Surface Laptop Go 2 vs. M1 MacBook Air: Which is better?

Here is a side by side comparison between Surface Laptop Go 2 and M1 MacBook Air specs including CPU, RAM, storage, battery, display, and more.

Surface Laptop Go 2 Pros

Reasons that Surface Laptop Go 2 is better than M1 MacBook Air.

Newer manufacturing

2022 vs. 2020

Upgradable storage

Surface Laptop Go 2 comes with a single removable M.2 SSD slot that you can replace and upgrade in the future.

SlotsSurface Laptop Go 2M1 MacBook Air
M.2
Yes x1
Onboard
About 12% lighter

Surface Laptop Go 2 weighed 2.48 pounds, 12% lighter than the 2.8 pounds M1 MacBook Air.

WeightSurface Laptop Go 2M1 MacBook Air
Pound
2.48 lbs.
2.8 lbs.
Kilogram
1.12 kg
1.27 kg
Has one more port and slot

Surface Laptop Go 2 has more ports and slots count than the M1 MacBook Air. It has four versus three amount of ports and slots on the M1 MacBook Air.

PortsSurface Laptop Go 2M1 MacBook Air
headphone jackYesYes
Surface ConnectYesNo
Thunderbolt 3NoYes x2
USB-AYesNo
USB-CYesNo
Total43
Slightly more versatile connectivity

Surface Laptop Go 2 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.

PortsSurface Laptop Go 2M1 MacBook Air
headphone jackYesYes
Thunderbolt 3NoYes
USB-AYesNo
USB-CYesNo

M1 MacBook Air Pros

Reasons that M1 MacBook Air is better than Surface Laptop Go 2.

Much faster CPU performance

Apple M1 (8C, 8G) inside M1 MacBook Air has a 86% better multi-core CPU performance score than the Intel Core i5-1135G7 inside Surface Laptop Go 2.

Geekbench 5 multi-core score
M1 MacBook Air - Apple M1 (8C, 7G)
7,414
M1 MacBook Air - Apple M1 (8C, 8G)
7,414
Surface Laptop Go 2 - Intel Core i5-1135G7
3,980
6% larger display

M1 MacBook Air has a 13.3-inch screen size 6% larger than the 12.45-inch Surface Laptop Go 2.

Display size
M1 MacBook Air
13.3-inch
Surface Laptop Go 2
12.45-inch

Key Similars

Similar characteristics share between Surface Laptop Go 2 and M1 MacBook Air.

Supports the same maximum memory size of up to 16GB

Both laptops supports up to 16GB of system memory.

Max system memory size
Surface Laptop Go 2
16 GB
M1 MacBook Air
16 GB

Prices

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

Surface Laptop Go 2 Price
Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2-12.4" Touchscreen - Intel Core i5 8GB Memory - 128 SSD - Ice Blue (Latest Model)
Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2-12.4" Touchscreen - Intel Core i5 8GB Memory - 128 SSD - Ice Blue (Latest Model)
By Microsoft
$508.46
MICROSOFT Surface Laptop GO 2, 12.4" PIXELSENSE Touchscreen, 11TH GEN Intel: i5, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD W10H-S Platinum (Renewed Premium),Silver
MICROSOFT Surface Laptop GO 2, 12.4" PIXELSENSE Touchscreen, 11TH GEN Intel: i5, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD W10H-S Platinum (Renewed Premium),Silver
By Microsoft
$380.99
Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 12.4" Touch 8GB 256GB SSD Core™ i5-1135G7 2.4GHz Win10S, Platinum (Renewed), Silver
Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 12.4" Touch 8GB 256GB SSD Core™ i5-1135G7 2.4GHz Win10S, Platinum (Renewed), Silver
By Microsoft
$394.99
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
$644.94
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
$729.95
$815.69 11% OFF

