Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15 (2019) vs Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) Side-by-Side Laptop Comparison

Silver - M1 Max/10‑core CPU/32‑core GPU/32GB/1TB

MacBook Pro 16 (MK1H3LL/A)

Matte Black - Ryzen 5/8GB/256GB

Surface Laptop 3 15 (‎VGZ-00022)

Silver - M1 Pro chip/10‑core CPU/16‑core GPU/16GB/1TB

MacBook Pro 16 (MK1F3LL/A)

Matte Black - Ryzen 7/16GB/512GB

Surface Laptop 3 15 (‎VFL-00022)

Silver - M1 Pro/10‑core CPU/16‑core GPU/16GB/512GB

MacBook Pro 16 (MK1E3LL/A)

Platinum - Ryzen 5/16GB/256GB

Surface Laptop 3 15 (V9R-00001)

Space Gray - M1 Max/10‑core CPU/32‑core GPU/32GB/1TB

MacBook Pro 16 (MK1A3LL/A)

Platinum - Ryzen 5/8GB/128GB

Surface Laptop 3 15 (V4G-0001)

Space Gray - M1 Pro/10‑core CPU/16‑core GPU/16GB/1TB

MacBook Pro 16 (MK193LL/A)

Platinum - Ryzen 5/8GB/256GB

Surface Laptop 3 15 (‎VGZ-00001)

Space Gray - M1 Pro/10‑core CPU/16‑core GPU/16GB/512GB

MacBook Pro 16 (‎MK183LL/A)

Platinum - Ryzen 7/16GB/512GB

Surface Laptop 3 15 (‎VFL-00001)

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

0.10

School

7.5

8.6

Battery

6.1

9.4

Portability

8.5

7.2

Geekbench 5 (Synthetics)

4.9

9.7

Ports

4.5

8.5

Reflections

6.2

8.8

Full Comparison

School

7.5

8.6

Gaming

5.4

8.0

Multimedia

7.8

8.3

Workstation

5.7

8.7

Business

7.2

8.4

Design

Style

Style Photo

Form Factor

Traditional (Clamshell)

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Build Quality

9.5

Build Quality Photo

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Hinge

9.1

Hinge Photo

Range

140°

135°

Stability

Good

One Finger Lift

Yes

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Portability

8.5

7.2

Dimensions Photo

Size

15"

16"

Thickness

0.6" (1.5 cm)

0.7" (1.7 cm)

Width

13.4" (34.0 cm)

14.0" (35.6 cm)

Depth

9.6" (24.4 cm)

9.8" (24.8 cm)

Volume

74.3 in³ (1,216.9 cm³)

91.6 in³ (1,500.9 cm³)

Weight

3.4 lbs (1.5 kg)

4.7 lbs (2.2 kg)

Charger Size

6.9 in³ (112.5 cm³)

13.3 in³ (218.3 cm³)

Charger Weight

0.6 lbs (0.3 kg)

1.1 lbs (0.5 kg)

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Serviceability

4.3

3.5

Internals Photo

Ease Of Access

4.5

6.0

RAM Slots

Storage Slots

Replaceable Battery

Yes

Replaceable Wireless Adapter

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In The Box

In The Box Photo

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Display

Screen Specs

Display Photo

Resolution

2496 x 1664

3456 x 2234

Aspect Ratio

3:2

16:10

Pixel Density

199 PPI

254 PPI

Panel Type

IPS

Touch Screen

Yes

Screen-To-Body Ratio

81%

91%

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Refresh Rate

6.9

8.7

Motion Blur

Refresh Rate

60 Hz

120 Hz

Variable Refresh Rate

FreeSync

Apple ProMotion

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Contrast

7.7

Contrast Photo

Native Contrast

1,589 : 1

50,250 : 1

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Brightness

8.0

8.5

Maximum Brightness

401 cd/m²

469 cd/m²

Minimum Brightness

4 cd/m²

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Reflections

6.2

8.8

Reflections Photo Off

Reflections Photo Max

Screen Finish

Glossy

Total Reflections

5.9%

1.91%

Indirect Reflections

0.572%

0.18%

Calculated Direct Reflections

5.33%

1.73%

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Black Uniformity

7.5

Black Uniformity Photo

Uniformity (Std. Dev.)

