M1 MacBook Air vs. Surface Go 3: Full specs comparison

Here is a comparison of the specs between M1 MacBook Air and Surface Go 3, including CPU, RAM, storage, battery, display, and more.

Compare With
Please enter device name or part of it
M1 MacBook Air image

M1 MacBook Air

See at Amazon
Compare With
Please enter device name or part of it
Surface Go 3 image

Surface Go 3

See at Amazon

M1 MacBook Air Pros

Reasons that M1 MacBook Air is better than Surface Go 3.

Much faster CPU performance

Apple M1 (8C, 8G) inside M1 MacBook Air has a 372% better multi-core CPU performance score than the Intel Core i3-10100Y inside Surface Go 3.

Geekbench 5 multi-core score
M1 MacBook Air - Apple M1 (8C, 7G)
7,414
M1 MacBook Air - Apple M1 (8C, 8G)
7,414
Surface Go 3 - Intel Core i3-10100Y
1,570
Surface Go 3 - Intel Pentium Gold 6500Y
1,510
Supports larger memory

M1 MacBook Air supports a larger memory capacity than the Surface Go 3. It supports up to 16GB versus 8GB of system memory on the Surface Go 3.

Max system memory size
M1 MacBook Air
16 GB
Surface Go 3
8 GB
26% larger display

M1 MacBook Air has a 13.3-inch screen size 26% larger than the 10.5-inch Surface Go 3.

Display size
M1 MacBook Air
13.3-inch
Surface Go 3
10.5-inch

Surface Go 3 Pros

Reasons that Surface Go 3 is better than M1 MacBook Air.

Newer manufacturing

2021 vs. 2020

About 58% lighter

Surface Go 3 weighed 1.2 pounds, 58% lighter than the 2.8 pounds M1 MacBook Air.

WeightM1 MacBook AirSurface Go 3
Pound
2.8 lbs.
1.2 lbs.
Kilogram
1.27 kg
0.54 kg
Has two more ports and slots

Surface Go 3 has more ports and slots count than the M1 MacBook Air. It has five versus three amount of ports and slots on the M1 MacBook Air.

PortsM1 MacBook AirSurface Go 3
headphone jackYesYes
microSD card slotNoYes
Surface ConnectNoYes
Surface Go Type Cover ConnectorNoYes
Thunderbolt 3Yes x2No
USB-CNoYes
Total35
Slightly more versatile connectivity

Surface Go 3 has better versatile I/O connectivity than the M1 MacBook Air. It has three versus two commonly used ports and slots on the M1 MacBook Air.

PortsM1 MacBook AirSurface Go 3
headphone jackYesYes
microSD card slotNoYes
Thunderbolt 3YesNo
USB-CNoYes

Prices

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

M1 MacBook Air Price
Late 2020 Apple MacBook Air with Apple M1 Chip (13.3 inch, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) Space Gray (Renewed)
 Late 2020 Apple MacBook Air with Apple M1 Chip (13.3 inch, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) Space Gray (Renewed)
By Apple
$629.00
See at Amazon
Late 2020 Apple MacBook Air with Apple M1 Chip (13.3 inch, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD) Space Gray (Renewed)
 Late 2020 Apple MacBook Air with Apple M1 Chip (13.3 inch, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD) Space Gray (Renewed)
By Apple
$704.68
See at Amazon
Late 2020 Apple MacBook Air with Apple M1 Chip (13.3 inch, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD) Space Gray (Renewed)
 Late 2020 Apple MacBook Air with Apple M1 Chip (13.3 inch, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD) Space Gray (Renewed)
By Apple
$610.00
See at Amazon
Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5” Price
Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5" Touchscreen - Intel® Core™ i3 - 8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - Device Only - Platinum (Latest Model)
 Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5" Touchscreen - Intel® Core™ i3 - 8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - Device Only - Platinum (Latest Model)
By Microsoft
$510.25
$629.99 19% OFF
See at Amazon
Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5" Touchscreen - Intel® Core™ i3 - 8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - Device Only - Black (Latest Model)
 Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5" Touchscreen - Intel® Core™ i3 - 8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - Device Only - Black (Latest Model)
By Microsoft
$540.00
$629.99 14% OFF
See at Amazon
Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5" Touchscreen - Intel® Pentium® Gold - 4GB Memory - 64GB eMMC - Device Only - Platinum (Latest Model)
 Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5" Touchscreen - Intel® Pentium® Gold - 4GB Memory - 64GB eMMC - Device Only - Platinum (Latest Model)
By Microsoft
$379.22
$399.99 5% OFF
See at Amazon

