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- Table of Contents
- Top
- Main Differences
- Design
- Display
- Interface
- Connectivity
- Configuration
- Performance
- Additional Features And Software
- Comments
Microsoft Surface Pro 8 (2021) vs Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021)
Side-by-Side Comparison
Products
Microsoft Surface Pro 8 (2021)
Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021)
Tested using Methodology v0.8.2
Updated Aug 14, 2024 02:30 PM
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Size13"
Operating SystemWindows 11
Size14"
Operating SystemmacOS
Variants
- 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)
- MacBook Pro 14 (MKGT3LL/A) (Silver - M1 Pro/10‑core CPU/16‑core GPU/16GB/1TB)
- MacBook Pro 14 (MKGR3LL/A) (Silver - M1 Pro/8‑core CPU/14‑core GPU/16GB/512GB)
- MacBook Pro 14 (MKGQ3LL/A) (Space Gray - M1 Pro/10‑core CPU/16‑core GPU/16GB/1TB)
- MacBook Pro 14 (MKGP3LL/A) (Space Gray - M1 Pro/8‑core CPU/14‑core GPU/16GB/512GB)
Our Verdict
Microsoft Surface Pro 8 (2021)
Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021)
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) and the Microsoft Surface Pro 8 (2021) are both very different laptops. The MacBook is a mobile workstation aimed towards content creators with heavy workloads, whereas the Surface is a tablet meant for productivity use. The MacBook's M1 Pro and M1 Max chips are significantly better at handling heavy tasks like video editing and 3D rendering than the Surface's Intel chips. Additionally, the MacBook's display, touchpad, and speakers are significantly better, and it has a more flexible port selection and a much longer battery life. On the other hand, the Surface's slightly taller 3:2 aspect ratio means you have to scroll less when reading articles or formatting text, and since it's lighter and more compact, it's easier to bring around. Also, you can easily replace its M.2 drive.
Main Differences forSchool
School
Threshold
School
7.7
8.7
Battery
6.3
9.2
Touchpad
7.6
9.2
Ports
5.5
8.5
Portability
8.9
8.4
Full Comparison
Design
Style
Style Photo
Form Factor
Tablet
Traditional (Clamshell)
Build Quality
8.5
9.5
Build Quality Photo
Hinge
6.9
9.1
Hinge Photo
Range
170°
135°
Stability
Good
Good
One Finger Lift
No
Yes
Portability
8.9
8.4
Dimensions Photo
Size
13"
14"
Thickness
0.7" (1.8 cm)
0.6" (1.6 cm)
Width
11.5" (29.1 cm)
12.3" (31.3 cm)
Depth
8.5" (21.7 cm)
8.7" (22.1 cm)
Volume
67.4 in³ (1,105.1 cm³)
67.5 in³ (1,106.8 cm³)
Weight
2.6 lbs (1.2 kg)
3.5 lbs (1.6 kg)
Charger Size
6.9 in³ (112.5 cm³)
9.6 in³ (157.5 cm³)
Charger Weight
0.6 lbs (0.3 kg)
0.7 lbs (0.3 kg)
Serviceability
1.5
3.5
Internals Photo
Ease Of Access
0
6.0
RAM Slots
0
0
Storage Slots
1
0
Replaceable Battery
No
Yes
Replaceable Wireless Adapter
No
No
In The Box
In The Box Photo
Display
Screen Specs
Display Photo
Resolution
2880 x 1920
3024 x 1964
Aspect Ratio
3:2
16:10
Pixel Density
266 PPI
255 PPI
Panel Type
IPS
IPS
Touch Screen
Yes
No
Screen-To-Body Ratio
80%
89%
Refresh Rate
8.7
8.7
Motion Blur
Refresh Rate
120 Hz
120 Hz
Variable Refresh Rate
Dynamic Refresh Rate
Apple ProMotion
Contrast
7.4
10
Contrast Photo
Native Contrast
1,375 : 1
50,850 : 1
Brightness
8.3
8.6
Maximum Brightness
432 cd/m²
476 cd/m²
Minimum Brightness
2 cd/m²
4 cd/m²
Reflections
7.3
8.8
Reflections Photo Off
Reflections Photo Max
Screen Finish
Glossy
Glossy
Total Reflections
4.31%
1.92%
Indirect Reflections
0.69%
0.18%
Calculated Direct Reflections
3.62%
1.74%
Black Uniformity
7.7
10
Black Uniformity Photo
Uniformity (Std. Dev.)
