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MacBook Air 11” 2014 vs. Surface 3: Full specs comparison

We have comprehensively compared the specifications for the MacBook Air 11” 2014 and Surface 3 models. The report includes detailed information regarding both models' CPU, memory, storage, battery life, display quality, and other features.

Compare With Please enter device name or part of it MacBook Air 11” 2014 See at Amazon	Compare With Please enter device name or part of it Surface 3 See at Amazon

MacBook Air 11” 2014 Pros

Reasons that MacBook Air 11” 2014 is better than Surface 3.

Intel Core i7-4650U inside MacBook Air 11” 2014 has a 59% better multi-core CPU performance score than the Intel Atom x7-Z8700 inside Surface 3.

Geekbench 5 multi-core score

MacBook Air 11” 2014 - Intel Core i7-4650U

1,236

MacBook Air 11” 2014 - Intel Core i5-4260U

1,183

Surface 3 - Intel Atom x7-Z8700

776

MacBook Air 11” 2014 supports a larger memory capacity than the Surface 3. It supports up to 8GB versus 4GB of system memory on the Surface 3.

Max system memory size

MacBook Air 11” 2014

8 GB

Surface 3

4 GB

MacBook Air 11” 2014 has a 11.6-inch screen size 7% larger than the 10.8-inch Surface 3.

Display size

MacBook Air 11” 2014

11.6-inch

Surface 3

10.8-inch

Surface 3 Pros

Reasons that Surface 3 is better than MacBook Air 11” 2014.

2015 vs. 2014

Surface 3 weighed 1.37 pounds, 43% lighter than the 2.38 pounds MacBook Air 11” 2014.

Weight	MacBook Air 11” 2014	Surface 3
Pound	2.38 lbs.	1.37 lbs.
Kilogram	1.08 kg	0.62 kg

Prices

Here are the latest price updates and offers for both devices.

MacBook Air 11” 2014 Price
	Apple MacBook Air MD711LL/A 11.6-inch Laptop - Intel Core i5 1.3GHz - 4GB RAM - 128GB SSD (Renewed) By Apple $190.99	See at Amazon
	Apple MacBook Air MD711LL/B 11.6in Widescreen LED Backlit HD Laptop, Intel Dual-Core i5 up to 2.7GHz, 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD, HD Camera, USB 3.0, 802.11ac, Bluetooth, Mac OS X (Renewed) By Apple $189.00	See at Amazon
	Apple MacBook Air (13-inch Retina display, 1.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i5, 128GB) - Space Gray (Renewed) By Apple $369.00	See at Amazon
Surface 3 Price
	Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 13.5" Touch-Screen Intel Core i5-8GB Memory - 256GB Solid State Drive (PKX-00003) Matte Black (Renewed) By Microsoft $297.00 $319.00 7% OFF	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface 3 128GB WiFi Tablet 10.8" Intel Atom - Silver (Renewed) By Microsoft $185.06 $199.94 7% OFF	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Pro 3 (128 GB, Intel Core i5) (Renewed) By Microsoft $192.00 $211.88 9% OFF	See at Amazon

Availability	MacBook Air 11” 2014	Surface 3
Released	2014	2015
Release Date	Available on April 30, 2014	Introduced: March 21, 2015 Pre-ordered: March 21, 2015 Released: May 5, 2015
Pricing	$899 Intel Core i5 4260U \| 4GB RAM \| 128GB SSD $1,099 Intel Core i5 4260U \| 4GB RAM \| 256GB SSD	Surface 3 Wi-Fi $499 - 2 GB \| 64 GB $599 - 4 GB \| 128 GB Surface 3 4G LTE $599 - 2 GB \| 64 GB $699 - 4 GB \| 128 GB
Generations	-	2021 Surface Go 3 2020 Surface Go 2 2018 Surface Go 2015 Surface 3 2013 Surface 2 2012 Surface RT

Exterior	MacBook Air 11” 2014	Surface 3
Dimensions	11.8” x 7.56” x 0.11 - 0.68” (300 mm x 192 mm x 3 - 17 mm)	10.52” x 7.36” x 0.34” (267 mm x 187 mm x 8.7 mm) Width: 10.52” (267 mm) Height: 7.36” (187 mm) Thickness: 0.34” (8.7 mm)
Weight	Starting at 2.38 pounds (1.08 kg)	Surface 3: 1.37 lbs (621 g) Surface 3 with Keyboard: 1.95 lbs (884 g)
Colors	Silver	Silver
Keyboard and Trackpad	Full-size backlit keyboard with: 78 (U.S.) or 79 (ISO) keys, including 12 function keys and 4 arrow keys (inverted “T” arrangement) with ambient light sensor Multi-Touch trackpad for precise cursor control; supports inertial scrolling, pinch, rotate, swipe, three-finger swipe, four-finger swipe, tap, double-tap, and drag capabilities	Surface Type Cover Not included Keyboard: Activation: Moving (mechanical) keys Layout: QWERTY, full row of function keys (F1-F12) 4 directional keys; Windows and Media Controls Keys; LED backlighting Trackpad: Precision glass trackpad. Supports up to three-finger multitouch gesture.

