Thebest 13 - in laptopsare fast and incredibly portable . But the two best laptops presently in that class really have video display that are closer to14 - inch laptop computer . Those are theApple MacBook Air 13 ( M4)and theMicrosoft Surface Laptop 713.8 - inch manakin .

Regardless of which class you put them in , these are two very well - built laptop with solid carrying out and gravid barrage fire sprightliness . They ’re both excellent laptops , but which one is correct for you ?

Specs and configurations

The MacBook Air starts at $ 999 with the 10 - core CPU/8 - core GPU M4 chipset , 16 GB of RAM , and a 256 GB SSD . That ’s a departure from previous generations , where the accounting entry - level machine feature the previous - gen chipset and just 8 GB of RAM . plainly , that ’s a serious melioration . From there , you may upgrade ram to 24 GB for $ 200 or 32 GB for $ 400 , and various warehousing upgrades ranging from 512 GB ( $ 200 ) to 2 TB ( $ 800 ) . The faster M4 with a 10 - core GPU is an extra $ 100 , with the most expensive configuration come in at $ 2,199 .

The Surface Laptop 7 also get down around $ 1,000 , with a Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus chipset , 16 GB of RAM , and a 256 GB SSD . A 512 GB SSD ups the price to $ 1,200 and 1 TB to $ 1,400 , while RAM can be upgraded to 32 GB or 64 gigabyte . The most expensive configuration is $ 2,500 .

However , while Apple seldom puts its current laptop on sales event , Microsoft currently has the Surface Laptop 7 on sales agreement for considerably less than listing . It ’s around the same price at the scurvy end , and a little less expensive at the high end .

Design

The MacBook Air 13 is , in my opinion , the utterly plan fragile - and - light laptop computer . It ’s incredibly slight , just the right weight to void feeling flimsy , and it features several attractive colors and a minimalist look that share the same elegance with the residual of the MacBook batting order . The Surface Laptop 7 13.8 - inch model is also attractive with several nice color ways , it ’s a little sleeker , and it shares wide-eyed Surface aesthetic that ’s also quite graceful . Both are swell await laptops , but the MacBook win by being quite a bit thinner without sacrificing performance or barrage life history .

Both are also very well - made , of all - aluminum construction with crocked margin . They ’re very substantial , with no flexing , bend , or pervert in their lids , keyboard pack of cards , or chassis bottom . You wo n’t line up a laptop that feels better in deal than these two .

The MacBook Air 13 has the same Magic Keyboard that you ’ll find on every MacBook , and it ’s fantabulous . It has great key spacing , heavy keycaps , and ( in my opinion ) the best , snappiest , and most precise switches around . The Surface Laptop 7 ’s keyboard is also very good , with a comfortable layout and somewhat firmer and deeper switches .

Apple ’s Force Touch touchpad is also the good around . It ’s larger , for one thing , and incredibly reactive . And its Force Click feature film , where you may chatter “ harder ” and kick off additional functionality , is unequalled . The Surface Laptop 7 also has a tactile touchpad that ’s extremely customizable , but it ’s a bite smaller .

Connectivity slightly favour the Surface Laptop 7 , which has a legacy USB - A port to go with its two USB4 larboard . The MacBook has just two USB - ascorbic acid ports with Thunderbolt 4 . Both laptop computer have proprietary courser that keep the other ports available while plugged in . The Surface Laptop 7 has more up - to - date wireless connectivity .

Finally , the MacBook Air 13 has a new 12MP webcam that provides excellent low-pitched - igniter performance and a clear image . It features Apple ’s Center Stage feature film that does a great job of keep back the user concentrate while moving around , and the Desk View feature permit sharing a background with a pictorial matter - in - picture video . The Surface Laptop 7 ’s 1080p webcam is n’t as high - res but it provides a good image as well . Both laptops have fast chip for AI work on with the M4 Neural Engine and the Qualcomm Neural Processing Unit . Apple Intelligence is a bit of a mess , though , while Microsoft ’s Copilot+ PC AI initiative offers more functionality today .

Performance

The Surface Laptop 7 13 offers a option of the 12 - core Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite chipset or the 10 - core Snapdragon X Plus , both center on matching hearty performance with great efficiency . The Qualcomm Adreno integrated GPU powers the graphics . Similarly , the MacBook Air 13 offers a choice of the 10 - core CPU , 8 - core GPU M4 or the slightly profligate interlingual rendition with a 10 - core GPU . As with all Apple Silicon chipsets , it ’s also shoot for at fast carrying out and great battery life story .

We did n’t review the 13.8 - in Surface Laptop 7 , so we used the 15 - inch good example as a proxy using the faster chipset option . In our benchmarks , the M4 is significantly faster . It ’s almost 60 % faster when running in unmarried - nitty-gritty tasks like wide-eyed productivity . In multi - core , not as dominant but still quicker . Generally , the MacBook Air 15 will finger quicker , and it will be quick in TV encoding and other creative project given various CPU optimizations . Of course , choosing the slow Qualcomm chipset will just give the MacBook Air 13 more of an advantage .

In terms of graphic carrying into action , the MacBook Air 13 ’s GPU cores are faster . But , you wo n’t buy either of these laptop computer for play . window has more games , but those that run on macOS will be faster on the MacBook .

Display and audio

Both laptops have IPS exhibit . The MacBook Air 13 has a 13.6 - inch 2560 x 1664 ( 225 PPI ) lead IPS show that run at 60Hz . The Surface Laptop 7 has a 13.8 - inch 3:2 2304 x 1536 ( 204 PPI ) IPS instrument panel   run at up to 120Hz . That makes the MacBook ’s show slightly sharper and the Surface Laptop 7 ’s display able to cater a liquid user interface .

consort to a colorimeter , the Surface Laptop 7 exhibit is brighter and has effective contrast . The two display are close in terms of vividness width and accuracy . Ultimately , both are very dependable displays for almost every aim and good than the average IPS show .

The MacBook Air 13 has much better audio , with a four - loudspeaker system setup featuring military group - cancel woofers . It produces more book and bass , while the Surface Laptop 7 ’s stereo speakers hidden behind the keyboard has as clear mids and highs . You ’re more probable to grab a pair of earphone with the Surface .

Portability

Both are very portable laptops . Toss them in your rucksack and forget they ’re there , until you take them . That ’s pretty incredible given how capable these laptop computer are .

As in the performance discussion , I ’m using the 15 - in model with the faster Qualcomm chipset as a proxy . Often , the smaller model in such lineups will get more or less less barrage life , as with the MacBook Air 13 versus the 15 - inch model . But it should be similar . And if you choose the slower Qualcomm chipset ( as with the MacBook Air 13 that we reviewed ) , it should be a second tight .

The bottom line is that while these two laptops both get very good assault and battery life history , the MacBook Air 13 lasts longer , especially as you work out the laptop computer harder .

It’s hard to compete with perfection

The Surface Laptop 7 is one of the skillful 13 - in ( or 14 - in ) Windows laptops today . It ’s fast , has great stamp battery spirit , and is ramp up implausibly well .

However , the MacBook Air 13 is the best in both classes , period . It ’s quicker , has better battery sprightliness , and is considerably thin . Unless you just have to have Windows , the MacBook Air 13 is best .