Microsoft Takes on Apple with Hybrid Tablet/Laptop
Microsoft's Surface Book laptop and Surface Pro 4 tablet went on sale today, but you might have trouble finding the former. The 13-inch Surface Book sold out within five days during a pre-sale period earlier this month, and only limited quantities are available for today's retail launch.
The Surface Book is Microsoft's first-ever laptop, and the company envisions it as a direct competitor to Apple's 13-inch MacBook Pro. In fact, Microsoft called the Surface Book the fastest 13-inch laptop ever made during a live event earlier this month, and pitted it against the MacBook Pro in a speed test.
The most notable difference between the two computers is the Surface Book's hybrid design. The Surface can function both as a laptop and a touch-screen tablet, a convenient combination for real estate professionals who use tablets for limited, on-the-go tasks and a separate laptop or desktop computer for more involved tasks.
So how do the two machines really compare? We broke down the specs of each in the table below:
Surface Book
13-inch MacBook Pro
Price
Starting at $1499
Starting at $1299
Operating system
Windows 10 Pro
OS X El Capitan
Screen size
13.5" PixelSense display
13.3" Retina display
Resolution
3000 x 2000 (267 PPI)
2560 x 1600 (227 PPI)
Storage
128GB, 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB options
128GB, 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB options
Processor
Intel Core i5 or i7
Intel Core i5 or i7
RAM
8GB or 16GB
8GB, configurable to 16GB
Weight
3.34 pounds
3.48 pounds
Battery life
Up to 12 hours
Up to 10 hours
Graphics
Intel HD graphics; i5/i7: NVIDIA GeForce graphics
Intel Iris Graphics 6100
Camera(s)
5.0MP front-facing camera, 8.0MP rear-facing camera with autofocus and 1080p HD video recording
720p FaceTime HD camera
Audio
Dual Microphones, front and rear facing; Front-facing stereo speakers with Dolby audio
Stereo speakers, Dual microphones
USB ports
Two USB 3.0, full-sized SD card reader
Two USB 3.0
Other ports
Surface Connect, Headset jack, Mini DisplayPort
SDXC card slot, HDMI port, two Thunderbolt 2 ports, 3.5mm headphone jack
Warranty
1-year limited
1-year limited