1.022%

0.355%

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Horizontal Viewing Angle

6.4

6.9

Horizontal Viewing Angle Video

Horizontal Chroma Picture

Color Washout From Left

26°

25°

Color Washout From Right

29°

Horizontal Hue Picture

Color Shift From Left

24°

39°

Color Shift From Right

31°

47°

Horizontal Lightness Picture

Brightness Loss From Left

33°

28°

Brightness Loss From Right

31°

32°

Black Level Raise From Left

60°

Black Level Raise From Right

60°

Gamma Shift From Left

19°

33°

Gamma Shift From Right

28°

38°

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Vertical Viewing Angle

6.1

7.0

Vertical Viewing Angle Video

Vertical Chroma Picture

Color Washout From Below

25°

26°

Color Washout From Above

22°

31°

Vertical Hue Picture

Color Shift From Below

24°

38°

Color Shift From Above

25°

45°

Vertical Lightness Picture

Brightness Loss From Below

28°

29°

Brightness Loss From Above

24°

34°

Black Level Raise From Below

45°

Black Level Raise From Above

45°

Gamma Shift From Below

22°

28°

Gamma Shift From Above

19°

33°

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Out-Of-The-Box Color Accuracy

9.9

White Balance Screencap

Gamma Curve Screencap

Color Screencap

Avg. White Balance dE

1.53

1.46

Avg. Gamma

2.18

2.22

Avg. Color dE

0.72

Avg. Color Temperature

6,613 K

6,709.7 K

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Color Gamut

8.3

9.5

Gamut SDR

sRGB xy

99.6%

99.94%

sRGB uv

99.08%

99.76%

Adobe RGB xy

74.38%

88.91%

Adobe RGB uv

85.14%

94.33%

Gamut HDR

DCI P3 xy

74.16%

99.73%

DCI P3 uv

79.51%

99.09%

Rec. 2020 xy

53.22%

72.6%

Rec. 2020 uv

57.96%

73.59%

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Flicker

Flicker Graph

Flicker-Free

Yes

Flicker Frequency

No Flicker

> 1000Hz

Flicker Active Below

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Interface

Keyboard

8.1

8.0

Keyboard Photo

Typing Quality

8.0

Numpad

Backlighting

Adjustable

Key Switch Actuation Graph

Operating Force

64 gf

59 gf

Actuation Force

38 gf

41 gf

Pre-Travel

0.92 mm

0.78 mm

Total Travel

1.42 mm

0.86 mm

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Touchpad

8.7

9.7

Touchpad Photo

Tracking Quality

9.0

9.5

Size

13.7 in² (88.6 cm²)

24.8 in² (160.0 cm²)

Material

Glass

Dedicated Buttons

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Speakers

6.9

8.4

Frequency Response Plot

Max Volume

70 dB SPL

76 dB SPL

Standard Error @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)

5.5 dB

4.9 dB

Slope @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)

1.4

0.7

Bass Extension (Low-Frequency Ext.)

250 Hz

116 Hz

Treble Extension (High-Frequency Ext.)

14 kHz

20 kHz

Dynamic Range Compression @ Max Vol.

3.2 dB

1.5 dB

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Webcam & Microphone

8.7

9.1

Webcam Video Sample

Video Quality

9.0

9.5

Resolution

720p

1080p

Position

Top Center

Privacy Cover

Face Unlock

Yes

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Connectivity

Ports

4.5

8.5

Ports Photo

USB-A Ports

USB-C Ports

Thunderbolt

Thunderbolt 4

USB-C Charging

Yes

USB-C Display Out

Yes

HDMI

2.0

DisplayPort

3.5mm Jack

Combo mic/headphone

Card Reader

SD UHS 2

Ethernet

Proprietary Port

Surface Connect

Apple MagSafe 3

Security Lock

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Wireless Communication

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac)

Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)

Bluetooth

5.0

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Configuration

CPU

Brand

AMD

Apple

Model

Ryzen 5 3580U

M1 Max

Core Count

Thread Count

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GPU

Brand

AMD

Apple

Model

Radeon Vega 9 Graphics

M1 Max

Dedicated/Integrated

Integrated

VRAM Size

N/A

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RAM

Capacity

8 GB

32 GB

Modules

2 (Soldered)

Unknown

Type

DDR4

LP-DDR5

Speed

2,400 MHz

6,400 MHz

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Storage

Advertised Capacity

128 GB

512 GB

Usable Capacity

74 GB

463 GB

Drive 1

SK Hynix HFM128GDGTNG-87A0A

Apple SSD AP512R

Drive 1 Type

SSD

Drive 2

No 2nd Drive

Drive 2 Type

No 2nd Drive

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Performance

Geekbench 5 (Synthetics)

4.9

9.7

Geekbench Image

CPU Single-Thread

478 points

1,784 points

CPU Multi-Thread

3,073 points

12,733 points

GPU Compute

11,953 points

68,226 points

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Cinebench R23 (CPU Rendering)

6.9

9.6

Cinebench R23 Photo

Single-Thread

945 points

1,535 points

Multi-Thread

3,905 points

12,390 points

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Blender (3D Rendering)

4.4

7.9

Blender Image

CPU Render Time

9.4 min

4.1 min

GPU Render Time

11.2 min

N/A

GPU Render Time (Optix)

N/A

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Basemark GPU (Game Scene)

