Surface Duo vs. Intel MacBook Air: Which is better?

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

Surface Duo Pros

Reasons that Surface Duo is better than Intel MacBook Air.

About 81% lighter

Surface Duo weighed 0.55 pounds, 81% lighter than the 2.8 pounds Intel MacBook Air.

WeightSurface DuoIntel MacBook Air
Pound
0.55 lbs.
2.8 lbs.
Kilogram
0.25 kg
1.27 kg

Intel MacBook Air Pros

Reasons that Intel MacBook Air is better than Surface Duo.

Supports larger memory

Intel MacBook Air supports a larger memory capacity than the Surface Duo. It supports up to 16GB versus 6GB of system memory on the Surface Duo.

Max system memory size
Intel MacBook Air
16 GB
Surface Duo
6 GB
64% larger display

Intel MacBook Air has a 13.3-inch screen size 64% larger than the 8.1-inch Surface Duo.

Display size
Intel MacBook Air
13.3-inch
Surface Duo
8.1-inch

Prices

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

Surface Duo Price
Microsoft Surface Duo 256GB (Unlocked) - Glacier
Microsoft Surface Duo 256GB (Unlocked) - Glacier
By Microsoft
$750.00
$1,094.99 32% OFF
Microsoft Surface Duo 128GB AT&T Locked, Glacier
Microsoft Surface Duo 128GB AT&T Locked, Glacier
By Microsoft
$349.99
Microsoft 8WV-00001 Surface Slim Pen 2, Black (8WV00001)
Microsoft 8WV-00001 Surface Slim Pen 2, Black (8WV00001)
By Microsoft
$83.89
$129.99 35% OFF
Intel MacBook Air Price
Apple MacBook Air (13-inch Retina display, 1.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i5, 128GB) - Space Gray (Renewed)
Apple MacBook Air (13-inch Retina display, 1.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i5, 128GB) - Space Gray (Renewed)
By Apple
$370.28
Early 2020 Apple MacBook Air with 1.1GHz Intel Core i3 (13-inch, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage) (QWERTY English) Gold (Renewed)
Early 2020 Apple MacBook Air with 1.1GHz Intel Core i3 (13-inch, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage) (QWERTY English) Gold (Renewed)
By Apple
$467.08
2017 Apple Macbook Air with 1.8GHz Intel Core i5 (13-inch, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD Storage) (QWERTY English) Silver (Renewed)
2017 Apple Macbook Air with 1.8GHz Intel Core i5 (13-inch, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD Storage) (QWERTY English) Silver (Renewed)
By Apple
$233.98
$289.99 19% OFF

Availability

Surface DuoIntel MacBook Air
Released20202020
Release Date
  • Introduced: Microsoft October Event (October 2, 2019)
  • Pre-ordered: August 12, 2020
  • Released: September 10, 2020
  • Announced on March 18th, 2020
  • Available on March 18th, 2020
Pricing
  • $1,399 - 128 GB
  • $1,499 - 256 GB
  • $999 - Intel Core i3 | 8GB RAM | 256GB SSD
  • $1,299 - Intel Core i5 | 8GB RAM | 512GB SSD
Generations-

Exterior

Surface DuoIntel MacBook Air
Dimensions
  • 7.35 x 5.71 x 0.18 (186.9 mm x 145.2 mm x 4.8 mm)
    Open
  • 3.67 x 5.71 x 0.38 (93.3 mm x 145.2 mm x 9.9 mm) 
    Closed
  • 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)
Weight0.55 lbs (250 g)Starting at 2.8 pounds (1.29 kg)
Colors
Glacier
Gold Space Gray Silver
Keyboard and Trackpad-Backlit 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

Display

Surface DuoIntel MacBook Air
Size8.1 Inches13.3 Inches
Info
  • Dual PixelSense™ Fusion Displays open: 8.1” AMOLED, 2700x1800 (3:2), 401 PPI
  • Single PixelSense™ Display: 5.6” AMOLED, 1800x1350 (4:3), 401 PPI
  • Display Material: Corning® Gorilla® Glass
Retina 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
  • True Tone technology

Ports

Surface DuoIntel MacBook Air
Surface Duo Ports
Image Source: Microsoft
Right (1)
  • 1 x nanoSIM card slot
Bottom (1)
  • 1 x USB-C
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)