Specs Comparison

Availability

M1 MacBook AirSurface Go 3
Released20202021
Release DateAnnounced on November 10th, 2020
  • Introduced: September 22, 2021
  • Pre-ordered: September 22, 2021
  • Released: October 5, 2021
Pricing
  • $999
    Apple M1 Chip (7 cores GPU) | 8GB RAM | 256GB SSD
  • $1,249
    Apple M1 Chip (8 cores GPU) | 8GB RAM | 512GB SSD
  • $399 
    Gold 6500Y 4 GB 64 GB WiFi
  • $549
    Gold 6500Y 8 GB 128 GB WiFi
  • $629
    i3-10100Y 8 GB 128 GB WiFi
Generations

Exterior

M1 MacBook AirSurface Go 3
Dimensions
  • Width: 11.97 inches (30.41 cm)
  • Depth: 8.36 inches (21.24 cm)
  • Height: 0.16–0.63 inch (0.41–1.61 cm)
9.65” x 6.9” x 0.33” (245 mm x 175  mm x 8.3 mm)
Width: 9.65” (245 mm)
Height: 6.9” (175 mm)
Thickness: 0.33” (8.3 mm)
WeightStarting at 2.8 pounds (1.29 kg)
  • Surface Go 3: 1.2 lbs (544 g)
  • Surface Go 3 Keyboard: 0.55 lbs (249 g)
Colors
Gold Space Gray Silver
Platinum
Keyboard and TrackpadBacklit Magic Keyboard with:
  • 78 (U.S.) or 79 (ISO) keys including 12 function keys and 4 arrow keys in an inverted-T arrangement
  • 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 Go Type Cover
    • Not included
  • Keyboard:
    • Full-size mechanical backlit keyset with 1 mm of key travel.
  • Trackpad:
    • Precision glass trackpad.
    • Trackpad size: 101 mm x 56 mm
    • Supports a five-finger multitouch gesture.

Display

M1 MacBook AirSurface Go 3
Size13.3 Inches10.5 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
  • 400 nits brightness
  • Supports wide color (P3)
  • True Tone technology
  • Resolution: 1920 x 1280 (2.45M Pixels)
  • Density: 220 PPI
  • PixelSense™ Display
  • Contrast ratio: 1500:1
  • Aspect ratio: 3:2
  • Inking: designed together with Surface Pen
  • Touch: 10 points multi-touch
  • Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3

Ports

M1 MacBook AirSurface Go 3
M1 MacBook Air Ports
Image Source: Apple
Left (2)
  • 2 x Thunderbolt 3
    40 Gpbs, USB 4.0 (40 Gbps), Charging, DisplayPort
Right (1)
  • 1 x headphone jack
    Headphone/Microphone
Surface Go 3 Ports
Image Source: Microsoft
Right (3)
  • 1 x USB-C
    USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5 Gbps), DisplayPort, Power Delivery
  • 1 x Surface Connect
    Charging, Docking
  • 1 x headphone jack
    Headphone/Microphone
Bottom (1)
  • 1 x Surface Go Type Cover Connector
Under Kickstand (1)
  • 1 x microSD card slot

Internal Specs

M1 MacBook AirSurface Go 3
Processor
  1. Apple M1 (7 GPU Cores)
    8 cores, 8 threads, 3.20 GHz, 10W
  2. Apple M1
    8 cores, 8 threads, 3.20 GHz, 10W
  1. 10th Gen Intel® Pentium® Gold 6500Y
    2 cores, 4 threads, 1.10 → 3.40 GHz, 4MB SmartCache, 5W
  2. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i3-10100Y
    2 cores, 4 threads, 1.30 → 3.90 GHz, 4MB SmartCache, 5W
Integrated Graphics
  1. Apple M1 (7 GPU Cores)
    Apple M1 iGPU
    7 Graphics Cores, 1280 MHz
  2. Apple M1
    Apple M1 iGPU
    8 Graphics Cores, 1280 MHz
  1. 10th Gen Intel® Pentium® Gold 6500Y
    Intel® UHD Graphics 615
    23 Execution Units, 300 → 900 MHz
  2. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i3-10100Y
    Intel® UHD Graphics 615
    24 Execution Units, 300 → 1000 MHz
Memory
  • 8GB
    unified memory
  • Configurable to 16GB
4GB 8GB
1866 MHz LPDDR3 RAM
Storage
  • 256GB 512GB
    SSD
  • Configurable to 1TB or 2TB
  • 64GB
    eMMC
  • 128GB
    SSD

