Surface Laptop 2 vs MacBook Air

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Looking at buying a new Surface Laptop 2 or MacBook Air? Here’s what you need to know.

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Conversation 18 comments

  • wp7mango

    31 October, 2018 - 10:44 am

    <p>Does the Surface laptop have a touch screen? Because that would make it even better value than the Macbook Air. </p>

    • skborders

      31 October, 2018 - 11:10 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#358630">In reply to WP7Mango:</a></em></blockquote><p>Yes, it has a touch screen, but it does not fold flat nor into a tablet type usage.</p>

  • cyloncat

    31 October, 2018 - 10:51 am

    <p>Also, touch screen on Surface Laptop. No touch screen or touch bar on the Air.</p><p><br></p><p>On the other hand, it really does come down to ecosystem; established users will likely stay with what they currently use. Apple's retail channel is also a factor. Both Apple and Microsoft offer excellent retail experience, but Apple just has more stores.</p>

  • drrjv

    31 October, 2018 - 11:03 am

    <p>I'm happy to be "stuck" in the Apple World</p>

    • Tony Barrett

      01 November, 2018 - 6:33 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#358650">In reply to drrjv:</a></em></blockquote><p>Sounds like you're happy just giving Apple all your money then. No choice, total lockin, Apple's way or no way. Yep, sounds great.</p>

      • dontbe evil

        01 November, 2018 - 6:34 am

        <blockquote><em><a href="#359247">In reply to ghostrider:</a></em></blockquote><p>apple is happy to milk his fans</p>

  • ruusterc

    31 October, 2018 - 11:40 am

    <p>so acouple things first of all i got a call you on batterylife thing because well on paper the surface laptop has better battery life in real world it gets about half of what its rated thats not me saying that thats reviewers in cluding i think even paul said that an air side whether you like apple or not there battery life estismates are usally spot on or a little under so battery life would be a win for the air because. the air gets 12 hrs of realworld and the surface book gets 8 or 9 hrs the other difference is the biggest reason why i dont think the surface laptop is a better value an i like the surface products an i wish the air had touch screen like the surface products do but the thing for me that makes the surface laptop not as much of a value is the fact that for example on stage they talked about hole disk encryption which is built in to mac os so thats great if i want to do that onthe surface laptop i have to upgrade to windows 10pro the cost of pro lisence is 169 dollars in canada so if you add that on to the 1299 price of the surface laptop in canada theres only about a 32.00 difference in price between the two the macbook air starts at 1499 the other thing is the ports so surface laptop has a usb a headphone jack an display port a proprietary charging and dock connector the macbook air supports usbc an a headphone jack tgis makes a difference as well because usbc can do video data an charging so if your power cable on your surface ever goes its about 80 dollars to replace the surface charger my macbook charger got stollen i bought a usb c brick which costed about 30 dollars and i already have a usb c cable the other thing is well they both require dongles for certain things the use of usb c means you dont have to buy apple expensive accessories you have a choice on the microsoft side you pretty much one option for docks an thats the microsft dock which is proprietary AF that dock is about 200 dollars but at the end of the day there both fantastic choices im a big fan of you an paul. keep up the good work</p>

    • jchampeau

      Premium Member
      31 October, 2018 - 12:10 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#358684">In reply to ruusterc:</a></em></blockquote><p>The period (".") is generally found two keys left of the right shift key. Looks like you pressed it once by mistake.</p>

      • skborders

        31 October, 2018 - 1:19 pm

        <blockquote><em><a href="#358709">In reply to jchampeau:</a></em></blockquote><p>LOL. Thanks, I needed a good laugh.</p>

      • Rycott

        Premium Member
        31 October, 2018 - 6:24 pm

        <blockquote><em><a href="#358709">In reply to jchampeau:</a></em></blockquote><p>At least he didn't hit the 'Enter' key by mistake as well.</p>

  • rmlounsbury

    Premium Member
    31 October, 2018 - 11:46 am

    <p>The Surface Laptop 2 is pretty well superior in just about every respect. Especially in the processor department where the SL2 has U series processors instead of the Y series of the MacBook Air. The only real advantage the Air has is that it has 2 USB-C Thunderbolt 3 backed ports vs. the USB-A + Surface Connect ports. </p><p><br></p><p>What is really amazing is the fact that Apple still offers the older version of the Air for $999. Talk about insulting. </p>

  • saurabhnegi123

    31 October, 2018 - 12:00 pm

    <p>Nice article. Looking for 10,000+ <a href="https://www.instagram-captions.com/&quot; target="_blank">Instagram captions</a></p>

  • Brazbit

    31 October, 2018 - 12:17 pm

    <p>Another differentiator, though not as useful as in a 2:1, is the touchscreen on the Surface Laptop 2 vs a standard display on the MBA. Not a must-have feature, but a very nice to have feature for those interactions that lend themselves better to direct interaction with the screen. Plus, when you instinctually reach out and try to do something on the screen something actually happens and you are not left feeling like an idiot tapping on a non-touch screen. ;-)</p>

  • Illusive_Man

    31 October, 2018 - 1:28 pm

    <p>MacOS is a better OS. Windows has more available applications and better for gaming but MacOS, but the core OS sucks.</p>

    • dontbe evil

      01 November, 2018 - 6:34 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#358762">In reply to Illusive_Man:</a></em></blockquote><p>90s are calling, wants you back</p>

  • Andi

    31 October, 2018 - 1:56 pm

    <p>15W on the Surface vs 7W on the Air. This is the only diferentiator you need to know.</p>

  • provision l-3

    31 October, 2018 - 2:35 pm

    <p>Okay, so the "Apple priced this 200 dollars higher to get people to buy the iPad Pro" conspiracy is something you picked up from someone like Alex Jones right, cause that is just kinda ridiculous. Apple doesn't give a flying flip if you buy a MacBook Air or an iPad they just want you to buy one. Apple priced it that way because Apple thinks that is what the market care bare, no need for some sort of logical contortions. Hell, they even kept the old MacBook Air at the 999.00 price point. If they were worried about people buying Macs over laptops they would have just dropped it. </p><p><br></p>

  • veroach

    Premium Member
    01 November, 2018 - 5:59 am

    <p>Brad,</p><p><br></p><p>One is a touch screen and one is not. How does that not factor for you in the displays? Huge difference for me.</p><p><br></p><p>Eric</p>

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