The rivalry between Microsoft and Apple has been renewed after both the companies have unveiled their latest products. Microsoft announced an updated Surface Book i7 and Apple has tackled their competition by unveiling the redesigned and updated MacBook Pro. The laptops may look very similar but they have some major differences that set them apart. Before buying a new laptop, have a look at the differences to see which company will effectively cater to your needs.

When considering the design of the laptops; Surface Book has a detachable screen and can be used as a tablet whereas detaching the MacBook’s screen will render it useless. The functions of the Surface Book i7 are more or less the same when being used as a tablet. It is also much better than the Surface or the Surface Pro and can be used with a surface pen for writing and sketching. If you are an artist and prefer to draw or sketch on the screen, then Surface Book is just the right choice for you. On the other hand, the new MacBook is featuring a larger touch pad and a new touch strip that has replaced the function keys and also effectively switches between different apps. People are already drooling over their newly added touch strip.

The Surface Book only offers one screen that is a 13.5 inches panel. On the other hand, the MacBook Pro features two different screen sizes; 13.3 inches and 15.4 inches. However, the Surface Book has better resolution as it has 3000x2000 pixels while the resolutions of both the screens of MacBook Pro are lesser than that. Similar to the new iPhone, the Macbook’s screen has a wide color gamut, and it displays twenty-five percent more colors than sRGB. The Surface Book’s screen display is hundred percent of sRGB. The surface book supports a great screen with a capacitive touch facility which goes smoothly with the stylus. Both the products have a 6th generation Intel Core i7 model and offer 8 GB and 16 GB RAMs. Microsoft has claimed that the graphics of Surface Book are twice as good, thanks to the GeForce GTX 965M which is installed in the Surface base. In the 15-inches MacBook Pro, Apple has installed the Radeon Pro 450 graphics card which is no lesser in providing superior graphics result.

Microsoft has announced a battery life of 12 to 16 hours and their rivals, Apple to be precise, claims 10 hours between charges. However, these figures are affected by the work that you do, like playing games on the laptop will reduce the runtime. However, if you are just browsing the web or typing on MS word, then you may be able to use the laptop for the number of hours promised (or may be even more). Compared to the original model, the new surface book has thirty percent life and can even run for around 16 hours. Furthermore, the MacBook Pro has two to four Thunderbolt 3 USB ports as they have replaced the traditional USB ports. These ports can be used for video output, charging and data socket. The surface book has 2 full-size USB 3 ports, a full-size SD card slot and mini Display port. Neither of the device supports GPS. Both have 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. The Surface Book has biometric security and unlocks via your face while the MacBook has a fingerprint scanner.

When buying a product, the most important category is the price. The Surface Book starts at a price of $2,399 for the 8GB RAM model with 256GB storage. 16GB RAM Surface Book with 512GB storage costs $2,77 and 1TB storage with 16GB RAM has a price of $3299. On the other hand, there are three models of the MacBook Pro with different prices. Firstly, there are two 13 inches MacBook Pro models with small differences in specifications and costs $1499 and $1799, while the 15 inch MacBook Pro costs $2349. In terms of price, the smallest Surface Book is more costly than the most expensive MacBook Pro model.

As both the products have just been unveiled, it is still too early to decide which company has the upper hand. There is no doubt that both the products will be going head to head in the market and consumers will make the deciding vote on the two products. However, after examining the specifications, it is clear that both the products are two different machines. In my opinion, the Surface Book has the upper hand as it contains everything you may need. It is versatile and can be used as a laptop or a tablet. It has a big capacitative touch screen that is amazing if you want to sketch or draw. The Surface Book also supports a heavy graphics card that will allow you to play games smoothly on your laptop. However, if you require a laptop with a larger screen and a touch strip, the MacBook Pro looks to be a promising product.

Paklap.pk Votes

Microsoft Surface Book i7 = 4.5/5

Macbook Pro 2016 = 4/5