Availability

Surface Laptop Go 2M1 MacBook Air
Released20222020
Release Date
  • Introduced: June 1, 2022
  • Pre-ordered: June 1, 2022
  • Released: June 7, 2022
Announced on November 10th, 2020
Pricing
  • For Consumer (Windows 11 Home):
    • $599.99 - i5 | 4GB | 128GB SSD | Platinum Only
    • $699.99 - i5 | 8GB | 128GB SSD
    • $899.99 - i5 | 8GB | 256GB SSD
  • For Commercial (Windows 11 Pro):
    • $799.99 - i5 | 8GB | 128GB SSD
    • $999.99 - i5 | 8GB | 256GB SSD
    • $1,199.99 - i5 | 16GB | 256GB SSD | Platinum Only
  • $999
    Apple M1 Chip (7 cores GPU) | 8GB RAM | 256GB SSD
  • $1,249
    Apple M1 Chip (8 cores GPU) | 8GB RAM | 512GB SSD
Generations

Exterior

Surface Laptop Go 2M1 MacBook Air
Dimensions10.95” x 8.12” x 0.62” (278.18mm x 206.2 mm x 15.7 mm)
  • 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)
Weight2.48 lbs. (1,127 g)Starting at 2.8 pounds (1.29 kg)
Colors
Sage Ice Blue Sandstone Platium
Gold Space Gray Silver
Keyboard and Trackpad
  • Keyboard:
    • Full-size keyboard with a soft-touch feel and full 1.3mm travel.
  • Trackpad:
    • Larger size 115 mm x 76.66 mm, glass.
    • Supports up to Five-finger multitouch gesture.
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 Laptop Go 2M1 MacBook Air
Size12.45 Inches13.3 Inches
Info
  • Resolution: 1536 x 1024 (148 PPI)
  • PixelSense™ Display
  • Aspect ratio: 3:2
  • Touch: 10 points multi-touch
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
  • 400 nits brightness
  • Supports wide color (P3)
  • True Tone technology

Ports

Surface Laptop Go 2M1 MacBook Air
Surface Laptop Go 2 Ports
Image Source: Microsoft
Left (3)
  • 1 x USB-C
    USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps), Power Delivery, DisplayPort
  • 1 x USB-A
    USB 3.0 (5 Gbps)
  • 1 x headphone jack
    Headphone/Microphone
Right (1)
  • 1 x Surface Connect
    Magnet Charging, Docking
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

Internal Specs

Surface Laptop Go 2M1 MacBook Air
Processor
  1. 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1135G7
    4 cores, 8 threads, 2.40 → 4.20 GHz, 8MB SmartCache, 28W
  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
Integrated Graphics
  1. 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1135G7
    Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics
    80 Execution Units, 400 → 1300 MHz
  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
Memory
4GB 8GB 16GB
4267 MHz LPDDR4X RAM
  • 8GB
    unified memory
  • Configurable to 16GB
Storage
128 GB 256 GB
SSD
  • 256GB 512GB
    SSD
  • Configurable to 1TB or 2TB
Fans Number1-

Connectivity

Surface Laptop Go 2M1 MacBook Air
Wi-FiWi-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
BluetoothBluetooth Wireless 5.1 technologyBluetooth 5.0 wireless technology

Battery

Surface Laptop Go 2M1 MacBook Air
Size41 Wh49.9 Wh lithium‑polymer battery
Battery LifeUp to 13.5 hours of typical device usage
  • Up to 15 hours wireless web
  • Up to 18 hours Apple TV app movie playback
Power Supply
  • 39W power supply
  • Supports Fast Charge (0-80% in just over one hour)
30W USB‑C Power Adapter

Software

Surface Laptop Go 2M1 MacBook Air
OS
  • For Consumer: Windows 11 Home
  • For Commercial: Windows 10 Pro, Windows 11 Pro
Shipped with macOS Big Sur
Built-in AppsConsumer
  • Microsoft 365 Apps
  • Microsoft 365 Family 1-month trial
  • Xbox App
  • Xbox Game Pass Ultimate 1-month trial
Commerial
  • Microsoft 365 Apps
  • Microsoft 365 Business Standard, Microsoft 365 Business Premium, or Microsoft 365 Apps 30-day 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 Laptop Go 2M1 MacBook Air
Camera720p HD f2.0 front-facing video camera720p FaceTime HD camera
Audio
  • Dual far-field Studio Mics
  • OmniSonic stereo speakers with Dolby® Audio™ Premium
  • Stereo speakers
  • Wide stereo sound
  • Support for Dolby Atmos playback
  • Three-mic array with directional beamforming
  • 3.5 mm headphone jack

