Apple’s recently launched upgraded and redesigned, golden color MacBook, which is barely 13.1 mm thin and with a 12” display. According to the company, with this new MacBook it has “reinvented the notebook concept.” Microsoft also made a few bold statements when it introduced its Surface Po 3 hybrid tablet, stating it has the “power and performance of a laptop.” Since these two devices are comfortably sitting on the border between laptop and tablet PC, they will compete for the attention of the consumers i the coming months, if not years.
Which one is more worthy?
Portability
The all-new MacBook is completely redesigned and it is impressively slim and light. It weighs barely 0.92 kg and it just a little over 13 mm thin. As for its size, it measures 201 x 292 x 9.1 mm. Microsoft’s Surface Pro 3 has a very similar size, except that it is 0.13kg lighter and 4 mm thinner.
Winner – Surface Pro 3: Even though both devices share almost the same measures, Pro 3 is a tablet, which means that users can take its keyboard off and make it even more portable than it is already.
Display
Both the new MacBook and Surface Pro 3 rock 12” displays. Microsoft’s hybrid tablets, however, come with a ClearType Full HD screen and its supports a resolution of 2160 x 1440 and a aspect ratio of 3:2. The next-generation MacBook, on the other hand, has a Retina Display and a resolution of 2304 x 1440 pixels and 16:10 aspect ratio, which earns a few more points.
Winner – MacBook: Apple’s Retina Display technology can hardly be compared to anything else on the market today.
Versatility
The MacBook may be ultra slim and light, but it was created as a notebook. This means that it can support only a notebook mode of work. In addition to that, it does not have a touchscreen, meaning that users are tied to the classic keyboard and mouse. Things are much different with Microsoft’s Surface Pro 3. This hybrid device offers a diverse choice of work modes. Also, consumers can choose whether they want to use a keyboard, a touchscreen or even a stylus pen.
Winner – Surface Pro 3: After all, it is a hybrid’s main purpose is to be versatile.
Buttery Life
There is still no information on the battery specifications of the new MacBook. However, what is known is that both devices offer 9 hours of web browsing. Still, their battery capabilities may differ in terms of entertainment and gaming tasks.
Winner – It’s a tie: So far, it looks that both devices offer similar battery life.
Performance
When it comes to RAM, the new MacBook pack 8GB, whereas Surface Pro 3 is available in two options – 4GB and 8GB. The last-generation Surface Pro also offers more choices in terms of processor. Consumers can select between a number of processor configurations, including Intel Core i3 and i7. The same goes for the way the processors have been clocked. The 2015 MacBook is available only with a 1.2 GHz dual core Intel Core M CPU, which can be further boosted up to 2.6 GHz.
Winner – Surface Pro 3: Just because it offers more options.
Pricing
MacBook starts at $1,300, whereas Surface Pro 3 comes with a starting price of $799. However, although it seems that Microsoft’s tablet is more affordable than Apple’s notebook, there is a catch. Surface Pro 3’s $799 base model pack a modest i3 processor, 64GB of storage space a 4GB of RAM. In contrast, the base MacBook offers 256 GB of internal memory, 8GB of RAM and a robust i7 processor. Therefore, if you want to get Pro 3 with these parameters you will need to prepare $1,849, which is $550 more than you will need for the MacBook.
Winner – MacBook
Verdict Time
When compared, the new MacBook and Surface Pro 3 walk away with almost the same score. This means that consumers will have a hard time selecting on which of them they should invest. Nevertheless, they rely on two different operating systems, which can help buyers make the right choice for them. What is certain, however, is that both the 2015 MacBook and Surface Pro 3 blur the lines between notebook and tablet.
