Surface Book 3 15” vs. M1 MacBook Pro 14”: Which is better?

Here is a side by side comparison between Surface Book 3 15” and M1 MacBook Pro 14” specs including CPU, RAM, storage, battery, display, and more.

Surface Book 3 15” Pros

Reasons that Surface Book 3 15” is better than M1 MacBook Pro 14”.

Supports discrete graphics

Configurable up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 3000 6GB GDDR6 with Max-Q vs. integrated

Upgradable storage

Surface Book 3 15” comes with a single removable M.2 SSD slot that you can replace and upgrade in the future.

SlotsSurface Book 3 15”M1 MacBook Pro 14”
M.2
Yes x1
Onboard
5% larger display

Surface Book 3 15” has a 15-inch screen size 5% larger than the 14.2-inch M1 MacBook Pro 14”.

Display size
Surface Book 3 15”
15-inch
M1 MacBook Pro 14”
14.2-inch

M1 MacBook Pro 14” Pros

Reasons that M1 MacBook Pro 14” is better than Surface Book 3 15”.

Newer manufacturing

2021 vs. 2020

Much faster CPU performance

Apple M1 Max (10C, 32G) inside M1 MacBook Pro 14” has a 227% better multi-core CPU performance score than the Intel Core i7-1065G7 inside Surface Book 3 15”.

Geekbench 5 multi-core score
M1 MacBook Pro 14” - Apple M1 Max (10C, 24G)
12,185
M1 MacBook Pro 14” - Apple M1 Max (10C, 32G)
12,185
M1 MacBook Pro 14” - Apple M1 Pro (10C, 16G)
11,988
M1 MacBook Pro 14” - Apple M1 Pro (8C, 14G)
9,512
Surface Book 3 15” - Intel Core i7-1065G7
3,722
Supports larger memory

M1 MacBook Pro 14” supports a larger memory capacity than the Surface Book 3 15”. It supports up to 64GB versus 32GB of system memory on the Surface Book 3 15”.

Max system memory size
M1 MacBook Pro 14”
64 GB
Surface Book 3 15”
32 GB
About 17% lighter

M1 MacBook Pro 14” weighed 3.5 pounds, 17% lighter than the 4.20 pounds Surface Book 3 15”.

WeightSurface Book 3 15”M1 MacBook Pro 14”
Pound
4.20 lbs.
3.5 lbs.
Kilogram
1.91 kg
1.59 kg

Prices

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

Surface Book 3 15” Price
NEW Microsoft Surface Book 3 - 15" Touch-Screen - 10th Gen Intel Core i7 - 16GB Memory - 256GB SSD (Latest Model) - Platinum
NEW Microsoft Surface Book 3 - 15" Touch-Screen - 10th Gen Intel Core i7 - 16GB Memory - 256GB SSD (Latest Model) - Platinum
By Microsoft
$1,099.00
Microsoft Surface Book 3 (SNK-00001) | 15in (3240 x 2160) Touch-Screen | Intel Core i7 Processor | 32GB RAM | 2TB SSD Storage | Windows 10 Pro | GeForce GTX 1660 GPU
Microsoft Surface Book 3 (SNK-00001) | 15in (3240 x 2160) Touch-Screen | Intel Core i7 Processor | 32GB RAM | 2TB SSD Storage | Windows 10 Pro | GeForce GTX 1660 GPU
By Microsoft
$2,999.99
Microsoft Surface Book 3-15" Touch-Screen - 10th Gen Intel Core i7-32GB Memory - 512GB SSD (Latest Model) - Platinum (Renewed)
Microsoft Surface Book 3-15" Touch-Screen - 10th Gen Intel Core i7-32GB Memory - 512GB SSD (Latest Model) - Platinum (Renewed)
By Microsoft
$2,464.99
M1 MacBook Pro 14” Price
2021 Apple MacBook Pro with Apple M1 Pro chip (14-inch, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) - Space Gray (Renewed)
2021 Apple MacBook Pro with Apple M1 Pro chip (14-inch, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) - Space Gray (Renewed)
By Apple
$1,199.00
$1,281.08 6% OFF
2021 Apple MacBook Pro with Apple M1 Pro chip 8-core CPU (14-inch, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) (QWERTY English) Space Gray (Renewed Premium)
2021 Apple MacBook Pro with Apple M1 Pro chip 8-core CPU (14-inch, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) (QWERTY English) Space Gray (Renewed Premium)
By Apple
$1,299.00
Apple 2021 MacBook Pro (14-inch, M1 Pro chip with 10‑core CPU and 16‑core GPU, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) - Silver
Apple 2021 MacBook Pro (14-inch, M1 Pro chip with 10‑core CPU and 16‑core GPU, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) - Silver
By Apple
$2,204.95
$2,499.00 12% OFF