Misc

Surface Laptop Go 2M1 MacBook Air
InkingNot Support-
Sensors
  • Ambient light sensor
  • Touch ID sensor
  • Ambient light sensor
SecurityConsumer
  • Firmware TPM
  • Enterprise-grade protection with Windows Hello sign-in
  • One-Touch sign in with FingerPrint Reader Power button
Note Surface Laptop Go 2 i5/4GB/128 GB does not include Fingerprint Power Button.
Commercial
  • Discrete hardware TPM
  • Enterprise-grade protection with Windows Hello sign-in
  • One-Touch sign in with FingerPrint Reader Power button
Note Surface Laptop Go 2 i5/4GB/128 GB does not include Fingerprint Power Button.
  • Touch ID sensor
  • Apple T2 Security Chip
In the box
  • Surface Laptop Go 2
  • 39W Power supply
  • Quick Start Guide
  • Safety and warranty documents
  • 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-Video 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

Surface Laptop Go 2M1 MacBook Air
At Glance
Released in Mid
2022
3:2 1.5K
12.45”
1024p 60Hz
Weight
2.48 lb
1.12 kg
Powered By
Intel Core i5-1135G7
4C/8T, 2.40 → 4.20 GHz
Geekbench 5
1,195
Single Core
Geekbench 5
3,980
Multi-Core
With integrated
Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics
80 Execution Units, 400 → 1300 MHz
Configurable up to
16GB
4267 MHz LPDDR4X
Surface Laptop Go 2 Ports
Starting at
$599.99
i5, 4GB, 128GB SSD, No Fingerprint
Up to
13.5 Hours
Battery Life
Optional
Fingerprint Reader
On Power Button
Single
USB-A
USB 3.0
Single
USB-C
w/ DP & PD
Wi-Fi 6
Bluetooth 5.1
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

Comparison Summary

Surface Laptop Go 2 vs. M1 MacBook Air

Microsoft has released the Surface Laptop Go 2, a 12.45-inch machine, in mid-2022. It is powered by a quad-core Intel Core i5-1135G7 with a boost clock speed up to 4.20 GHz. The laptop has an integrated graphics option up to Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics (80 Execution Units, 400 → 1300 MHz).

On the other hand, we have the 13.3-inch M1 MacBook Air was introduced by Apple about two years earlier in late-2020. It comes with up to an octa-core Apple M1 (8C, 8G). It has an integrated graphics option up to Apple M1 iGPU (8 Graphics Cores, 1280 MHz).

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Surface Laptop Go 21
11th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1135G71,19570.09%
M1 MacBook Air1
Apple M1 (7 GPU Cores)1,705100.00%
2
Apple M11,705100.00%
01,705

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

Surface Laptop Go 21
11th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1135G73,98053.68%
M1 MacBook Air1
Apple M1 (7 GPU Cores)7,414100.00%
2
Apple M17,414100.00%
07,414

The Surface Laptop Go 2 has a 12.45-inch display which is slightly smaller than the 13.3-inch M1 MacBook Air. In addition, The Surface Laptop Go 2 weighs 2.48 lbs. about 12% lighter than the 2.8 lbs. M1 MacBook Air. Moreover, measured at 10.95” x 8.12” x 0.62”, the Surface Laptop Go 2 is slightly more portable than the M1 MacBook Air at 11.97” x 8.36” x 0.63”.

Surface Laptop Go 2M1 MacBook Air

There are a toal number of 4 ports and slots available on Surface Laptop Go 2. That includes a USB-C port, a USB-A port, a headphone jack, and a Surface Connect. With that said, it has a port or slot more than the M1 MacBook Air that has only two Thunderbolt 3 ports, a headphone jack.

Moving over to upgradability, Microsoft claims that the Surface Laptop Go 2 supports up to 16GB 4267 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 Air, it supports up to 16GB Unified memory. Like Surface Laptop Go 2, 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.

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