Apple MacBook Air 13 (M4) vs. Microsoft Surface Pro 11: two diminutive laptops fight for the top

It might seem strange to compare a clamshell laptop with a detachable tablet 2-in-1, but the fact is, if you’re look for a small yet powerful, highly portable PC, you have two great options. The Apple MacBook Air 13 (M4) is the best 13-inch laptop you can buy (maybe the best ever), and the Microsoft Surface Pro 11 is the best 2-in-1.

Both are very small, both are fast and get great battery life, and so both can serve anyone well who wants a real PC that feels more like a mobile device. But which one is the right choice for you?

Specs and configurations

The MacBook Air 13 (M4) starts at $999 with a 10-core CPU, 8-core GPU M4 chipset, 16GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD. That’s a break from the past, where Apple used to keep the previous generation machine around at the lowest price. From there, it’s $100 to upgrade to a faster M4 with a 10-core GPU, then $200 for 24GB of RAM and $400 for 32GB. Storage can be upgraded to 512GB for $200 and up to 2TB for an additional $800. The most expensive model is $2,199.

The Surface Pro 11 starts at $999 with a Snapdragon X Plus chipset, 16GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD, and an IPS display, so the same as the MacBook Air. The OLED version starts at $1,499 with a faster Snapdragon X Elite chipset. It, too, has a variety of configuration options, with the highest-priced model at $2,499 with OLED, 64GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD.

Right now, the Surface Pro 11 is on sale, something Apple rarely does with its current machines. So, the prices are closer together, with the Surface Pro 11 being a bit less expensive depending on the configuration. Neither will be confused for a budget laptop.

Design

The MacBook Air 13 is very possibly the perfect 13-inch laptop design. Maybe the perfect 14-inch laptop, depending on how you want to classify a laptop with a 13.6-inch display. It’s incredibly thin, light but not flimsy, and it exudes quality. Just opening and closing the perfectly-designed hinge provides a visceral impression of great manufacturing. At the same time, the Surface Pro 11 is equally well-made. It’s also all-metal, it has the best built-in kickstand on any tablet today, and it’s thin and light enough to be very portable. Snapping on the keyboard makes it a little less thin and light, but it remains one of the easiest laptops to carry around.

Both laptops also look great. The MacBook Air has several attractive colors and a very cohesive aesthetic that mimics every MacBook made today is both minimalist and elegant. The Surface Pro 11 also comes in several colors with detachable keyboards to match. It’s a simple slate with rounded corners and a simplistic design. It’s very attractive as well.

The difference, of course, is in their form factor. The MacBook Air is a standard clamshell that will be immediately familiar to most laptop users, while the Surface Pro 11 is a tablet that serves dual functions. According to our reviewer, it’s not as great a tablet as it is a laptop, primarily because Windows 11 just doesn’t provide the same touch experience as, say, iPadOS. And when connected to its keyboard, the Surface Pro 11 isn’t as stable on anything other than a firm surface. So, if you want a “normal” laptop experience, then the MacBook Air is the better choice. But if you want a tablet with pen capabilities for digital drawing to go with a laptop, then the Surface Pro 11 is for you.

The MacBook Air’s keyboard is superior, and in fact, Apple Magic Keyboard is really the best laptop keyboard around. The keycaps are perfectly sized, the spacing is excellent, and the switches are light and snappy. For anyone who types a lot, it’s the best experience. The Surface Pro 11’s detachable Surface Pro Flex keyboard, which costs extra, is also very good, with quality switches and a functional, if cramped, layout. But typing on the keyboard has a bit of a bounce when it’s propped up at an angle. That might bother some people.

The MacBook Air’s Force Touch haptic touchpad is also the best available on a laptop today. It’s very large, perfectly responsive, and has the additional Force Click feature where pressing a little “harder” invokes additional functionality. The Surface Pro Flex keyboard also has a haptic touchpad that works well, but it’s quite a bit smaller. Of course, the Surface Tablet 11’s display is touch- and pen-enabled, and when mated with the Surface Slim pen, even adds in haptic feedback when writing and drawing on the display. If you’re a digital artist, the choice is clear.

Connectivity is closely matched. Both have just modern USB-C ports, the MacBook Air with Thunderbolt 4 and the Surface Pro 11 with USB4. Both have proprietary power adapters that keep both ports free when charging. The MacBook Air has a 3.5mm audio jack that the Surface Pro 11 lacks, while the latter has a nanoSIM for optional cellular wireless that the former lacks. And the Surface Pro 11 has more up-to-date wireless connectivity.

Finally, the two laptops both have 12MP webcams, while the Surface Pro 11 adds a 10MP rear camera. The MacBook Air benefits from better low-light performance and the Center Stage feature that automatically centers the user when moving around. It also has Desk View that can share a desktop view combined with a picture-in-picture video. The Surface Pro 11 uses its fast Neural Processing Unit for Copilot+ PC AI features, while the MacBook Air’s fast Neural Engine doesn’t have quite as much use today. AI features are evolving, though, so that’s probably not a reason to choose on over the other.

Performance

The Surface Pro 11 uses either the 10-core Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus or the 12-core Snapdragon X Elite chipsets, which are aimed at combing faster performance with higher efficiency than we’ve seen from past generations of Windows laptops. Graphics are powered by the Adreno integrated GPU. The MacBook Air 13 has Apple’s latest M4 chipset, with 10 CPU cores and eight or 10 GPU cores. Apple Silicon has always been about both performance and efficiency.

In our benchmarks, the MacBook Air 13 is the faster laptop, both in multi-core processing and in single-core processing, where it’s a lot faster. For typical productivity tasks, even the most demanding, the MacBook Air will be a lot more responsive. Neither is a gaming laptop, but the MacBook Air also benefits from various CPU optimizations that make it faster for moderate creative tasks as well, such as video editing.

Display and audio

The MacBook Air has a 13.6-inch 16:10 2560 x 1664 IPS display that’s very bright, has wide and accurate colors, and very good contrast for the technology. The Surface Pro 11 comes with two display options, both 13.0-inch 3:2 at 2880 x 1920, one IPS and one OLED. We tested the OLED version, and it, too, is bright with wide and even more accurate colors. It has OLED’s usual inky blacks, though, which gives it an edge.

Both displays are very good and will please the vast majority of users. The Surface Pro’s OLED panel will use more power, which is its primary downside.

The MacBook Air has a four-speaker audio system with force-cancelling woofers. It’s probably the best sound system on a 13-inch (or 14-inch) laptop, with plenty of volume, clear mids and highs, and surprising bass. The Surface Pro 11’s dual, side-firing speakers are just okay by comparison.

Portability

As mentioned above, these are two eminently portable laptops that still provide great performance when using “real” PC operating systems. You’ll barely notice that you’re carrying them around.

Both laptops get better great battery life, but the MacBook Air’s is better. It’s likely that the IPS version of the Surface Pro 11 will be more comparable. You’ll get more than a full day’s work out of both machines.

Want a tablet, get the Surface Pro 11, but otherwise, the MacBook Air is for you

There’s a reason why I gave the MacBook Air (M4) a perfect score. It’s the best small laptop ever made, in my opinion, with a sublime build, great performance, and awesome battery life. The keyboard and touchpad are the best you can buy, and the display is great for every use.

At the same time, the Surface Pro 11 is the best 2-in-1 ever made. It’s not as great as a laptop as the MacBook Air, but it’s also a decent tablet. So, if that’s what you want, buy the Surface. But everyone else should just buy the MacBook Air and be done with it.