Availability

Surface Book 3 15”M1 MacBook Pro 14”
Released20202021
Release Date
  • Introduced: May 6, 2020
  • Pre-ordered: May 6, 2020
  • Released: May 12, 2020
  • Announced on October 18, 2021.
  • Available on October 26, 2021.
PricingFor Consumer
  • $2,299 - i7 | 16GB | 256GB | GTX 1660 Ti
  • $2,799 - i7 | 32GB | 512GB | GTX 1660 Ti
  • $2,999 - i7 | 32GB | 1TB | GTX 1660 Ti
  • $3,399 - i7 | 32GB | 2TB | GTX 1660 Ti
For Commercial
  • $2,399 - i7 | 16GB | 256GB | GTX 1660 Ti
  • $2,899 - i7 | 32GB | 512GB | GTX 1660 Ti
  • $3,099 - i7 | 32GB | 1TB | GTX 1660 Ti
  • $3,499 - i7 | 32GB | 2TB | GTX 1660 Ti
  • $3,499 - i7 | 32GB | 512GB | RTX 3000
  • $3,699 - i7 | 32GB | 1TB | RTX 3000
  • $1,999
    M1 Pro, 8C CPU, 14C GPU, 16GB, 512GB
  • $2,299
    M1 Pro, 10C CPU, 16C GPU, 16GB, 512GB
  • $2,499
    M1 Pro, 10C CPU, 16C GPU, 16GB, 1TB
  • $3,099
    M1 Max, 10C CPU, 24C GPU, 32GB, 1TB
  • $3,299
    M1 Max, 10C CPU, 32C GPU, 32GB, 1TB
  • $3,699
    M1 Max, 10C CPU, 32C GPU, 64GB, 1TB
  • $4,099
    M1 Max, 10C CPU, 32C GPU, 64GB, 2TB
  • $4,699
    M1 Max, 10C CPU, 32C GPU, 64GB, 4TB
  • $5,899
    M1 Max, 10C CPU, 32C GPU, 64GB, 8TB
Generations

Exterior

Surface Book 3 15”M1 MacBook Pro 14”
Dimensions13.5” x 9.87” x 0.568-0.90” (343 mm x 251 mm x 15 mm-23 mm)
  • Height: 0.61 inch (1.55 cm)
  • Width: 12.31 inches (31.26 cm)
  • Depth: 8.71 inches (22.12 cm)
Weight
  • Total: 4.20 lbs (1,905 g)
  • Tablet: 1.80 lbs (817 g)
3.5 pounds (1.6 kg)
Colors
Platinum
Space Gray Silver
Keyboard and Trackpad
  • Keyboard:
    • Full-size mechanical backlit keyset with 1.55mm travel.
    • Mechanical friction attaches the Clipboard to the keyboard.
  • Trackpad:
    • Larger size 105 mm x 70 mm, glass.
    • Supports up to Five-finger multitouch gesture.
Backlit Magic Keyboard with:
  • 78 (U.S.) or 79 (ISO) keys including 12 full-height function keys and 4 arrow keys in an inverted-T arrangement
  • Touch ID
  • 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

