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- Table of Contents
- Top
- Main Differences
- Design
- Display
- Interface
- Connectivity
- Configuration
- Performance
- Additional Features And Software
- Comments
Apple MacBook Air 15 (2024) vs Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (2024)
Side-by-Side Comparison
Products
Apple MacBook Air 15 (2024)
Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (2024)
Tested using Methodology v0.8.2
Updated Mar 28, 2025 02:10 PM
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Size15.3"
Operating SystemmacOS
Size15"
Operating SystemWindows 11
Variants
- MacBook Air 15 (MXD43LL/A) (Midnight - M3/16GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MRYU3LL/A) (Midnight - M3/8GB/256GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MRYV3LL/A) (Midnight - M3/8GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MXD23LL/A) (Silver - M3/16GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MRYP3LL/A) (Silver - M3/8GB/256GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MRYQ3LL/A) (Silver - M3/8GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MXD13LL/A) (Space Gray - M3/16GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MRYM3LL/A) (Space Gray - M3/8GB/256GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MRYN3LL/A) (Space Gray - M3/8GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MXD33LL/A) (Starlight - M3/16GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MRYR3LL/A) (Starlight - M3/8GB/256GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MRYT3LL/A) (Starlight - M3/8GB/512GB)
- Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (ZYT-00026) (Black - Snapdragon X Elite/16GB/1TB)
- Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (ZHH-00026) (Black - Snapdragon X Elite/16GB/512GB)
- Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (ZHQ-00026) (Black - Snapdragon X Elite/16GB/512GB)
- Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (ZHI-00001) (Black - Snapdragon X Elite/32GB/1TB)
- Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (ZYT-00001) (Platinum - Snapdragon X Elite/16GB/1TB)
- Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (ZYU-00001) (Platinum - Snapdragon X Elite/16GB/1TB)
- Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (ZHG-00001) (Platinum - Snapdragon X Elite/16GB/256GB)
- Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (ZHQ-00001) (Platinum - Snapdragon X Elite/16GB/256GB)
- Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (ZHP-00001) (Platinum - Snapdragon X Elite/16GB/256GB)
- Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (ZHH-00001) (Platinum - Snapdragon X Elite/16GB/512GB)
Our Verdict
Apple MacBook Air 15 (2024)
Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (2024)
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (2024) and the Apple MacBook Air 15 (2024) are both 15-inch ultraportables and direct competitors. Both laptops provide an amazing user experience, though the Surface Laptop beats the MacBook Air in a few areas, as it has a brighter 120Hz display, a wider port selection, Wi-Fi 7 wireless connectivity, and a much longer battery life. On the other hand, the MacBook Air has a larger touchpad, and unlike the Surface, it's a fanless device. Performance-wise, the Surface Laptop's Snapdragon SoC is faster than Apple's base M3 chip in heavy, multi-threaded workloads. However, the MacBook Air comes out ahead when considering app compatibility, as there are more apps that run natively on MacBooks with Apple silicon than Windows on ARM, and at the time of writing, Apple's Rosetta 2 emulation is more mature than Microsoft's Prism.
Main Differences for
Threshold
School
8.6
8.6
Reflections
9.1
6.3
Battery
9.1
9.7
Full Comparison
Design
Style
Style Photo
Form Factor
Traditional (Clamshell)
Traditional (Clamshell)
Build Quality
9.5
9.5
Build Quality Photo
Hinge
9.1
9.1
Hinge Photo
Range
135°
135°
Stability
Good
Good
One Finger Lift
Yes
Yes
Portability
8.7
8.3
Dimensions Photo
Size
15.3"
15"
Thickness
0.6" (1.4 cm)
0.7" (1.8 cm)
Width
13.4" (34.0 cm)
13.0" (33.1 cm)
Depth
9.3" (23.7 cm)
9.4" (24.0 cm)
Volume
68.8 in³ (1,128.1 cm³)
87.3 in³ (1,429.9 cm³)
Weight
3.3 lbs (1.5 kg)
3.6 lbs (1.6 kg)
Charger Size
4.2 in³ (68.6 cm³)
7.1 in³ (116.0 cm³)
Charger Weight
0.4 lbs (0.2 kg)
0.7 lbs (0.3 kg)
Serviceability
3.5
5.8
Internals Photo
Ease Of Access
6.0
7.5
RAM Slots
0
0
Storage Slots
0
1
Replaceable Battery
Yes
Yes
Replaceable Wireless Adapter
No
No
In The Box
In The Box Photo
Display
Screen Specs
Display Photo
Resolution
2880 x 1864
2496 x 1664
Aspect Ratio
16:10
3:2
Pixel Density
226 PPI
200 PPI
Panel Type
IPS
IPS
Touch Screen
No
Yes
Screen-To-Body Ratio
87%
88%
Refresh Rate
5.9
8.7
Motion Blur
Refresh Rate
60 Hz
120 Hz
Variable Refresh Rate
No
Dynamic Refresh Rate
Contrast
7.5
7.5
Contrast Photo
Native Contrast
1,412 : 1
1,404 : 1
Brightness
8.7
9.1
Maximum Brightness
494 cd/m²
601 cd/m²
Minimum Brightness
2 cd/m²
3 cd/m²
Reflections
9.1
6.3
Reflections Photo Off
Reflections Photo Max
Screen Finish
Glossy
Glossy
Total Reflections
1.47%
5.79%
Indirect Reflections
0.38%
0.53%
Calculated Direct Reflections
1.09%
5.26%
Black Uniformity
7.3
8.0
Black Uniformity Photo
Uniformity (Std. Dev.)
