Microsoft announced their own laptop, Surface Book, the other day and everyone was surprised to see the tech-giant giving its own take on Windows notebook. How does it stack up against one of its tough competitor, the Apple MacBook Pro, specifically the 13″ Retina version? Here’s our comparison of the two.
First, let’s see how each other is different in terms of their key specifications:
| Microsoft Surface Book | Apple MacBook Pro 13" |
|---|---|
| 13.5" Touch-capable PixelSense Display (3000 x 2000 pixels), 3:2 ratio | 13.3" Non-touch Retina Display (2560 x 1600 pixels), 16:10 ratio |
| 6th-Gen Intel Core i5 / i7 | 5th-Gen Intel Core i5 / i7 |
| up to 1TB SSD storage | up to 1TB flash storage |
| up to 16GB RAM | up to 16GB RAM |
| Intel HD Graphics 520 / NVIDIA GeForce | Intel Iris Graphics 6100 |
| Wi-Fi 802.11ac | Wi-Fi 802.11ac |
| Bluetooth 4.0 | Bluetooth 4.0 |
| 5MP front-facing camera | FaceTime HD camera |
| 8MP autofocus rear-facing | N/A |
| Two USB 3.0 | Two USB 3.0 |
| Mini DisplayPort | Two Thunderbolt 2 ports |
| SD card reader | SDXC card reader |
| N/A | HDMI port |
| Surface Pen | N/A |
| Windows 10 Pro | OS X El Capitan |
| 312.3mm x 232.1mm x 22.mm | 314mm x 219mm x 18mm |
| 1,516 grams | 1,580 grams |
| Starts at $1,499 (Around ₱70,000) | ₱64,990 |
Evidently, the Surface Book and MacBook Pro share a lot in common. They are both thin and light, have high-resolution displays, Intel processors (Apple will soon update to 6th-Gen), capable graphics and long battery life.
Perhaps the major difference between the two is their operating system. Of course, Surface runs Window 10 while the MacBook Pro has OS X El Capitan. Although, the latter can also run Windows 10 if your want to. What the MacBook Pro can’t do for you is to become a powerful tablet and perform multimedia task with the Surface Pen. Apple has the iPad Pro for similar task but that’s another device to pay for.
Pricing is where most users decide to either purchase or not. The Surface Book starts at $1,499 in the US with base configuration of Core i5, 128GB SSD, 8GB RAM and Intel HD 520. That’s roughly PHP 70,000 and it also doubles as a tablet w/ Surface Pen included. Additional bucks in needed to have more storage and better performance with NVIDIA graphics. The MacBook Pro Retina 13″ is for sale at local Apple retailers for PHP 64,990 with Core i5, 128GB flash storage, 8GB RAM and Intel Iris 6100. If you need more space and larger memory, an upgrade is available but there’s no option for discrete graphics.
Surely, the Windows 10 wagon will see better competition now that Microsoft is joining the war on hardware. We’ll soon see what OEMs will pit against the Surface Book, and how Apple will respond to the calling.
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