MacBook Air vs Surface Pro 4: Battle of Brand Supremacy

Wondering which to buy between the MacBook Air and Surface Pro 4? It’s a good thing we’ve written this MacBook Air vs Surface Pro 4 comparison!

MacBook Air vs Surface Pro 4: At First Glance

For some years now, we have borne witness to the Microsoft vs Apple showdown that has made the two brands push their innovations further. While it started out majorly as a software-based battle, the battleground has now shifted to the hardware field.

Surface laptops have constantly gone head to head with MacBooks for the battle of supremacy. In fact, it has gotten to the extent that with every new release, Microsoft gets closer to stealing the MacBook’s crown.

However, Apple still always manages to get the best over them. This time around, Microsoft brought the fight directly to Apple’s doorstep by claiming that their Surface Pro 4 is 50 percent faster than Apple’s 2011 13-inch MacBook Air.

Could this be true? Well, we will compare both devices round by round to know which is faster and which is superior.

MacBook Air vs Surface Pro 4: Design, Dimension, and Weight

Truly, beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, but I doubt anyone would think the MacBook Air and Surface Pro 4 aren’t beautiful. Even though I think the design of the MacBook Air is beginning to look a bit outdated, it is still very sleek.

Both the MacBook Air and Surface Laptop 4 are also very portable yet sturdy enough to withstand a few knocks here and there.

As we proceed to analyze these laptops’ designs and builds, let’s take the first look at the MacBook Air.

If you’ve owned or seen previous MacBook Air models, then you already know how Apple has designed the 2011 MacBook Air we are currently reviewing. Apple is still sticking by its simple design and unibody aluminum construction.

Most of all, the MacBook Air’s build structure remains the same. Apple still makes use of the wedge-shaped design to build the MacBook Air.

What this translates to is that the thickest portion of the laptop is still on its rear side. Moving towards the tip of the lid and base of the laptop, it slims down to an extraordinarily thin structure that curves into a flat edge.

This makes the laptop look unique and beautiful when you view it from a side angle. In fact, no viewing angle makes the laptop look unattractive.

Even when you view the laptop from its bottom, you will notice that it is nearly as smooth as the lid. Only a partition line and the absence of the beautiful white Apple logo make the bottom of the MacBook Air less beautiful compared to its lid.

Looking at the MacBook Air as a whole, Apple’s decision to retain the wedge shape build did not more than just sustain the laptop’s identity. It also made sure that the MacBook Air remained compact.

To give more detail, the MacBook Air measures 325 x 227 x 3.0 – 17 mm (W x D x H). By all standards, this is a reasonably sized laptop.

It also isn’t very heavy. The MacBook Air weighs just 1350 g.

This is not much of a surprise, though, since Apple has always found a way to keep things light thanks to their excellent craftsmanship. Despite how sturdy their laptops are due to their unibody aluminum construction, they are rarely heavy.

Add the MacBook Air’s sturdiness to the color options Apple has to offer, and you will have a premium-looking sturdy laptop on your hands. In case you are wondering, the color options you get for the MacBook Air include Gold, Space Gray, and Silver.

Now that I have given you an overview of the design of this MacBook Air, it is time to review the physical design of the Surface Pro 4.

When it comes to premium design reinforced with a sturdy build, the Surface Pro 4 is very much on the same page as the MacBook Air. The Surface Pro 4 has a premium design with a simple but solid chassis that’s built with magnesium unibody casing.

Like the MacBook Air featuring the Apple logo, the Surface Pro 4 only features the Microsoft logo on its lid. Every other part of its body is clean and free of any design pattern.

However, not everything about the Surface Pro 4’s design theme is similar to the MacBook Air’s. Unlike the MacBook Air whose design is almost entirely identical to that of its predecessors, the Surface Pro 4’s design features more changes.

The Surface Pro 4 feels like a big step towards the improvement of the Surface Pro line. These improvements can be mainly seen in its display and chassis.

To give more detail, Microsoft has increased the Surface Pro 4’s display size by just a few inches – from 12 inches to 12.3 inches. The better news, however, is that Microsoft was able to do this without making the device’s overall footprint larger.

Ironically, Microsoft was able to do away with more than half a millimeter of the Surface Pro 4’s thickness – from 9.1mm to 8.4mm.

To give you an overview of its footprint, the Surface Pro 4 measures 292 x 201 x 8.45 mm (W x D x H). This makes it more compact compared to the MacBook Air.

You may be itching to discover what “magic” Microsoft performed to achieve the smaller footprint; I will help you understand. Microsoft simply removed the capacitive Windows button that took up about three-tenths of an inch on the display.

