The biggest issue with the iPad Pro is macos. It should either run macos, or get a compatibility layer that runs macos programs, but Apple's sitting on this fence for a decade neither pushing the mac to get touch, nor letting the iPad become desktop class.
> Too bad Qualcom/Samsung/Mediatek can't figure out how to compete with Apple
I'd argue Microsoft did, and they're at their 9th iteration of a decently good product. As do Dell, Huawei, ASUS and the other makers shipping windows tablets. They're definitely there on the "Pro" side.
Samsung also pushed some pretty good devices on the Chromebook side, which I'd argue is a more direct competitor to iPad if it comes to elderly or kids in school where you need a more constrained and touch first experience.
I've said this in other places, but the biggest issue with the Surface lineup is that the Go line is ... just garbage performance wise, absolutely unusable in my experience (despite really really wanting to use it, and basically just using it for PDF annotations!). And the Pro line is good! But it has no 11-inch line and (importantly) it costs so much compared to iPads. If you are looking for a high-end tablet with some pen/pencil input, an iPad Pro 11 inch is the cheap option!
It's kind of frustrating, because I think what's happening here is that the Surface Go line makes a lot of money, and a 11-inch-but-fast thing would probably be popular but have less juicy margins.
I see the Surface Go line in the same position as the iPad mini. Some people love it but I think it's heavily polirazing.
On the price, tbh I was only looking at the 13 inch line as that's the standard A4 size, but I get it's not ideal if portability is a priority. At 13 inch a 1000+ price is competitive with the iPad Pro, but for smaller size/prices the Huawei or Dell tablets could be a better value.
> Too bad Qualcom/Samsung/Mediatek can't figure out how to compete with Apple
I'd argue Microsoft did, and they're at their 9th iteration of a decently good product. As do Dell, Huawei, ASUS and the other makers shipping windows tablets. They're definitely there on the "Pro" side.
Samsung also pushed some pretty good devices on the Chromebook side, which I'd argue is a more direct competitor to iPad if it comes to elderly or kids in school where you need a more constrained and touch first experience.