With so many great laptops on the shelves, it’s tough to figure out whether to go Apple Macbook or Microsoft Surface Laptop. So to help you out on that front, GOAT has decided to pit the Surface Laptop 3 against its direct competitor, the Macbook Air, and see who emerges as the winner.
Since I was testing the 15-inch version of the Surface Laptop 3 (and because I was curious) I also popped in a comparison with the Macbook Pro, even if that’s like pitting a heavyweight against two lightweights. Anyway, if you’re wondering whether to go Microsoft or Apple, hopefully this will help you out in some way. If not, well I did my best.
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (15-inch)
In this corner, Microsoft’s new beast is something to behold and it’s packing quite the wallop on almost all fronts spec-wise. Since I didn’t get to test the 13-inch model, this is just for the 15-inch model. Here’s the breakdown:
- Price – Starts at $1,999 for the 15-inch. No, it’s not exactly cheap.
- CPU – AMD Ryzen 5 3580U (pretty cutting edge fast) or AMD Ryzen 7 3780U (even more cutting edge fast).
- RAM – 16GB, as per the usual with every laptop of this sort.
- Graphics – AMD Radeon Vega 9 Graphics or AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 Graphics. Both are good to play some decent games and for resource-heavy activities like video editing, but don’t go too hard or you’ll melt something.
- Display – 2496 x 1664 (201 PPI). In other words, it’s very pretty and well lit.
- Battery life – Microsoft says about 11.5 hours but it’s closer to about 8 in reality.
- Storage – 128GB, 256GB, 512GB or 1TB SDD, which is pretty standard.
- Weight – A whopping 1,542g. Easy to carry.
- Size – 340 mm x 244 mm x 15 mm, so it’s not tiny but not enormous.
- Ports – Only 4 disappointingly: 1 USB-C, 1 USB-A, 1 headphone jack and 1 Surface Connect port.
- X factors? – Lots of things to like, like the lovely aluminium design, the large touchpad and the sturdy keyboard that feels like it can withstand some serious typing. It also rocks an awesome touchscreen, which means it can get smudged a bit easily but that’s a small trade-off.
Apple Macbook Air
In the next corner, we have the Surface Laptop 3’s direct competitor, the Macbook Air. This has been one of Apple’s leading models but how does it stack up to the new challenger from Microsoft?
Note that this only comes in a 13-inch size.
- Price – Starts at $1,699. No, it’s not exactly cheap either.
- CPU – Intel Core i5. Not too shabby but it’s peanuts compared to the Surface Laptop 3.
- RAM – 8GB or 16GB. No surprises here.
- Graphics – Intel UHD Graphics 617, which is pretty elementary compared to the Surface Laptop 3.
- Display – 2,560 x 1,600 pixels (227 ppi). In short, it’s also very pretty and well lit.
- Battery life – Apple claims it’s around 12 hours, but it’s also around 8 hours in the real world so more or less the same as Microsoft.
- Storage – 128GB, 256GB, 512GB or 1TB SDD, which is again pretty standard.
- Weight – A scale-wreaking 1.25kg, making it marginally lighter than the Surface Laptop 3. That 200 or so grams makes a massive difference.
- Size – 300 mm x 210 mm x 16 mm, making it noticeably smaller than the Surface Laptop 3 15-inch model and very marginally smaller than the 13-inch model.
- Ports – Only 3 present: 2 USB-C/Thunderbolt and a headphone jack.
- X factors? – It’s lighter and slimmer, and it looks good, as most Apple laptops do. However, it’s got no touchscreen and the build quality of the touchpad and keyboard isn’t quite on the level of the Surface Laptop 3.
Apple Macbook Pro
In the, uh, third corner, it’s Apple’s Macbook Pro and let’s be honest here, this is in another weight class of its own as it’s built for an entirely different purpose compared to the Air and Surface Laptop 3. But let’s break it down anyway using the 15-inch model as the comparison:
- Price – Starts at $3,499 for the 15-inch. Yes, it’ll hurt the wallet.
- CPU – Intel Core i7 or the Intel Core i9. Either one will run laps around the Surface Laptop 3.
- RAM – 16GB. Surprise.
- Graphics – Radeon Pro 555X or Radeon Pro 560X. The Surface Laptop 3 has got nothing on this.
- Display – 2,800 x 1,800 pixels (220 PPI). Even prettier than the other two laptops, though it’s all minuscule at this point for the naked eye.
- Battery life – Apple says about 12 hours but it’s closer to about 10 in reality, which is actually pretty damn good.
- Storage – 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TB or 4TB SDD, which is a LOT of space.
- Weight – A chubby 1.83kg due to all the extra stuff it’s packing. Will give you a slight workout.
- Size – 350 mm x 241 mm x 16 mm. It’s a bit of a unit compared to the other two laptops.
- Ports – It’s rocking 4 USB-C/Thunderbolt ports and a headphone jack. Not great but could be worse.
- X factors? – It’s like a souped up Macbook Air. The massive touchpad beats the Surface Laptop 3’s but again the build quality is suspect. The specs give it an enormous performance boost and is great for resource-heavy activities and gaming, though the latter is limited by how many games are supported by iOS.
Verdict
All in all, the Surface Laptop 3 and Macbook Air are pretty damn similar on many fronts but if I had to choose one to award the belt to, it’ll go to Microsoft. The shiny aluminium design is slick, the better hardware, and the touch screen is an extra bonus that the Air simply doesn’t have.
Compared to the Macbook Pro though, the Surface Laptop 3 has got nothing on it in terms of hardware. Having said that though, the Macbook Pro is aimed more towards professionals who need the extra horsepower while the Surface Laptop 3 is more for the everyday casual crowd.
But at the end of the day, it’s like picking between a Ferrari or a McLaren; both are very similar with their own unique differences, but you won’t be disappointed regardless of your choice because each product is pretty damn top notch.
