The iPad Pro + Magic Keyboard is incredible. If you can get past the astronomical cost, it’s so worth it.
The biggest difference is that the Magic Keyboard never fails. Not like it works 95% of the time or even 99% of the time. 100% of the time it types when you expect it to, connects when you want it to, disconnects easily, doesn’t double inputs or skip inputs. There’s nothing I would change about it.
Surface pro keyboard is also incredible--this is coming from someone who used thinkpads for over a decade and has a model M attached to his desktop. It isn't as good as a proper mechanical keyboard, but I'm nearly as fast and accurate on the surface type cover as on a proper keyboard.
To the parent- the surface works fine on a lap, provided you use a case with a solid kickstand (the stand on the actual tablet wants to fold in far too easily). For reference, the reason I abandoned the thinkpad is that I am managing a warehouse and spend ~50% of my day using the surface either standing, on my lap, or haphazardly resting on a pallet of product. I wanted something light and portable, I haven't regretted the tablet decision yet. I seriously considered iPad, but unfortunately it is essentially a phone OS. Win10 isn't the greatest, but it is a full-fledged OS for real work. My only gripe is that it isn't 100% touch optimized, so I can barely use the surface if I don't have the keyboard attached. Oh, and I do dearly miss the trackpoint. However, the keyboard has been great, and with WSL I don't really have any issues with getting the development side of my job done either. I have had a /. account long enough to be considered slightly 'rabid', but as much as it pains me to say Microsoft have made an excellent product.
The biggest difference is that the Magic Keyboard never fails. Not like it works 95% of the time or even 99% of the time. 100% of the time it types when you expect it to, connects when you want it to, disconnects easily, doesn’t double inputs or skip inputs. There’s nothing I would change about it.