Apple Macbook Vs Microsoft Surface Laptop

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The new Surface Laptop Get 2 is a thin and light Windows notebook at a low cost, and has been positioned by Microsoft to be a competitor to Apple's latest M2 MacBook Air. Here's how the ultra-portable notebooks compare.

Days before Apple introduced its overhauled MacBook Air, Microsoft decided to launch its take on the concept of a sparse and powerful notebook. In the follow-up to the 2020 Surface Laptop Go, the Surface Laptop Go ii is a natural competitor to the MacBook Air, with considerable cost savings.

However, while the price is low for the Surface, the specifications are likewise a lot more reserved than Apple's latest notebook addition. Indeed, yous could contend that with its everyman price of $599, Microsoft'due south going after the Chromebook market.

Pitting the Surface against the MacBook Air may not be an even fight, but it is worth determining if the difference in price warrants the specification gap between the two devices.

Specifications

Specifications	MacBook Air (2022, M2)	Surface Laptop Go 2
Starting Price	$1,199 Compare M2 MacBook Air prices	$599.99 Available at the Microsoft Store
Dimensions (inches)	11.97 x 8.46 x 0.44	10.95 ten 8.12 x 0.62
Weight (pounds)	two.vii	2.48
Display	thirteen.vi-inch Liquid Retina, Wide Color (P3), True Tone	12.four-inch PixelSense, iii:2 Aspect Ratio, ten-indicate multi-touch
Resolution	ii,560 ten 1,664	1,536 ten i,024
Brightness	500 nits	330 nits
Processor	Apple M2	11th-gen Intel Core i5-1135G7
Graphics	8-core GPU, x-core GPU	Intel Iris Xe Graphics
Memory	8GB, 16GB, 24GB	4GB, 8GB
Storage	256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TB	128GB, 256GB
Battery	52.6Wh lithium-polymer, Upwards to fifteen hours web, 18 hours video	41Wh, Up to 13.five hours
Networking	802.11ax Wi-Fi 6 Bluetooth v.0	802.11ax Wi-Fi six, Bluetooth 5.1
Biometric Security	Affect ID	Windows Hello, Fingerprint Ability Button
Photographic camera	1080p FaceTime HD	720p HD f/2.0
Audio	Four-speaker audio system, Three-mic array with directional beamforming, Headphone jack with high-impedance headphone support, Dolby Atmos back up with Spatial Sound	Omnisonic speakers with Dolby Audio Premium, Dual far-field studio mics, Headphone jack
Ports	ii x Thunderbolt/USB 4, 3.5mm headphone jack, MagSafe 3	1 ten USB-C, i x USB-A, 3.5mm headphone jack, one x Surface Connect port

Microsoft Surface Laptop Become 2 vs M2 MacBook Air - Physical Specifications

The Surface Laptop Go is, at kickoff blush, reasonably close to the MacBook Pro in many different design areas. Both sport reasonably thin bezels around the display, a slim appearance, and are lightweight.

The two are made using aluminum, though the Surface uses a combination of aluminum and a polycarbonate composite resin with drinking glass fiber and "30% post-consumer recycled content" for the base.

The top-down view of the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2

The meridian-downwards view of the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2

The MacBook Air is a bit bigger at 11.97 inches past 8.46 inches versus ten.95 inches by 8.12 inches for the Surface Laptop Go 2. Though the Surface does employ a slight taper that the MacBook Air no longer has, it'due south even so thicker at 0.62 inches than the MacBook Air's 0.44 inches.

The different materials used in its construction and its smaller footprint besides translate into a lower weight, at 2.48 pounds for Microsoft and 2.7 pounds for Apple.

The two are in the same ballpark of size, and there'southward not much reward in the slight differences in dimension.

Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 vs M2 MacBook Air - Display

The Surface Laptop Go 2 has a 12.4-inch PixelSense display which is a bit unusual due to its use of a 3:2 attribute ratio. Apple has historically maintained a sixteen:10 attribute ratio for the Air, but the 13.6-inch display is a little taller than usual but not quite as extreme as the Surface'southward ratio.

The PixelSense display is backlit with LED, just similar Apple's Liquid Retina version, but it's not as bright at 330 nits versus 500 nits.