0.933%
0.350%
Horizontal Viewing Angle
6.4
6.9
Horizontal Viewing Angle Video
Horizontal Chroma Picture
Color Washout From Left
25°
26°
Color Washout From Right
26°
29°
Horizontal Hue Picture
Color Shift From Left
28°
38°
Color Shift From Right
35°
44°
Horizontal Lightness Picture
Brightness Loss From Left
26°
29°
Brightness Loss From Right
27°
32°
Black Level Raise From Left
60°
60°
Black Level Raise From Right
60°
60°
Gamma Shift From Left
24°
33°
Gamma Shift From Right
26°
37°
Vertical Viewing Angle
6.4
6.6
Vertical Viewing Angle Video
Vertical Chroma Picture
Color Washout From Below
26°
27°
Color Washout From Above
27°
31°
Vertical Hue Picture
Color Shift From Below
30°
37°
Color Shift From Above
36°
42°
Vertical Lightness Picture
Brightness Loss From Below
28°
31°
Brightness Loss From Above
29°
34°
Black Level Raise From Below
45°
45°
Black Level Raise From Above
45°
40°
Gamma Shift From Below
22°
31°
Gamma Shift From Above
25°
33°
Out-Of-The-Box Color Accuracy
7.6
9.8
White Balance Screencap
Gamma Curve Screencap
Color Screencap
Avg. White Balance dE
3.06
1.63
Avg. Gamma
2.09
2.22
Avg. Color dE
2.87
1.05
Avg. Color Temperature
6,150 K
6,675.1 K
Color Gamut
8.8
9.4
Gamut SDR
sRGB xy
99.89%
99.97%
sRGB uv
99.62%
99.88%
Adobe RGB xy
80.08%
88.88%
Adobe RGB uv
88.07%
94%
Gamut HDR
DCI P3 xy
84.95%
99.82%
DCI P3 uv
88.99%
99.43%
Rec. 2020 xy
60.96%
72.75%
Rec. 2020 uv
64.85%
73.82%
Flicker
10
10
Flicker Graph
Flicker-Free
Yes
No
Flicker Frequency
No Flicker
> 1000Hz
Flicker Active Below
N/A
0%
Interface
Keyboard
8.2
8.0
Keyboard Photo
Typing Quality
8.0
8.0
Numpad
No
No
Backlighting
Adjustable
Adjustable
Key Switch Actuation Graph
Operating Force
65 gf
66 gf
Actuation Force
38 gf
41 gf
Pre-Travel
1.05 mm
0.75 mm
Total Travel
1.56 mm
0.86 mm
Touchpad
7.6
9.2
Touchpad Photo
Tracking Quality
8.0
9.5
Size
10.1 in² (65.0 cm²)
16.1 in² (104.0 cm²)
Material
Glass
Glass
Dedicated Buttons
No
No
Speakers
7.5
8.0
Frequency Response Plot
Max Volume
72 dB SPL
74 dB SPL
Standard Error @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)
5.8 dB
3.9 dB
Slope @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)
2.3
0.6
Bass Extension (Low-Frequency Ext.)
143 Hz
102 Hz
Treble Extension (High-Frequency Ext.)
20 kHz
20 kHz
Dynamic Range Compression @ Max Vol.
