Apple's M1 MacBook Air VS Surface Laptop 4! FULL COMPARE & BENCHMARKS!

I got my hands on the new 13.5" Surface Laptop 4! This just launched so I compare the specs and design to Apple's 13" M1 MacBook Air. I walk through the difference in the configuration options and perform a full suite of benchmarks!
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[@animaeshen]

*Surface laptop is for people who wanted a MacBook Air but need Windows*

[@pranavthammana4091]

me

[@stef0564]

Macbook air -> bootcamp

[@babymamba96]

Me

[@raphfrr]

Facts

[@omooers]

And a touch pad that can actually click by tapping it 🤣

[@angzander8536]

Thank you so much to compare the surface and the MacBook Air. Much appreciated. This is the video i been waiting for!

[@kam5333]

All depends on your needs. I love MAC for it's longevity and performance on editing photos/videos... HOWEVER, I think the surface is best for developers and coding/office work. The 2:3 aspect ratio is a game-changer. Also, personally, most of the clients I work with use Windows. With a surface I wouldn't have to worry about any compatibility issues or conflicts. So it really depends what you plan on doing with it.

[@Doraemon-wc2nn]

Sir , is it good for freelancing?

[@noshinsubha5870]

Is it good for full time student

[@jannahbustamante]

It’s good for a student! Bought mine refurbished on Amazon and I’ve had it for 3 years now

[@alexeez1]

Do you know where the king of hearts art in the opening shot is from? I’m a magician and would love to find one for my office!

[@revelationsoundstudio]

Great review by the way. It seems 13" is more popular than 15. Personally I prefer bigger monitors especially if your watching a video, concert or movie. Thankfully Microsoft offers the 15 which the Mac does not on the air. I wanted the soft touch that the 13" has on the 15" and was disappointed it did not. However keeping the material clean is a important discussion so I am thinking the metal is better. I actually just ordered the 15" Laptop 4. I think most buyers want something to check email, Word, watch videos, and daily tasks. If we wanted a laptop for games, we would go for something else which would be more expensive. I am glad the battery life on the Laptop 4 was improved and the power is more than enough for regular tasks. I had a IMac, several years later I upgrading to a newer IMac but I decided I like Windows better and I am glad I went back. You can update the CPU to Intel Core I5 on Laptop 4 without getting too expensive if you want more power.

[@br_i4360]

Nice review. I might have missed it but what power slider / power plan did you use with the Surface Laptop 4?

[@TechEdge-101]

What were the parameters of these tests? Was the new Surface Laptop 4 plugged in? Was it set to "performance" mode under battery settings? I understand why anyone would forget about these settings; however, in the Windows world you have to adjust these settings in order to get the best performance out of a machine. Dave2D just put out a video and the numbers fall more in line with I'd expect out of this laptop. By these numbers, the Surface Laptop 4 made regression in terms of performance compared to the SL3.

[@rickyxdsmoura106]

Did you run the tests on battery?

[@goldfish8888]

it would be great if you make a simple comparison chart for each benchmark.

[@sarahammoun3650]

i used to have a mac but it broke & now i’m buying a new one i’m sceptical on if i was the mc surface or another macbook. i’m in 11th grade n will use it for study and also for my self. what is the best option?

[@anettebernerova5970]

Hi- I'm deciding on a laptop for my starting interior design career (and because I move around a lot I cannot get a desktop) and so am deciding between these two. The Mac would win if it had a touch screen but it doesn't and I am super keen on that, and also Mac doesn't run Revit (one of the main softwares). but overall, I'd llike a mac more... I wonder if you have any additional comments that may help me chose here... Thnaks

[@deavo74]

I don’t recall you mentioning the Surface is touch screen. Good video though.

[@Antondepadua]

It's also stylus compatible which is great for me as I sign lots of documents

[@TheGaryduff]

In the video he use the touch screen so was implied

[@melomaniakjm]

@@j.d6009 not 1/3.

[@davidluna7]

he wouldn't be an apple insider if he left out basic features on windows that mac still doesn't have yet. especially pen use

[@thekwoka4707]

@@j.d6009 but it can be a deciding factor based on use cases.

[@tvrrp]

On handbrake you should use apple vt hardware encode to do encode tasks much faster

[@AppleInsider]

Yup, like I said there are more native ways for the Mac to far outpace but wanted to at least show with the same settings. Using VideoToolBox and even the Apple T2 would give it a much better time.

[@bladerr900]

Dose the windows laptop have a touch screen so handy wish my MBP had one Also if Apples laptops are old in design which is a common complaint from tech reviewers why are all other brands copying it and no one mentions the old design for them.

[@ravnitdeshpande]

Surface laptop 3 vs surface laptop 4 which one should I buy ???

[@loneindiedev8242]

As a game dev, it's quite easy to choose the M1 MacBook over the Surface 4 for me, just because of the huge performance difference. But as a photographer, the fact that MacOS doesn't recognize my Sony Alpha A7 at all - be it wired or wireless - forcing me to carry around USB SD card reader (+ a dongle to connect it) when I go have shooting sessions makes me want to choose Surface 4. I'm torn, I do both professionally. :(

[@jonathanwildemann3403]

Which one did you end up going with?

