When comparing Microsoft Surface Pro 4 vs GeChic 1503i, the Slant community recommends GeChic 1503i for most people. In the question“What are the best touchscreen monitors?” GeChic 1503i is ranked 2nd while Microsoft Surface Pro 4 is ranked 6th. The most important reason people chose GeChic 1503i is:
The GeChic 1503i has no issues related to the responsiveness of its touchscreen, as the monitor uses a single, dedicated USB-A port to connect its touchpad to your computer. The port has enough bandwidth to support fast signal transfer.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Great pen support
The (included) Surface Pen has a very interesting set of features - it allows for 1024 points of pressure, has an eraser on top, and when you click the eraser it will open Cortana (Microsoft's new voice assistant). It's magnetized, so it will stick to the left side of the Surface. The Surface achieves all of this via its new N-trig technology (replacing the Wacom technology found in older generation models). There's also palm rejection technology, so whenever the pen tip it close to the screen is will ignore all finger or palm touches.
Pro Laptop-level specs
The Surface Pro 4 comes in configurations from core M up to a core i7. RAM starts at 4GB, and goes to 16GB. Storage caps out at 256GB of SSD storage, which should be enough for most users. These are all specs that can be found in most laptops - even beating out some budget-midrange desktop options.
Pro Good expandability options
The Surface has a USB 3.0 port that can be used for a mouse to be plugged in, or you can plug in a USB hub or Microsoft's own Surface Dock, which has 4 USB 3.0 ports, audio output, Gigabit Ethernet, and two HD video ports. The Surface Dock allows for as much expandability (or more) as most laptops out there. There's also a SD card slot if you need more storage (current SD card sizes range up to 200GB, although this won't be as fast as the internal SSD speeds).
Pro Responsive touchscreen
The GeChic 1503i has no issues related to the responsiveness of its touchscreen, as the monitor uses a single, dedicated USB-A port to connect its touchpad to your computer. The port has enough bandwidth to support fast signal transfer.
Pro Works with Raspberry Pi
After enabling the ‘HID multi-touch panels’ function, you can use this touchscreen monitor in your Raspberry Pi projects.
Pro Plug and play
The GeChic 1503i doesn’t require any additional software or drivers to work with Windows 7, 8.1, or 10.
Pro Energy-efficient
This monitor doesn’t need more than 10 W of electricity, which is outstanding because even the most energy-efficient desktop monitors on the market need at least 15-20 W of electricity to run.
Pro Portable
The GeChic 1503i’s tiny footprint and low weight make it one of the most portable computer monitors available on the market. This 0.43” thick display weights less than 2.4 pounds.
Pro Ordinary picture quality
In terms of picture quality, the GeChic 1503i performs much like a regular, mid-range laptop, without the actual computer. The monitor’s native contrast ratio and peak brightness are on par with what the average monitors in its price range offer.
The GeChic 1503i displays vivid, if somewhat flat, image. The colors are bright, vibrant and pop thanks to the monitor’s peak brightness of 300 nits. However, the blacks aren’t particularly deep. Dark scenes don't look too good as the monitor’s native contrast ratio of 700:1 just can’t push its blacks to enough intense levels.
Pro Good touchscreen monitor
Not only does the GeChic 1503i offers excellent touchscreen capabilities and high portability, its picture quality, ease of use, and overall energy efficiency are on par with what the majority of competitors in this price range offer.
Pro Has speakers
The monitor has a pair of 1 W speakers.
Cons
Con Expensive
You can find a computer with similar specs for about half the price of the Surface Pro 4. You are paying a premium for the high-end build quality, for the engineering required to manufacture a fully portable computer, as well as for the high resolution touchscreen.
Con Lack of touch-focused apps
Windows has traditionally been a mouse-and-keyboard operating system. Finally, third party apps are starting to become more touch friendly, although it's a long, slow process. The Windows Store still lacks many big titles, which means the only option is to download the regular Windows version of most apps, which are rarely touch-friendly.
Con Limited color space
The GeChic 1503i is not the best choice for media artists working in the sRGB color space, as this monitor supports only 75% of sRGB colors.
Con Limited USB-C connectivity
Unfortunately, the monitor’s USB-C port can be only used for charging, which might be a deal breaker in 2018 as these days, many monitors offer both data and power transfer through the USB-C port.
Con Expensive accessories
You might need to buy some cables and accessories for the GeChic 1503i, which aren’t cheap at all. For example, a simple rear dock adapter will set you back almost $90.