The Surface Laptop 3 vs. the competition: 13-inch workhorses
It’s October once more, which means we get to look at some new machines from Microsoft. We’re long accustomed to the hybrid Surface Pro line but we’re also seeing the third iteration of the company’s powerful and stylish Surface Laptop. The 15-inch version packs an AMD Ryzen CPU, but the 13-inch is no slouch thanks to its 10th-gen Ice Lake chip, the better to compete with machines like the XPS 13. To see how the smaller Surface Laptop stacks up against some of the leading 13-inch machines on the market, check out the table below and read our hands-on while you wait for our full review of the new computer later this year.
| Surface Laptop 3 13-inch | MacBook Pro 13-inch | Dell XPS 13 | HP Spectre Folio 13 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | starts at $999 | $1,299 / $1,499 / $1,799 / $1,999 | $999 / $1,149 / $1,349 / $1,449 | $1,149 / $1,349 |
| Dimensions | 12.1 x 8.8 x 0.57 inches (30.8 x 22.3 x 1.45 cm) | 11.97 x 8.36 x 0.59 inches (30.41 x 21.24 x 1.49 cm) | 11.9 x 7.8 x 0.46 inches (30.2 x 19.9 x 1.16 cm) | 12.6 x 9.23 x 0.6 inches (32 x 23.44 x 1.52 cm) |
| Weight | 2.76 pounds (1.25 kg) 2.89 pounds (1.31 kg) |
3.02 pounds (1.37 kg) | 2.7 pounds (1.23 kg) | 3.28 pounds (1.49 kg) |
| OS | Windows 10 | macOS Mojave (Catalina coming soon) | Windows 10 | Windows 10 |
| Display | 13.5-inch PixelSense | 13.3-inch IPS LED | 13.3-inch InfinityEdge | 13.3-inch IPS LED |
| Resolution | 2,256 x 1,504 (201 ppi) | 2,560 x 1,600 (227 ppi) | 1,920 x 1,080 (166 ppi) 3,840 x 2,160 (331 ppi) |
1,920 x 1,080 (166 ppi) 3,840 x 2,160 (331 ppi) |
| Processor | Intel Core i5 (1.2 GHz) Intel Core i7 (1.3 GHz) |
Intel Core i5 (1.4 GHz) Intel Core i5 (2.4 GHz) |
Intel Core i3 (2.1 GHz) Intel Core i5 (1.6 GHz) Intel Core i7 (1.8 GHz) |
Intel Core i5 (1.3 GHz) Intel Core i7 (1.5 GHz) |
| Memory | 8 GB / 16 GB | 8 GB | 4 GB / 8 GB / 16 GB | 8 GB |
| Graphics | Intel Iris Plus Graphics 950 | Intel Iris Plus Graphics 645 Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655 |
Intel UHD Graphics | Intel UHD Graphics 615 |
| Storage | 128 / 256 / 512 GB / 1 TB | 128 / 256 / 512 GB | 256 / 512 / 1 TB | 256 GB |
| Ports | USB 3.0, USB-C, Surface Connect | Thunderbolt 3 (x2) | Thunderbolt 3 (x2), USB-C 3.1, micro SD | Thunderbolt 3 (x2), USB-C 3.1 |
| Wireless | 802.11ax, Bluetooth 5.0 | 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0 | 802.11ax, Bluetooth 5.0 | 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.2 |
| Battery | Up to 11.5 hours (Wh unlisted at this time) | 58.2 Wh | 52 Wh | 54.28 Wh |
* Specs listed are for default configurations and may not include all upgrade options available at checkout.
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