[@vaportrails7943]

I might have missed it, but I think you didn’t mention one pretty significant difference: The Surface has a touch screen.

[@anthonylai3622]

You did not mention that Laptop 4 is touch screen with pen ability. Which is a big plus.

[@abolbuna8418]

Am planning to study video editing. And my budget is 1300$. And with that money I can buy macbook air m2 8gb ram and 256gb storage. Should I buy this macbook or is there any better option from windows or mac

[@JG-oc9gc]

0:28 I see what you did there. Macbook comes out on top.

[@djross95]

Very fair review, especially for an Apple enthusiast site--nicely done! My takeaway: if you need or want to run Windows, the SL4 is an excellent device. But if you're in the Mac universe, especially if you already have an M1, there's nothing here that would make you want to switch.

[@AppleInsider]

Thank you! I really do always try to be fair! I’m just always hyper-critical, so cheap machines always bother me

[@scubasteve1555]

If you want to be in Mac OS for most of the time but still need to run Windows go with Mac. Parallels runs Windows phenomenally!!

[@tobeskid]

@@scubasteve1555 not anymore with the switch to m1 chips though

[@cemops8660]

@@tobeskid it still runs it very well!

[@VickiStokes]

And there are benchmarks with M1 MBA running Parallels faster than Surface Pro X. Granted Surface Pro X is not comparable to SL4. However, I'm willing to bet that since MBA M1 beats SL4 at all performance testing it will probably smoke the SL4 running Windows 10 in Parallels VM.

[@raffiefoxmew3691]

@AppleInsider secondly, there are other reviewers showing scores much higher than your reported ones for the SL4 in this video. Also, like in Dave2D's channel, they commented real world performance to be equitable. Care to comment and explain?

[@ReetPandher]

My guess: He tested the SL4 performance on-battery rather than plugged-in which at least in my opinion is a better representation of the real life performance. The performance of Windows laptops drops really hard when they are running on battery but that is not the case with Apple's M1 MacBooks.

[@wolf6gc72]

Yes, M1 performance is solid, even without battery. Windows laptop need plug in to stay a little competitive lol. The only thing on the M1 is thermal throttling cuz of the no fan, but its a good trade for the silence and even after that it manages to compete with this Surface which is actually more expensive...

[@MeechMode]

I would like to see both top of the line vs, with software optimized for each machine, would be more a real life VS. Thank You for your video. M1 VS I7 1185G, actually working not Benchmark Software.

[@toptiertech7291]

Yeah but then you’re talking a way different price range

[@josepalazuelos9092]

hey guys, I won an m1 MacBook pro via a scholarship should I keep or sell it? I currently have a surface laptop 3 that has been good to me but the only 'meh' thing is the 7hour battery life. I am in a bit of a dilemma and I am not sure how I would feel jumping ship to Apple. Any suggestions?

[@drewscilla]

Sell it to me if you still have it?

[@TheTobylyn]

But the mac needs one of the usb c ports to charge right? so when it's plugged in, you only have 1 usb port left? or am i wrong?

[@charlotte3114]

Good point

[@dantepastro8465]

Andrew, why did you forget to compare screen aspect ratio and trackpad/touchpad?

[@Johnmims65]

AppleInsider Between the i7 16 gb ram 512ssd surface laptop 4 and the i7 16gb ram 512ssd hp spectre x360 13.5" which would u recommend both cost the same.?

[@horse8726]

The surface laptop I would say!

[@Johnmims65]

@@horse8726 yeah I returned the surface laptop 4 and pre ordered the new Samsung galaxy book pro 360

[@austin8756]

So I think the 4680U should definitely perform better than that. I’m pretty sure it’s 6 cores and 12 threads. I’m starting to wonder if they gimped it with single channel ram.

[@austin8756]

Yeah I looked on geekbench browser and the 4600u can get up to 1056 single core and 5441 multi core. It’s a shame that Microsoft cut down the performance for no good reason.

[@andyH_England]

Yes, I saw another review where it choked and crashed doing 4k rendering on the 8gb model and I asked the same question, is it single-channel RAM (8gb version)? That forces you to pay the extra $200 for the 16gb version in the US (the UK no option for this yet). Add another $200 to get the 512gb option and we are talking $1500 for an R5 13-inch laptop which is almost ridiculous!

[@icanpooptwiceadayyay8771]

Yeah what is wrong with those scores I saw it preforming much better

[@kuau714]

Curious when you ran the tests did you have the surface book plugged into ac or was it running off of battery

[@AppleInsider]

They were both plugged in

[@ericdraven7857]

@@AppleInsider you should have unplugged both and run the same tests just to see if the surface looses performance like windows systems typically do unplugged. They are more mobile so using them like your on the road unplugged makes more sense.

[@super_hero2]

@@AppleInsider Did you check if the power management is set to performance? The benchmark seems off to me, there is no way it scores that low.

[@scubasteve1555]

@@super_hero2 The Ryzen processor they use is the last gen processor, it’s not the current Ryzen chips.

[@dalestevens3332]

@@ericdraven7857 Agreed. Max Tech did similar comparison between Mac M1 and Dell XPS and was astounded by the loss of speed when the XPS was unplugged.