Connectivity

M1 MacBook AirSurface Go 3
Wi-Fi
  • 802.11ax Wi‑Fi 6 wireless networking
  • IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac compatible
Wi-Fi 6: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax compatible.
BluetoothBluetooth 5.0 wireless technologyBluetooth Wireless 5.0 technology
More-LTE version coming soon.

Battery

M1 MacBook AirSurface Go 3
Size49.9 Wh lithium‑polymer battery
  • 28Wh 
    Nominal battery capacity.
  • 26.8Wh 
    Minimum battery capacity.
Battery Life
  • Up to 15 hours wireless web
  • Up to 18 hours Apple TV app movie playback
Up to 11 hours of typical device usage
Power Supply30W USB‑C Power Adapter24W proprietary Surface Connect power supply

Software

M1 MacBook AirSurface Go 3
OSShipped with macOS Big SurWindows 11 Home in S-mode
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
  • Xbox Game Pass Ultimate one month trial
  • Microsoft 365 Family one month trial

Camera & Audio

M1 MacBook AirSurface Go 3
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
  • Wide stereo sound
  • Support for Dolby Atmos playback
  • Three-mic array with directional beamforming
  • 3.5 mm headphone jack
  • Enhanced dual far-field Studio Mics
  • 2W stereo speakers with Dolby® Audio™

Misc

M1 MacBook AirSurface Go 3
Inking-Supports Microsoft Pen Protocol (MPP)
4096 levels of pressure
Tilt sensing
Best in class latency
Paper feel
magnetic storage
Sensors
  • Touch ID sensor
  • Ambient light sensor
  • Ambient light sensor
  • Accelerometer
  • Gyroscope
  • Magnetometer
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 Go 3
  • 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
MoreVideo Support
  • Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display at millions of colors and:
    • One external display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz
  • Thunderbolt 3 digital video output
    • Native DisplayPort output over USB‑C
    • VGA, HDMI, DVI, and Thunderbolt 2 output supported 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
  • Casing: Magnesium

Key Features

M1 MacBook AirSurface Go 3
At Glance
Released in Late
2020
16:10 QHD
13.3”
1600p 60Hz
Weight
2.8 lb
1.27 kg
Up to
Apple M1 (8C, 8G)
8C/8T, 3.20 GHz
Geekbench 5
1,705
Single Core
Geekbench 5
7,414
Multi-Core
With integrated
Apple M1 iGPU
8 Graphics Cores, 1280 MHz
Configurable up to
16GB
Unified Memory
M1 MacBook Air Ports
Starting at
$999
M1 (7 GPU Cores), 8GB, 256GB SSD
Up to
18 Hours
Battery Life
Built-in
Touch ID
With T2 Chip
Dual
USB-C
USB4 & Thunderbolt 3
Wi-Fi 6
Bluetooth 5.0
Released in Late
2021
3:2 FHD+
10.5”
1280p 60Hz
Weight
1.2 lb
0.54 kg
Up to
Intel Core i3-10100Y
2C/4T, 1.30 → 3.90 GHz
Geekbench 5
799
Single Core
Geekbench 5
1,570
Multi-Core
With integrated
Intel® UHD Graphics 615
24 Execution Units, 300 → 1000 MHz
Configurable up to
8GB
1866 MHz LPDDR3
Surface Go 3 Ports
Starting at
$399
Gold 6500Y, 4GB, 64GB eMMC
Supports
Surface Pen
4096 Levels, Tilt sensing, Magnetic Storage.
Up to
11 Hours
Battery Life
Built-in
IR Camera
For Face Unlock
Optional
4G LTE
Wi-Fi 6

Comments

Ask questions or share your thought and experience about the comparison between M1 MacBook Air and Surface Go 3.

Loading Comments...