MacBook Air vs Surface Laptop Copilot+
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At launch, Apple said the M3 MacBook Air is the fastest consumer laptop ever level with artificial intelligence, and Microsoft is ready to challenge it. Can Microsoft claim the crown with the Surface Laptop Copilot+?
During a special Microsoft event on May 20, the company introduced a new line of Windows PCs called “Copilot+ PC.” The initiative aims to make consumers aware that they can take advantage of artificial intelligence processing on sleek laptops.
Given that Apple uses Neural Engine in its products, this is something that has been in the Mac line for many years. It was first used in the A-series chips for the iPhone and iPad, and then became a core part of Apple Silicon's strategy.
Microsoft's release included the new Surface Laptop, the entry-level model in the lineup. Offered in two sizes, it seems appropriate to contrast them with Apple's own entry-level laptop offering, the MacBook Air.
MacBook Air vs Surface Copilot+ – Specifications
| Specifications | Apple M3 MacBook Air (2024) | Microsoft Surface Copilot+ Laptop PC |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | $1,099 (13-inch), $1,299 (15-inch) Best MacBook Air 13 M3-inch prices Best prices for M3 MacBook Air 15-inch |
$999.99 (13.8-inch), $1,299.99 (15-inch) Best Prices on Surface Laptops |
| Dimensions (inches) | 11.97 x 8.46 x 0.44 (13 inches), 13.40 x 9.35 x 0.45 (15 inches) |
11.85 x 8.67 x 0.69 (13.8 inches), 12.96 x 9.41 x 0.72 (15-inch) |
| Weight (lbs) | 2.7 (13-inch), 3.3 (15 inches) |
2.96 (13.8 inches), 3.67 (15 inches) |
| Display | 13.6 inches Liquid Retina, 15.3- Liquid Retina, Wide Color (P3), True Tone |
PixelSense Flow, 13.8 inches, PixelSense Flow, 15 inches, sRGB and Vivid color profiles, >Adaptive color and contrast, 3:2 aspect ratio, 10-point multi-touch |
| Resolution | 2560 x 1664 (13-inch), 2880 x 1864 (15-inch) |
2304 x 1536 (13.8 inches), 2496 x 1664 (15 inches) |
| Processor | 8-core Apple M3 | Snapdragon X Plus (13.8 inches only), Snapdragon X Elite, Qualcomm Hexagon NPU |
| Graphics | 8 -core GPU (13″ only) 10-core GPU |
Qualcomm Adreno GPU |
| Memory | 8 GB, 16 GB, 24 GB |
16 GB, 32 GB |
| Memory | 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB |
256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB |
| Battery life | Up to 18 hours of movie playback in the Apple TV app | Up to 20 hours of local video playback (13.8 inches), Up to 22 hours (15 inches) |
| Network | Wi-Fi 6E Bluetooth 5.3 |
Wi-Fi 7 Bluetooth 5.4 |
| Biometrics | Touch ID | Windows Hello |
| Camera | 1080p FaceTime HD | Full HD 1080p Camera with Windows Hello |
| Audio | Four-speaker audio system (13-inch), Six-speaker audio system (15-inch), three-microphone array with directional beamforming, voice isolation and wide-spectrum microphone modes, Headphone jack with support for high-impedance headphones, Dolby Atmos support for Spatial Audio |
Omnisonic speakers, Dolby Atmos, Dual studio dual microphones with voice focus |
| Ports | Two Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports 3.5mm headphones, MagSafe 3 |
Two USB 4 ports, USB-A 3.1, 3.5 mm headphones, Surface Connect port, MicroSDXC card reader (15 inches) |
MacBook Air vs Surface Laptop Copilot+ – Physical Dimensions
Made from aluminum, the MacBook Air ditched the old wedge-shaped appearance for a more industrial-looking MacBook Pro. Available in 13-inch and 15-inch variants, it also offers consumers a choice of screen and physical size.
The new Surface Laptop follows much of the same path. Made from a body crafted from recycled aluminum alloy, it also follows the flat-slab aesthetic, albeit with a slight taper from the back to the front.
Like the 13-inch and 15-inch variants of the MacBook Air, Microsoft also offers two versions of the Surface Laptop. In this case it is 13.8 inches and 15 inches.
In terms of footprint, the MacBook Air measures 11.97 by 8.46 inches and 13.40 by 9.35 inches, respectively. Microsoft's offerings are 11.85 by 8.67 inches and 12.96 by 9.41 inches.
Microsoft's chosen 3.2 aspect ratio makes Microsoft's screens a little squarer, but overall the laptops are very similar.
MacBook Air vs Surface Laptop Copilot+ – Microsoft offers two Surface Laptop sizes: 13.8 inches and 15 inches.
In terms of thickness, Apple laptops are 0.44 and 0.45 inches thick, while the Surface is 0.69 inches for the 13.8-inch model and 0.72 inches for the 15-inch model.
