Just a few days ago, consumer electronics giants-- Apple and Microsoft-- unveiled the new line of respective MacBook Pro and Surface Book series notebooks. Both the devices come with huge upgrade over their predecessors, but how does they stack up against each other? That's the question resonating among many consumers.
To provide a better perspective, we have done a quick rundown of key features of both Apple MacBook Pro (2016) and Microsoft Surface Book i7 to measure their hardware capability.
Also read: Apple iPhone 8 massive leak: iPhone 7 successor tipped to come with game-changing battery feature
Display:
Microsoft Surface Pro sports a 13.5-inch PixelSense display having 3000 x 2000p resolution, pixel density of 267 ppi (pixels per inch) and aspect ratio of 3:2.
Apple MacBook Pro (2016) comes in two screen sizes—one, 15.4-inch and 13.3-inch.
The 13.3-inch model features (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology having 2560x1600 native resolution and pixel density of 227 ppi and brightness of 500 nits.
On the other hand, 15.4-inch model sports (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology having 2880x1800 native resolution, pixel density of 220 ppi and 500 nits brightness.
Processor, RAM and storage:
Microsoft Surface Book houses 6th generation Intel Core i7 backed by NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M 2GB GDDR5 memory with 8GB/16GB RAM and Solid state drive (SSD) options - 256GB/512GB/1TB.
On the other hand, Apple offers MacBook Pro (2016) in multiple configurations.
15.4-inch Apple MacBook Pro model-
Model 1: 2.7GHz quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz, with 8MB shared L3 cache + Radeon Pro 455 with 2GB of GDDR5 RAM(Double Data Rate type 5 Synchronous Graphics Random Access Memory) memory and automatic graphics switching + Intel HD Graphics 530+ 512GB - PCIe-based onboard SSD (Solid State Drive)+2133MHz 16GB LPDDR3 RAM (Low Power Double Data Rate Synchronous Type 3 Random Access Memory).
Model 2: 2.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 3.5GHz, with 6MB shared L3 cache +Radeon Pro 450 with 2GB of GDDR5 memory and automatic graphics switching + Intel HD Graphics 530+256GB - PCIe-based onboard SSD+2133MHz 16GB LPDDR3 RAM
13.3-inch Apple MacBook Pro model-
Model 1 series with Touch Bar: 2.9GHz dual-core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz, with 4MB shared L3 cache+ Intel Iris Graphics 550 + 2133MHz 8GB LPDDR3 RAM+ 256GB or 512GB - PCIe-based onboard SSD
Model 2 series without Touch Bar: 2.0GHz dual-core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 3.1GHz, with 4MB shared L3 cache + Intel Iris Graphics 540 + 1866MHz 8GB LPDDR3 RAM + 256GB PCIe-based onboard SSD.
Operating System:
Apple's device runs on macOS Sierra, whereas the Microsoft laptop comes with Windows 10 pro OS out-of-the box.
Furthermore, Microsoft's utility Office 365 application is compatible with both MacBook Pro and Surface Book. So, in this aspect, the selection of device comes down to the users' personal preference.
[Note: Microsoft Surface Book i7 comes with 30-day trial offer on Office 365 app]
Battery:
Microsoft Surface Book i7 comes with a massive battery, which play high resolution videos for close to 16 hours.
On the other hand, Apple MacBook Pro series models- 13.3-inch and 15.4-inch—come with a standard laptop cell capable of giving 10 hours iTunes movie playback time and up to 30 days under standby time
Camera:
Microsoft Surface Book i7 houses a 5MP front-facing camera with 1080p HD video and an 8MP rear-facing autofocus camera with 1080p HD video
Whereas the Apple MacBook Pro (2016) series come with 720p FaceTime HD camera
Value-added features:
Both Apple and Microsoft devices come with unique value-added features.
The new Surface Book i7 boasts stylus support and with display detachable feature and top-of-the line processor and graphics, it will definitely find takers among engineers. They will be able simulate 3-D CAD models with thousands of parts.
Designers and developers can also render large files quickly, and gamers can play power guzzling graphic-rich games without worrying about any lag.
Another interesting feature of Surface Book is that it's front camera acts as iris scanner via Windows Hello face sign-in camera, providing another additional layer of security.
On the other hand, Apple MacBook Pro (2016) boasts Touch ID-based fingerprint authentication system and also new LED-backlit Touch Bar, which completely replaces all the top-row function keys with customizable LED display. It can also show Tabs and Favourites in Safari, enable easy access to emoji in Messages, provide a simple way to edit images or scrub through videos in Photos and so much more.
Read more: Complete details on Microsoft Surface Book i7 price, specifications, package details
Read more: Complete details on Apple MacBook Pro models, price, specifications, package details
Conclusion:
Both Surface Book i7 and MacBook Pro (2016) come with top-end hardware. If people are looking for a multi-purpose notebook which can be used for personal and official purpose, then Microsoft's device is best among the two or if you are looking for just personal and occasionally for work, then you can go for the Apple device.