1.103%
0.864%
Horizontal Viewing Angle
6.9
7.0
Horizontal Viewing Angle Video
Horizontal Chroma Picture
Color Washout From Left
26°
27°
Color Washout From Right
30°
28°
Horizontal Hue Picture
Color Shift From Left
42°
51°
Color Shift From Right
47°
48°
Horizontal Lightness Picture
Brightness Loss From Left
29°
30°
Brightness Loss From Right
34°
30°
Black Level Raise From Left
60°
60°
Black Level Raise From Right
60°
60°
Gamma Shift From Left
30°
36°
Gamma Shift From Right
29°
36°
Vertical Viewing Angle
6.9
7.0
Vertical Viewing Angle Video
Vertical Chroma Picture
Color Washout From Below
26°
24°
Color Washout From Above
28°
23°
Vertical Hue Picture
Color Shift From Below
42°
45°
Color Shift From Above
44°
45°
Vertical Lightness Picture
Brightness Loss From Below
29°
27°
Brightness Loss From Above
30°
27°
Black Level Raise From Below
45°
45°
Black Level Raise From Above
45°
45°
Gamma Shift From Below
37°
26°
Gamma Shift From Above
36°
26°
Out-Of-The-Box Color Accuracy
9.9
8.7
White Balance Screencap
Gamma Curve Screencap
Color Screencap
Avg. White Balance dE
1.47
2.81
Avg. Gamma
2.24
2.14
Avg. Color dE
0.98
1.58
Avg. Color Temperature
6,742.3 K
6,411.9 K
Color Gamut
9.4
8.3
Gamut SDR
sRGB xy
99.93%
98.35%
sRGB uv
99.72%
98.9%
Adobe RGB xy
87.43%
72.95%
Adobe RGB uv
92.34%
84.98%
Gamut HDR
DCI P3 xy
99.05%
73.15%
DCI P3 uv
98.72%
79.9%
Rec. 2020 xy
71.83%
52.48%
Rec. 2020 uv
73.49%
58.23%
Flicker
9.0
10
Flicker Graph
Flicker-Free
No
Yes
Flicker Frequency
> 1000Hz
No Flicker
Flicker Active Below
100%
0%
Interface
Keyboard
8.0
8.5
Keyboard Photo
Typing Quality
8.0
8.5
Numpad
No
No
Backlighting
Adjustable
Adjustable
Key Switch Actuation Graph
Operating Force
62 gf
64 gf
Actuation Force
40 gf
31 gf
Pre-Travel
0.80 mm
0.96 mm
Total Travel
0.91 mm
1.37 mm
Touchpad
9.6
8.8
Touchpad Photo
Tracking Quality
9.5
9.0
Size
21.4 in² (138.0 cm²)
14.9 in² (96.0 cm²)
Material
Glass
Glass
Dedicated Buttons
No
No
Speakers
8.9
8.7
Frequency Response Plot
Max Volume
81 dB SPL
82 dB SPL
Standard Error @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)
5.9 dB
5.0 dB
Slope @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)
2.2
-1.4
Bass Extension (Low-Frequency Ext.)
155 Hz
334 Hz
Treble Extension (High-Frequency Ext.)
20 kHz
16 kHz
Dynamic Range Compression @ Max Vol.
