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- Table of Contents
- Top
- Main Differences
- Design
- Display
- Interface
- Connectivity
- Configuration
- Performance
- Additional Features And Software
- Comments
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2019) vs Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15 (2019)
Side-by-Side Comparison
Products
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2019)
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15 (2019)
Tested using Methodology v0.8
Updated Mar 18, 2024 06:01 PM
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comTested using Methodology v0.8
Updated Jan 12, 2024 04:04 PM
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Amazon.com
Size16"
Operating SystemmacOS
Size15"
Operating SystemWindows 10
Variants
- MacBook Pro 16 (MVVM2L/A) (Silver - i9-9880H/Radeon Pro 5500M/16GB/1TB)
- MacBook Pro 16 (MVVJ2LL/A) (Space Gray - i7-9750H/Radeon Pro 5300M/16GB/512GB)
- MacBook Pro 16 (MVVK2LL/A) (Space Gray - i9-9880H/Radeon Pro 5500M/16GB/1TB)
- Surface Laptop 3 15 (V9R-00022) (Matte Black - Ryzen 5/16GB/256GB)
- Surface Laptop 3 15 (VGZ-00022) (Matte Black - Ryzen 5/8GB/256GB)
- Surface Laptop 3 15 (VFL-00022) (Matte Black - Ryzen 7/16GB/512GB)
- Surface Laptop 3 15 (V9R-00001) (Platinum - Ryzen 5/16GB/256GB)
- Surface Laptop 3 15 (V4G-0001) (Platinum - Ryzen 5/8GB/128GB)
- Surface Laptop 3 15 (VGZ-00001) (Platinum - Ryzen 5/8GB/256GB)
- Surface Laptop 3 15 (VFL-00001) (Platinum - Ryzen 7/16GB/512GB)
Our Verdict
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2019)
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15 (2019)
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15 (2019) and the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2019) are productivity-focused laptops, but the Surface Laptop 3 is an ultraportable that runs Windows, while the MacBook Pro is more of a mobile workstation that runs macOS. The MacBook Pro 16 is available with more powerful CPUs and GPUs, making it a better choice for demanding workloads like photo and video editing. It also has longer battery life and a better screen with full DCI P3 coverage, whereas the Surface Laptop 3 is limited to sRGB. The MacBook Pro 16 has a much better touchpad because it's larger, and its haptic feedback makes it a lot easier to click anywhere. However, its keyboard isn't as comfortable to type on for extended periods as the Surface Laptop 3's.
Main Differences for
Threshold
School
7.9
7.5
Battery
7.2
6.1
Portability
7.7
8.5
Geekbench 5 (Synthetics)
8.5
4.9
Reflections
8.9
6.2
Keyboard
6.9
8.1
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
134°
140°
Stability
Good
Good
One Finger Lift
Yes
Yes
Portability
7.7
8.5
Dimensions Photo
Size
16"
15"
Thickness
0.6" (1.6 cm)
0.6" (1.5 cm)
Width
14.1" (35.8 cm)
13.4" (34.0 cm)
Depth
9.7" (24.7 cm)
9.6" (24.4 cm)
Volume
86.2 in³ (1,411.9 cm³)
74.3 in³ (1,216.9 cm³)
Weight
4.3 lbs (2.0 kg)
3.4 lbs (1.5 kg)
Charger Size
11.3 in³ (185.6 cm³)
6.9 in³ (112.5 cm³)
Charger Weight
0.8 lbs (0.4 kg)
0.6 lbs (0.3 kg)
Serviceability
2.8
4.3
Internals Photo
Ease Of Access
5.5
4.5
RAM Slots
0
0
Storage Slots
0
1
Replaceable Battery
No
Yes
Replaceable Wireless Adapter
No
No
In The Box
In The Box Photo
Display
Screen Specs
Display Photo
Resolution
3072 x 1920
2496 x 1664
Aspect Ratio
16:10
3:2
Pixel Density
226 PPI
199 PPI
Panel Type
IPS
IPS
Touch Screen
No
Yes
Screen-To-Body Ratio
87%
81%
Refresh Rate
5.9
6.9
Motion Blur
Refresh Rate
60 Hz
60 Hz
Variable Refresh Rate
No
FreeSync
Contrast
7.6
7.7
Contrast Photo
Native Contrast
1,496 : 1
1,589 : 1
Brightness
8.7
8.0
Maximum Brightness
496 cd/m²
401 cd/m²
Minimum Brightness
5 cd/m²
4 cd/m²
Reflections
8.9
6.2
Reflections Photo Off
Reflections Photo Max
Screen Finish
Glossy
Glossy
Total Reflections
1.69%
5.9%
Indirect Reflections
0.17%
0.572%
Calculated Direct Reflections
1.52%
5.33%
Black Uniformity
8.3
7.5
Black Uniformity Photo
Uniformity (Std. Dev.)
