$2,500 Tablet Showdown: Surface Pro 4 vs VAIO Z Canvas

[vladi]

The ULTIMATE showdown of high end, desktop replacement tablets all the money can buy right now and they both run Windows 10. Sorry Apple bye, bye for now.

Truth is probably about 85% of Windows 10 tablet users wont even opt for this high spec models and high pricing because Office work, web surfing and video streaming works quite well on basic spec tablet. About 99% of any tablet users wont go for this either. But if you require horsepower to get your image retouching, vector drawing, 3D modeling and even audio production then you belong into those 1% of potential tablet users that would use their tablet as desktop replacement.

Right now there are only two kind of tablet that offer desktop replacement experience (three if you count Surface Book) Microsoft Surface Pro 4 and VAIO Z Canvas

There is a little back story with this showdown though. When VAIO announced its pricing everyone dismissed it right away for being Apple like priced and claiming how Surface Pro 4 will take it out spec and price wise. Truth is very few people actually went on and took a look at VAIO specs but now that we are familiar with SP4 specs and pricing things are getting a little bit more settled and we can have some common ground.

What will $2,500 give you when it comes the greatest desktop replacement tablets ever built so far.

In both case you will get 12.3" Touch Screen, Core i7 CPU, 512GB SSD, 16GB RAM, Integrated GPU, Pen and Keyboard. But when we dig deeper that's where similarities end.

12.3" Touch Screen
SP4: 2763 x 1824, 10 point multi-touch, palm detecion
VCZ: 2560 x 1704, 95% Adobe RGB spectrum, Glossy display (anti-smudge), button to turn off capacitive touch

Core i7 CPU
SP4: Skylake i7-U dual-core
VCZ: Haswell i7-4770HQ quad-core

GPU
SP4: Iris 500 series
VCZ: Iris Pro 5200

Storage
SP4: 512GB SSD (SATA or PCIe)
VCZ: 512GB SSD PCIe x4

Pen
SP4: New Surface Pen (N-trig) with 1024 levels of pressure sensitivity
VCZ: VAIO branded N-trig 2 with 1024 levels of pressure sensitivity achieved either via software or proprietary hardware modification

Keyboard
SP4: Magnetic attachment, Fingerprint scanner, mechanical keys, glass touchpad 5 point-multitouch, size in mm 295 x 216 x 4.65
VCZ: Detachable, charges when attached to tablet or via micro USB, RF connection, mechanical keys, (not really good) touchpad, size in mm 301 x 213 x 4.4

Ports
SP4: On tablet: USB 3.0, microSD, MiniDP, Headset Jack.
On Surface Dock: MiniDP x2, LAN, USB 3.0 x4, Audio out
VCZ: All on tablet: USB 3.0 x2 (charging), Full-size SD, MiniDP (4K), HDMI (4K), LAN, Headset Jack

Battery
SP4: Up to 9 hours of video playback
VCZ: 63Wh approximately 5 hours of rt usage

Weight
SP4: Tablet 1.73lbs (785g) Keyboard 0.64lbs (290g)
VCZ: Tablet 2.67lbs (1,211g) Keyboard 0.75lbs (340g)

Cameras
SP4: 8.0 megapixel rear-facing autofocus camera with 1080p HD video recording, 5.0 megapixel front-facing HD camera
VCZ: 8.0 megapixel rear-facing CMOS sensor 8 megapixel camera, 1.0 megapixel CMOS sensor HD front-facing web camera front-facing

Dimensions
SP4: 292mm x 201mm x 8.45mm + 4.65mm attached Keyboard
VCZ: 301mm x 213mm x 13.6mm + 4.4mm attached Keyboard

Pricing
SP4: Tablet $2,199 + Keyboard $159 + Surface Dock $199
VCZ: Tablet $2,599

Kickstand in action
SP4

VCZ

Choose your weapon wisely.

 

[gamegurunaga]

Great comparison list.

The Vaio pen also has a new mechanism for countering parallax inaccuracies which may be helpful for designers. I read (on a Japanese site) that the Canvas will get a Skylake refresh in the Spring.

It's a good competition. Someone's gotta keep Wacom and MS on their toes!

 

[digbel]

That VAIO stand just doesnt look stable enough, especially for drawing...

Cool comparison though!

