Surface RT vs. MacBook Air 11” 2013: Full specs comparison

We thoroughly analyzed technical specifications for Surface RT and MacBook Air 11” 2013 models, including CPU, memory, storage, battery life, display quality, and other features.

Compare With
Please enter device name or part of it
Surface RT image

Surface RT

See at Amazon
Compare With
Please enter device name or part of it
MacBook Air 11” 2013 image

MacBook Air 11” 2013

See at Amazon

Surface RT Pros

Reasons that Surface RT is better than MacBook Air 11” 2013.

About 37% lighter

Surface RT weighed 1.5 pounds, 37% lighter than the 2.38 pounds MacBook Air 11” 2013.

WeightSurface RTMacBook Air 11” 2013
Pound
1.5 lbs.
2.38 lbs.
Kilogram
0.68 kg
1.08 kg

MacBook Air 11” 2013 Pros

Reasons that MacBook Air 11” 2013 is better than Surface RT.

Newer manufacturing

2013 vs. 2012

Supports larger memory

MacBook Air 11” 2013 supports a larger memory capacity than the Surface RT. It supports up to 8GB versus 2GB of system memory on the Surface RT.

Max system memory size
MacBook Air 11” 2013
8 GB
Surface RT
2 GB
9% larger display

MacBook Air 11” 2013 has a 11.6-inch screen size 9% larger than the 10.6-inch Surface RT.

Display size
MacBook Air 11” 2013
11.6-inch
Surface RT
10.6-inch

Prices

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

Surface RT Price
Microsoft Surface RT (32GB)
 Microsoft Surface RT (32GB)
By Microsoft
$210.00
See at Amazon
Microsoft Surface RT 64GB
 Microsoft Surface RT 64GB
By Microsoft
$309.99
See at Amazon
Microsoft Magenta Touch Cover for 10.6 inch Microsoft Surface RT - with Windows RT and for Surface Pro - with Windows 8 Pro 10.6 inch only
 Microsoft Magenta Touch Cover for 10.6 inch Microsoft Surface RT - with Windows RT and for Surface Pro - with Windows 8 Pro 10.6 inch only
By Microsoft
$84.00
See at Amazon
MacBook Air 11” 2013 Price
Apple MacBook Air MD711LL/A 11.6-inch Laptop - Intel Core i5 1.3GHz - 4GB RAM - 128GB SSD (Renewed)
 Apple MacBook Air MD711LL/A 11.6-inch Laptop - Intel Core i5 1.3GHz - 4GB RAM - 128GB SSD (Renewed)
By Apple
$219.00
See at Amazon
Apple MacBook Air MJVP2LL/A 11.6-Inch 256GB Laptop (Renewed)
 Apple MacBook Air MJVP2LL/A 11.6-Inch 256GB Laptop (Renewed)
By Apple
$214.99
$241.17 11% OFF
See at Amazon
Early 2015 Apple MacBook Air with 1.6GHz Intel Core i5 (13.3 inch, 8GB RAM, 256GB) Silver (Renewed)
 Early 2015 Apple MacBook Air with 1.6GHz Intel Core i5 (13.3 inch, 8GB RAM, 256GB) Silver (Renewed)
By Apple
$211.00
$285.00 26% OFF
See at Amazon

Specs Comparison

Availability

Surface RTMacBook Air 11” 2013
Released20122013
Release Date
  • Introduced: June 18, 2012
  • Not available for pre-ordered
  • Released: October 26, 2012
  • Available on June 10, 2013
PricingSurface RT
  • $499 - 2 GB | 32 GB
  • $599 - 2 GB | 64 GB
Surface RT with Black Touch Cover
  • $599 - 2 GB | 32 GB
  • $699 - 2 GB | 64 GB
  • $999
    Intel Core i5 4250U | 4GB RAM | 128GB SSD
  • $1,199
    Intel Core i5 4250U | 4GB RAM | 256GB SSD
Generations-

Exterior

Surface RTMacBook Air 11” 2013
Size Comparison
Surface RTMacBook Air 11” 2013
Dimensions10.81” x 6.77” x 0.37” (275 mm x 172 mm x 9.4 mm)
Width: 10.81” (275 mm)
Height: 6.77” (172 mm)
Thickness: 0.37” (9.4 mm)
11.8” x 7.56” x 0.11 - 0.68” (300 mm x 192 mm x 3 - 17 mm)
Weight1.5 lbs (680 g)Starting at 2.38 pounds (1.08 kg)
Colors
Dark Titanium
Silver
Keyboard and Trackpad
  • Surface Type Cover
    • Not included
  • Keyboard:
    • Activation: Moving (mechanical) keys.
    • Layout: QWERTY, full row of function keys (F1-F12).
    • 4 directional keys; Windows and Media Controls Keys.
  • Trackpad:
    • Two-finger multitouch gesture trackpad.
Full-size backlit keyboard with:
  • 78 (U.S.) or 79 (ISO) keys, including 12 function keys and 4 arrow keys (inverted “T” arrangement) with ambient light sensor
  • Multi-Touch trackpad for precise cursor control; supports inertial scrolling, pinch, rotate, swipe, three-finger swipe, four-finger swipe, tap, double-tap, and drag capabilities

Display

Surface RTMacBook Air 11” 2013
Size10.6 Inches11.6 Inches
Info
  • Resolution: 1366 x 768 (1M Pixels)
  • Density: 148 PPI
  • Aspect ratio: 16:9
  • ClearType HD Display
  • Touch: 5 points multi-touch
  • 11.6-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen display with support for millions of colors
  • Supported resolutions: 1366 by 768 (native), 1344 by 756, and 1280 by 720 pixels at 16:9 aspect ratio; 1152 by 720 and 1024 by 640 pixels at 16:10 aspect ratio; 1024 by 768 and 800 by 600 pixels at 4:3 aspect ratio