0.777%
1.022%
Horizontal Viewing Angle
6.8
6.4
Horizontal Viewing Angle Video
Horizontal Chroma Picture
Color Washout From Left
25°
26°
Color Washout From Right
27°
29°
Horizontal Hue Picture
Color Shift From Left
40°
24°
Color Shift From Right
44°
31°
Horizontal Lightness Picture
Brightness Loss From Left
29°
33°
Brightness Loss From Right
28°
31°
Black Level Raise From Left
60°
60°
Black Level Raise From Right
60°
60°
Gamma Shift From Left
33°
19°
Gamma Shift From Right
35°
28°
Vertical Viewing Angle
6.6
6.1
Vertical Viewing Angle Video
Vertical Chroma Picture
Color Washout From Below
24°
25°
Color Washout From Above
26°
22°
Vertical Hue Picture
Color Shift From Below
37°
24°
Color Shift From Above
44°
25°
Vertical Lightness Picture
Brightness Loss From Below
28°
28°
Brightness Loss From Above
30°
24°
Black Level Raise From Below
45°
45°
Black Level Raise From Above
45°
45°
Gamma Shift From Below
28°
22°
Gamma Shift From Above
25°
19°
Out-Of-The-Box Color Accuracy
9.4
9.9
White Balance Screencap
Gamma Curve Screencap
Color Screencap
Avg. White Balance dE
2.0274
1.53
Avg. Gamma
2.1628
2.18
Avg. Color dE
1.3813
0.72
Avg. Color Temperature
6,899.1 K
6,613 K
Color Gamut
9.5
8.3
Gamut SDR
sRGB xy
99.99%
99.6%
sRGB uv
99.99%
99.08%
Adobe RGB xy
88.38%
74.38%
Adobe RGB uv
93.57%
85.14%
Gamut HDR
DCI P3 xy
99.88%
74.16%
DCI P3 uv
99.82%
79.51%
Rec. 2020 xy
73.42%
53.22%
Rec. 2020 uv
76.37%
57.96%
Flicker
10
10
Flicker Graph
Flicker-Free
Yes
Yes
Flicker Frequency
No Flicker
No Flicker
Flicker Active Below
0%
0%
Interface
Keyboard
6.9
8.1
Keyboard Photo
Typing Quality
6.5
8.0
Numpad
No
No
Backlighting
Adjustable
Adjustable
Key Switch Actuation Graph
Operating Force
62 gf
64 gf
Actuation Force
44 gf
38 gf
Pre-Travel
0.82 mm
0.92 mm
Total Travel
1.09 mm
1.42 mm
Touchpad
9.7
8.7
Touchpad Photo
Tracking Quality
9.5
9.0
Size
24.8 in² (160.0 cm²)
13.7 in² (88.6 cm²)
Material
Glass
Glass
Dedicated Buttons
No
No
Speakers
8.9
6.9
Frequency Response Plot
Max Volume
82 dB SPL
70 dB SPL
Standard Error @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)
5.9 dB
5.5 dB
Slope @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)
2.2
1.4
Bass Extension (Low-Frequency Ext.)
155 Hz
250 Hz
Treble Extension (High-Frequency Ext.)
20 kHz
14 kHz
Dynamic Range Compression @ Max Vol.
