Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 vs. Apple MacBook Air: 13-inch lightweights do battle

Microsoft's recent Surface Laptop 3 updates to its Surface Laptop line fall into two camps. The 13-inch model, an upgrade to the Surface Laptop 2, offers the bare minimum of enhancements (or less) it needs to compete in the crowded field of lightweights with prices in the $1,000-or-so range. It gets a bump to the 10th-gen Intel processor with the better-performing integrated graphics, which it'll use to rival models like the MacBook Air, Dell XPS 13, HP Envy 13 and Lenovo IdeaPad 730s.

The newcomer, a 3.4-pound (1.5 kilogram) 15-inch model of the Surface Laptop 3, is bewildering, though. With AMD inside, it's lighter by about 0.6 lb (272 grams) but less powerful than similarly priced models such as the Dell XPS 15. It's also heavier than more expensive but similarly specced models, such as the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon, that come in under 3 lbs. 

So Microsoft's entry 15-inch model is an $1,100 (£1,100, AU$1,700) middle-of-the road laptop that costs about twice as much as other AMD-based systems. At its $2,099 maxed-out configuration, its specs don't come close to similarly priced competitors. There is no Apple equivalent: It sits well below the base model of the 15-inch MacBook Pro, which has a more powerful Intel Core i7-9750H CPU, discrete Radeon Pro 555X graphics, more memory and a better display -- albeit for about twice the price.

Read more: Best MacBook Air alternatives 

Watch this: First look at Surface Pro X, Pro 7, Laptop 3

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Both Surface Laptops lack Thunderbolt 3. In the case of the 15-inch Surface, that's because AMD's supporting chipset doesn't incorporate it. But the Intel 10th-gen Ice Lake processors in the 13-inch model have it baked in. Though the single USB-C port supports DisplayPort Alt mode for connecting to a monitor, it lacks the extra bandwidth for data transfers. Microsoft might well go with USB 4 instead in future, but for now it means these laptops aren't futureproofed. That goes double for the 15-inch model, which doesn't support Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) a wireless standard that at least provides greater connection stability.

The new model makes minimal changes to the Surface Laptop 2, which we like but which hadn't been notably updated since the original design in 2017. That includes a disappointing number of ports -- a single USB-A and a single USB-C, which replaces the DisplayPort connector -- and the impractical proprietary power connector. The big display bezels make it look old fashioned, even compared to the MacBook Air. The display resolution of 2,256x1,504 is odd: It's the 3:2 aspect ratio of all Microsoft PixelSense displays (which lets you fit more on screen) and is pen- and touch-enabled. Using a pen with a clamshell is kind of awkward, though. On the other hand, for those of us who hate the butterfly keyboard on Apple laptops, the Surface's may feel like a big win.

$999 at Microsoft

Because it's a year older, the Air's components lag those of the Surface Laptop 3's -- it uses an ultralow-power Intel eighth-gen (in other words, slower) Y series Intel chip with the older integrated graphics. It also has last-generation Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) instead of Wi-Fi 6. But it has two USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 connections, which offer better expansion options, allowing you to connect to an external GPU, more powerful dock or fast storage.

$1,099 at Apple

We've got the Ryzen 5 3580U Microsoft Surface Edition version of the 15-inch on the bench right now, and preliminary CPU results place it, unsurprisingly, at about the same place as an Intel Core i5-8265U. We're still waiting on the GPU and battery-life tests, which should be more interesting. Stay tuned for our upcoming review.

Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 looks like a killer MacBook Air alternative

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Update Oct 18, 2019: corrected typo in weight for Surface Laptop 3 15-inch.