Ports

Surface RTMacBook Air 11” 2013
  • 1 x Full-size USB 2.0
  • 1 x microSD™ card reader
  • 1 x Surface Charging Port
  • 1 x Headset jack
  • 1 x Micro HDMI video out port
  • 1 x Cover port
  • 1 x Thunderbolt ports
    Supports data transfers up to 10 Gbps.
  • 2 x USB 3.0 ports
    Supports data transfers up to 5 Gbps.
  • 1 x 3.5 mm headphone jack
  • 1 x MagSafe 2 power port

Internal Specs

Surface RTMacBook Air 11” 2013
Processor
  1. NVIDIA Tegra 3
    4 cores, 1.30 → 1.40 GHz, 1MB Cache,
  1. 4th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-4250U
    2 cores, 4 threads, 1.30 → 2.60 GHz, 3MB SmartCache, 15W
  2. 4th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-4650U
    2 cores, 4 threads, 1.70 → 3.30 GHz, 4MB SmartCache, 15W
Integrated Graphics
  1. NVIDIA Tegra 3
    NVIDIA GeForce ULP graphics
    12 Graphics Cores,
  1. 4th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-4250U
    Intel® HD Graphics 5000
    40 Execution Units, 200 → 1000 MHz
  2. 4th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-4650U
    Intel® HD Graphics 5000
    40 Execution Units, 200 → 1100 MHz
Memory2GB of RAM
4GB
Configurable to 8GB 1600MHz LPDDR3 onboard memory
Storage
  • 32GB 64GB
    Storage
128GB 256GB
Configurable to 512GB flash storage.

Connectivity

Surface RTMacBook Air 11” 2013
Wi-Fi
  • Wi-Fi 4: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n compatible.
  • 802.11ac Wi‑Fi wireless networking
  • IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n compatible
Bluetooth
  • Bluetooth 4.0 low energy technology
Bluetooth 4.0 wireless technology

Battery

Surface RTMacBook Air 11” 2013
Size31.5 Wh38 Wh lithium‑polymer battery
Battery LifeUp to 8 hours of video playback
  • Up to 9 hours of wireless web
  • Up to 8 hours of iTunes movie playback
  • Up to 30 days of standby time
Power Supply
  • 24W proprietary power supply
45W MagSafe 2 Power Adapter
With cable management system; MagSafe 2 power port.

Software

Surface RTMacBook Air 11” 2013
OS
  • Windows RT
  • Upgradeable to Windows RT 8.1 Update
Shipped with OSX Mountain Lion
Built-in AppsMicrosoft Office Home and Student 2013 RT
Mail Messages Contacts Calendar Safari Reminders Notification Center Notes Dictation iCloud Time Machine FaceTime Photo Booth AirPlay Game Center the Mac App Store iTunes Gatekeeper Twitter and Facebook integration

Camera & Audio

Surface RTMacBook Air 11” 2013
Camera
  • 720p HD LifeCam front-facing camera with TrueColor Technology
  • 720p HD LifeCam rear-facing camera with TrueColor Technology
720p FaceTime HD camera
Audio
  • Dual microphones
  • Stereo speakers
  • Stereo speakers
  • Dual microphones
  • Headphone port
  • Support for Apple iPhone headset with remote and microphone

Misc

Surface RTMacBook Air 11” 2013
Sensors
  • Ambient light sensor
  • Accelerometer
  • Gyroscope
  • Compass
-
In the box
  • Surface RT
  • Power supply
  • Quick Start Guide
  • Safety and warranty documents
  • MacBook Air 11″
  • 45W MagSafe 2 Power Adapter, AC wall plug, and power cord
  • Printed and electronic documentation
Warranty
  • One-year limited hardware warranty
Limited Warranty and ServiceYour MacBook Air comes with 90 days of free telephone support and a one-year limited warranty. Purchase the AppleCare Protection Plan to extend your service and support to three years from your computer’s purchase date. Only the AppleCare Protection Plan provides you with direct telephone support from Apple technical experts and the assurance that repairs will be handled by Apple-authorized technicians using genuine Apple parts. For more information, visit Apple Support or call 800-823-2775.
More
  • Casing: VaporMg
  • Kickstand: 1 position at 22°
  • Physical buttons: volumes, power
Video Support
  • Dual display and video mirroring: Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display and up to 2560 by 1600 pixels on an external display, both at millions of colors
  • Thunderbolt digital video output
    • Native Mini DisplayPort output
    • DVI output using Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter (sold separately)
    • VGA output using Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter (sold separately)
    • Dual-link DVI output using Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter (sold separately)
    • HDMI audio and video output using third-party Mini DisplayPort to HDMI Adapter (sold separately)

Key Features

Surface RTMacBook Air 11” 2013
At Glance
Released in Mid
2012
16:9 HD
10.6”
768p 60Hz
Weight
1.5 lb
0.68 kg
Powered By
NVIDIA Tegra 3
4C/1.30 → 1.40 GHz
With integrated
NVIDIA GeForce ULP graphics
12 Graphics Cores
2GB
DDR3 Memory
Released in Mid
2013
16:10 HD+
11.6”
756p 60Hz
Weight
2.38 lb
1.08 kg
Up to
Intel Core i7-4650U
2C/4T, 1.70 → 3.30 GHz
Geekbench 5
632
Single Core
Geekbench 5
1,236
Multi-Core
With integrated
Intel® HD Graphics 5000
40 Execution Units, 200 → 1100 MHz
Up to
8GB
1600 MHz LPDDR3

Comments

Ask questions or share your thought and experience about the comparison between Surface RT and MacBook Air 11” 2013.

Loading Comments...