2.1 dB
3.2 dB
Webcam & Microphone
8.2
8.7
Webcam Video Sample
Video Quality
8.5
9.0
Resolution
720p
720p
Position
Top Center
Top Center
Privacy Cover
No
No
Face Unlock
No
Yes
Connectivity
Ports
6.5
4.5
Ports Photo
USB-A Ports
0
1
USB-C Ports
4
1
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
No
Ethernet
No
No
Proprietary Port
No
Surface Connect
Security Lock
No
No
Wireless Communication
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac)
Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac)
Bluetooth
5.0
5.0
Configuration
CPU
Brand
Intel
AMD
Model
Core i9-9880H
Ryzen 5 3580U
Core Count
8
4
Thread Count
16
8
GPU
Brand
AMD
AMD
Model
Radeon Pro 5500M
Radeon Vega 9 Graphics
Dedicated/Integrated
Dedicated
Integrated
VRAM Size
4 GB
N/A
RAM
Capacity
16 GB
8 GB
Modules
2 (Soldered)
2 (Soldered)
Type
DDR4
DDR4
Speed
2,667 MHz
2,400 MHz
Storage
Advertised Capacity
1,000 GB
128 GB
Usable Capacity
983 GB
74 GB
Drive 1
Apple SSD AP1024N
SK Hynix HFM128GDGTNG-87A0A
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)
8.5
4.9
Geekbench Image
CPU Single-Thread
1,164 points
478 points
CPU Multi-Thread
6,795 points
3,073 points
GPU Compute
28,987 points
11,953 points
Cinebench R23 (CPU Rendering)
8.9
6.9
Cinebench R23 Photo
Single-Thread
1,191 points
945 points
Multi-Thread
8,792 points
3,905 points
Blender (3D Rendering)
7.8
4.4
Blender Image
CPU Render Time
4.4 min
9.4 min
GPU Render Time
N/A
11.2 min
GPU Render Time (Optix)
N/A
N/A
Basemark GPU (Game Scene)
6.9
3.9
Basemark Image
Overall Score
37,312
9,566
Storage Drive Performance
9.5
8.2
Storage Performance Image
Sequential Write Speed
1,886.2 MB/s
409.3 MB/s
Sequential Read Speed
2,820.4 MB/s
1,156.1 MB/s
Random Write Speed
97.1 MB/s
49.9 MB/s
Random Read Speed
68.2 MB/s
31.6 MB/s
Battery
7.2
6.1
Capacity
100 Wh
46 Wh
Battery Life (Web Browsing)
9.6 hrs
6.6 hrs
Battery Life (Video Playback)
6.5 hrs
5.8 hrs
Battery Life (Gaming)
1.0 hrs
2.7 hrs
Charge Time
2.5 hrs
2.3 hrs
Borderlands 3
1.1
1.4
Borderlands 3 Graph
Avg. FPS
7 fps
9 fps
1% Low
1 fps
4 fps
0.1% Low
1 fps
2 fps
1% Low Delta
534 ms
140 ms
0.1% Low Delta
946 ms
334 ms
Avg. FPS On Very Low
30 fps
48 fps
Civilization VI
5.3
3.7
Civilization VI Graph
Avg. FPS
43 fps
19 fps
1% Low
23 fps
10 fps
0.1% Low
22 fps
6 fps
1% Low Delta
20 ms
50 ms
0.1% Low Delta
22 ms
117 ms
Avg. FPS On Minimum
80 fps
76 fps
Avg. Turn Time
10.77 s
9.21 s
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
8.8
5.5
CS:GO graph
Avg. FPS
110 fps
52 fps
1% Low
N/A
26 fps
0.1% Low
N/A
20 fps
1% Low Delta
N/A
19 ms
0.1% Low Delta
N/A
31 ms
Avg. FPS On Low
143 fps
99 fps
Shadow Of The Tomb Raider
6.0
1.9
Avg. FPS
49 fps
12 fps
1% Low
31 fps
3 fps
0.1% Low
16 fps
1 fps
1% Low Delta
12 ms
313 ms
0.1% Low Delta
44 ms
928 ms
Avg. FPS On Lowest
71 fps
23 fps
Thermals And Noise
6.4
7.3
Keyboard Temps Picture
Keyboard Temp While Idle
29 °C (85 °F)
32 °C (89 °F)
Keyboard Temp Under Load
50 °C (123 °F)
45 °C (113 °F)
Fan Noise While Idle
25.0 dBA
25.0 dBA
Fan Noise Under Load
50.0 dBA
46.0 dBA
Power & Fan Control App
No
No
Performance Over Time
10
6.3
Performance Over Time Image
CPU Temp (Cinebench)
96 °C
66 °C
CPU Perf. Loss (Cinebench)
0% loss
10% loss
GPU Temp (Heaven)
75 °C
61 °C
GPU Perf. Loss (Heaven)
0% loss
12% loss
Additional Features And Software
Software
Operating System
macOS
Windows 10
Additional Software
None
Yes
Extra Features
RGB Illumination
No
No
Touch Pen
No
No
Secondary Display
Yes
No
Biometrics
Fingerprint Sensor
Face Recognition
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Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2019)
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15 (2019)
Comments
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2019) vs Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15 (2019): Main Discussion
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