The laptops' weights are closer to Apple's, with models weighing 2.7 and 3.3 pounds lighter than Microsoft's models at 2.96 pounds and 3.67 pounds.
MacBook Air and Surface Laptop Copilot+ – display
Apple displays are Liquid Retina with sizes of 13.6 and 15.3 inches and a cutout for the camera on the top side. Supporting Wide Color (P3) and True Tone, they also manage to deliver 500 nits of brightness.
Microsoft offers PixelSense Flow displays in 13.8-inch and 15-inch sizes. They have sRGB and Vivid color profiles, as well as adaptive color and contrast.
Apple resolutions are 2560 by 1664 and 2880 by 1864, depending on size. Meanwhile, Microsoft is opting for 2304 by 1536 pixels for the 13.8-inch model and 2496 by 1664 for the 15-inch model.
In terms of pixel density, the MacBook Air reaches 224 pixels per inch, while the Surface reaches 201ppi.
Apple doesn't say what the contrast ratios of its displays are, but Microsoft says its Surfaces have contrast ratios of 1400:1 and 1300:1, depending on the size. However, Microsoft doesn't mention brightness, and Apple says it can reach 500 nits.
M3 MacBook Air
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MacBook Air vs Surface Laptop Copilot+ – Performance
13- inch MacBook Air is available with two M3 processor configurations, both using an eight-core processor with cores evenly split between efficiency and performance. The difference lies in the GPU, with a choice of 8-core or 10-core chips, although the 15-inch variant only offers a 10-core GPU.
There is also the Apple Media Engine, which can handle video encoding and decoding functions, which can speed up some creative workflows.
Then there's the Neural Engine, which is still a 16-core component capable of over 18 trillion operations per second. This element performs all machine learning tasks for applications.
In both models, Microsoft uses the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite chipset, and the 13.8-inch model also has the X Plus option.
The Snapdragon X Plus is powered by a 10-core Oryon processor coupled with a Qualcomm Adreno GPU. The Elite version has a 12-core processor.
The NPU used in Surface Laptop has twice the performance of the Neural Engine M3.
There is also a Qualcomm Hexagon NPU processor for neural processing, essentially a version of the Apple Neural Engine. In this case, Microsoft says the Hexagon NPU can perform up to 45 trillion operations per second.
According to Microsoft's marketing company, these chips can outperform the 15-inch MacBook Air in “sustained multi-threaded performance” by almost 58%.
In terms of memory, Apple offers unified memory capacities of 8GB, 16GB, and 24GB. Microsoft offers 16GB or 32GB of LPDDR5x RAM.
Benchmarks for the 15-inch MacBook Air showed 2596 and 9745 points in Geekbench single-core and multi-core tests, respectively.
There are no official benchmarks for new Microsoft releases, but we can use other benchmarks for the same chip to make a guess.
Early benchmarks for the Elite version appear to produce single-core scores between 2400 and 2750, which is comparable to the M3.
MacBook Air vs Surface Laptop Copilot+ – M3 single-core results compared to a number of Snapdragon X Elite results
For multi-core computing, the results are as follows: slightly higher, from about 12,000 to 13,900. This makes sense given that Microsoft laptops have more processor cores.
MacBook Air vs. Surface Laptop Copilot+ – M3 multi-core results vs. Snapdragon X Elite row
Microsoft also has a thermal advantage because the Surface Laptop has a fan. The MacBook Air doesn't use a fan, so it relies on the case itself to manage temperatures.
This will mean that under long and intense workloads, the MacBook Air will be more prone to throttling. However, none of these models appear to be designed for a market that requires a range of long-term computing workloads.
MacBook Air vs Surface Laptop Copilot+ – camera and sound
The MacBook Air has cutouts for the 1080p FaceTime HD camera. There's no Face ID, as the notch hints at, but Apple has resisted that so far.
Microsoft includes a Full HD 1080p webcam, although one of them supports Windows Hello. This is an analogue of Face ID from Microsoft.
In terms of audio, the MacBook Air has four- and six-speaker systems, depending on the size, with Dolby Atmos support. They also feature a three-mic array with directional beamforming, as well as voice isolation and wide-spectrum modes.
Microsoft uses Omnisonic speakers with Dolby Atmos support. There is also support for Bluetooth LE audio.
When it comes to microphones, Microsoft uses two voice-focus studio microphones.
MacBook Air vs Surface Laptop Copilot+ – Connectivity
The MacBook Air isn't known for its extensive connectivity: each has two Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports, as well as a headphone jack and a MagSafe 3 port for charging.
Microsoft Surface laptops have two USB 4 ports, as well as one USB-A 3.1 connector, a headphone port, and a Surface Connect port. The 15-inch model also comes with a MicroSDXC memory card reader.