[@randerins]

Watching this through my MacBook Air, while I wait for my Surface 4 to arrive in 3 days. I'm SO EXCITED 🤩

[@LyricbyLyricMusic]

Which one do you suggest?

[@dekynpeters5774]

So I’m building a office inside my closet and i have a 2018 MacBook Air and I’m trying to figure out should i upgrade to the 2020 MacBook Air or the surface.

[@saraben7222]

so what did u upgrade to

[@dekynpeters5774]

@@saraben7222I upgraded to the 2022 MacBook Air M2, which was worth it. I use it every day in clinical research, and it hasn't let me down one bit. However, if you are Doing multiple things, like being on the phone and multitasking between different tabs, it can die pretty quickly

[@RajaRamGurungRaza]

Please upload comparison video of Surface Laptop 5 Vs MacBook Air M2.

[@Darthwriter]

I’ve got a base M1 MacBook Air that I use for most aspects of my day to day work and personal use. (I’m a computer consultant and have been supporting Macs and PCs for 27 years now.) But I also have a base model Surface Laptop 3 (the matte black one which looks pretty sweet) that I got a couple months ago to do work for a specific customer that will only allow Windows machines on its network/domain, and I while it is not as fast as the M1 Air, it is one of the nicest Windows laptops I’ve ever owned and used. Very Mac-like in its overall feel construction with the nicest non-Mac trackpad I’ve ever used. I do like using it and the Windows Hello Camera is also nice. Battery life is good and I can charge it with my Air’s USB-C charger. However, I just got Parallels 16.5 working on the Air with Windows 10 ARM preview and it actually seems snappier and faster than the SL3 so… Mmmm. Mac wins, I guess.

[@joeyglasser8717]

Does parallels work for all windows/x86 applications? I ordered a MBA but I may not keep it if the options for windows emulation are not good enough.

[@RemmyMusic1]

@@joeyglasser8717 parallels outperforms many windows laptops on the m1

[@Darthwriter]

@@joeyglasser8717 Sadly, no. It depends on the App. Office does and most MS Store apps. After that it’s kind of a crap-shoot. Nothing as good as Apple’s Rosetta2. But if your going to be depending on Windows more than Mac… I’d get a Windows laptop. Check the apps you want to run and check compatibility with Windows on Arm.

[@obidean3964]

@@Darthwriter Thanks for your honest and unbiased comment, truly appreciate it mate 👌🏼 May I know do you need to pay to use parallel on Mac M1? I'm still in the process of shortlist all thin laptops beside MacBook Air and so far my computing workflow seems fine with what M1 supported but kinda curious about parallel, want to know more the experience from real user like you 😁

[@matthewwhite1505]

@@obidean3964 $80 for 1 year, or using Honey extension for $8 discount. I signed up for their beta/tech preview for Parallels M1 version and got a 20%/$16 discount when they released it 2 weeks ago It's been great

[@Josh-ex2iw]

Thanks for the review. I was choosing between these two for writing. I was more interested in a laptop that feels good to use with a nice keyboard than performance. When you showed the surface screen wobble as you touch it and the keyboard bending as you press down I chose the macbook air.

[@krishnansrinivasan830]

Nice & Thanks :)

[@Sting_ray]

I’d love to see a comparison to a maxed out Surface to the base M1 Air. This base Surface did so poorly I comparison that I’d like to see what Microsoft can do at their best.

[@AppleInsider]

Check out the link in the description. We compare the M1 to that Intel processor, including the i7 model

[@Shawn.Shooter]

I mean in all honesty M1 Macbook Air is the base model for m1 chip based Macbooks, there is also a slightly better Macbook Pro. So it should be maxed out surface laptop versus maxed out MacBook pro not air.

[@Sting_ray]

Looking at the text review/comparison, even the i7 model gets lower benchmark scores, at least in Geekbench which is the only comparison I’m noticing just from skimming. It’s kinda sad that Microsoft at their best is still less powerful than the base MacBook Air.

[@AppleInsider]

@@Sting_ray yeah, that’s all we had in that text, and those were just pulled from Geekbench itself. We take our own Cinebench scores as they don’t have a database like Geekbench does.

[@sorenlundgreen9170]

Apples silicon is awesome but there are few things that really take advantage of its architecture. Overall I would say the the MacBook Air is a good long term laptop, it will last forever. However it’s really all comes down to the software. I happen to like windows more because it fits my lifestyle yet I own a iPhone, iPad pro, AirPods pros, and an apple watch. I choose not to subscribe my whole life to the Apple ecosystem even though it is appealing. I have no need to take advantage of apples m1 chip but love that apple is innovating in some sort of way.

[@GSU_Panther_Nation]

Like all laptops, software is fine, but hardware like internal battery gets old overtime, so this is why most people replace to new laptops every 5-6 years

[@sorenlundgreen9170]

@@GSU_Panther_Nation Your comment is nonsensical.

[@gabrielm.942]

@@sorenlundgreen9170 no it isn’t lol

[@sorenlundgreen9170]

@@gabrielm.942 I mean my wife has had one for quite some time and has had no issues.

[@gabrielm.942]

@@sorenlundgreen9170 you said his comment was nonsensical. Also what he said is very true. Battery’s wear down over time. Yeah sure if everything is well taken care of it can last for years. However the more you use it the worse it gets. The electrons moving throw the parts like the CPU for instance wears it down and eventually causes heat issues and later speed issues.

