Why The iPad Pro Just Out-Shipped Microsoft's Surface

IDC stunned on Monday, reporting that the iPad Pro beat combined  Microsoft Surface shipments.

The fourth-quarter figures the market researcher released on Monday showed about 2 million iPad Pros shipped versus 1.6 million Surface products. "Despite lukewarm reviews, the iPad Pro was the clear winner this season as it was the top selling detachable," said Jitesh Ubrani, an IDC analyst, in a statement.

Some quick thoughts about the iPad Pro topping Surface shipments and being compared directly to Surface:

The iPad Pro pegged as a detachable: IDC stuck the iPad Pro in the rising "detachables" category instead of the sinking "slate" category. (Note that the iPad Air is a slate.) So, by this definition, it shot right to the top of the category. But that categorization is debatable. While the Surface Pro's detachable keyboard is sold as an integral part of the package,  Apple doesn't offer its Smart Keyboard as an essential part of the iPad Pro. Or, at least, not nearly as essential a part as the Surface Pro's Type Cover keyboard. The iPad Pro -- I would argue -- is closer to what IDC calls a slate or a standalone tablet (albeit a very pricey slate).

iPad Pro is an extension of Apple's immensely popular mobile OS platform: iOS, as a touch-based mobile (slate) OS, is hands down better than Windows 10. And the iPad is the word's best-selling tablet platform. Tens of millions of consumers already know and like the iPad as a mobile device (compatible with the iPhone) so Apple can effectively make the argument that the iPad Pro is a bigger, more powerful, more versatile iOS device to this large, loyal fan base.

The flip side to that "winning" argument: iOS has limitations (as many iPad Pro reviews have pointed out) as a laptop-replacement operating system. Most detachables run Windows -- a full-fledged desktop/laptop OS -- and thus are marketed as bona fide laptop replacements. Again, IDC, in this respect, could be seen as mixing apples and oranges by saying it out-shipped Surface in that category.

iPad Pro is big, bold, new: The iPad Pro is Apple's newest iPad and was only released in November. It's a big, brash rethink of the iPad. And, needless to say, the initial shipment numbers for an iOS device -- even a pricey one -- are typically pretty high.

That said, I think the numbers for the first quarter of 2016 may be more revealing. Can Apple sustain the 2-million-plus-per-quarter pace?