MacBook Air 13” 2018 vs. Surface Pro 5: Full specs comparison

Here is a comparison of the specs between MacBook Air 13” 2018 and Surface Pro 5, including CPU, RAM, storage, battery, display, and more.

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MacBook Air 13” 2018 image

MacBook Air 13” 2018

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Surface Pro 5

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MacBook Air 13” 2018 Pros

Reasons that MacBook Air 13” 2018 is better than Surface Pro 5.

Newer manufacturing

2018 vs. 2017

Supports faster memory

MacBook Air 13” 2018 supports a faster memory speed than the Surface Pro 5. It supports up to 2133MHz versus 1866MHz of system memory on the Surface Pro 5.

Memory type and speed
MacBook Air 13” 2018 - LPDDR3
2,133 MHz
Surface Pro 5 - LPDDR3
1,866 MHz
8% larger display

MacBook Air 13” 2018 has a 13.3-inch screen size 8% larger than the 12.3-inch Surface Pro 5.

Display size
MacBook Air 13” 2018
13.3-inch
Surface Pro 5
12.3-inch

Surface Pro 5 Pros

Reasons that Surface Pro 5 is better than MacBook Air 13” 2018.

Significantly faster CPU performance

Intel Core i7-7660U inside Surface Pro 5 has a 36% better multi-core CPU performance score than the Intel Core i5-8210Y inside MacBook Air 13” 2018.

Geekbench 5 multi-core score
Surface Pro 5 - Intel Core i7-7660U
1,992
Surface Pro 5 - Intel Core i5-7300U
1,777
MacBook Air 13” 2018 - Intel Core i5-8210Y
1,455
Surface Pro 5 - Intel Core m3-7Y30
1,202
About 39% lighter

Surface Pro 5 weighed 1.69 pounds, 39% lighter than the 2.75 pounds MacBook Air 13” 2018.

WeightMacBook Air 13” 2018Surface Pro 5
Pound
2.75 lbs.
1.69 lbs.
Kilogram
1.25 kg
0.77 kg

Key Similars

Similar characteristics share between MacBook Air 13” 2018 and Surface Pro 5.

Supports the same maximum memory size of up to 16GB

Both laptops supports up to 16GB of system memory.

Max system memory size
MacBook Air 13” 2018
16 GB
Surface Pro 5
16 GB

Prices

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

MacBook Air 13” 2018 Price
Late 2018 Apple MacBook Air with 1.6 GHz Intel Core i5 Dual-Core (13 inch, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) Silver (Renewed)
 Late 2018 Apple MacBook Air with 1.6 GHz Intel Core i5 Dual-Core (13 inch, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) Silver (Renewed)
By Apple
$389.95
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2018 Apple MacBook Air with 1.6GHz Intel Core i5 (13-inch, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD Storage) - Silver (Renewed)
 2018 Apple MacBook Air with 1.6GHz Intel Core i5 (13-inch, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD Storage) - Silver (Renewed)
By Apple
$369.89
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Mid 2019 Apple Macbook Air with 1.6 GHz Core i5 (13.3 inches, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) Space Gray (Renewed)
 Mid 2019 Apple Macbook Air with 1.6 GHz Core i5 (13.3 inches, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) Space Gray (Renewed)
By Apple
$424.95
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Surface Pro 5 Price
Microsoft Surface Pro 5 Tablet 12.3in 2K IPS Touchscreen Surface Laptop w/Backlitkey, Core i5-7300U, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD, Mini DisplayPort, MicroSD XC Card Reader Windows 10 Pro (Renewed)
 Microsoft Surface Pro 5 Tablet 12.3in 2K IPS Touchscreen Surface Laptop w/Backlitkey, Core i5-7300U, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD, Mini DisplayPort, MicroSD XC Card Reader Windows 10 Pro (Renewed)
By Microsoft
$314.90
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Microsoft Surface Pro 5 Tablet,12.3 inch (2736 x 1824), Intel Core i5-7300U 2.6 GHz, 8 GB RAM 256GB SSD, CAM, Win 10 Pro (Renewed)
 Microsoft Surface Pro 5 Tablet,12.3 inch (2736 x 1824), Intel Core i5-7300U 2.6 GHz, 8 GB RAM 256GB SSD, CAM, Win 10 Pro (Renewed)
By Microsoft
$288.28
See at Amazon
Microsoft Surface Pro 5 12.3" Touchscreen (2736 X 1824) Tablet PC, Intel Core i5-7300U, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD, Including Keyboard, WiFi, USB 3.0, Camera, Windows 10 Pro (Renewed)
 Microsoft Surface Pro 5 12.3" Touchscreen (2736 X 1824) Tablet PC, Intel Core i5-7300U, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD, Including Keyboard, WiFi, USB 3.0, Camera, Windows 10 Pro (Renewed)
By Microsoft
$329.00
See at Amazon