3.9

9.0

Basemark Image

Overall Score

9,566

80,945

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Storage Drive Performance

8.2

9.5

Storage Performance Image

Sequential Write Speed

409.3 MB/s

4,506.1 MB/s

Sequential Read Speed

1,156.1 MB/s

4,846.1 MB/s

Random Write Speed

49.9 MB/s

54.2 MB/s

Random Read Speed

31.6 MB/s

57.5 MB/s

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Battery

6.1

9.4

Capacity

46 Wh

100 Wh

Battery Life (Web Browsing)

6.6 hrs

15.0 hrs

Battery Life (Video Playback)

5.8 hrs

8.4 hrs

Battery Life (Gaming)

2.7 hrs

2.1 hrs

Charge Time

2.3 hrs

2.1 hrs

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Borderlands 3

1.4

6.0

Borderlands 3 Graph

Avg. FPS

9 fps

48 fps

1% Low

4 fps

30 fps

0.1% Low

2 fps

16 fps

1% Low Delta

140 ms

12 ms

0.1% Low Delta

334 ms

43 ms

Avg. FPS On Very Low

48 fps

58 fps

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Civilization VI

3.7

6.8

Civilization VI Graph

Avg. FPS

19 fps

52 fps

1% Low

10 fps

37 fps

0.1% Low

6 fps

33 fps

1% Low Delta

50 ms

8 ms

0.1% Low Delta

117 ms

11 ms

Avg. FPS On Minimum

76 fps

97 fps

Avg. Turn Time

9.21 s

9.69 s

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Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

5.5

9.1

CS:GO graph

Avg. FPS

52 fps

129 fps

1% Low

26 fps

N/A

0.1% Low

20 fps

N/A

1% Low Delta

19 ms

N/A

0.1% Low Delta

31 ms

N/A

Avg. FPS On Low

99 fps

162 fps

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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

1.9

6.0

SOTTR Graph

Avg. FPS

12 fps

93 fps

1% Low

3 fps

25 fps

0.1% Low

1 fps

11 fps

1% Low Delta

313 ms

29 ms

0.1% Low Delta

928 ms

77 ms

Avg. FPS On Lowest

23 fps

134 fps

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Thermals And Noise

7.3

7.7

Keyboard Temps Picture

Keyboard Temp While Idle

32 °C (89 °F)

25 °C (77 °F)

Keyboard Temp Under Load

45 °C (113 °F)

45 °C (112 °F)

Fan Noise While Idle

25.0 dBA

Fan Noise Under Load

46.0 dBA

43.4 dBA

Power & Fan Control App

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Performance Over Time

6.3

9.8

Performance Over Time Graph

Performance Over Time Image

CPU Temp (Cinebench)

66 °C

93 °C

CPU Perf. Loss (Cinebench)

10% loss

1% loss

GPU Temp (Heaven)

61 °C

88 °C

GPU Perf. Loss (Heaven)

12% loss

0% loss

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Additional Features And Software

Software

Operating System

Windows 10

macOS

Additional Software

Yes

None

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Extra Features

RGB Illumination

Touch Pen

Secondary Display

Biometrics

Face Recognition

Fingerprint Sensor

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Check Price

Matte Black - Ryzen 5/16GB/256GB

Surface Laptop 3 15 (V9R-00022)

Silver - M1 Max/10‑core CPU/32‑core GPU/32GB/1TB

MacBook Pro 16 (MK1H3LL/A)

Matte Black - Ryzen 5/8GB/256GB

Surface Laptop 3 15 (‎VGZ-00022)

Silver - M1 Pro chip/10‑core CPU/16‑core GPU/16GB/1TB

MacBook Pro 16 (MK1F3LL/A)

Matte Black - Ryzen 7/16GB/512GB

Surface Laptop 3 15 (‎VFL-00022)

Silver - M1 Pro/10‑core CPU/16‑core GPU/16GB/512GB

MacBook Pro 16 (MK1E3LL/A)

Platinum - Ryzen 5/16GB/256GB

Surface Laptop 3 15 (V9R-00001)

Space Gray - M1 Max/10‑core CPU/32‑core GPU/32GB/1TB

MacBook Pro 16 (MK1A3LL/A)

Platinum - Ryzen 5/8GB/128GB

Surface Laptop 3 15 (V4G-0001)

Space Gray - M1 Pro/10‑core CPU/16‑core GPU/16GB/1TB

MacBook Pro 16 (MK193LL/A)

Platinum - Ryzen 5/8GB/256GB

Surface Laptop 3 15 (‎VGZ-00001)

Space Gray - M1 Pro/10‑core CPU/16‑core GPU/16GB/512GB

MacBook Pro 16 (‎MK183LL/A)

Platinum - Ryzen 7/16GB/512GB

Surface Laptop 3 15 (‎VFL-00001)