[@jasonlui1183]

Not sure how much had the Surface improved but from personal experience, my Surface Pro was phenomenal in the first couple of years. It was practically the best piece of gadget I've ever bought, Used for work, on the road, never had a single hiccup. Heck, I think I help sold at least 20 more Surface back then. BUT! this but is huge, the keyboard broke right at the beginning of the 3rd year, then the wifi stoped working in another 6 months, not just that, after another months or so, the battery would not hold a charge pass one day. Went through the replacement of keyboards (three to be exact), and pen, and multiple Notorious "Microsoft Updates" to finally conclude, man... Apple and iOS never screw me over so many times.

[@jasonlui1183]

Hahahaha

[@akin242002]

Same here. I still have the first Surface Pro working that I got while working as a employee benefit analyst. It has been a great road warrior for work or personal use. However, the M1 chip is a game changer. I would get a M1 MacBook, but I'm too deep into Microsoft's ecosystem.

[@omsingh4478]

Yea but 50 percent of ipads bend after use for a few mo ths

[@omsingh4478]

@@akin242002 r u a video editor? That's literally the only case where m1s extra power shows itself

[@krishnasantosh8185]

@@hugonascimentobr Perfect !! haha

[@dannymc1905]

I just started a new job and I have the option to choose one or the other. I already have. MacBook Pro M1 14’. Should I switch it up because I already have a mac? Or stay in the apple universe that I’m already familiar with?

[@AppleInsider]

For sure stick with the same platform. Otherwise you’ll have to reteach yourself each time you switch. That way all your shortcuts and keyboard actions will be the same

[@dannymc1905]

@@AppleInsider I appreciate the advice

[@meghanstrange3014]

Im going to college really soon and i need to buy a laptop. For these past few days im deciding whether i should buy the macbook air or the surface 4. So thank you for this video. I know which one i should buy now!

[@siddharthjain9702]

Tell me also if you able to choose🤣

[@sadidmorshed8363]

So which one you will buy?

[@siddharthjain9702]

@@sadidmorshed8363 I think I'll have to physically check them out. And for that I need to wait for the sunday

[@sadidmorshed8363]

@@siddharthjain9702 Let me know!

[@meghanstrange3014]

@@siddharthjain9702 yea same. But the thing is, it’s lockdown in my country and we can’t go to the shops. And I don’t want to buy online.

[@arkadiushauke6258]

What about comparing both 2,3k $ options of those two ?

[@omarlite]

He mention m1 beats the i7 in the most expensive surface.

[@Dare2Blink]

The alcantara used here is very different from the first generation alcantara that you mention getting dirty. This should not happen at all on these. Also you forgot to mention that the Surface has a touch screen which in invaluable when browsing the web and also great for things like drag and drop, snapping windows and clicking on notifications. I also supports the surface pen in case you want to use it to sign documents and such. If you compare the higher tier versions of both devices, the performance difference disappears as well but there is no doubt that at the entry level the macs are much faster.

[@azmainekhan4145]

So the new alcantra on the surface laptop 4 won't get as dirty as the ones before?

[@TheTobylyn]

@@azmainekhan4145 I had the surface pro (the 2 in 1) with alcantara keyboard, its 4 years old, and its not dirty at all. The edge is a bit used to look at. I think it depends on how sweaty your hands are and how often you clean your laptop ;)

[@TheGunnyBadger03xx]

@@azmainekhan4145 Correct

[@TheGunnyBadger03xx]

Thank you! All of this!

[@johnssinging4686]

Thank you for the comparison, it wasn't bias at all. It was very helpful, definitely one of the best comparisons that I've watched on KZbin.

[@JohnFerrier]

Well, except that Geekbench and handbrake are the only benchmarks where the M1 wins. Choosing others would have showman different result. :/ It's a sneaky bias review.

[@akin242002]

Mac air with M1 chip beats the Surface Pro 4 in most cases unless a person runs a heavy Microsoft setup. Azure cloud computing, outlook emails, Xbox, and Microsoft 365 need to be in routinely use to justify the Surface Pro 4.

[@vimalramachandran]

No mention of the touchscreen on the Surface. Still a big omission from Macs.

[@youlovekaaa5334]

I view it as irrelevant. I don't really see people use touch screen

[@vimalramachandran]

@@youlovekaaa5334 It provides options by adding another input method. Since many other screens in our lives are touch enabled like phones, tablets, watches, car displays, home appliances etc., we naturally reach for our computer screens too. At least I do that.

[@TheTobylyn]

@@youlovekaaa5334 I'm so used to all my devices (also laptop) having touchscreens, that i keep trying to touch laptops without touchscreens :b It's almost human nature to touch screens in 2021 :D

[@LegendarySkypenis]

Well when the ipad also has a touchscreen with the same cpu I can't help but to expect in a future pro version.

[@rajanbirsingh3304]

Hi, please answer my question I'm getting a macbook for 3d AutoCAD course. I have two options to choose 2018 macbook Pro or 2020 macbook air. Both with i5 processor and 8 gb ram 256gb storage.. Which is better? 3years old pro or year old air. Both new seal pack. At same price. Please answer this question. Anyone else also know please help.