 

[boltman2013]

Vaio Z hands down the SP4 is not a $2500 good idea..pretty much meets diminishing returns past the $1000 (including type cover) price point. Where as the Z is premium all the way at that level and designed for that price point.

Now if you were to compare the Surface Book and Vaio Z then we have a tougher decision.

 

[WildKarrde]

The SP4 is more powerful, has a better GPU, has a higher resolution display, maaaaaybe better battery life, better kick stand (IMHO), far better front mounted camera (Hello!), is a heck of a lot lighter, and is cheaper too.

The VAIO Z has what appears to be a wireless keyboard, which is kinda cool, but probably part of why the battery lasts less, and is a feature I don't see myself ever using. It doesn't take much to convince me the stylus could be better, I think it can sense the angle it's held at.

And other than that... it's a really, really nice packaging of outdated hardware. Still a fantastic machine, but not a $2500 machine, IMHO. It was a clear winner against the SP3, but it's not fair to compare it to the SP4 yet. Wait until Spring, when the VIAO Z has a Skywell processor, then it very well could be king of the hill again.

 

[stunnrock]

Can the keyboard of the Surface Pro still be used when it isn't attached?
How do the stands compare in real-world use (i.e. with the palm resting against them whilst drawing)?

 

[boltman2013]

Can the keyboard of the Surface Pro still be used when it isn't attached?
How do the stands compare in real-world use (i.e. with the palm resting against them whilst drawing)?

Not as intended..as a drink coaster sure

 

[MatthewKennedy]

The SP4 in it's highest spec'd model is no-where near as powerful as the Vaio Z Canvas. The Vaio has a QUAD Core processor with IRIS PRO graphics...

It may be a couple generations old, but the 5th generation didn't really bring much to the table, hence why everyone skipped it and you don't find those processors widely available with any pre-built Desktops, Laptops or Tablets. Processor-wise, if you were comparing a Dual core of the 4th gen (vaio gen) to the current Dual core of the 6th gen (SP4 gen) then you would be looking at roughly a 30% increase of processing power with the SP4 but instead the i7 Quad core of the 4th gen is probably about 50% faster than the current 6th gen i7 Dual core. Plus it has IRIS Pro. If it was only backed by a dual core, it would probably be on par with if not slightly better than the current IRIS standard, but again, that trusty CPU comes into play making the Vaio the stand out again by a long shot.

The actual amount of pixels displayed is slightly less in the Vaio (you couldn't tell the difference) but the accuracy of what is being displayed is significantly better.

The weight is certainly a let down on the Vaio but when you're talking the most powerful tablet on the planet you've got to excuse it for being slightly heavier.

Don't get me wrong, I love the SP4 and will likely buy one (because I've been waiting for a Surface device which I thought was up to the standard I could accept and it now is). I would go the Vaio but I really need my tablet to be portable and despite the Vaio making me stand up while I'm sitting down, it's the weight of it that kills it for me (even though I said you should excuse it for it's weight). I'm contemplating whether or not to wait for Vaio to release their next tablet or just get the top end SP4 now.

If my wife wouldn't kill me, I'd get the SP4 now and the next gen Vaio when it's released.

 

[Coachs Corner]

drink coaster ha ha ha ha u made me laugh all night u got that right , good sense of humor

 

[anon(5327127)]

Question: Can the surface Pro 3/4 keyboard be used as a wireless device?

Not as intended..as a drink coaster sure

It could but MS has discontinued that option. Oh how people have short memories:

https://forums.windowscentral.com/e...yping-covers%3Fos%3Dwindows-10&token=4gpukprW

 

[anon(5327127)]

The SP4 in it's highest spec'd model is no-where near as powerful as the Vaio Z Canvas. The Vaio has a QUAD Core processor with IRIS PRO graphics...

I'm pretty sure that the Intel HD Iris 540 beats the 5200. Of course we'd need to review the exact cpus against each other but for gaming we have this: The 520, which isn't as fast as the 540)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7VxCzb1NR4

Previous gen tech isn't 'always' faster but you could be right.

 

[Cane Prevost]

You can now get the entry level Vaio Z canvas for around a thousand bucks which is a good buy. It will run circles around Surface Pro or Book. Quad core processor in this tiny package is insane. Battery life has to suck though.