Display

Surface Book 3 15”M1 MacBook Pro 14”
Size15 Inches14.2 Inches
Info 
  • Display Resolution: 3240 x 2160 (7M Pixels)
  • Display Density: 260 PPI
  • PixelSense™ Display
  • Aspect ratio: 3:2
  • Contrast ratio: 1600:1
  • Inking: designed together with Surface Pen
  • Touch: 10 points multi-touch
  • Liquid Retina XDR display
    • Size: 14.2-inch
    • Technology: Liquid Retina XDR display
    • Resolution: 3024 x 1964
    • Pixel Density: 254 PPI
  • XDR (Extreme Dynamic Range)
    • Up to 1000 nits sustained (full-screen) brightness, 1600 nits peak brightness
    • 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio
    • Color
      1 billion colors Wide color (P3) True Tone technology
  • Refresh rates
    • ProMotion technology for adaptive refresh rates up to 120Hz
    • Fixed refresh rates: 47.95Hz, 48.00Hz, 50.00Hz, 59.94Hz, 60.00Hz

Ports

Surface Book 3 15”M1 MacBook Pro 14”
Surface Book 3 15” Ports
Image Source: Microsoft
Left (3)
  • 2 x USB-A
    USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10 Gbps)
  • 1 x full-size SD card slot
    UHS-II performance
Right (3)
  • 1 x power port
    Charging, Docking
  • 1 x USB-C
    USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10 Gbps), DisplayPort, Power Delivery
  • 1 x headphone jack
    Headphone/Microphone, On the tablet
Bottom (1)
  • 1 x power port
    Charging, Docking, On the tablet
M1 MacBook Pro 14” Ports
Image Source: Apple
Left (4)
  • 1 x power port
    MagSafe 3
  • 2 x Thunderbolt 4
    40 Gpbs, USB 4.0 (40 Gbps), DisplayPort, Charging
  • 1 x headphone jack
    Headphone/Microphone
Right (3)
  • 1 x full-size SD card slot
  • 1 x Thunderbolt 4
    40 Gpbs, USB 4.0 (40 Gbps), DisplayPort, Charging
  • 1 x HDMI
    v2.0, 4K@60Hz

Internal Specs

Surface Book 3 15”M1 MacBook Pro 14”
Processor
  1. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1065G7
    4 cores, 8 threads, 1.30 → 3.90 GHz, 8MB SmartCache, 15W
  1. Apple M1 Pro (8C, 14G)
    8 cores, 8 threads, 3.20 GHz,
  2. Apple M1 Pro (10C, 16G)
    10 cores, 10 threads, 3.20 GHz,
  3. Apple M1 Max (10C, 24G)
    10 cores, 10 threads, 3.20 GHz,
  4. Apple M1 Max (10C, 32G)
    10 cores, 10 threads, 3.20 GHz,
Integrated Graphics
  1. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1065G7
    Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics
    64 Execution Units, 300 → 1100 MHz
  1. Apple M1 Pro (8C, 14G)
    Apple M1 Pro iGPU
    14 GPU Cores, 16 Neural Engine Cores,
  2. Apple M1 Pro (10C, 16G)
    Apple M1 Pro iGPU
    16 GPU Cores, 16 Neural Engine Cores,
  3. Apple M1 Max (10C, 24G)
    Apple M1 Max iGPU
    24 GPU Cores, 16 Neural Engine Cores,
  4. Apple M1 Max (10C, 32G)
    Apple M1 Max iGPU
    32 GPU Cores, 16 Neural Engine Cores,
Memory
16GB 32GB
3733 MHz LPDDR4x
16GB 32GB 64GB
Unified Memory
Discrete Graphics
  • NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1660 Ti with Max-Q
    Turning Architecture, 6GB GDDR6, 192-bit, 1245 → 1425 MHz, 1536 CUDA Cores.
  • NVIDIA® Quadro® RTX™ 3000 with Max-Q
    Turning Architecture, 6GB GDDR6,  192-bit, 765 → 1305 MHz, 1920 CUDA Cores, 240 Tensor Cores, 30 RT Cores, Real-time ray tracing, AI hardware acceleration, ODE, QNF,
-
Storage
256 GB 512 GB 1 TB 2TB
PCIe SSD
512GB 1TB 2TB 4TB 8TB
SSD

