Screen resolution comparison: Surface Pro 3 (216 ppi) vs iPad Air (265 ppi)

[saintforlife]

Has any body tried to use the Surface Pro 3 and the iPad Air side-by-side to compare their screen resolutions? Is the lower ppi on the SP3 noticeable enough to make a difference when using the SP3 as a tablet? Are individual pixels visible when reading text and such? Will the larger screen (and hence possibly a farther viewing distance) of the SP3 make up for the lower ppi when compared to the retina display of the iPad?

 

[wynand32]

I have an iPad 3 (same resolution as the iPad Air), as well as a Nexus 10 (299 PPI), and I find the SP3's screen to be comparable in overall quality. I judge resolution based on how well text is rendered, and Windows 8.1 ClearType does an excellent job. I'd say that text is equal among all of the devices, unless you get out your magnifying glass.

Now, there's a big difference between the Desktop and Windows 8.1 modern apps. The latter is where the screen really shines, while the former is a bit of a challenge sometimes. The Desktop is a bit small with the hiDPI screen, something that Microsoft needs to fix (unless their plan is to get rid of the Desktop completely at some point), but I've found it entirely usable. There's a fix for Chrome that needs application, but once it's done then Chrome looks great.

Overall, I enjoy using the SP3 far more than either the iPad or the Nexus 10. It's just far more flexible and versatile, and the screen certainly doesn't hurt the experience, relatively speaking.

 

[jedge]

When the dpi gets this high, i think it's more about software optimization than what your eye can discern.

As stated above, the Modern UI looks gorgeous as do all the apps in it that i've tried. I have the iPad 4th gen and i would say they are equal.

As for the Desktop UI, Microsoft has scaled it on the SP3 to 150% by default, but most people would never know that just by looking because there are no scaling issues whatsoever. Even at 150% the desktop is a bit small, but that exactly how i like it, clear and lots of real estate.
Desktop programs is where things can get ugly, but this is an issue with any hi-res display, not just SP3. IE11 is gorgeous, MS did a great job. I've been told Firefox looks just as good. Chrome is certainly usable but it looks terrible. The code for hi-res is there, but you have to turn it on manually Chrome High DPI: How To Enable It In Windows 8, 8.1 (v34+) | Ubergizmo or download Chrome Canary. Even then it's not as good as IE11.