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- Table of Contents
- Top
- Main Differences
- Design
- Display
- Interface
- Connectivity
- Configuration
- Performance
- Additional Features And Software
- Comments
Apple MacBook Air 13 (M1, 2020) vs Microsoft Surface Pro 8 (2021)
Side-by-Side Comparison
Products
Apple MacBook Air 13 (M1, 2020)
Microsoft Surface Pro 8 (2021)
Tested using Methodology v0.8.2
Updated Aug 08, 2024 02:46 PM
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Size13.3"
Operating SystemmacOS
Size13"
Operating SystemWindows 11
Variants
- MacBook Air 13 (MGND3LL/A) (Gold - 7-core GPU/8GB/256GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MGNE3LL/A) (Gold - 7-core GPU/8GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MGN93LL/A) (Silver - 7-core GPU/8GB/256GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MGNA3LL/A) (Silver - 7-core GPU/8GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MGN63LL/A) (Space Gray - 7-core GPU/8GB/256GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MGN73LL/A) (Space Gray - 7-core GPU/8GB/512GB)
- Surface Pro 8 (8PT-00017) (Graphite - i5/16GB/256GB)
- Surface Pro 8 (8PQ-00017) (Graphite - i5/8GB/256GB)
- Surface Pro 8 (EBP-00017) (Graphite - i5/8GB/512GB)
- Surface Pro 8 (8PV-00017) (Graphite - i7/16GB/256GB)
- Surface Pro 8 (8PX-00017) (Graphite - i7/16GB/512GB)
- Surface Pro 8 (8PN-00001) (Platinum - i5/8GB/128GB)
- Surface Pro 8 (8PQ-00001) (Platinum - i5/8GB/256GB)
- Surface Pro 8 (EBP-00001) (Platinum - i5/8GB/512GB)
- Surface Pro 8 (EEB-00001) (Platinum - i7/16GB/1TB)
- Surface Pro 8 (8PV-00001) (Platinum - i7/16GB/256GB)
- Surface Pro 8 (8PX-00001) (Platinum - i7/16GB/512GB)
- Surface Pro 8 (EFH-00001) (Platinum - i7/32GB/1TB)
Our Verdict
Apple MacBook Air 13 (M1, 2020)
Microsoft Surface Pro 8 (2021)
The Microsoft Surface Pro 8 (2021) and the Apple MacBook Air 13 (M1, 2020) are both thin and light devices suitable for on-the-go productivity use. The Surface is a tablet that runs Windows, while the MacBook is a traditional clamshell that runs macOS. The MacBook's M1 chip performs better when multitasking and running demanding tasks, and it provides almost double the battery life when browsing the web compared to the Surface. The MacBook also has a more color-accurate display with full DCI P3 coverage that's better suited for content creators, and its touchpad and speakers are better. On the other hand, the Surface's screen is sharper, brighter, and goes up to a 120Hz refresh rate, its keyboard feels better to type on, and its webcam and microphone are much better suited for video calls. Also, the Surface throttles less, and its two USB-C ports support Thunderbolt 4 as opposed to Thunderbolt 3 on the MacBook.
Main Differences for
Threshold
School
8.4
7.7
Battery
8.8
6.3
Touchpad
8.8
7.6
Full Comparison
Design
Style
Style Photo
Form Factor
Traditional (Clamshell)
Tablet
Build Quality
9.5
8.5
Build Quality Photo
Hinge
9.1
6.9
Hinge Photo
Range
135°
170°
Stability
Good
Good
One Finger Lift
Yes
No
Portability
9.1
8.9
Dimensions Photo
Size
13.3"
13"
Thickness
0.5" (1.3 cm)
0.7" (1.8 cm)
Width
12.0" (30.5 cm)
11.5" (29.1 cm)
Depth
8.4" (21.2 cm)
8.5" (21.7 cm)
Volume
51.3 in³ (840.6 cm³)
67.4 in³ (1,105.1 cm³)
Weight
2.9 lbs (1.3 kg)
2.6 lbs (1.2 kg)
Charger Size
5.5 in³ (90.6 cm³)
6.9 in³ (112.5 cm³)
Charger Weight
0.4 lbs (0.2 kg)
0.6 lbs (0.3 kg)
Serviceability
3.3
1.5
Internals Photo
Ease Of Access
5.5
0
RAM Slots
0
0
Storage Slots
0
1
Replaceable Battery
Yes
No
Replaceable Wireless Adapter
No
No
In The Box
In The Box Photo
Display
Screen Specs
Display Photo
Resolution
2560 x 1600
2880 x 1920
Aspect Ratio
16:10
3:2
Pixel Density
225 PPI
266 PPI
Panel Type
IPS
IPS
Touch Screen
No
Yes
Screen-To-Body Ratio
84%
80%
Refresh Rate
5.9
8.7
Motion Blur
Refresh Rate
60 Hz
120 Hz
Variable Refresh Rate
No
Dynamic Refresh Rate
Contrast
6.8
7.4
Contrast Photo
Native Contrast
1,044 : 1
1,375 : 1
Brightness
7.8
8.3
Maximum Brightness
372 cd/m²
432 cd/m²
Minimum Brightness
4 cd/m²
2 cd/m²
Reflections
8.9
7.3
Reflections Photo Off
Reflections Photo Max
Screen Finish
Glossy
Glossy
Total Reflections
1.73%
4.31%
Indirect Reflections
0.16%
0.69%
Calculated Direct Reflections
1.57%
3.62%
Black Uniformity
7.4
7.7
Black Uniformity Photo
Uniformity (Std. Dev.)
