M1 MacBook Air vs. Surface Pro 7: Which is better?

Here is a side by side comparison between M1 MacBook Air and Surface Pro 7 specs including CPU, RAM, storage, battery, display, and more.

M1 MacBook Air Pros

Reasons that M1 MacBook Air is better than Surface Pro 7.

Newer manufacturing

2020 vs. 2019

Much faster CPU performance

Apple M1 (8C, 8G) inside M1 MacBook Air has a 99% better multi-core CPU performance score than the Intel Core i7-1065G7 inside Surface Pro 7.

Geekbench 5 multi-core score
M1 MacBook Air - Apple M1 (8C, 7G)
7,414
M1 MacBook Air - Apple M1 (8C, 8G)
7,414
Surface Pro 7 - Intel Core i7-1065G7
3,722
Surface Pro 7 - Intel Core i5-1035G4
3,347
Surface Pro 7 - Intel Core i3-1005G1
2,027
8% larger display

M1 MacBook Air has a 13.3-inch screen size 8% larger than the 12.3-inch Surface Pro 7.

Display size
M1 MacBook Air
13.3-inch
Surface Pro 7
12.3-inch

Surface Pro 7 Pros

Reasons that Surface Pro 7 is better than M1 MacBook Air.

About 40% lighter

Surface Pro 7 weighed 1.70 pounds, 40% lighter than the 2.8 pounds M1 MacBook Air.

WeightM1 MacBook AirSurface Pro 7
Pound
2.8 lbs.
1.70 lbs.
Kilogram
1.27 kg
0.77 kg
Has three more ports and slots

Surface Pro 7 has more ports and slots count than the M1 MacBook Air. It has six versus three amount of ports and slots on the M1 MacBook Air.

PortsM1 MacBook AirSurface Pro 7
headphone jackYesYes
microSD card slotNoYes
Surface ConnectNoYes
Surface Type Cover portNoYes
Thunderbolt 3Yes x2No
USB-ANoYes
USB-CNoYes
Total36
More versatile connectivity

Surface Pro 7 has better versatile I/O connectivity than the M1 MacBook Air. It has four versus two commonly used ports and slots on the M1 MacBook Air.

PortsM1 MacBook AirSurface Pro 7
headphone jackYesYes
microSD card slotNoYes
Thunderbolt 3YesNo
USB-ANoYes
USB-CNoYes

Key Similars

Similar characteristics share between M1 MacBook Air and Surface Pro 7.

Supports the same maximum memory size of up to 16GB

Both laptops supports up to 16GB of system memory.

Max system memory size
M1 MacBook Air
16 GB
Surface Pro 7
16 GB

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
$648.14
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
$609.99
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
$779.99
Surface Pro 7 Price
Microsoft Surface Pro 7 12.3in Intel Core i5 10th Gen 8GB RAM 128GB SSD Platinum (Renewed)
Microsoft Surface Pro 7 12.3in Intel Core i5 10th Gen 8GB RAM 128GB SSD Platinum (Renewed)
By Microsoft
$309.99
$369.00 16% OFF
Microsoft Surface Pro 7 – 12.3" Touch-Screen - 10th Gen Intel Core i5 - 16GB Memory - 256GB SSD (Latest Model) – Platinum (PUW-00001) (Renewed)
Microsoft Surface Pro 7 – 12.3" Touch-Screen - 10th Gen Intel Core i5 - 16GB Memory - 256GB SSD (Latest Model) – Platinum (PUW-00001) (Renewed)
By Microsoft
$534.97
Microsoft Surface Pro 7 – 12.3" Touch-Screen - 10th Gen Intel Core i5 - 8GB Memory - 128GB SSD – Platinum
Microsoft Surface Pro 7 – 12.3" Touch-Screen - 10th Gen Intel Core i5 - 8GB Memory - 128GB SSD – Platinum
By Microsoft
$889.41

Availability

M1 MacBook AirSurface Pro 7
Released20202019
Release DateAnnounced on November 10th, 2020
  • Introduced: October 2, 2019 (Microsoft October Event)
  • Pre-ordered: October 2, 2019
  • Released: October 22, 2019
Pricing
  • $999
    Apple M1 Chip (7 cores GPU) | 8GB RAM | 256GB SSD
  • $1,249
    Apple M1 Chip (8 cores GPU) | 8GB RAM | 512GB SSD
Starting at 749$
Generations

Exterior

M1 MacBook AirSurface Pro 7
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)
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 2.8 pounds (1.29 kg)
  • Intel Core i3: 1.70 lbs (775 g)
  • Intel Core i5: 1.70 lbs (776 g)
  • Intel Core i7: 1.73 lbs (790 g)
Colors
Gold Space Gray Silver
Matte Black 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 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

M1 MacBook AirSurface Pro 7
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
  • 400 nits brightness
  • Supports wide color (P3)
  • True Tone technology
  • 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 3
  • 10nm Oleophobic Coating
  • 100% sRGB color, individually calibrated