It'due south also not as high-resolution, at 1,536 by one,024 pixels versus 2,560 past 1,664 for the MacBook Air. That translates to pixel densities of 224ppi for the MacBook Pro and a mere 148ppi for the Surface.

Microsoft's big advantage is you can touch the Surface Laptop Go 2's display.

Microsoft's big reward is yous can bear upon the Surface Laptop Go two'southward display.

One affair in Microsoft'south favor is that the screen is bear on-enabled complete with ten-betoken multitouch. Apple notwithstanding resists adding touch on capabilities to its MacBook lineup.

Microsoft Surface Laptop Get 2 vs M2 MacBook Air - Processor and Graphics

Microsoft has included an Intel processor in its Surface Laptop Go 2, with all configurations using the same Core i5-1135G7 scrap. That's an 11th-generation quad-core processor with 8 threads and a max turbo speed of iv.2GHz.

That chip is paired with either 4GB or 8GB of LPDDR4x retention, as well as using its ain onboard Intel Iris Xe Graphics.

Apple tree'southward M2 has an viii-core CPU, pairing four efficiency cores with iv functioning cores, a sixteen-cadre Neural Engine and a Media Engine for hardware-accelerated handling of video encodes and decodes. Two options of the Apple tree Silicon chip are available on the MacBook Air, with one sporting an eight-core Apple tree-designed GPU and the other using a 10-cadre GPU.

And so at that place's Apple'due south Unified Retentiveness, which applies to the CPU and the GPU. The base model is 8GB, the same every bit the upper configurations of the Surface, as well equally higher 16GB and 24GB capacities.

As to how much of a functioning divergence in that location is, we demand to plough to Geekbench. Initial results say the M2 can produce a single-core score of one,919, with a multi-core score of eight,928.

By dissimilarity, the Intel Core i5-1135G7 can simply manage 1,239 for the single-core examination and 4,147 for the multi-cadre.

It's expected that the Surface Laptop Go ii would exist beaten by Apple's latest chip, given the cost, merely not with so much of a pb.

Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 vs M2 MacBook Air - Camera

Apple updated its FaceTime HD photographic camera in the MacBook Air to a 1080p version, switching up from the 720p version used before. Information technology benefits from the avant-garde image signal processor included in the M2 for improved flick quality.

While the MacBook Air includes a notch for the webcam, there's no such display intrusions in the Surface Laptop Go 2.

While the MacBook Air includes a notch for the webcam, there'due south no such display intrusions in the Surface Laptop Go 2.

Microsoft includes a 720p webcam, which doesn't inspire conviction. However, it includes Windows Hello back up, so it can exist used for facial recognition when logging into Windows 11.

Microsoft also manages to hide its webcam in the bezel. Apple, meanwhile, included a cut-out notch in the display for its camera system.

Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 vs M2 MacBook Air - Connectivity

Apple hasn't historically offered the widest selection of ports on the MacBook Air, and the 2022 edition isn't that much unlike from the previous one. You have a pair of Thunderbolt/USB four connections and a 3.5mm headphone jack, but this time you also have MagSafe 3 for charging.

Microsoft offers four ports, one each of USB-C, USB-A, a headphone jack, and a Surface Connect port.

On the wireless side, both can connect to Wi-Fi 6 networks and older standards. The Surface does have a small leg-up with Bluetooth by using Bluetooth 5.ane confronting Apple tree's continued use of Bluetooth v.0.

Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 vs M2 MacBook Air - Power

Apple tree packs a 52.6Wh lithium-polymer battery into its MacBook Air, which is quite a lot given its slim frame. The Surface uses a smaller capacity battery, at 41Wh.

As for how much time you can utilise the bombardment, the MacBook Air is claimed to last for up to 15 hours of wireless spider web access or up to eighteen hours of video playback from the Apple tree Telly app.

You could play games on the Surface Laptop Go 2, but probably not all day.

You could play games on the Surface Laptop Go two, but probably not all day.

Microsoft says the Surface tin can last upwards to 13.5 hours of "typical device usage." This isn't actually descriptive at all, simply it probably doesn't cover high-intensity applications such equally games.