Display	MacBook Air 11” 2014	Surface 3
Size	11.6 Inches	10.8 Inches
Info	11.6-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen display with support for millions of colors Supported resolutions: 1366 by 768 (native), 1344 by 756, and 1280 by 720 pixels at 16:9 aspect ratio; 1152 by 720 and 1024 by 640 pixels at 16:10 aspect ratio; 1024 by 768 and 800 by 600 pixels at 4:3 aspect ratio	Resolution: 1920 x 1280 (2.4M Pixels) Density: 214 PPI Aspect ratio: 3:2 Inking: supports Surface Pen Touch: 10 points multi-touch

Ports	MacBook Air 11” 2014	Surface 3
1 x Thunderbolt port Supports data transfers up to 10 Gbps. 2 x USB 3.0 ports Supports data transfers up to 5 Gbps. 1 x 3.5 mm headphone jack 1 x MagSafe 2 power port	Image Source: Microsoft Right (4) 1 x USB-A USB 3.0 (5 Gbps) 1 x Mini DisplayPort 1 x Micro USB Charging Port 1 x headphone jack Headphone/Microphone Bottom (1) 1 x Type Cover Under Kickstand (2) 1 x microSD card slot 1 x nanoSIM card slot Surface 3 with LTE only, Optional

Internal Specs	MacBook Air 11” 2014	Surface 3
Processor	4th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-4260U 2 cores, 4 threads, 1.40 → 2.70 GHz, 3MB SmartCache, 15W 4th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-4650U 2 cores, 4 threads, 1.70 → 3.30 GHz, 4MB SmartCache, 15W	Intel® Atom™ x7-Z8700 4 cores, 4 threads, 1.60 → 2.40 GHz, 2MB Cache, 2W
Integrated Graphics	4th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-4260U Intel® HD Graphics 5000 40 Execution Units, 200 → 1000 MHz 4th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-4650U Intel® HD Graphics 5000 40 Execution Units, 200 → 1100 MHz	Intel® Atom™ x7-Z8700 Intel® HD Graphics 16 Execution Units, 20 → 600 MHz
Memory	4GB Configurable to 8GB 1600MHz LPDDR3 onboard memory	2GB 4GB 1600 MHz DDR3 SDRAM.
Storage	128GB 256GB Configurable to 512GB flash storage.	64GB 128GB eMMC

Connectivity	MacBook Air 11” 2014	Surface 3
Wi-Fi	802.11ac Wi‑Fi wireless networking IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n compatible	Wi-Fi 5: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac compatible.
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 4.0 wireless technology	Bluetooth Wireless 4.0 technology
More	-	Optional LTE Nano SIM Tray GPS Assisted GPS GLONASS

Battery	MacBook Air 11” 2014	Surface 3
Size	38 Wh lithium‑polymer battery	27.5 Wh
Battery Life	Up to 9 hours of wireless web Up to 9 hours iTunes movie playback Up to 30 days of standby time	Up to 10 hours of video playback
Power Supply	45W MagSafe 2 Power Adapter With cable management system; MagSafe 2 power port.	13W Micro USB power supply

Software	MacBook Air 11” 2014	Surface 3
OS	Shipped with OSX Mavericks	Windows 8.1 Pro Upgradable to Windows 10 Pro
Built-in Apps	iPhoto iMovie GarageBand Pages Numbers Keynote Maps iBooks Safari Mail FaceTime Messages Calendar Contacts Reminders Time Machine Photo Booth iTunes Game Center Preview Notes Mac App Store	1-Year Microsoft Office 365 Personal

Camera & Audio	MacBook Air 11” 2014	Surface 3
Camera	720p FaceTime HD camera	3.5MP front-facing camera with 1080p HD video 8.0MP rear-facing autofocus camera with 1080p HD video
Audio	Stereo speakers Dual microphones Headphone port Support for Apple iPhone headset with remote and microphone	Single microphone Front-facing stereo speakers with Dolby® Audio enhanced sound

Misc	MacBook Air 11” 2014	Surface 3
Inking	-	Supports Surface Pen 256 levels of pressure N-trig Active Pen technology
Sensors	-	Ambient light sensor Proximity sensor Accelerometer Gyroscope Magnetometer Digital compass
In the box	MacBook Air 11″ Power adapter AC wall plug Power cord	Surface 3 Power supply Quick Start Guide Safety and warranty documents
Warranty	Limited Warranty and ServiceYour MacBook Air comes with 90 days of free telephone support and a one-year limited warranty. Purchase the AppleCare Protection Plan to extend your service and support to three years from your computer’s purchase date. Only the AppleCare Protection Plan provides you with direct telephone support from Apple technical experts and the assurance that repairs will be handled by Apple-authorized technicians using genuine Apple parts. For more information, visit Apple Support or call 800-823-2775.	One-year limited hardware warranty
More	Video Support Dual display and video mirroring: Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display and up to 2560 by 1600 pixels on an external display, both at millions of colors Thunderbolt digital video output Native Mini DisplayPort output DVI output using Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter (sold separately) VGA output using Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter (sold separately) Dual-link DVI output using Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter (sold separately) HDMI audio and video output using third-party Mini DisplayPort to HDMI Adapter (sold separately)	Casing: Magnesium Kickstand: 3 positions Physical buttons: volumes, power

Key Features	MacBook Air 11” 2014	Surface 3
At Glance	Released in Early 2014 16:10 HD+ 11.6” 756p 60Hz Weight 2.38 lb 1.08 kg Up to Intel Core i7-4650U 2C/4T, 1.70 → 3.30 GHz Geekbench 5 632 Single Core Geekbench 5 1,236 Multi-Core With integrated Intel® HD Graphics 5000 40 Execution Units, 200 → 1100 MHz Up to 8GB 1600 MHz LPDDR3	Released in Early 2015 3:2 FHD+ 10.8” 1280p 60Hz Weight 1.37 lb 0.62 kg Powered By Intel Atom x7-Z8700 4C/4T, 1.60 → 2.40 GHz Geekbench 5 224 Single Core Geekbench 5 776 Multi-Core With integrated Intel® HD Graphics 16 Execution Units, 20 → 600 MHz Configurable up to 4GB 1600 MHz DDR3