1.071%
0.933%
Horizontal Viewing Angle
6.8
6.4
Horizontal Viewing Angle Video
Horizontal Chroma Picture
Color Washout From Left
25°
25°
Color Washout From Right
28°
26°
Horizontal Hue Picture
Color Shift From Left
40°
28°
Color Shift From Right
46°
35°
Horizontal Lightness Picture
Brightness Loss From Left
28°
26°
Brightness Loss From Right
31°
27°
Black Level Raise From Left
60°
60°
Black Level Raise From Right
60°
60°
Gamma Shift From Left
29°
24°
Gamma Shift From Right
32°
26°
Vertical Viewing Angle
6.8
6.4
Vertical Viewing Angle Video
Vertical Chroma Picture
Color Washout From Below
25°
26°
Color Washout From Above
25°
27°
Vertical Hue Picture
Color Shift From Below
37°
30°
Color Shift From Above
41°
36°
Vertical Lightness Picture
Brightness Loss From Below
27°
28°
Brightness Loss From Above
28°
29°
Black Level Raise From Below
45°
45°
Black Level Raise From Above
45°
45°
Gamma Shift From Below
37°
22°
Gamma Shift From Above
35°
25°
Out-Of-The-Box Color Accuracy
9.7
7.6
White Balance Screencap
Gamma Curve Screencap
Color Screencap
Avg. White Balance dE
1.75
3.06
Avg. Gamma
2.2
2.09
Avg. Color dE
1.21
2.87
Avg. Color Temperature
6,883.6 K
6,150 K
Color Gamut
9.4
8.8
Gamut SDR
sRGB xy
99.96%
99.89%
sRGB uv
99.84%
99.62%
Adobe RGB xy
88.07%
80.08%
Adobe RGB uv
92.88%
88.07%
Gamut HDR
DCI P3 xy
99.57%
84.95%
DCI P3 uv
99.15%
88.99%
Rec. 2020 xy
72.25%
60.96%
Rec. 2020 uv
73.92%
64.85%
Flicker
10
10
Flicker Graph
Flicker-Free
Yes
Yes
Flicker Frequency
No Flicker
No Flicker
Flicker Active Below
0%
N/A
Interface
Keyboard
7.6
8.2
Keyboard Photo
Typing Quality
7.5
8.0
Numpad
No
No
Backlighting
Adjustable
Adjustable
Key Switch Actuation Graph
Operating Force
63 gf
65 gf
Actuation Force
37 gf
38 gf
Pre-Travel
0.76 mm
1.05 mm
Total Travel
0.85 mm
1.56 mm
Touchpad
8.8
7.6
Touchpad Photo
Tracking Quality
9.0
8.0
Size
14.9 in² (96.0 cm²)
10.1 in² (65.0 cm²)
Material
Glass
Glass
Dedicated Buttons
No
No
Speakers
8.9
7.5
Frequency Response Plot
Max Volume
79 dB SPL
72 dB SPL
Standard Error @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)
4.5 dB
5.8 dB
Slope @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)
1.6
2.3
Bass Extension (Low-Frequency Ext.)
247 Hz
143 Hz
Treble Extension (High-Frequency Ext.)
20 kHz
20 kHz
Dynamic Range Compression @ Max Vol.