Connectivity

Surface Book 3 15”M1 MacBook Pro 14”
Wi-Fi
  • Wi-Fi 6: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax compatible.
  • 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6 wireless networking
  • IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac compatible
Bluetooth
  • Bluetooth Wireless 5.0 technology
Bluetooth 5.0 wireless technology
More
  • Xbox Wireless built-in
-

Battery

Surface Book 3 15”M1 MacBook Pro 14”
Size
  • Total: 90Wh
    Clipboard: 23Wh
    Base: 67Wh
70 Wh lithium‑polymer battery
Battery LifeUp to 17.5 hours of typical device usage
  • Up to 11 hours wireless web
  • Up to 17 hours of Apple TV app movie playback
Power Supply127W Surface Power Supply with USB-A (7W) charging port.
  • 67W USB‑C Power Adapter
    M1 Pro with 8-core CPU models
  • 96W USB‑C Power Adapter
    M1 Pro with 10-core CPU or M1 Max models. Supports Fast-Charging.

Software

Surface Book 3 15”M1 MacBook Pro 14”
OS
  • For Consumer: Windows 10 Home 64-bit
  • For Commercial: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
Free upgrade to Windows 11
Shipped with macOS Monterey
Built-in AppsMicrosoft Office 365 30-days trial
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

Camera & Audio

Surface Book 3 15”M1 MacBook Pro 14”
Camera
  • Windows Hello face authentication camera (front-facing)
  • 5.0MP front-facing camera with 1080p HD video
  • 8.0MP rear-facing autofocus camera with 1080p HD video
1080p FaceTime HD camera 
Advanced image signal processor with computational video.
Audio
  • Dual far-field Studio Mics
  • Front-facing stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos®
    • Support for Windows Sonic for Headphones
    • Support for Dolby® Atmos for Headphones
  • High-fidelity six-speaker sound system with force-canceling woofers
  • Wide stereo sound
  • Support for spatial audio when playing music or video with Dolby Atmos on built-in speakers
  • Spatial audio with dynamic head tracking when using AirPods (3rd generation), AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max
  • Studio-quality three-mic array with high signal-to-noise ratio and directional beamforming
  • 3.5 mm headphone jack with advanced support for high-impedance headphones

Misc

Surface Book 3 15”M1 MacBook Pro 14”
InkingSupports Surface Pen
4096 levels of pressure
Tilt sensing
Best in class latency
Paper feel
0.1mm precision
-
Sensors
  • Ambient light sensor
  • Proximity sensor
  • Accelerometer
  • Gyroscope
  • Magnetometer
Touch ID sensor
Security
  • HW TPM 2.0 chip for enterprise security
  • Enterprise-grade protection with Windows Hello face sign-in
  • Touch ID sensor
  • Apple T2 Security Chip
In the box
  • Surface Book 3 15”
  • Power supply
  • Quick Start Guide
  • Safety and warranty documents
  • 14‑inch MacBook Pro
  • 67W USB‑C Power Adapter
    M1 Pro with 8-core CPU models.
  • 96W USB‑C Power Adapter
    M1 Pro with 10-core CPU or M1 Max models.
  • USB-C to MagSafe 3 Cable (2 m)
WarrantyOne-year limited hardware warrantyYour MacBook Pro comes with 90 days of complimentary technical support and a one-year limited warranty. Purchase AppleCare+ for Mac to extend your coverage to three years from your AppleCare+ purchase date and add up to two incidents of accidental damage coverage every 12 months, each subject to a service fee of $99 for screen damage or external enclosure damage, or $299 for other repairable damage, plus applicable tax.
MoreSupports Surface Dial
Supports both on-screen and off-screen interaction.
  • Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display at 1 billion colors and:
    • Up to two external displays with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz at over a billion colors (M1 Pro) or
    • Up to three external displays with up to 6K resolution and one external display with up to 4K resolution at 60Hz at over a billion colors (M1 Max)
  • Thunderbolt 4 digital video output
    • Native DisplayPort output over USB‑C
    • VGA, HDMI, DVI, and Thunderbolt 2 output supported using adapters (sold separately)
  • HDMI digital video output
    • Support for one display with up to 4K resolution at 60Hz
    • DVI output using HDMI to DVI Adapter (sold separately)

