is the stronger figure.
Full spec sheet
✓ marks the stronger figure where "more" — or "less", for price and weight — is unambiguously better.
| Spec | Apple iPad Pro 13-inch (M5) | Microsoft Surface Pro 11th Edition |
|---|---|---|
| US price | $1299 MSRP, Wi-Fi, 256GB | $999 |
| Brand | Apple | Microsoft |
| Released | 2025-10 | 2024-06 |
| Display (in) | 13 | 13 |
| Display type | Tandem OLED (Ultra Retina XDR) | IPS LCD (PixelSense Flow) |
| Refresh (Hz) | 120 | 120 |
| Chipset | Apple M5 | Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus (10-core) |
| RAM (GB) | 12 | 16 |
| Storage (GB) | 256 | 256 |
| Battery (mAh) | 10207 | 12565 |
| Weight (g) | 579 | 895 |
| OS | iPadOS 19 | Windows 11 Home |
| Stylus support | Apple Pencil Pro, Apple Pencil USB-C | Surface Slim Pen 2 (sold separately) |
| Cellular | Yes | No |
| Release | 2025-10 | 2024-06 |
Sources — Apple iPad Pro 13-inch (M5): support.apple.com (verified 2026-06-15). Microsoft Surface Pro 11th Edition: en.wikipedia.org (verified 2026-06-15).
What's the difference between the Apple iPad Pro 13-inch (M5) and Microsoft Surface Pro 11th Edition?
Where the two actually differ on the specs we track (8 of 11). Matching specs are omitted.
- Display type: Apple iPad Pro 13-inch (M5) Tandem OLED (Ultra Retina XDR) vs Microsoft Surface Pro 11th Edition IPS LCD (PixelSense Flow)
- Chipset: Apple iPad Pro 13-inch (M5) Apple M5 vs Microsoft Surface Pro 11th Edition Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus (10-core)
- RAM (GB): Apple iPad Pro 13-inch (M5) 12 vs Microsoft Surface Pro 11th Edition 16
- Battery (mAh): Apple iPad Pro 13-inch (M5) 10207 vs Microsoft Surface Pro 11th Edition 12565
- Weight (g): Apple iPad Pro 13-inch (M5) 579 vs Microsoft Surface Pro 11th Edition 895
- OS: Apple iPad Pro 13-inch (M5) iPadOS 19 vs Microsoft Surface Pro 11th Edition Windows 11 Home
- Stylus support: Apple iPad Pro 13-inch (M5) Apple Pencil Pro, Apple Pencil USB-C vs Microsoft Surface Pro 11th Edition Surface Slim Pen 2 (sold separately)
- Cellular: Apple iPad Pro 13-inch (M5) true vs Microsoft Surface Pro 11th Edition false
What reviewers say
Sourced tester consensus for each — the "what people who used it think" layer, not just specs.
Apple iPad Pro 13-inch (M5)
Two whitelisted hands-on reviews (Tom's Guide, Engadget), both testing the 13-inch M5 iPad Pro, agree it is the best tablet available: a stunning tandem OLED, fast M5 performance and a far more capable iPadOS 26 multitasking system, but prohibitively expensive and a negligible upgrade over the M4. (2 sourced reviews, 2 lab-tested.)
Praised: Stunning tandem OLED display, praised by both as among the best screens they've seen on a portable device; Fast, powerful M5 performance, especially for GPU/AI-heavy tasks; Extremely thin, light, premium aluminum design.
Flagged: Prohibitively expensive, made worse by costly Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil Pro peripherals; Negligible upgrade over the M4 — not worth upgrading for M4 owners.
Microsoft Surface Pro 11th Edition
Two whitelisted testers (Tom's Hardware, PCWorld) lab-benchmarked this exact Snapdragon X Elite X1E-80-100 model (16GB/512GB, OLED). Both praise the bright OLED display, long battery life on light/native workloads, and strong native-Arm/plugged-in performance. Both flag Windows-on-Arm app-compatibility gaps, no bundled keyboard, and battery/thermals collapsing under heavy or emulated workloads. Both found Copilot+ AI features underwhelming. (2 sourced reviews, 2 lab-tested.)
Praised: Bright, vivid OLED display (measured 564 and 529 nits); Long battery life on light/native workloads (12-13+ hours); Strong performance on native Arm apps and when plugged in.
Flagged: Windows-on-Arm app compatibility gaps; some apps/games won't run; Copilot+ AI features underwhelming / not fully there; Keyboard and stylus cost extra (not in box).