Specs Comparison

Availability

MacBook Air 13” 2018Surface Pro 5
Released20182017
Release Date
  • Available on October 30, 2018
  • Introduced: May 23, 2017
  • Pre-ordered: May 23, 2017
  • Released: June 15, 2017
Pricing
  • $1,199
    Intel Core i5 8210Y | 8GB RAM | 128GB SSD
  • $1,399
    Intel Core i5 8210Y | 8GB RAM | 256GB SSD
Starting at 799$
Generations

Exterior

MacBook Air 13” 2018Surface Pro 5
Dimensions11.97” x 8.36” x 0.16 - 0.61” (304.1 mm x  212.4 mm x 4.1 – 15.6 mm)11.50” x 7.9” x 0.33” (292 mm x 201 mm x 8.5 mm)
Width: 11.50” (292 mm)
Height: 7.9” (201 mm)
Thickness: 0.33” (8.5 mm)
WeightStarting at 2.75 pounds (1.25 kg)
  • Intel Core m3: 1.69 lbs (768 g)
  • Intel Core i5: 1.7 lbs (770 g)
  • Intel Core i7: 1.73 lbs (784 g)
Colors
Gold Space Gray Silver
Platinum
Keyboard and TrackpadBacklit Magic Keyboard with:
  • 78 (U.S.) or 79 (ISO) individual LED-backlit keys, including 12 function keys and 4 arrow keys
  • Ambient light sensor
  • Force Touch trackpad for precise cursor control and pressure-sensing capabilities; enables Force clicks, accelerators, pressure-sensitive drawing, and Multi-Touch gestures
  • Surface Type Cover
    • Not included
    • Weight: 0.68 lb (310 g)
    • Dimension: 11.61 x 8.54 x 0.19 inches (295 mm x 216 mm x 5mm)
  • Keyboard:
    • Activation: Moving (mechanical) keys
    • Layout: QWERTY, full row of function keys (F1-F12)
    • 4 directional keys; Windows, Brightness and Media Controls Keys;
    • LED backlighting
  • Trackpad:
    • Precision glass trackpad.
    • Trackpad size: 4 x 2 inches (101.6 mm x 50.8 mm)
    • Supports a five-finger multitouch gesture.

Display

MacBook Air 13” 2018Surface Pro 5
Size13.3 Inches12.3 Inches
InfoRetina display
  • 13.3-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology; 2560-by-1600 native resolution at 227 pixels per inch with support for millions of colors
  • Supported scaled resolutions:
    • 1680 by 1050
    • 1440 by 900
    • 1024 by 640
  • 16:10 aspect ratio
  • Resolution: 2736 x 1824 (5M Pixels)
  • Density: 267 PPI
  • PixelSense™ Display
  • Aspect ratio: 3:2
  • Inking: designed together with Surface Pen
  • Touch: 10 points multi-touch
  • Corning® Gorilla® Glass 4
  • 10nm Oleophobic Coating

Ports

MacBook Air 13” 2018Surface Pro 5
Two Thunderbolt 3 (USB‑C) ports with support for:
  • Charging
  • DisplayPort
  • Thunderbolt (up to 40Gb/s)
  • USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10Gb/s)
Surface Pro 5 Ports
Image Source: Microsoft
Left (1)
  • 1 x headphone jack
    Headphone/Microphone
Right (3)
  • 1 x Mini DisplayPort
  • 1 x USB-A
    USB 3.0 (5 Gbps)
  • 1 x Surface Connect
    Charging, Docking Station
Bottom (1)
  • 1 x Type Cover port
Under Kickstand (1)
  • 1 x microSD card slot

Internal Specs

MacBook Air 13” 2018Surface Pro 5
Processor
  1. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8210Y
    2 cores, 4 threads, 1.60 → 3.60 GHz, 4MB SmartCache, 7W
  1. 7th Gen Intel® Core™ m3-7Y30
    2 cores, 4 threads, 1.00 → 2.60 GHz, 4MB SmartCache, 4.5W
  2. 7th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-7300U
    2 cores, 4 threads, 2.60 → 3.50 GHz, 3MB SmartCache, 15W
  3. 7th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-7660U
    2 cores, 4 threads, 2.50 → 4.00 GHz, 4MB SmartCache, 15W
Integrated Graphics
  1. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8210Y
    Intel® UHD Graphics 617
    24 Execution Units, 300 → 1050 MHz
  1. 7th Gen Intel® Core™ m3-7Y30
    Intel® HD Graphics 615
    24 Execution Units, 300 → 900 MHz
  2. 7th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-7300U
    Intel® HD Graphics 620
    24 Execution Units, 300 → 1100 MHz
  3. 7th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-7660U
    Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics 640
    48 Execution Units with 64 MB eDRAM side cache, 300 → 1100 MHz
Memory
8GB
Configurable to 16GB 2133MHz LPDDR3 onboard memory
4GB 8GB 16GB
1866 MHz LPDDR3 RAM
Discrete GraphicsSupport for Thunderbolt 3–enabled external graphics processors (eGPUs)-
Storage
128GB 256GB
Configurable to 512GB or 1TB SSD
128 GB 256 GB 512 GB 1 TB
PCIe NVMe SSD