That was not all, though. Microsoft also had to shift the display’s optical stack closer to the screen panel.

In case you are wondering, the display’s optical stack includes a series of sensors, diodes, and pixels underneath the display panel. These components make up the key point of Microsoft’s PixelSense screen technology.

As you’d expect, the Surface Pro 4’s display is an excellent one. It produces images that are bright and sharp enough for you to enjoy your movies, edit photos or simply browse the web.

Likewise, the MacBook Air’s display is also a very good display. However, before we go further into the display details of the two devices, it appears as though the Surface Pro 4 already has the edge over the MacBook Air.

To start with, the Surface Pro 4 comes with a 12.3-inch display that offers a 2K resolution of 2736 x 1824. Meanwhile, the MacBook Pro features a 13.3-inch display that has an HD+ resolution of 1440 x 900.

Comparatively, the Surface Pro 4’s display resolution, which results in a whopping 267 PPI, completely blows the MacBook Air’s 128 PPI away.

The Surface Pro 4’s display also happens to be brighter and more color-accurate than the MacBook Air’s. While the Surface Pro 4 can offer 396 nits of brightness, the MacBook Air cannot offer beyond 322 nits.

In addition, the Surface Pro 4’s bezels are much thinner compared to the MacBook Air’s. Even though the Surface Pro 4’s bezels are slightly thick, going by today’s standards, they still align with the modern-day design.

The MacBook Air, on the other hand, has bezels that are clearly indicative of its old design. Its bezels are way too thick.

Another thing that gives the Surface Pro 4 an edge over the MacBook Air is that its display is touch-enabled. In use, the Surface Pro 4’s display is very responsive to touch.

It also offers an incredible level of sensitivity to make the stylus experience a much more productive one. Along with the improved Surface Pen, the Surface Pro 4’s display offers 1,024 levels of pressure.

Speaking of the Surface Pen, Microsoft has enhanced its features, making it feel more like a pencil. The improvements Microsoft made on this Pen, plus the display’s exceptional quality, makes you get one of the best “stylus-display” experiences ever.

Microsoft also improved the Surface Type Cover to give you a more comfortable typing experience. The Surface Pro 4’s new backlit Type Cover is thicker and feels more rigid than the ones of previous models.

This makes it offer deeper key travels and better tactile feedback. In case you don’t know what key travel means, it is the distance a key travels from its normal position to its fully pressed position.

At the end of the day, the Surface Pro 4’s deeper key travel makes it feel more like a true laptop’s keyboard. However, it doesn’t complete this experience without its famous kickstand.

You will need to prop up the kickstand behind the Surface Pro 4 to a good angle in order for you to fully enjoy your typing sessions. Fortunately, you can move the kickstand between 22 to 150 degrees.

With this feature and its rigidity, you are covered with almost every practical scenario that can help you type comfortably.

Having talked a lot about the Microsoft Surface Pro 4’s display and keyboards, let’s do the same for the MacBook Air.

The MacBook Air doesn’t let down its true laptop legacy either. Like the Surface Pro 4’s Type Cover, the MacBook Air’s backlit keys offer excellent tactile feedback.

There’s a good amount of balance between the tightness and sensitivity of the MacBook Air’s keys. That being said, its key travels are also satisfying.

Both devices’ glass touchpads are also very smooth and responsive. However, the MacBook Air’s touchpad is slightly larger than the Surface Pro 4’s.

While the MacBook Air’s touchpad measures 4.1 x 3 inches in size, the Surface Pro 4’s touchpad size is 4 x 2 inches. Aside from their size difference, both devices’ touchpads are just as silky and as responsive to multitouch gestures.

Inputs aside, the speakers beneath the MacBook Air aren’t as audible as I would have preferred them to be. On the bright side, this laptop’s speaker is capable of producing a good amount of bass with minimal distortion.

Comparatively, the Surface Pro 4’s speakers are better than the MacBook Air’s. Unlike the MacBook Air, whose speakers are built internally, the Surface Pro 4 has a dual, front-facing speaker set that is positioned on either side of its display.

This positioning makes the Surface Pro 4 project sounds better. They are also capable of producing clear sounds with minimal distortion, even when playing audios with heavy bass.

One aspect where the MacBook Air convincingly has the Surface Pro 4 beaten is in terms of port options. While the MacBook Air offers 2 USB 2.0 ports and a Thunderbolt bolt, the Surface Pro 4 only comes with just one USB 3.0 port.

The lesser port selection on the Surface Pro 4 is not too surprising, considering it has a slimmer build. If we are to focus on the bright side, the Surface Pro 4’s more compact build ensures that it weighs less than the MacBook Air.

