Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 vs. MacBook Pro: Which Premium Laptop Wins?

Microsoft’s new Floor Laptop computer Three is probably not a direct competitor to the MacBook Professional, however the brand new 15-inch mannequin is bound to attract comparisons with Apple’s flagship laptop computer. New this 12 months, the 15-inch Floor Laptop computer Three is a powerful laptop computer that sports activities a modern design, a stunning show and highly effective audio system. However the competitors is hard; Apple’s MacBook Professional is among the finest laptops round, as a consequence of its blazing pace, lengthy battery life and enticing chassis.

Earlier than we evaluate these machines, it is best to know that this is not an apples-to-apples comparability. Microsoft constructed the Floor Laptop computer Three to be moveable first and highly effective second, whereas Apple reversed these priorities when it designed the beastly MacBook Professional. So, whereas the Floor Laptop computer Three is not as highly effective because the MacBook Professional, Microsoft’s laptop computer has a extra travel-friendly chassis. The Floor Laptop computer Three can also be a way more reasonably priced laptop computer (see worth part).

With these factors in thoughts, right here is how the brand new 15-inch Floor Laptop computer Three stacks up towards the 15-inch MacBook Professional.

Microsoft Floor Laptop computer Three vs. MacBook Professional: Specs in contrast

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	Microsoft Floor Laptop computer Three	Apple MacBook Professional (15-inch)
Value (Beginning/as configured)	$1,199 ($1,699)	$2,399 ($6,549)
Colours	Sandstone, Black, Platinum	Area Grey, Silver
Show	15-inch, 2496 x 1664	15.Four-inch, 2880 x 1880
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 3580U	Intel Core i9-9980HK
RAM	16GB	32GB
SSD	256GB	4TB
Ports	USB-C, USB Three.1 (Sort-A), Floor Join, headphone	Four Thunderbolt Three, headphone
Battery Life (hrs:min)	Eight:00	10:21
Geekbench	11,612	31,012
Measurement	13.Four x 9.6 x zero.6 inches	13.Eight x 9.5 x zero.6 inches
Weight	Three.Four kilos	Four kilos

 

Design

Apple and Microsoft employed a equally minimalist design of their respective laptops. The aesthetic emphasizes clear traces, open area and refined branding.

The Floor Laptop computer Three is a slim, aluminum slate adorned with a small, chrome Microsoft brand centered on the lid. Open the show, and you will see the identical clear, simplistic design on the naked deck. There’s a refined magnificence to the Floor Laptop computer’s chassis, though some discover it too spartan. In case you’re a part of that group, take into account the distinctive Sandstone or Black shade choices.

Swap the Microsoft brand with a bitten-off apple and also you basically have the MacBook Professional. Do not let me mislead you: Apple was the primary to popularize the slim, aluminum slate; Microsoft is solely one among many copycats. As we stated in our overview, the MacBook Professional’s design is each iconic and rancid. As a lot as we have cherished it over time, we would not thoughts a refresh subsequent time round.

MORE: Which Floor Is Proper for You? Professional X vs Professional 7 vs Laptop computer Three

Microsoft did an ideal job minimizing the burden of its 15-inch laptop computer. The Floor Laptop computer Three weighs Three.Four kilos and is zero.6 inches thick, making it deal lighter than the MacBook Professional (Four kilos, zero.6 inches).

Winner: Floor Laptop computer Three

Purchase the Floor Laptop computer Three

Ports

Minimalism should not apply to ports. And but, you may want to purchase a dongle or hub for both of those 15-inch laptops. 

The MacBook Professional comes with 4 Thunderbolt Three ports and a headphone jack however omits the still-relevant USB Sort-A enter.

Microsoft outfitted the Floor Laptop computer Three with solely a USB-C (non-Thunderbolt Three), a USB Three.1 Sort-A port and a headphone jack.

Winner: Draw

Purchase the MacBook Professional 15-inch

Show

The Floor Laptop computer Three’s 15-inch, 2496 x 1664-pixel touch-screen (with a Three:2 side ratio) and the MacBook Professional’s 15.Four-inch, 2880 x 1800 decision (nontouch) shows are attractive. They’re each vibrant, vivid and very sharp. As such, the standard of those shows is sort of equivalent. However we’ll give the nod to the Floor Laptop computer Three for its contact sensitivity.

After I watched a trailer for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, a dense jungle planet seemed lusher on the MacBook Professional, with deeper, extra saturated inexperienced. Alternatively, Rey’s face had more-natural, reddish tones on the Floor Laptop computer Three in comparison with her barely blown-out look on the MacBook Professional. The water in an ocean scene was a darker indigo on the Apple laptop computer, emphasizing the MacBook Professional’s cooler white stability. Each panels are superdetailed; I may see small drops of rain type on Rey’s face and all of the lights and knobs on BB-Eight’s cute, round physique.

Our show measurements give the MacBook Professional’s panel a slight edge. In accordance with our colorimeter, the MacBook Professional’s show covers 114% of the sRGB shade gamut, whereas the Floor Laptop computer Three’s display screen reached 101%. Each outcomes fall beneath the 130% class common.

MORE: Greatest Apple Laptops

Equally, the MacBook Professional’s show reached 403 nits of peak brightness, making that panel barely brighter than the Floor Laptop computer Three’s 380-nit display screen. On this occasion, each shows topped the class common (346 nits).

Winner: Floor Laptop computer Three

Keyboard and touchpad

As you may need already heard, the MacBook Professional’s keyboard is an issue. It is one factor that the butterfly-style switches are very shallow, however the greater challenge is reliability. There have been sufficient stories of failing keys that Apple apologized for the issues and instituted a free restore or alternative service.