Internal Specs

Surface DuoIntel MacBook Air
Processor
  1. Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 855
    8 cores, 8 threads, 2.84 GHz, 5MB Cache, 5W
  1. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i3-1000NG4
    2 cores, 4 threads, 1.10 → 3.20 GHz, 4MB SmartCache, 9W
  2. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1030NG7
    4 cores, 8 threads, 1.10 → 3.50 GHz, 6MB SmartCache, 10W
  3. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1060NG7
    4 cores, 8 threads, 1.20 → 3.80 GHz, 8MB SmartCache, 10W
Integrated Graphics
  1. Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 855
    Qualcomm® Adreno™ 640 GPU
    585 MHz
  1. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i3-1000NG4
    Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics
    48 Execution Units, 300 → 900 MHz
  2. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1030NG7
    Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics
    64 Execution Units, 300 → 1050 MHz
  3. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1060NG7
    Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics
    64 Execution Units, 300 → 1100 MHz
Memory6GB DRAM
8GB
Configurable to 16GB 3733MHz LPDDR4X onboard memory
Storage
  • 128GB 256GB
    UFS 3.0 of internal storage
256GB 512GB
Configurable to 1TB and 2TB SSD

Connectivity

Surface DuoIntel MacBook Air
Wi-FiWiFi-5 802.11ac (2.4/5GHz)
  • 802.11ac Wi‑Fi wireless networking
  • IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n compatible
BluetoothBluetooth Wireless 5.0 technologyBluetooth 5.0 wireless technology
More
  • LTE: 4x4 MIMO, Cat.18 DL / Cat 5 UL, 5CA, LAA.
    Up to 1.2Gbps Download / Up to 150Mbps Upload
  • Bands Supported:
    • FDD-LTE: 1,2,3,4,5,7,8,12,13,14,19,20,25,26,28,29,30,66
    • TD-LTE: 38,39,40,41,46
    • WCDMA: 1,2,5,8
    • GSM/GPRS: GSM-850, E-GSM-900, DCS-1800, PCS-1900
    • Location: GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, BeiDou, QZSS
  • One eSIM and one Nano SIM
    Note: AT&T locked device will not support eSIM
-

Battery

Surface DuoIntel MacBook Air
Size3577 mAh 49.9 Wh lithium‑polymer battery
Battery Life
  • Up to 15.5 hours of Local Video Playback
  • Up to 10 days of Standby Time
  • Up to 27 hours of Talk Time
  • Up to 11 hours wireless web
  • Up to 12 hours Apple TV app movie playback
  • Up to 30 days of standby time
Power Supply
  • 18W USB-C PD charger
30W USB‑C Power Adapter

Software

Surface DuoIntel MacBook Air
OSAndroid™ 10
3-years of software updates.
Shipped with macOS Catalina
Built-in Apps
  • Microsoft built-in applications:
    • Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Office Lens, PDF Reader, and more
    • Microsoft Outlook
    • Microsoft Teams
    • Microsoft OneDrive
    • Microsoft Edge
    • Microsoft OneNote
    • Microsoft To Do
    • Microsoft News
    • Microsoft Authenticator
    • Microsoft Bing Search
    • Intune Company Portal
    • LinkedIn
    • Microsoft Solitaire Collection
    • Surface Audio
  • Microsoft Surface Duo UI core features:
    • Dual screen windowing
    • Adaptive modes
    • App Groups
    • Microsoft 365 Feed
    • Dynamic dock
    • Universal Search
    • Adaptive Camera
    • Microsoft SwiftKey Adaptive Keyboard
    • Your Phone Companion - Link to Windows
  • Other preinstalled apps:
    • Google Search
    • Google Assistant
    • Google Calendar
    • Google Drive
    • Google Duo
    • Google Photos
    • Google Play Movies & TV
    • Google Play Store
    • Google Maps
    • Chrome
    • Gmail
    • YouTube
    • YouTube Music
    • Contacts
    • Messages
    • Phone
    • Files
    • Clock
    • Calculator
    • Sound recorder
    • Spotify (Unlocked)
    • HBO MAX (AT&T)
    • AT&T TV (AT&T)
    • My AT&T (AT&T)
    • Call Protect (AT&T)
    • Amazon Shopping (AT&T)
    • NBA (AT&T)
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 DuoIntel MacBook Air
Camera
  • Adaptive camera 11MP, f/2.0, 1.0 µm, PDAF and 84.0° diagonal FOV optimized with AI for front and rear
  • Photos:
    • Auto mode with low-light & HDR multi-frame photo capture and dynamic range scene detection
    • Super-resolution zoom, and super zoom up to 7x
    • Portrait mode with adjustable depth control
    • Panorama mode
    • Burst mode
  • Video recording:
    • 4K video recording at 30 fps and 60 fps
    • 1080p video recording at 30 fps and 60 fps
    • HEVC and H.264 video recording formats
    • Gyro-based digital video stabilization
  • Video Conferencing
    • Microsoft Teams and Skype video conferencing up to 1080p at 30fps
    • High CRI LED Flash for both front and world facing photo and video scenarios
720p FaceTime HD camera
Audio
  • Mono speaker
  • Dual Mic noise suppression and echo cancellation optimized for productive use in all postures
  • Best-in-class Full Duplex communication for voice calls in hands-free mode
  • Audio formats supported: 3GP, MP3, MP4, MKV, WAV, OGG, M4A, AAC, TS, AMR, FLAC, MID, MIDI, RTTL, RTX, OTA, IMY
  • Qualcomm® aptX™ Adaptive
  • Stereo speakers
  • Wide stereo sound
  • Support for Dolby Atmos playback
  • Three-mic array with directional beamforming
  • 3.5 mm headphone jack