[@ahmadafnan3756]

go with M1 macbook air, autocad can running on M1..... please dont take the intel version unless you need a bootcamp (not suggest intel version mac anymore, just used paralell on M1)

[@rajanbirsingh3304]

@@ahmadafnan3756 I need to use windows version of autocad. So I'll use bootcamp and 8gb won't be enough for parallel and 16gb costs much higher. That's why I asked to choose from these two. Thanks for your reply.

[@yttean98]

HI, Maybe you can tell me(guess is OK) whether there any plans by Microsoft or any third party to port Windows 10 OS to a laptop with M1(or compatible) CPU. Thks.

[@amanagarwal1939]

No.

[@Heliocentric]

Lol. No you must be new to computers.

[@lesrock6065]

If you are looking for a work machine, the M1 is not the way to go. No dual monitor support, make sure your usb-c hub doesn't brick the machine, as the M1 architecture isn't compatible with many hubs, even from high end brands due to whatever weird power management system they have with this new processor/chipset. I would watch out for long term use on "supported" hubs as well.

[@seobizhub9116]

Thank you for this. I didn't know that.

[@addsfour3499]

I must be missing the point. Isn’t the Microsoft a touch screen? Isn’t that worth having?

[@tamtran8453]

it is worth

[@GooseyBoosey]

who tf needs a touchscreen

[@aprilmiller2374]

@@GooseyBoosey me

[@taalibalexander891]

Isn't the surface 4 like 5 iterations old? Why compare an old spec surface pro and not a new one with the Apple?

[@davidluna7]

surface laptop 4 is the newest gen. you are probably thinking of the surface pro line (tablet/laptop hybrid)

[@nuyou21]

Can you still gain access to the Surface Laptop 4 using Face ID if you're wearing a face mask?

[@pranitlokare7804]

Obviously no u can't 😂

[@francescagolden1061]

Don’t think so. Windows Hello doesn’t work all the time so I usually input my pin anyway

[@Frosty_V0]

Yes you can

[@pharaohosam]

Surface Laptop 4 maxes out at 32gb of RAM, not 16.

[@raymondwah]

Hi Apple Insider, great comparisons and very timely too - thank you. Could you share for the benchmark tests that you ran comparing these 2 (especially Geekbench and Cinebench single & multi cores) did you do them both on battery mode or with the AC power adapter plugged in. Thanks,

[@DanielPierce]

Please do a comparison with windows running in Parallels, I’m wondering if windows running virtually on the M1 Air would still beat windows running natively on the Laptop 4…

[@erik-martin]

I seen a test where Windows on Mac was benching higher than the Surface.

[@ZeroDarknezz]

@jo e Someone already did that and Windows/Parallels runs better than native Windows. Compatibility in other hand...

[@Chriswasfirst]

😂😂 the start of videos sells entire video

[@sammyj349]

You should compare the camera too

[@jaymaster103]

Great comparison, may you please do a battery drain test if possible.

[@ald261989]

There's no reason for that. M1 Macs last about 14-17 hours depending on what you are doing. My personal M1 Air gets around 15-16 with my use case. The surface isn't getting better than that. The M1 MacBook air blows the and most other productivity laptops out of the water.

[@diazjubairy1729]

You can see that in dave2d channel, macbook air still win

[@Wintermute-rn2dj]

From what I have seen in other videos they showcased the battery test between 10 to 12 hours for both Intel and AMD models. Imo anything above 10 hours is enough

[@charles-davidberube1174]

@@Wintermute-rn2dj imo, an extra 5 hour is a huge advantage. My girlfriend will do 3 days on a macbook m1 battery.

[@tdhmoose]

@@ald261989 I tested & can verify that my M1 air lasts only 14 hrs straight watching You Tube videos. To get the extra 4 hrs, you have to alternate your work. At 100 percent battery, start with (1hr video/1hr typing) on/off, continue, then you can get the full promised 18 hrs. Every person isn different.

[@Sant270]

Why my surface Laptop 3 get better scores that the Surface Laptop 4? Also on the Dave2D got better scores on his review that the ones shown here.

[@samworks]

That's what I was thinking too. He probably did the test with the surface laptop unplugged (battery saving mode on Windows)

[@Sant270]

@@samworks at 10:22 he got opene like 5 tabs on chrome which uses a lot of ram which could have impacted the score. also a few apps are open. These two factor are probably the reasons why.

[@ningyuanwang600]

Yes a Zen 2 cpu should get at least 900 on geekbench single core. Probably up to 1100 in ideal condition.

[@tuanle07]

Average consumers will not notice the difference in performance. What they care about is the usability of the device! Surface is def more convenient to use and looks more modern than the Apple MacBook for sure (touch screen, Windows Hello, more colours to choose from to suit different genders, etc). In terms of performance, how many of the users actually do video editing and stuff? When it comes to comparison, you’d better think about the use case of the majority of their users. I’m sure when you open a program on both machine, it takes them exactly the same time to start up. M1 chip is capable but you can’t really notice the difference in normal usage. Better watch videos from other bigger and more popular KZbinrs when they actually know what they’re trying to review or compare. I’m a dev and tbh I ordered the M1 MacBook Pro and I couldn’t feel the difference in performance for the programs I run. It even took longer to start them. Maybe when I tried to push it to it limit, then the difference will be much clearer. But for now, the benchmarks numbers aren’t really useful for me.