With a total weight of 786 g, the Surface Pro 4 is much lighter than the 1350 g MacBook Air.

Overall, the biggest difference between the Surface Pro 4 and MacBook Air’s design is the design functionality the Surface Pro 4 offers. Consequently, this difference develops into many other features that set both devices apart.

For the Surface Pro 4 to serve as a tablet and an efficient laptop replacement, it had to offer good features. Some of these can be seen in the device’s excellent display, innovative design, and awesome keyboard.

As a result, the Surface Pro 4 beats the MacBook Air in almost every aspect that has to do with design and build.

Hence, the Surface Pro 4 scores an eight in this MacBook Air vs Surface Pro 4 design and build comparison. Meanwhile, the MacBook Air scores a seven.

MacBook Air vs Surface Pro 4: Processor (CPU) Performance

When it comes to their processor configurations, the MacBook Air and Surface Pro are very different. They both offer a variety of configuration options for their processing unit, but the configuration options they provide aren’t the same.

Let’s first consider what Apple offers for the MacBook Air.

You can choose to buy your MacBook Air with either a dual-core Intel Core i5-2557M or a dual-core Intel Core i7-2677M processor. Note that these processors tend to offer varying specs that influence the processing power you get from them.

One of the specs we can consider is their base and maximum frequencies. Basically, the base frequency determines how fast each processor can run.

The base frequency indicates how fast a processor runs when it is operating under a less intensive workload.

Meanwhile, the maximum frequency is how fast the processor gets when running with more than one of its cores under a more intensive load.

With the Intel Core i5-2557M processor, your MacBook Air will be able to run at a base frequency of 1.70 GHz. Meanwhile, you will get maximum frequencies of 2.70 GHz.

If you equip your MacBook Air with the Intel Core i7-2677M processor, you will get a base frequency of 1.80 GHz. As for the maximum frequency, it will be able to run at a maximum speed of 2.90 GHz.

The Surface Pro 4, on the other hand, offers three dual-core processor configuration options. Depending on your configuration choice, Microsoft can equip the Surface Pro 4 with an Intel Core m3-6Y30 processor or an Intel Core i5-6300U processor.

You can also buy the Surface Pro 4 with an Intel Core i7-6650U processor.

As for their specs, the Intel Core m3-6Y30 processor has a base frequency of 900 MHz and a maximum frequency of 2.20 GHz. Meanwhile, the Intel Core i5-6300U processor has a base frequency of 2.40 GHz and a boost frequency of 3.00 GHz.

The Intel Core i7-6650U processor, on the other hand, offers a base frequency of 2.20 GHz and a boost frequency of 3.40 GHz.

For the sake of this comparison, our MacBook Air review unit comes with the Intel Core i5-2557M processor. Meanwhile, our Surface Pro 4 unit features the Intel Core i5-6300U processor.

With any of these processors, the MacBook Air and Surface Pro 4 offer impressive power to efficiently handle all your daily computing operations.

Both devices can easily handle your web browsing tasks as well as your document editing and spreadsheet package preparation tasks. In fact, they can equally transfer their immense power into executing more intensive tasks.

For some specific examples, the MacBook Air and Surface Pro 4 can help you execute photo and video editing tasks.

To definitively rank and compare the processing power these devices are capable of offering, I consulted the Cinebench R10 benchmark test. The Cinebench R10 benchmark is a tool that helps to ascertain the specific performance capability of a laptop’s processor.

This benchmark test is divided into two sections known as the single-core and multi-core tests. The single-core aspect tests for when only one of the processor cores is made to run under a specific computing workload.

Meanwhile, the multi-core aspect tests for when more than one of the processor’s cores is made to run under an intensive workload.

At the end of each aspect of the test, the benchmark generates a score that denotes the performance capability of the laptop’s processor.

With the explanations out of the way, let’s find out how both the MacBook Air and Surface Pro 4 compared on this test.

The test results showed that the Surface Pro 4 is miles ahead of the MacBook Air in terms of processor performance. While the MacBook Air scored 3456 points in the single-core aspect of the test, the Surface Pro 4 did better with a score of 4656 points.

In the multi-core aspect, the Surface Pro 4 scored 10558 points, surpassing the MacBook Air’s 6223 points.

Due to this clear performance difference that has been indicated in the test results, the Surface Pro 4 emerges victorious in this round. Therefore, the Surface Pro 4 scores a nine in this MacBook Air vs Surface Pro 4 processor performance comparison.

Meanwhile, the MacBook Air scores an eight.

MacBook Air vs Surface Pro 4: Memory (RAM) Performance

Unlike in the processor aspect, Apple doesn’t offer more than one configuration option for the MacBook Air’s memory. You only get 4 GB DDR3 RAM.