When it comes to wireless connectivity, Apple uses Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3. Microsoft is opting to support Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4, although the new standards may not be as useful early in their product cycles.
Surface Laptop 7th Edition
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MacBook Air vs Surface Laptop Copilot+ – Battery Life
In terms of capacity, Apple uses a 52.6 Wh lithium polymer battery in the 13-inch models and 66.5-inch models. Wh version in 15″ edition.
Microsoft says the 13.8-inch model has a 54 Wh battery, while the 15-inch model has a 66 Wh battery.
Microsoft says its 13.8-inch model can last up to 20 hours with local video playback and up to 13 hours with active online use. The 15-inch model works up to 22 hours and 15 hours, respectively.
Microsoft says both MacBook Air models can last up to 18 hours of movie playback in the Apple TV app and up to 15 hours of wireless Internet access.
To charge MacBook Air, Apple includes a 30W USB-C power adapter for 13-inch models when configured with a 13-inch display and 8-core GPU, or a 35W dual USB-C power adapter. . Compact power adapter for high-end models.
Microsoft includes a 39W charger for the 13.8-inch model, and a 65W charger for the 15-inch model.
MacBook Air vs. Surface Laptop Copilot+ – Other Features
Both laptops have backlit keyboards: Apple uses the Magic Keyboard, while the Surface has “moving mechanical keys.”
Both also have touchpads, although having 10-point multi-touch on the Surface's screen is certainly an advantage.
MacBook Air vs Surface Laptop Copilot+ – keyboard and trackpad of the new Microsoft Surface Laptop.
Biometrics include Windows Hello on the Surface Laptop and Touch ID on the MacBook Air.
MacBook Air storage capacity starts at 256 GB and increases to 512 GB, 1 TB and 2 TB. The Surface Laptop comes in 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB capacities, but they are also removable.
MacBook Air vs Surface Laptop Copilot+ – prices and storage
The Microsoft Surface Laptop starts at $999.99 for the 13.8-inch model with Snapdragon X Plus, 16GB of memory, and a 256GB SSD. The cheapest version, the Elite, costs $1,399.
The 15-inch Surface Laptop starts at $1,299 and features an X Elite chip, 16GB of memory, and a 256GB SSD.
The most expensive 13.8-inch model with Snapdragon X Elite, 64 GB of memory and a 1 TB SSD costs $2,399. The most expensive 15-inch in the same configuration costs $2,499.
The 13-inch MacBook Air starts with an 8-core GPU, 8GB of memory, and 256GB of storage for $1,099. Memory upgrades cost $200 for 16GB and $400 for 24GB, and a 10-core GPU is available for $100.
The 15-inch variant starts at $1,299 with a 10-core GPU, 8GB of memory, and 256GB of internal storage. The upgrade cost is the same.
Storage options with 256GB include 512GB for $200, 1TB for $400, and 2TB for an additional $800.
Surface laptop versus MacBook Air – an interesting catch-up development scenario
Microsoft's Copilot+ PC initiative has been around for a long time and should help the company catch up with what Apple has been doing for years with its products.
As the ongoing hype around AI reaches a fever pitch, Microsoft may have picked the best time to do so.
MacBook Air and Surface Laptop Copilot+ are different colors of the Microsoft Surface laptop.
What Microsoft has achieved with the new Surface Laptop is a great mobile PC. However, it has yet to catch up with Apple and its experience with the Neural Engine in the M-series.
However, using a Microsoft NPU with twice the IOPS performance won't help. Increasing the number of processor cores would not hurt either.
We can confidently say that the new Surface Laptop is on the same level as Apple's MacBook Air in many respects. This even includes the price.
However, with a slightly heavier design, a lower-density display, and the need to catch up with Apple, Microsoft isn't quite where it needs to be.
It's also a bigger shift toward the ARM chipset than Microsoft's previous efforts. End users who are used to the traditional way of using x86 applications will have to get used to using ARM and possibly using alternative applications.
This is not insurmountable since Microsoft has been using ARM for many years, but not to a significant extent. Meanwhile, Apple's years-long transition management has proven successful thanks to its Rosetta 2 tool.
Ultimately, the new Surface Laptop looks very good on paper. But the MacBook Air still offers an attractive option if operating systems aren't part of the equation.
MacBook Air vs Surface Laptop Copilot+ – Where to buy
The Surface Laptop Copilot + PC can be ordered directly from Microsoft, as well as from Best Buy and B&H Photo. The laptop starts at $999 and tops out at $2,499, with the latest price being for the 15-inch model with a Snapdragon X Elite processor, 64GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD.
If Apple's MacBook Air is more your style, the latest models are heavily discounted in our 13-inch M3 MacBook Air price tracker and 15-inch M3 MacBook Air price tracker. At the time of publishing, you'll have up to $250 off MacBook Air discounts at your fingertips.
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