Connectivity

MacBook Air 13” 2018Surface Pro 5
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.
BluetoothBluetooth 4.2 wireless technology
  • Bluetooth Wireless 4.1 technology

Battery

MacBook Air 13” 2018Surface Pro 5
Size50.3 Wh lithium‑polymer battery45 Wh
Battery Life
  • Up to 12 hours wireless web
  • Up to 13 hours Apple TV app video playback
  • Up to 30 days of standby time
Up to 13.5 hours of video playback
Power Supply30W USB‑C Power Adapter
  • 44W power supply
    • USB-A output: 5W
    • Surface Connect: 39W

Software

MacBook Air 13” 2018Surface Pro 5
OSShipped with macOS MojaveWindows 10 Pro (Creators Update)
Built-in Apps
Photos iMovie GarageBand Pages Numbers Keynote Siri Safari Mail FaceTime Messages Maps News Stocks Home Voice Memos Notes Calendar Contacts Reminders Photo Booth Preview Music Podcasts TV Books App Store Time Machine Find My QuickTime Player
Microsoft Office 365 30-days trial

Camera & Audio

MacBook Air 13” 2018Surface Pro 5
Camera720p FaceTime HD camera
  • Windows Hello face authentication camera (front-facing)
  • 5.0MP front-facing camera with 1080p Skype HD video
  • 8.0MP rear-facing autofocus camera with 1080p full HD video
Audio
  • Stereo speakers
  • Three microphones
  • 3.5 mm headphone jack
  • Dual microphones
  • 1.6W stereo speakers with Dolby® Audio™ Premium

Misc

MacBook Air 13” 2018Surface Pro 5
Inking-Supports Surface Pen
4096 levels of pressure
Tilt sensing
Best in class latency
Paper feel
0.1mm precision
magnetic storage
Sensors
  • Touch ID sensor
  • Ambient light sensor
  • Ambient light sensor
  • Accelerometer
  • Gyroscope
Security
  • Touch ID sensor
  • Apple T2 Security Chip
  • HW TPM 2.0 chip for enterprise security
  • Enterprise-grade protection with Windows Hello face sign-in
In the box
  • MacBook Air
  • 30W USB‑C Power Adapter
  • USB-C Charge Cable (2 m)
  • Surface Pro (5th Gen)
  • Power supply
  • Quick Start Guide
  • Safety and warranty documents
WarrantyYour MacBook Air comes with 90 days of complimentary technical support and a one-year limited warranty. Purchase AppleCare+ to extend your coverage to three years from your AppleCare+ purchase date and add up to two incidents of accidental damage coverage, each subject to a service fee of $99 for screen damage or external enclosure damage, or $299 for other repairable damage, plus applicable tax.
  • One-year limited hardware warranty
  • Commercial: Advanced Exchange warranty service with expedited device replacement
MoreVideo Support
  • Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display at millions of colors and:
    • One external display with 5120-by-2880 resolution at up to 60Hz
    • Up to two external displays with 4096-by-2304 resolution at up to 60Hz
  • Thunderbolt 3 digital video output
    • Native DisplayPort output over USB‑C
    • VGA, HDMI, and Thunderbolt 2 output using adapters (sold separately)
  • Mechanical features: Signature unibody magnesium design with hidden perimeter venting
  • Kickstand with a full-friction multiposition hinge to 165 degrees
  • Magnetic attach for keyboard fold stability
  • Physical buttons: volumes, power

Key Features

MacBook Air 13” 2018Surface Pro 5
At Glance
Released in Late
2018
16:10 WQXGA
13.3”
1600p 60Hz
Weight
2.75 lb
1.25 kg
Powered By
Intel Core i5-8210Y
2C/4T, 1.60 → 3.60 GHz
Geekbench 5
728
Single Core
Geekbench 5
1,455
Multi-Core
With integrated
Intel® UHD Graphics 617
24 Execution Units, 300 → 1050 MHz
Up to
16GB
2133 MHz LPDDR3
Released in Mid
2017
3:2 2.7K
12.3”
1824p 60Hz
Weight
1.69 lb
0.77 kg
Up to
Intel Core i7-7660U
2C/4T, 2.50 → 4.00 GHz
Geekbench 5
877
Single Core
Geekbench 5
1,992
Multi-Core
With integrated
Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics 640
48 Execution Units with 64 MB eDRAM side cache, 300 → 1100 MHz
Configurable up to
16GB
1866 MHz LPDDR3
Surface Pro 5 Ports

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