[@redhillerhoe4171]

Exactly! Same thoughts here. Scrolling down the comments, it's not difficult to reaffirm that this is an "Apple" channel. Declaring that one is not going to be biased does not mean he will not be. Thumbs up to your comment. No mention about touch screen capability in this video? This means to a lot to most people in my opinion. Alcantara is a short-coming? No, it is just another option, additional option is an advantage, not disadvantage. Clearly this is a biased video.

[@SuperJester40]

Touchscreen?

[@jaxsonzatech7527]

Yep

[@johnjanman9599]

I ran GEEKBENCH 5 on MACBOOK AIR M1 (base model) in PARALLELS DESKTOP (recently released) WINDOWS 10 (arm 64 insiders preview) and got 1416 single core performance, so yeah, much better performance, although the multi-core performance took a big hit. HOWEVER, and I don't understand why I don't hear more about this, MacOs feels slower. Why? Because in Windows, opening programs is instantaneous, whereas in MacOs for many apps, including native apps like Pages and Numbers, it takes at least a few seconds, and just makes things feel sluggish.

[@krishnasantosh8185]

Windows has better "technology" in their OS. Superfetch, IOCP and so on.. Windows caches frequently used apps

[@stormcroc1384]

Could you please add English subtitles cuz I’m on 2x speed ahah

[@genesisrodriguez879]

I like watching these videos. I like both apple and android. They both have their pros and cons. So to make sure I am getting a better quality product I watch videos like these to help me make up my mind.

[@jharris947]

What idiot decided that alcantara was a suitably robust enough material to use on a keyboard surround? I'd love to see what it looks like after 6 months use, especially as a family computer.

[@onlysublime]

i'm not sure why your Surface Pro 4 numbers are so low. Were you running the benchmarks while on battery? Your numbers don't jive with other sites.

[@krishnasantosh8185]

By Default the power plan is "Balanced" and not "High Performance".. May have made a differnce

[@Gato_Nieve]

I'll buy an apple M1 when they have support for 4k external monitors with a scaling suitable for actually working

[@Kyber3000-Kimberly]

4:50 what in the world was that sound effect, freaked me out. 😁

[@wolffhd]

Just to say . . . most of us out here do not put any weight at all on color selection when choosing a machine . . . we go for PERFORMANCE. That said, the Mac has no competition, been using them since their birth. Thanks for the comparison though , excellent job.

[@omsingh4478]

Well, again, most of us don't put much weight on performance unless we're video editing. In general, i5 with 8gb ram and 128ssd served pretty much everybody else in the world fine, unless Ur a video editor or a gamer

[@lovenote1336]

at this point, it doesn’t make sense to buy a lot of windows laptops (not all), unless you’re into windows’ ecosystem.. with this kind of gap in performance, with the similar price. dang. M1 chips are indeed a gamechanger

[@wcarlosw]

About the alcantara options, you know there are things such as soap and water, not only to use for your hands but to clean things too. Especially oil removing cleansers. Ive had my Surface Laptop 1, yes the very first Surface Laptop since 2017, and the alcantara looks as new. Wash ur hands people, and clean your devices as you would the metal variants.

[@TheTobylyn]

same here. I own a surface pro with alcantara that is 4 years old and not dirty at all :D Keep your hands clean! :D

[@fightnight14]

So basically the Alcantara versions are a big NO. The real Surface Laptop starts at $1299 now ouch

[@kevin3837]

I I have been using Surface products with alcantara since they came out for both work and personal. No issues with getting dirty. No idea how other people PCs get so dirty.

[@fightnight14]

@@kevin3837 what do you do to keep it less cleaner?

[@omegamit6zeichen]

I received my Surface Laptop 4 (AMD) version yesterday, and I was curious because especially the R23 multicore results seemed a bit odd. I found that Windows seems to limit the CPU if running on battery by quite a bit. Running R23 on battery (with the out-of-box power settings), I get similar results, but while charging I get a score of ~7000 on the Surface Laptop 4. There is def. a bit of throttling. After running the test for 10mins my score drops down to ~6000 and the cooling fans are audible. M1 is an impressive chip but sadly not for my workflow and also not a big fan of macOS. The M1 just shows how little work intel has put into their processors for quite some time now.

[@onlysublime]

yeah, I think he ran his benchmarks while on battery. his numbers are too low. you can adjust the power settings so that it doesn't throttle so much while on battery.

[@FunKaYxxD1sCO]

Every windows laptop. And especially beefy gaming laptops reduce performance a shit ton. For battery life.

[@lantanite1954]

Thanks for pointing out the performance drop when you unplug the laptop. It looks like intel requires a ton of power to keep up. Why aren't more people talking about this issue.

[@ZeroDarknezz]

Cuz it’s not necessary, Intel always has been that way in terms of performance when plugged/unplugged

[@lantanite1954]

@@ZeroDarknezz Trust me. People do NOT know this. price/performance plugged vs. unplugged is not even talked about.