Key Features

Surface Book 3 15”M1 MacBook Pro 14”
At Glance
Released in Mid
2020
3:2 3.2K
15”
2160p 60Hz
Weight
4.20 lb
1.91 kg
Powered By
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
32GB
3733 MHz LPDDR4X
Surface Book 3 15” Ports
Nvidia GeForce
RTX 3000
6GB GDDR6 with Max-Q
Released in Late
2021
16:10 XDR
14.2”
1964p 120Hz
Weight
3.5 lb
1.59 kg
Up to
Apple M1 Max (10C, 32G)
10C/10T, 3.20 GHz
Geekbench 5
1,747
Single Core
Geekbench 5
12,185
Multi-Core
With integrated
Apple M1 Max iGPU
32 GPU Cores, 16 Neural Engine Cores
Configurable up to
64GB
Unified Memory
M1 MacBook Pro 14” Ports

Comparison Summary

Surface Book 3 15” vs. M1 MacBook Pro 14”

Microsoft has released the Surface Book 3 15”, a 15-inch machine, in mid-2020. It is powered by a quad-core Intel Core i7-1065G7 with a boost clock speed up to 3.90 GHz. The laptop has a dedicated GPU option up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 3000 with 6GB GDDR6 with Max-Q.

On the other hand, we have the 14.2-inch M1 MacBook Pro 14” was introduced by Apple about a year later in late-2021. It comes with up to 10-core Apple M1 Max (10C, 32G). It has an integrated graphics option up to Apple M1 Max iGPU (32 GPU Cores, 16 Neural Engine Cores).

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Surface Book 3 15”1
10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1065G71,08862.28%
M1 MacBook Pro 14”1
Apple M1 Pro (8C, 14G)1,73299.14%
2
Apple M1 Pro (10C, 16G)1,73799.43%
3
Apple M1 Max (10C, 24G)1,747100.00%
4
Apple M1 Max (10C, 32G)1,747100.00%
01,747

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

Surface Book 3 15”1
10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1065G73,72230.55%
M1 MacBook Pro 14”1
Apple M1 Pro (8C, 14G)9,51278.06%
2
Apple M1 Pro (10C, 16G)11,98898.38%
3
Apple M1 Max (10C, 24G)12,185100.00%
4
Apple M1 Max (10C, 32G)12,185100.00%
012,185

The Surface Book 3 15” has a 15-inch display which is slightly larger than the 14.2-inch M1 MacBook Pro 14”. In addition, the Surface Book 3 15” weighs 4.20 lbs. about 19% heavier than the 3.5 lbs. M1 MacBook Pro 14”. Moreover, measured at 13.5” x 9.87” x 0.9”, the Surface Book 3 15” is much bulkier than the M1 MacBook Pro 14” at 12.31” x 8.71” x 0.61”.

Surface Book 3 15”M1 MacBook Pro 14”

There are a toal number of 7 ports and slots available on Surface Book 3 15”. That includes a USB-A port, a full-size SD card slot, two power port, a USB-C port, and a headphone jack. With that said, it has the same number of ports and slots as the M1 MacBook Pro 14” including a power port, three Thunderbolt 4 ports, a headphone jack, a full-size SD card slot, and an HDMI port.

Moving over to upgradability, Microsoft claims that the Surface Book 3 15” supports up to 32GB 3733 MHz LPDDR4X memory. However, it has an onboard memory module that is not upgradable by the users. Fortunately, it comes with a single removable M.2 SSD slot that users can replace and upgrade in the future.

For M1 MacBook Pro 14”, it supports up to 64GB Unified memory. Like Surface Book 3 15”, it has an onboard memory module that is not upgradable by the users. Furthermore, it also has an integrated storage module and has no M.2 slots for replacement.

Comments

Ask questions or share your thought and experience about the comparison between Surface Book 3 15” and M1 MacBook Pro 14”.

Loading Comments...