Here we take a look at the new 2016 13" MacBook Pro vs the 2016 Surface Book with Performance Base and the Pros and Cons of each as I see them. First off, I currently use both a Surface Book and the 12" MacBook. (My 13" MacBook Pro with Touch Bar hasn't arrived yet).
Here is a basic breakdown of the specs:
|
|
13" MacBook Pro with Touch Bar
|
Surface Book with Performance Base
|
Winner |
| Model
|
Z0TV CTO|3.3GHz|16GB|1TB|En
|
9EZ-00001
| |
| Price*
|
$2,864.00
|
$3,108.86
| MacBook Pro |
| Processor
|
3.3GHz Dual Core i7
|
2.6GHz Dual Core i7
| MacBook Pro |
| RAM
|
16GB 2133MHz LPDDR3
|
16GB DDR3
| MacBook Pro |
| Graphics
|
Intel Iris Graphics 550
|
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M - 2 GB GDDR5
| Surface Book |
| Display
|
13.3" 2560 x 1600 Retina Display (Non-Touch)
|
13.5" PixelSense 3000 x 2000 multitouch display
| Surface Book |
| Battery Life
|
Up to 10 Hours
|
Up to 16 Hours
| Surface Book |
| Connectivity
|
4x Thunderbolt 3.0 (USB-C) ports with support for: Charging, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt (up to 40 Gbps), USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10 Gbps), Headset jack
|
2x USB 3.0, SD card reader, Mini DisplayPort, SurfaceConnect, Headset jack
| Depends on your existing accessories |
| Weight
|
3.02 Lbs
|
3.63 Lbs
| MacBook Pro |
*Price found on-line at
www.PortableOne.com
Bottom Line
So, on paper, which is the better laptop? Unfortunately, that depends. It depends on what you need out of your new laptop. First consideration here is the operating system. If you are tied to one OS or the other, then that very likely should be your driving factor in selecting a new laptop. If you have an investment in Windows software that will transfer to a new PC then the Surface Book is your better choice.
That aside, If weight is most important, the MacBook Pro is wins out. For processing power, the MacBook Pro wins out, but the Surface Book with dedicated graphics will serve gamers better.
Connectors? That really depends on what your existing accessories are... Personally, I really don't connect anything to my MacBook other than the charger. Same for the Surface Book I've been enjoying.
Weight? the MacBook Pro is a bit more than 1/2 pound less than the Surface Book, Its thinner also.