[@kahirisepakang]

@@ZeroDarknezz Not Necessary? People buy laptop to not to use it at home all the time. What's the point getting a laptop if you need to bring the charger everywhere?

[@arsalanganjeh198]

Apple only puts usb-c to sell dongles... I guess we all are in the same page

[@GSU_Panther_Nation]

This is what I call the ultimate Apple VS Microsoft in terms of their flagship products. No other PC could get anywhere close to the Mac than the Surface Laptop series

[@opencarrydrift6308]

would it be dumb to get the m1 mac and run windows on it

[@tombyrne6433]

yes

[@lttips6565]

Surface Pro 7+ with i7 on Geekbench does 1542 and 5622, so not bad 🤔 and you get an even more portable Windows 10 device, so that is a clear W in my eyes when the actual Surface Pro 8 will come out 😁

[@errinwright]

Can they both run 8 4K youtube videos at once with the base model?

[@nothumanlol]

Who would watch 8 videos at once?

[@erikig]

@@nothumanlol "Science"

[@errinwright]

@@nothumanlol Imagine Stress testing and Quality testing products for redundancy 🤡 🤡 🤡 🤡 🤡

[@Heliocentric]

You must be Porn fanatic. Get help.

[@tombyrne6433]

Good Comparison. I am probably as much of a Windows Fanboy as you are a Mac one. I also will try to be unbiased. First off I will call you out on Alcantara. I have a Surface Pro with Alcantara Type-cover and its fine after years and looks new. I say clean your hands once in a while. As for the Surface Laptop versus the MacBook Air. I like the looks of the Surface Laptop and screen size 3:2 a lot better. The MacBook Air is not great looking in 2021. The Surface will have better battery and also with Ryzen "Surface Edition" it will be one of a handful of secured core PC's (Pluton) which is to built into the the CPU security or true chip to cloud security I value security over speed. I also value battery over benchmarks. I value Windows over Mac. No doubt at this point The M1 is superior at benchmarks and likely keyboard/touchpad. However it does not have touch , inking or Windows Hello, The surface will have a much better webcam and back cam. Better microphones too. My biggest gripes about the Surface Laptop is (versus a Surface Pro) a wobbly screen (no kickstand for touch) and as you demonstrated the keyboard could be stiffer it also has keyboard light bleed on the First Surface laptop. They are both great devices in their respective OS's.

[@amanagarwal1939]

Dave lee and many other sites reported better battery life on the MacBook. Also I feel Touch ID is superior since it can be used with apps like 1Password and can help secure documents. Also the GPU is far superior than any Integrated graphics you get with AMD or intel Xe.

[@anandsuralkar2947]

For thin and lights ARM is the way to go x86 is just out of competition

[@parthsethia4223]

Compare the ryzen with apple

[@markholle3450]

Just bought the i5 512k Surface Laptop 4 at Best Buy last night for $979. This is my wife's computer and I had my M1 MBA sitting beside it while I set it up. She has been a Windows user and doesn't want to change operating system. I was impressed. Nice keyboard, excellent trackpad, great screen, and decent sound. I liked the alcantara way more than I thought I would. She uses it for Excel, Outlook, Quickbooks, and browsing the web. Based on other reviewers, I bet her battery life and day-to-day performance will be comparable to the MBA. I wouldn't switch but she's going to be thrilled with it.

[@indrojitghosh8665]

MacBook or surface???

[@sorenlundgreen9170]

What about gaming does the Mac beat the surface laptop in gaming? Asking for a friend.

[@DanielPennybaker]

Apple will never commit to PC gaming. At least for the forceable future.

[@krisstrong5936]

who the FUCK buys a MAC for gaming? a Mac is a work computer and only that. Sure it plays games but terribly even when you buy the $5000 super mac. So if this was a lightweight flex... it was a weird one.

[@krishnasantosh8185]

@@krisstrong5936 I recently moved from Java to .NET and Visual Studio is AWESOME ! C# too.

[@Fadic4]

Surface line has been fairly reliable? The few people that I know that had surfaces had issues with them.

[@tombyrne6433]

As if Mac never have issues

[@bizmonkey007]

I’ve had three Surface devices and they’ve all been really solid. The only reason I’m tempted to buy an M1 MacBook Pro to replace my Surface Book 2 is because of the performance and software like FCPX.

[@MrScottBradshaw]

One of the primary reasons I haven't purchased a MacBook Air or Pro is the lack of touchscreen with pencil option. Not sure why Apple resists doing the laptop line without touchscreen at this point. They seem to be the only one not on board. The Surface Laptop touchscreen and pen option wasn't mentioned in this comparison. That's a big deal for some of us and a real selling point of the Surface line (and others). I just don't think I would buy a laptop without that option. Too many other great options that include it.

[@andyH_England]

The touchscreen on a clamshell laptop is not that useful though will please some. The pen experience on the Surface Laptop is rather meh due to it not being a convertible (2-in-1) and maybe only for casual use.

[@dalestevens3332]

Unless you are getting a 2-in1 flip device, what would you be using the touchscreen for that an excellent trackpad and mouse can't do? Plus, you don't have to worry about finger smudges and cleaning the screen all of the time. Just my opinion, but the touchscreen is still best for tablets of 11" or smaller. It's awkward reaching over the keyboard on the Surface to use the touchscreen for things the touchpad can still do handily., and I had a Surface Laptop a couple of years ago.