I truly do not hate how the Mac’s keyboard feels. As I stated, it is extraordinarily shallow, however there’s a good clickiness to the keys and simply the correct quantity of actuation drive. Is the keyboard nearly as good because the one on the Floor Laptop computer Three? Not fairly. The Floor Laptop computer Three’s keys, whereas shallow, provide a bit extra journey and have a softer actuation that is not as harsh on the fingertips.

I typed at 111 phrases per minute with a 93% accuracy charge on the 10fastfingers.com typing take a look at utilizing the MacBook Professional’s keyboard, for a consequence that is nearly equivalent to my 110 wpm at 93% accuracy on the Floor Laptop computer Three.

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The Floor Laptop computer Three’s huge, Four.5 x Three-inch touchpad is dwarfed solely by the gargantuan, 6.1 x Three.9-inch touchpad on the MacBook Professional. Each surfaces are easy to the contact and responded shortly to my Home windows 10 and macOS gestures.

Winner: Floor Laptop computer Three

Efficiency

This can be a blow out. The MacBook Professional crushed the Floor Laptop computer Three in each efficiency benchmark we take a look at.

Earlier than you dismiss the Floor Laptop computer Three, we must always be aware that our exorbitantly priced MacBook Professional was geared up with an Intel Core i9-9980HK CPU and 32GB of RAM. With an AMD Ryzen 5 3580U CPU and 16GB of RAM, the extra reasonably priced Floor Laptop computer Three did not stand an opportunity. That being stated, we anticipated extra from the Floor Laptop computer Three.

On the Geekbench Four.1 overall-performance take a look at, the MacBook Professional scored a 31,012. That is greater than double what the Floor Laptop computer Three (11,612) netted and far increased than the class common (13,767).

Our video-transfer take a look at wasn’t any nearer. The MacBook Professional wanted simply Eight minutes and 10 seconds to transform a 4K video to 1080p decision. On the Floor Laptop computer Three, that very same activity took 20 minutes and 33 seconds, which is only some minutes sooner than the class common (22:25).

This big gulf in efficiency would not have been so dangerous if Microsoft had geared up the Floor Laptop computer Three with a quick exhausting drive. Alas, the 256GB SSD in our overview unit was painfully gradual, needing 18 seconds to duplicate Four.97GB of multimedia information at a charge of 282.7 megabytes per second. On the alternative finish of the spectrum, the MacBook Professional’s 4TB PCIe SSD reached a blistering charge of two,610.Eight MBps, a number of occasions sooner than the class common (504.6 MBps).

Neither of those laptops is nice for avid gamers, however that is for various causes in every case. The Floor Laptop computer Three’s built-in AMD Radeon Vega 9 graphics can play informal video games however not AAA titles at excessive graphics settings. The MacBook Professional has a more-capable Radeon Professional Vega 20 GPU however is restricted by how few video games macOS helps.

MORE: Laptops with the Greatest Productiveness Efficiency

The Floor Laptop computer performed the racing sport Filth Three at 57 frames per second, whereas the MacBook Professional ran the title at a easy 120 fps. The typical premium laptop computer tops out at 61 fps on this sport.

Winner: MacBook Professional

Battery life

We have been dissatisfied when the Floor Laptop computer Three lasted solely Eight hours on our battery take a look at, which includes steady net shopping over Wi-Fi at 150 nits. The Floor’s consequence is just not dangerous by any measure, however the 15-inch MacBook Professional endured for 10 hours and 21 minutes, a pair hours longer than the premium laptop computer common (Eight:15).

Winner: MacBook Professional

Worth and worth

The 15-inch Floor Laptop computer Three begins at an inexpensive $1,299 when configured with a Core i5 CPU, 8GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD, however that worth skyrockets when you improve storage and RAM capability. Regardless, the Floor Laptop computer Three is less expensive than the 15-inch MacBook Professional. 

About these costly upgrades: Boosting the Floor Laptop computer Three’s storage capability from 128GB to 256GB prices one other $300, bringing the grand complete to $1,499. The unit we reviewed was geared up with a Ryzen 5 3580U CPU, 16GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD and price $1,699. The one mannequin Microsoft sells with a Ryzen 7 CPU prices $2,099 and has 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD.

Bought on the MacBook Professional? Time to take out a mortgage. Apple sells the 15-inch MacBook Professional at a beginning worth of $2,399 (practically the worth of two Floor Laptop computer 3s) when configured with a Core i7 CPU, 16GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD and a Radeon Professional 555X GPU. We advocate upgrading the storage capability to 512GB, which prices one other $200.

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Different upgrades embody a Core i9 CPU (+$300), 32GB of RAM (+$400), an AMD Radeon Professional Vega 20 GPU (+$350) and as much as 4TB of storage (+$1,400). Our beastly, $6,549 overview unit packed a Core i9-9980HK CPU, 32GB of RAM, a 4TB SSD and Radeon Professional Vega 20 graphics.

Winner: Floor Laptop computer Three

Total winner: MacBook Professional (15 inch)

Because the numbers present, the MacBook Professional is a greater general laptop computer than the Floor Laptop computer Three. The very best causes for getting the MacBook Professional over the Floor Laptop computer Three (excluding OS preferences) are its best-in-class efficiency and for much longer battery life.

 

Phillip Tracy,

Phillip Tracy is a senior author at Tom’s Information and Laptop computer Magazine, the place he critiques laptops and covers the most recent trade information. After graduating with a journalism diploma from the College of Texas at Austin, Phillip grew to become a tech reporter on the Each day Dot. There, he wrote critiques for a variety of devices and lined the whole lot from social media traits to cybersecurity. Previous to that, he wrote for RCR Wi-fi Information and NewBay Media. When he isn’t tinkering with units, you will discover Phillip taking part in video video games, studying, listening to indie music or watching soccer.

Phillip Tracy,