Misc

Surface DuoIntel MacBook Air
InkingSupports all in market generations of Surface Slim Pen, Surface Pen and Surface Hub 2 Pen
4096 levels of pressure
Tilt sensing
Best in class latency
Paper feel
magnetic storage
-
Sensors
  • Dual Accelerometer
  • Dual Gyroscope
  • Dual Magnetometer
  • Dual Ambient Light Sensor
  • Proximity Sensor
  • Hall Sensor
  • Fingerprint Sensor
  • Touch ID sensor
  • Ambient light sensor
Security
  • Biometric lock type: Fingerprint reader (1:100K FAR <3% FRR)
  • Lock type: Swipe, PIN, password
  • Security applications pre-loaded on the device: Microsoft Authenticator
  • Touch ID sensor
  • Apple T2 Security Chip
In the box
  • Surface Duo
  • Surface Duo Bumper (Color: Glacier)
  • Surface Duo USB-C® Power Supply (18w)
  • Quick Start Guide
  • Warranty and Compliance Guide
  • SIM Ejector tool
  • MacBook Air
  • 30W USB‑C Power Adapter
  • USB-C Charge Cable (2 m)
Warranty
  • One-year limited hardware 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.
More
  • Exterior Material: Corning® Gorilla® Glass
Video Support
  • Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display at millions of colors and:
    • One external 6K display with 6016-by-3384 resolution at 60Hz at millions of colors, or
    • One external 5K display with 5120-by-2880 resolution at 60Hz at millions of colors, or
    • Up to two external 4K displays with 4096-by-2304 resolution at 60Hz at millions of colors
  • 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

Surface DuoIntel MacBook Air
At Glance
Released in
2020
3:2 2.7K
8.1”
1800p 60Hz
Weight
0.55 lb
0.25 kg
Powered By
Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 855
8C/8T, 2.84 GHz
With integrated
Qualcomm® Adreno™ 640 GPU
585 MHz
6GB
Memory
Surface Duo Ports
Released in Early
2020
16:10 QHD+
13.3”
1600p 60Hz
Weight
2.8 lb
1.27 kg
Up to
Intel Core i7-1060NG7
4C/8T, 1.20 → 3.80 GHz
Geekbench 5
1,119
Single Core
Geekbench 5
3,018
Multi-Core
With integrated
Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics
64 Execution Units, 300 → 1100 MHz
Configurable up to
16GB
3733 MHz LPDDR4X

Comparison Summary

Surface Duo vs. Intel MacBook Air

Microsoft has released the Surface Duo, a 8.1-inch machine, in 2020. It is powered by an octa-core Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 855. The laptop has an integrated graphics option up to Qualcomm® Adreno™ 640 GPU (585 MHz).

On the other hand, we have the 13.3-inch Intel MacBook Air was introduced by Apple around the same year in early-2020. It comes with up to a quad-core Intel Core i7-1060NG7 with a boost clock speed up to 3.80 GHz. It has an integrated graphics option up to Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics (64 Execution Units, 300 → 1100 MHz).

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Surface DuoIntel MacBook Air1
10th Gen Intel® Core™ i3-1000NG497887.40%
2
10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1030NG71,05694.37%
3
10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1060NG71,119100.00%
01,119

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

Surface DuoIntel MacBook Air1
10th Gen Intel® Core™ i3-1000NG41,94264.35%
2
10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1030NG72,81893.37%
3
10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1060NG73,018100.00%
03,018

The Surface Duo has a 8.1-inch display which is way smaller than the 13.3-inch Intel MacBook Air. In addition, The Surface Duo weighs 0.55 lbs. about 409% lighter than the 2.8 lbs. Intel MacBook Air. Moreover, measured at 7.35” x 5.71” x 0.18”, the Surface Duo is much more portable than the Intel MacBook Air at 11.97” x 8.36” x 0.63”.

Surface DuoIntel MacBook Air

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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