1.9 dB
1.7 dB
Webcam & Microphone
8.2
8.7
Webcam Video Sample
Video Quality
8.5
9.0
Resolution
720p
1080p
Position
Top Center
Top Center
Privacy Cover
No
No
Face Unlock
No
Yes
Connectivity
Ports
4.0
5.5
Ports Photo
USB-A Ports
0
0
USB-C Ports
2
2
Thunderbolt
Thunderbolt 3
Thunderbolt 4
USB-C Charging
Yes
Yes
USB-C Display Out
Yes
Yes
HDMI
No
No
DisplayPort
No
No
3.5mm Jack
Combo mic/headphone
Combo mic/headphone
Card Reader
No
No
Ethernet
No
No
Proprietary Port
No
Surface Connect
Security Lock
No
No
Wireless Communication
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)
Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)
Bluetooth
5.0
5.1
Configuration
CPU
Brand
Apple
Intel
Model
M1
Core i7-1185G7
Core Count
8
4
Thread Count
8
8
GPU
Brand
Apple
Intel
Model
M1
Iris Xe Graphics G7
Dedicated/Integrated
Integrated
Integrated
VRAM Size
N/A
N/A
RAM
Capacity
8 GB
16 GB
Modules
2 (Soldered)
8 (Soldered)
Type
LP-DDR4X
LP-DDR4X
Speed
4,266 MHz
4,267 MHz
Storage
Advertised Capacity
256 GB
256 GB
Usable Capacity
218 GB
208 GB
Drive 1
SDRGJHI4
SK Hynix HFM256GD3GX013N
Drive 1 Type
SSD
SSD
Drive 2
No 2nd Drive
No 2nd Drive
Drive 2 Type
No 2nd Drive
No 2nd Drive
Performance
Geekbench 5 (Synthetics)
8.8
8.1
Geekbench Image
CPU Single-Thread
1,721 points
1,317 points
CPU Multi-Thread
7,437 points
5,089 points
GPU Compute
19,359 points
19,125 points
Cinebench R23 (CPU Rendering)
9.1
8.2
Cinebench R23 Photo
Single-Thread
1,497 points
1,243 points
Multi-Thread
6,855 points
5,213 points
Blender (3D Rendering)
6.2
5.8
Blender Image
CPU Render Time
7.3 min
7.8 min
GPU Render Time
N/A
N/A
GPU Render Time (Optix)
N/A
N/A
Basemark GPU (Game Scene)
6.1
5.4
Basemark Image
Overall Score
26,868
19,134
Storage Drive Performance
9.3
9.2
Storage Performance Image
Sequential Write Speed
2,580.5 MB/s
1,195.4 MB/s
Sequential Read Speed
2,487.4 MB/s
2,262.0 MB/s
Random Write Speed
51.5 MB/s
76.9 MB/s
Random Read Speed
60.5 MB/s
56.5 MB/s
Battery
8.8
6.3
Capacity
50 Wh
50 Wh
Battery Life (Web Browsing)
13.3 hrs
7.3 hrs
Battery Life (Video Playback)
6.6 hrs
5.7 hrs
Battery Life (Gaming)
2.6 hrs
2.4 hrs
Charge Time
3.1 hrs
2.5 hrs
Borderlands 3
2.4
1.9
Borderlands 3 Graph
Avg. FPS
15 fps
12 fps
1% Low
6 fps
6 fps
0.1% Low
3 fps
2 fps
1% Low Delta
86 ms
94 ms
0.1% Low Delta
302 ms
341 ms
Avg. FPS On Very Low
32 fps
25 fps
Civilization VI
5.6
4.8
Civilization VI Graph
Avg. FPS
32 fps
24 fps
1% Low
23 fps
17 fps
0.1% Low
21 fps
16 fps
1% Low Delta
12 ms
18 ms
0.1% Low Delta
17 ms
21 ms
Avg. FPS On Minimum
71 fps
93 fps
Avg. Turn Time
11.63 s
8.31 s
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
7.7
7.7
CS:GO graph
Avg. FPS
65 fps
93 fps
1% Low
N/A
51 fps
0.1% Low
N/A
42 fps
1% Low Delta
N/A
9 ms
0.1% Low Delta
N/A
13 ms
Avg. FPS On Low
94 fps
161 fps
Counter-Strike 2
CS2 Graph
Avg. FPS
1% Low
0.1% Low
1% Low Delta
0.1% Low Delta
Avg. FPS On Low
Shadow Of The Tomb Raider
2.0
3.4
Avg. FPS
13 fps
22 fps
1% Low
9 fps
12 fps
0.1% Low
5 fps
4 fps
1% Low Delta
31 ms
41 ms
0.1% Low Delta
135 ms
180 ms
Avg. FPS On Lowest
26 fps
40 fps
Thermals And Noise
8.3
9.5
Keyboard Temps Picture
Keyboard Temp While Idle
28 °C (82 °F)
32 °C (90 °F)
Keyboard Temp Under Load
47 °C (117 °F)
32 °C (90 °F)
Fan Noise While Idle
N/A
25.0 dBA
Fan Noise Under Load
N/A
25.0 dBA
Power & Fan Control App
No
No
Performance Over Time
7.5
7.9
Performance Over Time Graph
CPU Temp (Cinebench)
N/A
63 °C
CPU Perf. Loss (Cinebench)
13% loss
10% loss
GPU Temp (Heaven)
N/A
61 °C
GPU Perf. Loss (Heaven)
3% loss
2% loss
Additional Features And Software
Software
Operating System
macOS
Windows 11
Additional Software
None
None
Extra Features
RGB Illumination
No
No
Touch Pen
No
No
Secondary Display
No
No
Biometrics
Fingerprint Sensor
Face Recognition
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Apple MacBook Air 13 (M1, 2020)
Microsoft Surface Pro 8 (2021)
Comments
Apple MacBook Air 13 (M1, 2020) vs Microsoft Surface Pro 8 (2021): Main Discussion
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