Ports

M1 MacBook AirSurface Pro 7
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 Pro 7 Ports
Image Source: Microsoft
Left (1)
  • 1 x headphone jack
    Headphone/Microphone
Right (3)
  • 1 x USB-C
    USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10 Gbps), Power Delivery, DisplayPort
  • 1 x USB-A
    USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5 Gbps)
  • 1 x Surface Connect
    Charging, Docking Station
Bottom (1)
  • 1 x Surface Type Cover port
Under Kickstand (1)
  • 1 x microSD card slot

Internal Specs

M1 MacBook AirSurface Pro 7
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® Core™ i3-1005G1
    2 cores, 4 threads, 1.20 → 3.40 GHz, 4MB SmartCache, 15W
  2. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1035G4
    4 cores, 8 threads, 1.10 → 3.70 GHz, 6MB SmartCache, 15W
  3. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1065G7
    4 cores, 8 threads, 1.30 → 3.90 GHz, 8MB SmartCache, 15W
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® Core™ i3-1005G1
    Intel® UHD Graphics
    32 Execution Units, 300 → 900 MHz
  2. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1035G4
    Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics
    48 Execution Units, 300 → 1050 MHz
  3. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1065G7
    Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics
    64 Execution Units, 300 → 1100 MHz
Memory
  • 8GB
    unified memory
  • Configurable to 16GB
4GB 8GB 16GB
3733 MHz LPDDR4X RAM
Storage
  • 256GB 512GB
    SSD
  • Configurable to 1TB or 2TB
128 GB 256 GB 512 GB 1 TB
BGA PCIe SSD

Connectivity

M1 MacBook AirSurface Pro 7
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 technology
  • Bluetooth Wireless 5.0 technology

Battery

M1 MacBook AirSurface Pro 7
Size49.9 Wh lithium‑polymer battery43.2 Wh
Battery Life
  • Up to 15 hours wireless web
  • Up to 18 hours Apple TV app movie playback
Up to 10.5 hours of typical device usage
Power Supply30W USB‑C Power Adapter
  • 60W power supply with USB-A (5W) (65W total)
  • Supports Fast Charge (0-80% in about one hour)

Software

M1 MacBook AirSurface Pro 7
OSShipped with macOS Big Sur
  • For Consumer: Windows 10 Home
  • For Commercial: Windows 10 Pro
Free upgrade to Windows 11
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

M1 MacBook AirSurface Pro 7
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
  • Dual far-field Studio Mics
  • 1.6W stereo speakers with Dolby® Audio™ Premium

Misc

M1 MacBook AirSurface Pro 7
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 7
  • 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 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)
-

Key Features

M1 MacBook AirSurface Pro 7
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
2019
3:2 2.7K
12.3”
1824p 60Hz
Weight
1.70 lb
0.77 kg
Up to
Intel Core i7-1065G7
4C/8T, 1.30 → 3.90 GHz
Geekbench 5
1,088
Single Core
Geekbench 5
3,722
Multi-Core
With integrated
Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics
64 Execution Units, 300 → 1100 MHz
Configurable up to
16GB
3733 MHz LPDDR4X
Surface Pro 7 Ports

Comparison Summary

M1 MacBook Air vs. Surface Pro 7

Apple has released the M1 MacBook Air, a 13.3-inch machine, in late-2020. It is powered by up to an octa-core Apple M1 (8C, 8G). The laptop has an integrated graphics option up to Apple M1 iGPU (8 Graphics Cores, 1280 MHz).

On the other hand, we have the 12.3-inch Surface Pro 7 was introduced by Microsoft about a year earlier in late-2019. It comes with up to a quad-core Intel Core i7-1065G7 with a boost clock speed up to 3.90 GHz. It has an integrated graphics option up to Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics (64 Execution Units, 300 → 1100 MHz).

Geekbench 5 Single Core

M1 MacBook Air1
Apple M1 (7 GPU Cores)1,705100.00%
2
Apple M11,705100.00%
Surface Pro 71
10th Gen Intel® Core™ i3-1005G199358.24%
2
10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1035G41,03760.82%
3
10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1065G71,08863.81%
01,705

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

M1 MacBook Air1
Apple M1 (7 GPU Cores)7,414100.00%
2
Apple M17,414100.00%
Surface Pro 71
10th Gen Intel® Core™ i3-1005G12,02727.34%
2
10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1035G43,34745.14%
3
10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1065G73,72250.20%
07,414

The M1 MacBook Air has a 13.3-inch display which is slightly larger than the 12.3-inch Surface Pro 7. In addition, the M1 MacBook Air weighs 2.8 lbs. about 64% heavier than the 1.70 lbs. Surface Pro 7. Moreover, measured at 11.97” x 8.36” x 0.63”, the M1 MacBook Air is much bulkier than the Surface Pro 7 at 11.5” x 7.9” x 0.33”.

M1 MacBook AirSurface Pro 7

There are only a Thunderbolt 3 port, a headphone jack available on M1 MacBook Air. With that said, it has three ports and slots fewer than the Surface Pro 7 that has a headphone jack, a USB-C port, a USB-A port, a Surface Connect, a Surface Type Cover port, and a microSD card slot.

Moving over to upgradability, you can't make any upgrades on both devices. All major components including memory and storage are soldered on to the motherboard. So make sure you get the specs that work best for your current and future workload.

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