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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 Pro 8 (2021)
Side-by-Side Comparison
Products
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2019)
Microsoft Surface Pro 8 (2021)
Tested using Methodology v0.8
Updated Mar 18, 2024 06:01 PM
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comTested using Methodology v0.8.2
Updated Aug 14, 2024 02:30 PM
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Size16"
Operating SystemmacOS
Size13"
Operating SystemWindows 11
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 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 Pro 16 (2019)
Microsoft Surface Pro 8 (2021)
The Microsoft Surface Pro 8 (2021) and the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2019) are both very different laptops. The MacBook is a mobile workstation aimed at content creators with heavy workloads, whereas the Surface is a tablet meant for productivity use. The Surface's screen looks sharper, it supports a faster 120Hz refresh rate, and its slightly taller 3:2 aspect ratio means you have to scroll less when reading articles or formatting text. Additionally, it's easier to bring around since it's much smaller and lighter, its keyboard feels significantly better to use, and its 1080p webcam is better for video conferences. On the other hand, the MacBook's display has a wider color gamut with full DCI P3 coverage, its touchpad and speakers are far better, it has more Thunderbolt ports, and its battery lasts much longer. Also, its selection of higher-end Intel 9th Gen CPUs outperforms the more power-efficient Intel 11th Gen CPUs on the Surface, and you can get the MacBook with dedicated mobile workstation GPUs.
Notice: Two or more of the products selected have been tested with different test methodologies, so some of the results below aren't directly comparable. Learn how our test benches and scoring system work, and read more about the latest changes to our laptops test methodology.
Main Differences for
Threshold
School
7.9
7.7
Portability
7.7
8.9
Touchpad
9.7
7.6
Battery
7.2
6.3
Keyboard
6.9
8.2
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
134°
170°
Stability
Good
Good
One Finger Lift
Yes
No
Portability
7.7
8.9
Dimensions Photo
Size
16"
13"
Thickness
0.6" (1.6 cm)
0.7" (1.8 cm)
Width
14.1" (35.8 cm)
11.5" (29.1 cm)
Depth
9.7" (24.7 cm)
8.5" (21.7 cm)
Volume
86.2 in³ (1,411.9 cm³)
67.4 in³ (1,105.1 cm³)
Weight
4.3 lbs (2.0 kg)
2.6 lbs (1.2 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
1.5
Internals Photo
Ease Of Access
5.5
0
RAM Slots
0
0
Storage Slots
0
1
Replaceable Battery
No
No
Replaceable Wireless Adapter
No
No
In The Box
In The Box Photo
Display
Screen Specs
Display Photo
Resolution
3072 x 1920
2880 x 1920
Aspect Ratio
16:10
3:2
Pixel Density
226 PPI
266 PPI
Panel Type
IPS
IPS
Touch Screen
No
Yes
Screen-To-Body Ratio
87%
80%
Refresh Rate
5.9
8.7
Motion Blur
Refresh Rate
60 Hz
120 Hz
Variable Refresh Rate
No
Dynamic Refresh Rate
Contrast
7.6
7.4
Contrast Photo
Native Contrast
1,496 : 1
1,375 : 1
Brightness
8.7
8.3
Maximum Brightness
496 cd/m²
432 cd/m²
Minimum Brightness
5 cd/m²
2 cd/m²
Reflections
8.9
7.3
Reflections Photo Off
Reflections Photo Max
Screen Finish
Glossy
Glossy
Total Reflections
1.69%
4.31%
Indirect Reflections
0.17%
0.69%
Calculated Direct Reflections
1.52%
3.62%
Black Uniformity
8.3
7.7
Black Uniformity Photo
Uniformity (Std. Dev.)
0.777%
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
27°
26°
Horizontal Hue Picture
Color Shift From Left
40°
28°
Color Shift From Right
44°
35°
Horizontal Lightness Picture
Brightness Loss From Left
29°
26°
Brightness Loss From Right
28°
27°
Black Level Raise From Left
60°
60°
Black Level Raise From Right
60°
60°
Gamma Shift From Left
33°
24°
Gamma Shift From Right
35°
26°
Vertical Viewing Angle
6.6
6.4
Vertical Viewing Angle Video
Vertical Chroma Picture
Color Washout From Below
24°
26°
Color Washout From Above
26°
27°
Vertical Hue Picture
Color Shift From Below
37°
30°
Color Shift From Above
44°
36°
Vertical Lightness Picture
Brightness Loss From Below
28°
28°
Brightness Loss From Above
30°
29°
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°
25°
Out-Of-The-Box Color Accuracy
9.4
7.6
White Balance Screencap
Gamma Curve Screencap
Color Screencap
Avg. White Balance dE
2.0274
3.06
Avg. Gamma
2.1628
2.09
Avg. Color dE
1.3813
2.87
Avg. Color Temperature
6,899.1 K
6,150 K
Color Gamut
9.5
8.8
Gamut SDR
sRGB xy
99.99%
99.89%
sRGB uv
99.99%
99.62%
Adobe RGB xy
88.38%
80.08%
Adobe RGB uv
93.57%
88.07%
Gamut HDR
DCI P3 xy
99.88%
84.95%
DCI P3 uv
99.82%
88.99%
Rec. 2020 xy
73.42%
60.96%
Rec. 2020 uv
76.37%
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
6.9
8.2
Keyboard Photo
Typing Quality
6.5
8.0
Numpad
No
No
Backlighting
Adjustable
Adjustable
Key Switch Actuation Graph
Operating Force
62 gf
65 gf
Actuation Force
44 gf
38 gf
Pre-Travel
0.82 mm
1.05 mm
Total Travel
1.09 mm
1.56 mm
Touchpad
9.7
7.6
Touchpad Photo
Tracking Quality
9.5
8.0
Size
24.8 in² (160.0 cm²)
10.1 in² (65.0 cm²)
Material
Glass
Glass
Dedicated Buttons
No
No
Speakers
8.9
7.5
Frequency Response Plot
Max Volume
82 dB SPL
72 dB SPL
Standard Error @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)
5.9 dB
5.8 dB
Slope @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)
2.2
2.3
Bass Extension (Low-Frequency Ext.)