1.7 dB
3.3 dB
Webcam & Microphone
8.7
9.1
Webcam Video Sample
Video Quality
9.0
9.5
Resolution
1080p
1080p
Position
Top Center
Top Center
Privacy Cover
No
No
Face Unlock
Yes
No
Connectivity
Ports
5.5
8.5
Ports Photo
USB-A Ports
0
0
USB-C Ports
2
3
Thunderbolt
Thunderbolt 4
Thunderbolt 4
USB-C Charging
Yes
Yes
USB-C Display Out
Yes
Yes
HDMI
No
2.0
DisplayPort
No
No
3.5mm Jack
Combo mic/headphone
Combo mic/headphone
Card Reader
No
SD UHS 2
Ethernet
No
No
Proprietary Port
Surface Connect
Apple MagSafe 3
Security Lock
No
No
Wireless Communication
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)
Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)
Bluetooth
5.1
5.0
Configuration
CPU
Brand
Intel
Apple
Model
Core i7-1185G7
M1 Pro
Core Count
4
8
Thread Count
8
8
GPU
Brand
Intel
Apple
Model
Iris Xe Graphics G7
M1 Pro
Dedicated/Integrated
Integrated
Integrated
VRAM Size
N/A
N/A
RAM
Capacity
16 GB
16 GB
Modules
8 (Soldered)
Unknown
Type
LP-DDR4X
LP-DDR5
Speed
4,267 MHz
6,400 MHz
Storage
Advertised Capacity
256 GB
512 GB
Usable Capacity
208 GB
463 GB
Drive 1
SK Hynix HFM256GD3GX013N
Apple SSD AP512R
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)
8.1
9.4
Geekbench Image
CPU Single-Thread
1,317 points
1,766 points
CPU Multi-Thread
5,089 points
10,004 points
GPU Compute
19,125 points
38,523 points
Cinebench R23 (CPU Rendering)
8.2
9.5
Cinebench R23 Photo
Single-Thread
1,243 points
1,532 points
Multi-Thread
5,213 points
9,576 points
Blender (3D Rendering)
5.8
7.2
Blender Image
CPU Render Time
7.8 min
5.5 min
GPU Render Time
N/A
N/A
GPU Render Time (Optix)
N/A
N/A
Basemark GPU (Game Scene)
5.4
8.3
Basemark Image
Overall Score
19,134
62,548
Storage Drive Performance
9.2
9.5
Storage Performance Image
Sequential Write Speed
1,195.4 MB/s
4,513.3 MB/s
Sequential Read Speed
2,262.0 MB/s
4,831.8 MB/s
Random Write Speed
76.9 MB/s
54.2 MB/s
Random Read Speed
56.5 MB/s
57.5 MB/s
Battery
6.3
9.2
Capacity
50 Wh
70 Wh
Battery Life (Web Browsing)
7.3 hrs
12.5 hrs
Battery Life (Video Playback)
5.7 hrs
9.6 hrs
Battery Life (Gaming)
2.4 hrs
1.8 hrs
Charge Time
2.5 hrs
2.2 hrs
Borderlands 3
1.9
4.4
Borderlands 3 Graph
Avg. FPS
12 fps
32 fps
1% Low
6 fps
18 fps
0.1% Low
2 fps
9 fps
1% Low Delta
94 ms
25 ms
0.1% Low Delta
341 ms
78 ms
Avg. FPS On Very Low
25 fps
53 fps
Civilization VI
4.8
5.8
Civilization VI Graph
Avg. FPS
24 fps
44 fps
1% Low
17 fps
29 fps
0.1% Low
16 fps
21 fps
1% Low Delta
18 ms
12 ms
0.1% Low Delta
21 ms
25 ms
Avg. FPS On Minimum
93 fps
59 fps
Avg. Turn Time
8.31 s
10.7 s
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
7.7
8.8
CS:GO graph
Avg. FPS
93 fps
107 fps
1% Low
51 fps
N/A
0.1% Low
42 fps
N/A
1% Low Delta
9 ms
N/A
0.1% Low Delta
13 ms
N/A
Avg. FPS On Low
161 fps
144 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
3.4
6.6
Avg. FPS
22 fps
50 fps
1% Low
12 fps
36 fps
0.1% Low
4 fps
27 fps
1% Low Delta
41 ms
8 ms
0.1% Low Delta
180 ms
18 ms
Avg. FPS On Lowest
40 fps
69 fps
Thermals And Noise
9.5
7.5
Keyboard Temps Picture
Keyboard Temp While Idle
32 °C (90 °F)
26 °C (78 °F)
Keyboard Temp Under Load
32 °C (90 °F)
48 °C (118 °F)
Fan Noise While Idle
25.0 dBA
25.0 dBA
Fan Noise Under Load
25.0 dBA
42.1 dBA
Power & Fan Control App
No
No
Performance Over Time
7.9
9.3
Performance Over Time Graph
CPU Temp (Cinebench)
63 °C
93 °C
CPU Perf. Loss (Cinebench)
10% loss
4% loss
GPU Temp (Heaven)
61 °C
88 °C
GPU Perf. Loss (Heaven)
2% loss
0% loss
Additional Features And Software
Software
Operating System
Windows 11
macOS
Additional Software
None
None
Extra Features
RGB Illumination
No
No
Touch Pen
No
No
Secondary Display
No
No
Biometrics
Face Recognition
Fingerprint Sensor
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Microsoft Surface Pro 8 (2021)
Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021)
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Microsoft Surface Pro 8 (2021) vs Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021): Main Discussion
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