Surface Pro 8 vs. M1 MacBook Air: Full specs comparison
We thoroughly analyzed technical specifications for Surface Pro 8 and M1 MacBook Air models, including CPU, memory, storage, battery life, display quality, and other features.
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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 | Surface Pro 8 | M1 MacBook Air |
|---|---|---|
| M.2 | Yes x1 | Onboard |
About 30% lighter
Surface Pro 8 weighed 1.96 pounds, 30% lighter than the 2.8 pounds M1 MacBook Air.
| Weight | Surface Pro 8 | M1 MacBook Air |
|---|---|---|
| Pound | 1.96 lbs. | 2.8 lbs. |
| Kilogram | 0.89 kg | 1.27 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 | Surface Pro 8 | M1 MacBook Air |
|---|---|---|
| headphone jack | Yes | Yes |
| SSD slot | Yes | No |
| Surface Connect | Yes | No |
| Surface Type Cover | Yes | No |
| Thunderbolt 3 | No | Yes x2 |
| Thunderbolt 4 | Yes x2 | No |
| Total | 6 | 3 |
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
Prices
Here are the latest price updates and offers for both devices.
Microsoft Surface Pro 8 Price | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
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 | |
M1 MacBook Air Price | ||
 |
Late 2020 Apple MacBook Air with Apple M1 Chip (13.3 inch, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) Space Gray (Renewed) By Apple $659.00 | |
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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 $732.50 | |
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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 $619.99 | |
Availability | Surface Pro 8 | M1 MacBook Air |
| Released | 2021 | 2020 |
| Release Date |
| Announced on November 10th, 2020 |
| Pricing |
|
|
| Generations |
Exterior | Surface Pro 8 | M1 MacBook Air |
| Dimensions | 11.3” x 8.2” x 0.37” (287 mm x 208 mm x 9.3 mm) |
|
| Weight | 1.96 lb (889 g) | Starting at 2.8 pounds (1.29 kg) |
| Colors | Matte Black Platinum | Gold Space Gray Silver |
| Keyboard and Trackpad |
| Backlit Magic Keyboard with:
|
Display | Surface Pro 8 | M1 MacBook Air |
| Size | 13 Inches | 13.3 Inches |
| Info |
| Retina display
|
Ports | Surface Pro 8 | M1 MacBook Air |
 Left (1)
Right (3)
Bottom (1)
Under Kickstand (1)
|  Left (2)
Right (1)
|
Internal Specs | Surface Pro 8 | M1 MacBook Air |
| Processor |
|
|
| Integrated Graphics |
|
|
| Memory | 8GB 16GB 32GB 4267 MHz LPDDR4X RAM |
|
| Storage | 128GB 256GB 512GB 1TB Removable SSD. |
|
Connectivity | Surface Pro 8 | M1 MacBook Air |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 6: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax compatible. |
|
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth Wireless 5.1 technology | Bluetooth 5.0 wireless technology |
Battery | Surface Pro 8 | M1 MacBook Air |
| 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 | Surface Pro 8 | M1 MacBook Air |
| OS | Windows 11 Home | Shipped with macOS Big Sur |
| 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 |
Camera & Audio | Surface Pro 8 | M1 MacBook Air |
| Camera |
| 720p FaceTime HD camera |
| Audio |
|
|
Misc | Surface Pro 8 | M1 MacBook Air |
| Inking |
| - |
| Sensors |
|
|
| Security |
|
|
| In the box |
|
|
| Warranty | 1-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
|
Key Features | Surface Pro 8 | M1 MacBook Air |
| At Glance | | |
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