Microsoft includes a 39W ability supply in the box with the Surface. Apple tree adds a 30W USB-C Power Adapter by default, though information technology gets upgraded to a 35W Dual USB-C Port Adapter if you go for the 10-cadre GP and 512GB of storage or higher. A 67W USB-C Power Adapter is also offered.

Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 vs M2 MacBook Air - Audio

The Surface Laptop Go uses a set of "Omnisonic speakers" with Dolby Audio Premium. Information technology as well has a 3.5mm headphone jack, in case y'all want to employ wired personal audio accessories.

Apple includes a four-speaker sound system in its MacBook Air, consummate with Dolby Atmos support with Spatial Sound. The headphone jack is besides amend in that it contains loftier-impedance headphone back up that should benefit audiophiles.

The Surface uses dual far-field studio mics to get audio in, while the MacBook Air uses a three-mic array with directional beamforming.

Microsoft Surface Laptop Get 2 vs M2 MacBook Air - Storage

Microsoft offers users two storage options: a 128GB SSD or a 256GB SSD. It does describe the storage as "removable" but adds that it is just removable past an authorized technician.

As the appetite for storage has grown over time, 256GB may non be enough for many users in 2022, and ideally, there should exist a 512GB or higher option on Microsoft'southward side.

Apple offers 256GB in its base model, with alternative configurations for 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB. Different Microsoft, Apple doesn't hint that its non-removable storage tin be taken out at all.

Microsoft Surface Laptop Go two vs M2 MacBook Air - Other Features

Both notebooks include fingerprint-based biometric security. Apple uses a Touch ID sensor on the keyboard, while Microsoft uses one built onto the ability push.

The Surface Laptop Go 2's power button also doubles as a fingerprint reader.

The Surface Laptop Get 2's power button also doubles as a fingerprint reader.

Apple offers the MacBook Air in 4 colors: Silver, Starlight, Space Greyness, and Midnight.

Microsoft stocks the Surface Laptop Go 2 in iv colors: Sage, Ice Blue, Sandstone, and Platinum.

Microsoft Surface Laptop Go ii vs M2 MacBook Air - Pricing

Microsoft's base of operations configuration of the Surface Laptop Go 2 costs $599.99, including 4GB of RAM and 128GB of SSD storage. A version upgrading to 8GB of memory costs $699.99, while 8GB of memory and 256GB of storage costs $799.99.

The MacBook Air starts at $i,199 with the viii-core GPU, 8GB of Unified Memory, and 256GB of SSD storage. Upgrading to the 10-core GPU adds $100 to the price.

Upgrading the MacBook Air memory to 16GB is an extra $200, and a farther $200 more to attain 24GB. Going from 256GB of storage to 512GB costs an extra $200, with 1TB an boosted $200 and 2TB for $400 on top of that.

The virtually expensive MacBook Air can be acquired for $ii,499, excluding power adapter upgrades.

Inexpensive and cheerful, simply not a powerhouse

The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go two is certainly a not bad value notebook for what it offers. If you want a decent quality notebook that runs Windows xi, it's difficult non to compete confronting what Microsoft has presented here.

However, cost and a touchscreen are practically the but benefits of going for the Surface Laptop Go ii over the MacBook Air. Apple's notebook is the more than capable device on paper, with the penalisation of being twice the toll of Microsoft's offering.

Platform-agnostic customers may look at the 2 and turn to the Surface Laptop Become 2 if they want a elementary notebook to become light tasks done. If they take the budget for an M2 MacBook Air and a family unit that will use the purchase, information technology may even be tempting to go for 2 of the Surface Laptops.

It's certainly the cheaper option for consumers. Only with the lower-resolution brandish, the lower performance, and the woeful memory and storage, potential owners must likewise know they are buying something that isn't as skilful equally the M2 MacBook Air in many respects.

You tin do improve than the Microsoft Surface Laptop Get 2. You simply have to be prepared to spend a bit more for the privilege.

Where to purchase

Apple tree's M2 MacBook Air, meanwhile, starts at $1,199 and goes on sale in July 2022. Exist sure to bookmark our roundup of the best M2 MacBook Air deals and our Mac Toll Guide for the latest discounts on Apple's new hardware.