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

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

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.

WeightSurface Pro 7M1 MacBook Air
Pound
1.70 lbs.
2.8 lbs.
Kilogram
0.77 kg
1.27 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.

PortsSurface Pro 7M1 MacBook Air
headphone jackYesYes
microSD card slotYesNo
Surface ConnectYesNo
Surface Type Cover portYesNo
Thunderbolt 3NoYes x2
USB-AYesNo
USB-CYesNo
Total63
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.

PortsSurface Pro 7M1 MacBook Air
headphone jackYesYes
microSD card slotYesNo
Thunderbolt 3NoYes
USB-AYesNo
USB-CYesNo

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

Key Similars

Similar characteristics share between Surface Pro 7 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 Pro 7
16 GB
M1 MacBook Air
16 GB

Prices

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

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 12.3in Touchscreen Intel i5-1035G4 8GB RAM 256GB SSD (Renewed)
Microsoft Surface Pro 7 12.3in Touchscreen Intel i5-1035G4 8GB RAM 256GB SSD (Renewed)
By Microsoft
$339.00
$403.99 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
$524.98
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

Availability

Surface Pro 7M1 MacBook Air
Released20192020
Release Date
  • Introduced: October 2, 2019 (Microsoft October Event)
  • Pre-ordered: October 2, 2019
  • Released: October 22, 2019
Announced on November 10th, 2020
PricingStarting at 749$
  • $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 Pro 7M1 MacBook Air
Dimensions11.50” 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)
  • 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)
Weight
  • Intel Core i3: 1.70 lbs (775 g)
  • Intel Core i5: 1.70 lbs (776 g)
  • Intel Core i7: 1.73 lbs (790 g)
Starting at 2.8 pounds (1.29 kg)
Colors
Matte Black Platinum
Gold Space Gray Silver
Keyboard and Trackpad
  • 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.
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 Pro 7M1 MacBook Air
Size12.3 Inches13.3 Inches
Info
  • 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
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 Pro 7M1 MacBook Air
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
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 Pro 7M1 MacBook Air
Processor
  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
  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. 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
  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
3733 MHz LPDDR4X RAM
  • 8GB
    unified memory
  • Configurable to 16GB
Storage
128 GB 256 GB 512 GB 1 TB
BGA PCIe SSD
  • 256GB 512GB
    SSD
  • Configurable to 1TB or 2TB

Connectivity

Surface Pro 7M1 MacBook Air
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

Battery

Surface Pro 7M1 MacBook Air
Size43.2 Wh49.9 Wh lithium‑polymer battery
Battery LifeUp to 10.5 hours of typical device usage
  • Up to 15 hours wireless web
  • Up to 18 hours Apple TV app movie playback
Power Supply
  • 60W power supply with USB-A (5W) (65W total)
  • Supports Fast Charge (0-80% in about one hour)
30W USB‑C Power Adapter

Software

Surface Pro 7M1 MacBook Air
OS
  • For Consumer: Windows 10 Home
  • For Commercial: Windows 10 Pro
Free upgrade to Windows 11
Shipped with macOS Big Sur
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 Pro 7M1 MacBook Air
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
720p FaceTime HD camera
Audio
  • Dual far-field Studio Mics
  • 1.6W 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 Pro 7M1 MacBook Air
InkingSupports Surface Pen
4096 levels of pressure
Tilt sensing
Best in class latency
Paper feel
0.1mm precision
magnetic storage
-
Sensors
  • Ambient light sensor
  • Accelerometer
  • Gyroscope
  • Touch ID sensor
  • Ambient light 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 Pro 7
  • 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
  • Commercial: Advanced Exchange warranty service with expedited device replacement
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 Pro 7M1 MacBook Air
At Glance
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
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 Pro 7 vs. M1 MacBook Air

Microsoft has released the Surface Pro 7, a 12.3-inch machine, in late-2019. It is powered by up to a quad-core Intel Core i7-1065G7 with a boost clock speed up to 3.90 GHz. The laptop has an integrated graphics option up to Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics (64 Execution Units, 300 → 1100 MHz).

On the other hand, we have the 13.3-inch M1 MacBook Air was introduced by Apple about a year later 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 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%
M1 MacBook Air1
Apple M1 (7 GPU Cores)1,705100.00%
2
Apple M11,705100.00%
01,705

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

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%
M1 MacBook Air1
Apple M1 (7 GPU Cores)7,414100.00%
2
Apple M17,414100.00%
07,414

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

Surface Pro 7M1 MacBook Air

There are a toal number of 6 ports and slots available on Surface Pro 7. That includes a headphone jack, a USB-C port, a USB-A port, a Surface Connect, a Surface Type Cover port, and a microSD card slot. With that said, it has three ports and slots more than the M1 MacBook Air that has only two Thunderbolt 3 ports, a headphone jack.

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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