M1 MacBook Air vs. Surface Pro 8: Full specs comparison
We have comprehensively analyzed the technical specifications for the M1 MacBook Air and Surface Pro 8 models. Our report includes intricate details such as the CPU, memory, storage, battery life, display quality, and other features.
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M1 MacBook Air Pros
Reasons that M1 MacBook Air is better than Surface Pro 8.
Much faster CPU performance
Apple M1 (8C, 8G) inside M1 MacBook Air has a 52% better multi-core CPU performance score than the Intel Core i7-1185G7 inside Surface Pro 8.
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 8 - Intel Core i7-1185G7
4,864
Surface Pro 8 - Intel Core i5-1135G7
3,980
Surface Pro 8 - Intel Core i3-1115G4
2,445
Surface Pro 8 Pros
Reasons that Surface Pro 8 is better than M1 MacBook Air.
Newer manufacturing
2021 vs. 2020
Supports larger memory
Surface Pro 8 supports a larger memory capacity than the M1 MacBook Air. It supports up to 32GB versus 16GB of system memory on the M1 MacBook Air.
Max system memory size
Surface Pro 8
32 GB
M1 MacBook Air
16 GB
Upgradable storage
Surface Pro 8 comes with a single removable M.2 SSD slot that you can replace and upgrade in the future.
| Slots | M1 MacBook Air | Surface Pro 8 |
|---|---|---|
| M.2 | Onboard | Yes x1 |
About 30% lighter
Surface Pro 8 weighed 1.96 pounds, 30% lighter than the 2.8 pounds M1 MacBook Air.
| Weight | M1 MacBook Air | Surface Pro 8 |
|---|---|---|
| Pound | 2.8 lbs. | 1.96 lbs. |
| Kilogram | 1.27 kg | 0.89 kg |
Has three more ports and slots
Surface Pro 8 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.
| Ports | M1 MacBook Air | Surface Pro 8 |
|---|---|---|
| headphone jack | Yes | Yes |
| SSD slot | No | Yes |
| Surface Connect | No | Yes |
| Surface Type Cover | No | Yes |
| Thunderbolt 3 | Yes x2 | No |
| Thunderbolt 4 | No | Yes x2 |
| Total | 3 | 6 |
Prices
Here are the latest price updates and offers for both devices.
M1 MacBook Air Price | ||
|---|---|---|
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Late 2020 Apple MacBook Air with Apple M1 Chip (13.3 inch, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) Space Gray (Renewed) By Apple $646.00 | |
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Late 2020 Apple MacBook Air with Apple M1 Chip (13.3 inch, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD) Space Gray (Renewed) By Apple $610.00 | |
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Late 2020 Apple MacBook Air with Apple M1 Chip (13.3 inch, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD) Space Gray (Renewed) By Apple $799.99 | |
Microsoft Surface Pro 8 Price | ||
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Microsoft Surface Pro 8-13" Touchscreen - Intel® Core™ i5-8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - Device Only - Platinum (Latest Model) By Microsoft $737.99 $1,099.99 33% OFF | |
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Microsoft Surface Pro 8-13" Touchscreen - Intel® Evo Platform Core™ i5-8GB Memory - 256GB SSD - Device Only - Graphite (Latest Model) (Renewed) By Microsoft $649.99 $697.00 7% OFF | |
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Microsoft Surface Pro 8-13" Touchscreen - Intel® Evo Platform Core™ i7-16GB Memory - 256GB SSD - Device Only - Platinum (Latest Model) By Microsoft $957.99 $1,050.01 9% OFF | |
Availability | M1 MacBook Air | Surface Pro 8 |
| Released | 2020 | 2021 |
| Release Date | Announced on November 10th, 2020 |
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| Pricing |
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| Generations |
Exterior | M1 MacBook Air | Surface Pro 8 |
| Dimensions |
| 11.3” x 8.2” x 0.37” (287 mm x 208 mm x 9.3 mm) |
| Weight | Starting at 2.8 pounds (1.29 kg) | 1.96 lb (889 g) |
| Colors | Gold Space Gray Silver | Matte Black Platinum |
| Keyboard and Trackpad | Backlit Magic Keyboard with:
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Display | M1 MacBook Air | Surface Pro 8 |
| Size | 13.3 Inches | 13 Inches |
| Info | Retina display
|
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Ports | M1 MacBook Air | Surface Pro 8 |
 Left (2)
Right (1)
|  Left (1)
Right (3)
Bottom (1)
Under Kickstand (1)
|
Internal Specs | M1 MacBook Air | Surface Pro 8 |
| Processor |
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| Integrated Graphics |
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| Memory |
| 8GB 16GB 32GB 4267 MHz LPDDR4X RAM |
| Storage |
| 128GB 256GB 512GB 1TB Removable SSD. |
Connectivity | M1 MacBook Air | Surface Pro 8 |
| Wi-Fi |
| Wi-Fi 6: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax compatible. |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 5.0 wireless technology | Bluetooth Wireless 5.1 technology |
Battery | M1 MacBook Air | Surface Pro 8 |
| Size | 49.9 Wh lithium‑polymer battery |
|
| Battery Life |
| Up to 16 hours of typical device usage |
| Power Supply | 30W USB‑C Power Adapter |
|
Software | M1 MacBook Air | Surface Pro 8 |
| OS | Shipped with macOS Big Sur | Windows 11 Home |
| 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 |
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Camera & Audio | M1 MacBook Air | Surface Pro 8 |
| Camera | 720p FaceTime HD camera |
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| Audio |
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Misc | M1 MacBook Air | Surface Pro 8 |
| Inking | - |
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| Sensors |
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| Security |
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| In the box |
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| Warranty | Your 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. | 1-year limited hardware warranty |
| More | Video Support
| - |
Key Features | M1 MacBook Air | Surface Pro 8 |
| At Glance | | |
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