Fortunately, Apple allows possible upgrades of this RAM to a maximum memory size of 8 GB.

On the other hand, Microsoft provides three memory configuration options for the Surface Pro 4. You can buy the Surface Pro 4 with 16 GB, 4 GB, or 8 GB LPDDR3 RAM.

For the record, our MacBook Air review unit comes with a 4 GB DDR3 RAM size. Meanwhile, our Surface Pro 4 features an 8 GB LPDDR3 RAM configuration.

With these memory configuration options, both devices have enough juice to power through your regular multitasking activities. Are you looking to stream multiple 1080p YouTube videos with about 18 Chrome tabs running in the background?

This is no problem at all for either device. In fact, while they execute these operations simultaneously, they will still have enough power left to run Skype, Photoshop, and Slack in the background.

Moving on, I’ve taken records of their performance on a benchmark test to further assure you of their multitasking and productivity power. Essentially, these benchmark results will also help to distinguish which of the devices has a superior memory performance.

The benchmark test I’ve considered for this is known as the PCMark 7 benchmark test. In case you aren’t familiar with the PCMark test, it is a benchmark test that’s used to evaluate a laptop’s overall system and memory performance.

This benchmark carries out the test by simulating memory-intensive operations like web browsing, document preparation, or video conferencing. At the end of the test, the benchmark tool rates the laptop’s performance by awarding a score based on its performance.

Basically, the higher the score, the better the performance the laptop can offer.

Now over to the performance of the MacBook Air and Surface Pro 4.

Just like we recorded in the processor aspect, the Surface Pro 4 continues to extend its winning streak in this aspect. With a score of 5229 points, the Surface Pro 4 outperformed the MacBook Air which was only able to achieve a score of 3561 points.

Based on this result, the Surface Pro 4 wins in this aspect as well. It scores an eight in this MacBook Air vs Surface Pro 4 memory performance comparison.

On the other hand, the MacBook Air scores a seven.

MacBook Air vs Surface Pro 4: Storage Options and Performance

Though both the MacBook Air and Surface Pro 4 feature the same storage types, their storage sizes are different. While the MacBook Air features a 256 GB SSD, the Surface Pro 4 comes with a 1 TB SSD storage drive.

Both devices also offer SD Card options for extra external storage.

Performance-wise, both devices’ storage drives are considerably fast enough to offer snappy operation speeds. I wasn’t able to obtain a file transfer test result, so I only took records of how both devices performed in the CrystalDiskMark benchmark test.

For those that are wondering, the CrystalDioskMark is a benchmark tool that helps to test how fast a laptop’s storage disk is. It carries out its test by checking the read and write speeds of the storage disk.

Just so you don’t get confused, I will explain what read and write speeds mean. A storage drive’s read speed shows how fast it will take to open files.

Meanwhile, the write speed shows how fast it will take to save files.

With all of that being said, let’s consider the MacBook Air and Surface Pro 4’s performances on this test. As the results clearly indicate, the Surface Pro 4 continues to pull further away from the MacBook Air in terms of performance.

To make you understand better, the MacBook Air recorded a sequential read speed of 210.8 MBps. Meanwhile, the Surface Pro 4 delivered a much faster rate of 666 MBps.

The MacBook Air was only able to outperform the Surface Pro 4 in the sequential write speed aspect. Compared to the Surface Pro 4’s 154.2 MBps sequential write speed, the MacBook Air had a better write speed of 209.7 MBps.

Nonetheless, the Surface Pro 4 still wins this round. After all, the performance gap between the write speeds of both laptops isn’t very wide, but the performance gap in their read speed is enormous.

Besides, the Surface Pro 4 offers a larger capacity storage option compared to the MacBook Air. Due to all of these reasons, the Surface Pro 4 scores an eight in this MacBook Air vs Surface Pro 4 storage performance comparison.

Meanwhile, the MacBook Air scores a seven.

MacBook Air vs Surface Pro 4: Graphics Card Performance

The MacBook Air and Surface Pro 4 are very different when it comes to graphics configurations. While Apple equips its MacBook Air (13-inch, 2011) with only one graphics card option, Microsoft offers more than one option for its Surface Pro 4’s GPU.

To be precise, the MacBook Air (13-inch, 2011) only comes with an Intel HD Graphics 3000. This graphics card has a base frequency of 350 MHz and a boost frequency of 1200 MHz.

In case you are wondering, this graphics card doesn’t come with a dedicated VRAM (Video RAM).

