Microsoft’s new Surface Laptop 3 is probably not a direct competitor to the MacBook Pro, however the brand new 15-inch mannequin is certain to attract comparisons with Apple’s flagship laptop computer. New this 12 months, the 15-inch Floor Laptop computer 3 is a powerful laptop computer that sports activities a glossy design, a stunning show and highly effective audio system. However the competitors is hard; Apple’s MacBook Professional is likely one of the best laptops round, resulting from its blazing velocity, long battery life and enticing chassis.
Earlier than we evaluate these machines, you must know that this is not an apples-to-apples comparability. Microsoft constructed the Floor Laptop computer 3 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 3 is not as highly effective because the MacBook Professional, Microsoft’s laptop computer has a extra travel-friendly chassis. The Floor Laptop computer 3 can 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 3 stacks up towards the 15-inch MacBook Professional.
Microsoft Floor Laptop computer 3 vs. MacBook Professional: Specs in contrast
| Microsoft Floor Laptop computer 3 | Apple MacBook Professional (15-inch) | |
| Value (Beginning/as configured) | $1,199 ($1,699) | $2,399 ($6,549) |
| Colours | Sandstone, Black, Platinum | House Grey, Silver |
| Show | 15-inch, 2496 x 1664 | 15.4-inch, 2880 x 1880 |
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 5 3580U | Intel Core i9-9980HK |
| RAM | 16GB | 32GB |
| SSD | 256GB | 4TB |
| Ports | USB-C, USB 3.1 (Sort-A), Floor Join, headphone | 4 Thunderbolt 3, headphone |
| Battery Life (hrs:min) | 8:00 | 10:21 |
| Geekbench | 11,612 | 31,012 |
| Measurement | 13.4 x 9.6 x 0.6 inches | 13.8 x 9.5 x 0.6 inches |
| Weight | 3.4 kilos | 4 kilos |
Design
Apple and Microsoft employed a equally minimalist design of their respective laptops. The aesthetic emphasizes clear traces, open area and delicate branding.
The Floor Laptop computer 3 is a slim, aluminum slate adorned with a small, chrome Microsoft emblem centered on the lid. Open the show, and you will see the identical clear, simplistic design on the naked deck. There’s a refined class to the Floor Laptop computer’s chassis, though some discover it too spartan. Should you’re a part of that group, contemplate the distinctive Sandstone or Black coloration choices.
Swap the Microsoft emblem with a bitten-off apple and also you primarily have the MacBook Professional. Do not let me mislead you: Apple was the primary to popularize the slim, aluminum slate; Microsoft is solely considered one of many copycats. As we stated in our evaluate, the MacBook Professional’s design is each iconic and off. As a lot as we have beloved it through the years, we would not thoughts a refresh subsequent time round.
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Microsoft did a terrific job minimizing the load of its 15-inch laptop. The Floor Laptop computer 3 weighs 3.4 kilos and is 0.6 inches thick, making it deal lighter than the MacBook Professional (4 kilos, 0.6 inches).
Winner: Floor Laptop computer 3
Ports
Minimalism should not apply to ports. And but, you will want to purchase a dongle or hub for both of those 15-inch laptops.
The MacBook Professional comes with 4 Thunderbolt 3 ports and a headphone jack however omits the still-relevant USB Sort-A enter.
Microsoft outfitted the Floor Laptop computer 3 with solely a USB-C (non-Thunderbolt 3), a USB 3.1 Sort-A port and a headphone jack.
Winner: Draw
Show
The Floor Laptop computer 3’s 15-inch, 2496 x 1664-pixel touch-screen (with a 3:2 facet ratio) and the MacBook Professional’s 15.4-inch, 2880 x 1800 decision (nontouch) displays are attractive. They’re each vivid, vivid and very sharp. As such, the standard of those shows is sort of an identical. However we’ll give the nod to the Floor Laptop computer 3 for its contact sensitivity.
Once I watched a trailer for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, a dense jungle planet regarded lusher on the MacBook Professional, with deeper, extra saturated inexperienced. However, Rey’s face had more-natural, reddish tones on the Floor Laptop computer 3 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 steadiness. 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-8’s cute, round physique.
Our show measurements give the MacBook Professional’s panel a slight edge. Based on our colorimeter, the MacBook Professional’s show covers 114% of the sRGB coloration gamut, whereas the Floor Laptop computer 3’s display reached 101%. Each outcomes fall beneath the 130% class common.
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Equally, the MacBook Professional’s show reached 403 nits of peak brightness, making that panel barely brighter than the Floor Laptop computer 3’s 380-nit display. On this occasion, each shows topped the class common (346 nits).
