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The Surface Pro 3 is a hot topic right now, considering that Microsoft unveiled this 12-inch beauty on May 20th during a special press event in New York City. Microsoft is touting this device as a replacement to your laptop, offering a hybrid feature-set between a tablet and a laptop. The Redmond giant is also pitting this new device against its primary rival, the Macbook Air.
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So how does the Surface Pro 3 stack up against its primary competition? Let’s take a look. In terms of design, the Surface Pro 3 weighs less than the Macbook Air. In fact, the Surface Pro 3 weighs in at 1.76lbs, while the 11.6-inch Macbook Air weighs 2.38lbs. The higher end 13-inch Macbook Air weighs in at 2.96lbs. The Surface Pro 3 offers more viewing real estate with his high resolution, along with a flexible kickstand allowing you to position the device in whatever angle you feel like. The device also features a detachable magnetic Type Cover (which you can purchase seperatly), which offers a colorful keyboard and trackpad in addition to a cover.
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The Surface Pro 3 defeats the Macbook Air in terms of display quality, with a 12-inch 2160 by 1440 resolution (3:2 aspect ratio) compared to the Macbook Air’s 1366 by 768 resolution (16:9 aspect ratio). The higher end Macbook Air features a 1440 by 900 resolution with a 16:10 aspect ratio, but it still doesn’t stack up against the Surface Pro 3. The Surface Pro 3 is definitely a huge step up compared to the previous generation’s Surface Pro 2.
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The Surface Pro 3 also comes with different CPU options, all tightly packed into a nice and sleek Magnesium casing. You can choose between the Intel Core i3, i5, or i7 processors, all with various pricing options. The base model of the Surface Pro 3 features a Core i3 processor clocked at 1.5 GHz, while the i5 is clocked at 1.9 GHz (Turbo Boost to 2.9 GHz) and the i7 is clocked at 1.7 GHz (Turbo Boost to 3.3 GHz). The Macbook Air comes standard with the Core i5 clocked at 1.3GHz (Turbo Boost to 2.6GHz) with the option of a Core i7 processor clocked at 1.7GHz (Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz).
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Both the Surface Pro 3 and the Macbook Air feature the same RAM and storage options. The Surface Pro 3, on the other hand, is the only device that offers a multi-touch display. Battery life is roughly the same all around.
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Take a look at the table below comparing the specs between the Surface Pro 3 and the Macbook Air. Which one do you feel is the better choice?
\n\nFurther reading: Macbook Air, Microsoft, Surface Pro 3