[@dinithilakna9846]

Because they have I pad

[@MrScottBradshaw]

@@dinithilakna9846 Which is not a laptop replacement. They may want it to be, but it won't be unless they do what Microsoft did with the Surface Pro (merging form factor and OS into one).

[@dinithilakna9846]

@@MrScottBradshaw true. Let's see what the future brings us. I prefer 360 angle of the lid if macbooks would ever come with touch screen which is easier to handle when taking notes. I am using macbook air m1 for my engineering studies, and I always have a feeling of need of an ipad when referering lecture notes and note taking. I am confused why the lid have limited angle with touch screen in new surface laptop 4. I appreciate its battery and overall performance. You got a use m1 macs,which is pretty amazing, I used bunch of heavy software applications with tons of files open for more than 10 hours continuously and still my m1 macs run cool and still don't have to plug in. It not frozen even at once, and got better single and multi core performance than surface laptop 4. Parellel already launched native windows 10 several days ago.

[@worldwidehappiness]

I want to buy the cheapest one, but I don't want the pointles Alcantara surface or the stupid power supply. It's like they are deliberately chasing people away.

[@SKANDaR0875]

The release of windows 11 a.k.a. windows MEE for windows 10 just got me to convert to a MacBook Bye MS & intel with overheating CPUs

[@ehudk215]

You try and not be biased, but no word about the lack of touchscreen?

[@Add50326]

Apple of course wins on performance. I am very curious to see what the actual battery duration is on the surface. It seems like basically the surface will be slower running daily tasks. Plus Apple has a much better eco system makes life in general more enjoyable.

[@omsingh4478]

Nah windows is better and easier than mac os, and has mad ecosystem capabilities with samsung phones

[@Add50326]

@@omsingh4478 have you previously used an Apple computer?

[@omsingh4478]

@@Add50326 i use my brothers m1 mac sometimes does that count

[@Add50326]

@@omsingh4478 a bit I suppose. If you used a Mac with an iPhone and AppleTV and other devices that would probably give you a better experience on how such devices can connect with each other.

[@omsingh4478]

@@Add50326 i mean we compared our ecosystem experiences. The copy paste on any device works for both of us, running ios/ android apps works for both of us, calling from lc only works on windows, messaging from pc works for both of us, phone notifications work for both of us, so theyre nealry evenly matched. Plus u can unlock the pc from ur phone or samsung watch as well

[@dman7895]

I like a lot of the Surface products too esp design but often they underpowered for price say many reviewers

[@Sant270]

I'm pretty sure those scores for the surface laptop 4 are wrong. My surface laptop 3 get higher scores that the one he showed. Also Dave2D on his review showed way better scores that the ones shown here.

[@itsmeproton]

You look that guy from between the fern show

[@jeroendeclercq7580]

I don't understand these type of comparisons. If it's for people not knowing to go for Windows or Mac OS: stop talking about hardware. If it's for people on the lookout for a new laptop: compare laptops that are working on the same ecosystem.

[@markoconnell804]

My IPad 2nd generation still works and charges to this day. My son’s surface 3 stopped charging after 1 year and had problems with the charging that was never fixed by Microsoft in an update. It is this reason why I won’t touch the surface now.

[@L1VE3V1L]

I still use my Gen 1 ipad. Albeit in a limited capacity. From 2010. I dare you to find a samsung or windows tablet to do the same..... oh they didn't exist then, okay then, one from the following year when everyone copied. It still can go on the web, and use as a media player, and basic app functionality.

[@mtunayucer]

@@L1VE3V1L to be honest, original ipad is just a glorified paperweight at this point in time. 99% of apps stopped supporting it probably because it has incredibly small ram of 256mb.

[@L1VE3V1L]

@@mtunayucer hence the term “limited capacity” but as a media player, internet viewer, lyric machine for my solo gigs, and portable arcade machine, it’s rad.

[@cryomanc3r]

@@L1VE3V1L GRiDPad1900, you pleb.

[@jitkr1489]

I use the Surface book 2 for almost 6 years now. No slowing beautiful touch screen device.. surface 3 was a dud can't hold the surface 3 against all Surface products!

[@AnkitShai]

What is wrong with the subtitles???

[@growwithanshuman]

I would buy both

[@kadalkol]

I love the M1 mac..i keep running benchmarks because that is what I have it for. For browsing and word processing I use a surface laptop. Its a great set up , works fantastic.

[@Aymcana]

Macs will be better for web browsing because of their single core test results

[@bartomiejkomarnicki7506]

if you think Surface would be faster in any task-

[@rowaystarco]

The thing is, I picked up the laptop 4 for half the price of a M1 MB air, so the improved CPU speeds doesn't really bother me. And I quite like Windows 11 I gotta admit, even though I use a Macbook pro for work most of the time.

[@couchpotato2160]

Windows is definitely better than MacOS

[@marlontx]

Me I like the look of Mac but I don’t like the capabilities that it stops you can’t do much on Mac and Im not a big fan of the look of Pc only if it’s to be kept at home but I do like how pc you can do a lot a lot on it and do a bunch with it

[@ArthropodSpidey]

Is this dude a double agent? lol