2.3 dB
0.7 dB
Webcam & Microphone
8.7
8.7
Webcam Video Sample
Video Quality
9.0
9.0
Resolution
1080p
1080p
Position
Top Center
Top Center
Privacy Cover
No
No
Face Unlock
No
Yes
Connectivity
Ports
5.0
6.5
Ports Photo
USB-A Ports
0
1
USB-C Ports
2
2
Thunderbolt
Thunderbolt 3
No
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
MicroSD UHS 2
Ethernet
No
No
Proprietary Port
Apple MagSafe 3
Surface Connect
Security Lock
No
No
Wireless Communication
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax)
Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be)
Bluetooth
5.3
5.4
Configuration
CPU
Brand
Apple
Qualcomm
Model
M3
Snapdragon X Elite X1E80100
Core Count
8
12
Thread Count
8
12
GPU
Brand
Apple
Qualcomm
Model
M3
Adreno GPU X1E80100
Dedicated/Integrated
Integrated
Integrated
VRAM Size
N/A
N/A
RAM
Capacity
8 GB
16 GB
Modules
Unknown
1 (Soldered)
Type
LP-DDR5
LP-DDR5x
Speed
6,400 MHz
8,448 MHz
Storage
Advertised Capacity
256 GB
512 GB
Usable Capacity
214 GB
452 GB
Drive 1
Apple SSD AP0256Z
WD SDDPTQD-512G-1124
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)
9.4
9.9
Geekbench Image
CPU Single-Thread
2,322 points
1,562 points
CPU Multi-Thread
10,501 points
13,719 points
GPU Compute
33,403 points
N/A
Cinebench R23 (CPU Rendering)
9.7
8.7
Cinebench R23 Photo
Single-Thread
1,892 points
1,092 points
Multi-Thread
9,179 points
9,316 points
Blender (3D Rendering)
8.7
7.7
Blender Image
CPU Render Time
4.0 min
4.6 min
GPU Render Time
1.6 min
N/A
GPU Render Time (Optix)
N/A
N/A
Basemark GPU (Game Scene)
7.4
6.2
Basemark Image
Overall Score
44,950
27,539
Storage Drive Performance
9.2
9.0
Storage Performance Image
Sequential Write Speed
2,738.0 MB/s
1,363.6 MB/s
Sequential Read Speed
2,834.7 MB/s
2,680.7 MB/s
Random Write Speed
41.1 MB/s
78.0 MB/s
Random Read Speed
62.5 MB/s
39.6 MB/s
Battery
9.1
9.7
Capacity
67 Wh
66 Wh
Battery Life (Web Browsing)
12.7 hrs
17.0 hrs
Battery Life (Video Playback)
12.0 hrs
16.4 hrs
Battery Life (Gaming)
3.5 hrs
3.5 hrs
Charge Time
2.8 hrs
2.1 hrs
Borderlands 3
3.1
3.4
Borderlands 3 Graph
Avg. FPS
20 fps
22 fps
1% Low
7 fps
12 fps
0.1% Low
4 fps
6 fps
1% Low Delta
89 ms
39 ms
0.1% Low Delta
230 ms
121 ms
Avg. FPS On Very Low
37 fps
45 fps
Civilization VI
5.6
3.8
Civilization VI Graph
Avg. FPS
41 fps
18 fps
1% Low
26 fps
12 fps
0.1% Low
17 fps
12 fps
1% Low Delta
14 ms
25 ms
0.1% Low Delta
33 ms
28 ms
Avg. FPS On Minimum
93 fps
56 fps
Avg. Turn Time
10.24 s
8.68 s
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
CS:GO graph
Avg. FPS
1% Low
0.1% Low
1% Low Delta
0.1% Low Delta
Avg. FPS On Low
Counter-Strike 2
0.0
4.3
CS2 Graph
Avg. FPS
N/A
33fps
1% Low
N/A
9fps
0.1% Low
N/A
2fps
1% Low Delta
N/A
77 ms
0.1% Low Delta
N/A
409 ms
Avg. FPS On Low
N/A
46fps
Shadow Of The Tomb Raider
4.3
3.4
Avg. FPS
32 fps
22 fps
1% Low
15 fps
11 fps
0.1% Low
8 fps
8 fps
1% Low Delta
36 ms
48 ms
0.1% Low Delta
90 ms
78 ms
Avg. FPS On Lowest
44 fps
34 fps
Thermals And Noise
8.1
7.4
Keyboard Temps Picture
Keyboard Temp While Idle
27 °C (81 °F)
29 °C (84 °F)
Keyboard Temp Under Load
50 °C (121 °F)
49 °C (121 °F)
Fan Noise While Idle
N/A
25.0 dBA
Fan Noise Under Load
N/A
39.5 dBA
Power & Fan Control App
No
No
Performance Over Time
7.1
0.0
Performance Over Time Graph
CPU Temp (Cinebench)
90 °C
N/A
CPU Perf. Loss (Cinebench)
6% loss
N/A
GPU Temp (Heaven)
90 °C
N/A
GPU Perf. Loss (Heaven)
12% loss
N/A
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 15 (2024)
Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (2024)
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Apple MacBook Air 15 (2024) vs Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (2024): Main Discussion
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