155 Hz
143 Hz
Treble Extension (High-Frequency Ext.)
20 kHz
20 kHz
Dynamic Range Compression @ Max Vol.
2.1 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
6.5
5.5
Ports Photo
USB-A Ports
0
0
USB-C Ports
4
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 5 (802.11ac)
Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)
Bluetooth
5.0
5.1
Configuration
CPU
Brand
Intel
Intel
Model
Core i9-9880H
Core i7-1185G7
Core Count
8
4
Thread Count
16
8
GPU
Brand
AMD
Intel
Model
Radeon Pro 5500M
Iris Xe Graphics G7
Dedicated/Integrated
Dedicated
Integrated
VRAM Size
4 GB
N/A
RAM
Capacity
16 GB
16 GB
Modules
2 (Soldered)
8 (Soldered)
Type
DDR4
LP-DDR4X
Speed
2,667 MHz
4,267 MHz
Storage
Advertised Capacity
1,000 GB
256 GB
Usable Capacity
983 GB
208 GB
Drive 1
Apple SSD AP1024N
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)
8.5
8.1
Geekbench Image
CPU Single-Thread
1,164 points
1,317 points
CPU Multi-Thread
6,795 points
5,089 points
GPU Compute
28,987 points
19,125 points
Cinebench R23 (CPU Rendering)
8.9
8.2
Cinebench R23 Photo
Single-Thread
1,191 points
1,243 points
Multi-Thread
8,792 points
5,213 points
Blender (3D Rendering)
7.8
5.8
Blender Image
CPU Render Time
4.4 min
7.8 min
GPU Render Time
N/A
N/A
GPU Render Time (Optix)
N/A
N/A
Basemark GPU (Game Scene)
6.9
5.4
Basemark Image
Overall Score
37,312
19,134
Storage Drive Performance
9.5
9.2
Storage Performance Image
Sequential Write Speed
1,886.2 MB/s
1,195.4 MB/s
Sequential Read Speed
2,820.4 MB/s
2,262.0 MB/s
Random Write Speed
97.1 MB/s
76.9 MB/s
Random Read Speed
68.2 MB/s
56.5 MB/s
Battery
7.2
6.3
Capacity
100 Wh
50 Wh
Battery Life (Web Browsing)
9.6 hrs
7.3 hrs
Battery Life (Video Playback)
6.5 hrs
5.7 hrs
Battery Life (Gaming)
1.0 hrs
2.4 hrs
Charge Time
2.5 hrs
2.5 hrs
Borderlands 3
1.1
1.9
Borderlands 3 Graph
Avg. FPS
7 fps
12 fps
1% Low
1 fps
6 fps
0.1% Low
1 fps
2 fps
1% Low Delta
534 ms
94 ms
0.1% Low Delta
946 ms
341 ms
Avg. FPS On Very Low
30 fps
25 fps
Civilization VI
5.3
4.8
Civilization VI Graph
Avg. FPS
43 fps
24 fps
1% Low
23 fps
17 fps
0.1% Low
22 fps
16 fps
1% Low Delta
20 ms
18 ms
0.1% Low Delta
22 ms
21 ms
Avg. FPS On Minimum
80 fps
93 fps
Avg. Turn Time
10.77 s
8.31 s
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
8.8
7.7
CS:GO graph
Avg. FPS
110 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
143 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
6.0
3.4
Avg. FPS
49 fps
22 fps
1% Low
31 fps
12 fps
0.1% Low
16 fps
4 fps
1% Low Delta
12 ms
41 ms
0.1% Low Delta
44 ms
180 ms
Avg. FPS On Lowest
71 fps
40 fps
Thermals And Noise
6.4
9.5
Keyboard Temps Picture
Keyboard Temp While Idle
29 °C (85 °F)
32 °C (90 °F)
Keyboard Temp Under Load
50 °C (123 °F)
32 °C (90 °F)
Fan Noise While Idle
25.0 dBA
25.0 dBA
Fan Noise Under Load
50.0 dBA
25.0 dBA
Power & Fan Control App
No
No
Performance Over Time
10
7.9
Performance Over Time Graph
Performance Over Time Image
CPU Temp (Cinebench)
96 °C
63 °C
CPU Perf. Loss (Cinebench)
0% loss
10% loss
GPU Temp (Heaven)
75 °C
61 °C
GPU Perf. Loss (Heaven)
0% 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
Yes
No
Biometrics
Fingerprint Sensor
Face Recognition
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Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2019)
Microsoft Surface Pro 8 (2021)
Comments
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2019) vs Microsoft Surface Pro 8 (2021): Main Discussion
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