Winner: Floor Laptop computer 3
Keyboard and touchpad
As you may need already heard, the MacBook Pro’s keyboard is an issue. It is one factor that the butterfly-style switches are very shallow, however the greater situation is reliability. There have been sufficient experiences 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 power. Is the keyboard nearly as good because the one on the Floor Laptop computer 3? Not fairly. The Floor Laptop computer 3’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 end result that is virtually an identical to my 110 wpm at 93% accuracy on the Floor Laptop computer 3.
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The Floor Laptop computer 3’s large, 4.5 x 3-inch touchpad is dwarfed solely by the gargantuan, 6.1 x 3.9-inch touchpad on the MacBook Professional. Each surfaces are clean to the contact and responded rapidly to my Home windows 10 and macOS gestures.
Winner: Floor Laptop computer 3
Efficiency
This can be a blow out. The MacBook Professional crushed the Floor Laptop computer 3 in each efficiency benchmark we take a look at.
Earlier than you dismiss the Floor Laptop computer 3, we should always notice that our exorbitantly priced MacBook Professional was outfitted 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 3 did not stand an opportunity. That being stated, we anticipated extra from the Floor Laptop computer 3.
On the Geekbench 4.1 overall-performance take a look at, the MacBook Professional scored a 31,012. That is greater than double what the Floor Laptop computer 3 (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 8 minutes and 10 seconds to transform a 4K video to 1080p decision. On the Floor Laptop computer 3, that very same activity took 20 minutes and 33 seconds, which is only some minutes sooner than the class common (22:25).
This enormous gulf in efficiency would not have been so dangerous if Microsoft had outfitted the Floor Laptop computer 3 with a quick onerous drive. Alas, the 256GB SSD in our evaluate unit was painfully gradual, needing 18 seconds to duplicate 4.97GB of multimedia knowledge at a charge of 282.7 megabytes per second. On the other finish of the spectrum, the MacBook Professional’s 4TB PCIe SSD reached a blistering charge of two,610.8 MBps, a number of occasions sooner than the class common (504.6 MBps).
Neither of those laptops is nice for players, however that is for various causes in every case. The Floor Laptop computer 3’s built-in AMD Radeon Vega 9 graphics can play casual 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.
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The Floor Laptop computer performed the racing recreation Filth 3 at 57 frames per second, whereas the MacBook Professional ran the title at a clean 120 fps. The typical premium laptop computer tops out at 61 fps on this recreation.
Winner: MacBook Professional
Battery life
We have been disillusioned when the Floor Laptop computer 3 lasted solely 8 hours on our battery take a look at, which includes steady internet searching over Wi-Fi at 150 nits. The Floor’s end result just isn’t 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 (8:15).
Winner: MacBook Professional
Worth and value
The 15-inch Floor Laptop computer 3 begins at an inexpensive $1,299 when configured with a Core i5 CPU, 8GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD, however that value skyrockets when you improve storage and RAM capability. Regardless, the Floor Laptop computer 3 is less expensive than the 15-inch MacBook Professional.
About these costly upgrades: Boosting the Floor Laptop computer 3’s storage capability from 128GB to 256GB prices one other $300, bringing the grand complete to $1,499. The unit we reviewed was outfitted with a Ryzen 5 3580U CPU, 16GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD and value $1,699. The one mannequin Microsoft sells with a Ryzen 7 CPU prices $2,099 and has 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD.
Offered on the MacBook Professional? Time to take out a mortgage. Apple sells the 15-inch MacBook Professional at a beginning value of $2,399 (practically the value 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 suggest 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 evaluate unit packed a Core i9-9980HK CPU, 32GB of RAM, a 4TB SSD and Radeon Professional Vega 20 graphics.
Winner: Floor Laptop computer 3
General winner: MacBook Professional (15 inch)
Because the numbers present, the MacBook Professional is a greater general laptop computer than the Floor Laptop computer 3. The perfect causes for purchasing the MacBook Professional over the Floor Laptop computer 3 (excluding OS preferences) are its best-in-class efficiency and for much longer battery life.
| Row 0 – Cell 0 | Microsoft Floor Laptop computer 3 (15 inch) | Apple MacBook Professional (15 inch) |
| Design (10) | 9 | 8 |
| Ports (10) | 4 | 4 |
| Show (15) | 13 | 12 |
| Keyboard/Touchpad (15) | 12 | 11 |
| Efficiency (20) | 15 | 20 |
| Battery Life (20) | 15 | 18 |
| Worth (10) | 6 | 4 |
| General (100) | 74 | 77 |
That is to not say you should not contemplate the Floor Laptop computer 3; that machine is solely meant for a special goal. The MacBook Professional is an exorbitantly priced workstation alternative for working probably the most demanding applications, whereas the Floor Laptop computer 3 is a greater journey companion due to its light-weight design. Nonetheless, if we had to decide on between these and weren’t on a price range, we might go along with the MacBook Professional.
Credit score: Laptop computer Magazine
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