On the other hand, you can buy the Surface Pro 4 with either an integrated Intel HD graphics 515 or an integrated Intel HD graphics 520 GPU. Microsoft also ships the Surface Pro 4 with an integrated Intel Iris Graphics 540 GPU.

Like the MacBook Air’s graphics card configuration, the Surface Pro 4’s graphics card configuration options do not offer dedicated VRAMs.

In terms of their speed properties, the Intel HD graphics 515 has a base frequency of 300 MHz and a boost frequency of 850 MHz. As for the Intel HD graphics 520 GPU, it has a base frequency of 300 MHz and a boost frequency of 1000 MHz.

Meanwhile, the Intel Iris Graphics 540 GPU has a base frequency of 300 MHz and a boost frequency of 1050 MHz.

To avoid any confusion, you should take note that our Surface Pro 4 review unit features the Intel HD graphics 520 graphics card.

Performance-wise, it is not hard to instantly recognize that neither the MacBook Air nor the Surface Pro 4 is an ideal device for gaming enthusiasts. To be more specific, neither of them has been built to smoothly play intensive games.

Regardless, both devices are competent enough to run most games at medium-low quality settings. Just don’t expect either of the two devices to be capable of playing modern gaming titles at high quality.

At most, you will be able to play some demanding games on the Surface Pro 4 if you reduce the gaming resolution and keep the settings low. To back up this claim, I retrieved a record where the Surface Pro 4 was able to play Tomb Raider on low settings.

It played the game at good frame rates of 82 frames per second. The MacBook Air, on the other hand, offered lesser frame rates of 32.1 frames per second.

On another gaming test, the Surface Pro 4 was still able to outperform the MacBook Air. The Surface Pro 4 was able to play BioShock Infinite at a frame rate of 58.1 frames per second.

Meanwhile, the game was barely playable on the MacBook Air which ran the game at 26.3 frames per second.

I also considered both devices’ results on the 3DMark benchmark test. Basically, the 3DMark is a benchmark tool for assessing a laptop’s graphics card performance capabilities.

It checks how well a laptop can handle graphically intensive tasks by simulating some graphical tasks such as gaming, picture, or video processing. In this test, the higher the laptop’s score, the better its performance.

That being said, the Surface Pro 4 outperforms the MacBook Air again. While it achieved a score of 5853 points, the MacBook Air scored a lesser of 3808 points.

Since the Surface Pro 4 outperformed the MacBook Air in every aspect of the tests, it wins this round too. Hence, the Surface Pro 4 scores an eight in this MacBook Air vs Surface Pro 4 graphics card performance comparison.

The MacBook Air, on the other hand, scores a seven.

MacBook Air vs Surface Pro 4: Battery Life and Performance

Just like in the previous section, there are no similar characteristics between both devices’ configurations in this section. While the MacBook Air comes with a 50 Whr lithium-polymer battery, the Surface Pre 4 features a 38.2 Wh Lithium-ion battery.

According to Apple, this MacBook Air will be able to last up to 7 hours with regular usage like web browsing activities. Meanwhile, Microsoft promises that the Surface Pro will be able to offer a runtime of up to 9 hours.

However, the battery test results I have gathered suggest that both the MacBook Air and Surface Pro 4 do not offer the promised runtimes.

To make it clearer to you, the test I considered is known as the continuous web surfing test. This test consists of a continuous web surfing test process under Wi-Fi with the laptop’s screen at medium screen brightness.

On this test, the MacBook Air couldn’t last longer than 5 hours and 10 minutes. Though the Surface Pro 4 couldn’t meet up with the promised runtime, too, it was able to outlast the MacBook Air.

The Surface Pro 4 was able to last for 7 hours and 7 minutes.

Since the Surface Pro 4 outlasted the MacBook Air in this test, it wins in this aspect too. To round off, the Surface Pro 4 scores a seven in this MacBook Air vs Surface Pro 4 battery life performance comparison.

Meanwhile, the MacBook Air scores a six.

Our Rating Summary

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

Overall, there are no doubts concerning the superiority of the Surface Pro 4 over the 2011 MacBook Air. It outperforms the MacBook Air in every essential aspect.

If you buy the Surface Pro 4 instead of the MacBook Air, you will be getting a better all-round performance. In addition, the Surface Pro 4 offers a functional design that allows you to use it either in tablet or laptop form.

Aside from the functionality of its design, the Surface Pro 4 is also a very beautiful device. Though the MacBook Air is no ugly device either, the Surface Pro 4’s more modern design theme gives it an edge in terms of appearance.

Hence, based on our comprehensive comparison of the MacBook Air vs Surface Pro, we recommend the Microsoft Surface Pro 4.

However, if you are in search of a less expensive traditional laptop, you can buy the MacBook Air.

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