Are you looking for a new laptop that can handle your everyday tasks with style and ease? If so, you might be interested in two of the most popular thin and light laptops on the market: the Surface Laptop Go 2 and the MacBook Air. Both laptops are designed to offer portability, performance, and productivity, but they also have some differences that might make one more suitable for your needs than the other. In this article, I will compare the Surface Laptop Go 2 and the MacBook Air in terms of design, performance, battery life, display, keyboard, touchpad, ports, webcam, speakers, software, and price. By the end of this article, you should have a clear idea of which laptop is better for you. Let’s get started!
Design
The Surface Laptop Go 2 and the MacBook Air have similar dimensions and weights. The Surface Laptop Go 2 measures 10.95 x 8.1 x 0.62 inches and weighs 2.45 pounds, while the MacBook Air measures 11.97 x 8.36 x 0.63 inches and weighs 2.8 pounds. Both laptops are easy to carry around and fit in most backpacks or bags.
The Surface Laptop Go 2 has a sleek and elegant design with a metal lid and a plastic base. It comes in three colors: platinum, sandstone, and ice blue. The MacBook Air has a minimalist and iconic design with an all-aluminum chassis. It comes in four colors: silver, space gray, gold, and rose gold.
The Surface Laptop Go 2 has a unique feature that the MacBook Air lacks: a touchscreen. The touchscreen allows you to interact with the laptop in a more intuitive and natural way, using gestures, taps, swipes, and pen input. The touchscreen also supports Windows Hello facial recognition, which lets you unlock the laptop with your face. The MacBook Air does not have a touchscreen, but it has a Touch ID fingerprint sensor on the keyboard that also lets you unlock the laptop with your finger.
Performance
The Surface Laptop Go 2 and the MacBook Air have different processors that affect their performance. The Surface Laptop Go 2 has an Intel Core i5-1035G1 processor with four cores and eight threads. It has a base clock speed of 1 GHz and a boost clock speed of 3.6 GHz. The MacBook Air has an Apple M1 processor with eight cores and eight threads. It has a base clock speed of 3.2 GHz and a boost clock speed of 3.8 GHz.
The Apple M1 processor is more powerful and efficient than the Intel Core i5-1035G1 processor. It delivers faster performance in both single-core and multi-core tasks, such as web browsing, video editing, gaming, and multitasking. It also consumes less power and generates less heat than the Intel processor.
The Surface Laptop Go 2 and the MacBook Air have different memory and storage options as well. The Surface Laptop Go 2 has either 4 GB or 8 GB of LPDDR4x RAM and either 64 GB of eMMC storage or 128 GB or 256 GB of SSD storage. The MacBook Air has either 8 GB or 16 GB of unified memory (which combines RAM and VRAM) and either 256 GB or 512 GB or 1 TB or 2 TB of SSD storage.
The MacBook Air has more memory and storage options than the Surface Laptop Go 2. It also has faster memory and storage than the Surface Laptop Go 2. The unified memory allows the Apple M1 processor to access both RAM and VRAM at the same time, which improves performance in graphics-intensive tasks. The SSD storage on the MacBook Air is faster than both the eMMC storage and the SSD storage on the Surface Laptop Go 2.
Battery life
The Surface Laptop Go 2 and the MacBook Air have different battery capacities and battery life ratings. The Surface Laptop Go 2 has a 39 Wh battery that can last up to 13 hours of typical device usage. The MacBook Air has a 49.9 Wh battery that can last up to 18 hours of wireless web browsing or up to 15 hours of video playback.
The MacBook Air has a longer battery life than the Surface Laptop Go 2. It can last for a whole day of work or play without needing to plug in. The Surface Laptop Go 2 can also last for a long time on a single charge, but it might need to be recharged sooner than the MacBook Air depending on your usage.
Display
The Surface Laptop Go 2 and the MacBook Air have different display sizes and resolutions. The Surface Laptop Go 2 has a 12.4-inch PixelSense touchscreen display with a resolution of 1536 x 1024 pixels and a pixel density of 148 ppi. The MacBook Air has a 13.3-inch Retina display with a resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels and a pixel density of 227 ppi.
The MacBook Air has a larger and sharper display than the Surface Laptop Go 2. It also has a higher contrast ratio, wider color gamut, and brighter brightness than the Surface Laptop Go 2 . The MacBook Air’s display supports True Tone technology, which adjusts the color temperature of the screen according to the ambient light. The Surface Laptop Go 2’s display supports Dolby Audio Premium, which enhances the sound quality of the speakers.
Keyboard
The Surface Laptop Go 2 and the MacBook Air have different keyboard layouts and key travel. The Surface Laptop Go 2 has a chiclet-style keyboard with island keys that have a key travel of 1.3 mm. The MacBook Air has a scissor-switch keyboard with butterfly keys that have a key travel of 1 mm.
The Surface Laptop Go 2 and the MacBook Air have similar keyboard quality and comfort. Both keyboards are responsive, quiet, and backlit. However, some users might prefer the slightly deeper key travel of the Surface Laptop Go 2, while others might prefer the slightly thinner and lighter keys of the MacBook Air.
Touchpad
The Surface Laptop Go 2 and the MacBook Air have different touchpad sizes and features. The Surface Laptop Go 2 has a glass touchpad that measures 4.1 x 2.8 inches. The MacBook Air has a Force Touch trackpad that measures 4.7 x 3.3 inches.
The MacBook Air has a larger and more advanced touchpad than the Surface Laptop Go 2. It also has more gestures and features than the Surface Laptop Go 2. The Force Touch trackpad on the MacBook Air can detect different levels of pressure and provide haptic feedback, which allows you to perform actions such as previewing files, editing documents, or zooming in on maps. The glass touchpad on the Surface Laptop Go 2 can perform basic gestures such as scrolling, zooming, or switching apps.
Ports
The Surface Laptop Go 2 and the MacBook Air have different port selections and connectivity options. The Surface Laptop Go 2 has one USB-C port, one USB-A port, one headphone jack, and one Surface Connect port. The MacBook Air has two Thunderbolt 4 ports (which also support USB-C) and one headphone jack.
The MacBook Air has fewer ports than the Surface Laptop Go 2, but they are more versatile and powerful. The Thunderbolt 4 ports on the MacBook Air can support data transfer speeds up to 40 Gbps, charging up to 100 W, video output up to two 6K displays or four 4K displays, and external devices such as eGPUs, SSDs, or docks. The USB-C port on the Surface Laptop Go 2 can support data transfer speeds up to 10 Gbps, charging up to 60 W, video output up to one 4K display, and external devices such as monitors, keyboards, or mice. The USB-A port on the Surface Laptop Go 2 can support data transfer speeds up to 5 Gbps and external devices such as flash drives, printers, or scanners. The Surface Connect port on the Surface Laptop Go 2 can support charging up to 65 W and docking stations such as the Surface Dock or the Surface Dock2.
The Surface Dock 2 can support data transfer speeds up to 15 Gbps, charging up to 199 W, video output up to two 4K displays or one 5K display, and external devices such as eGPUs, SSDs, or docks.
The Surface Laptop Go 2 and the MacBook Air also have different wireless connectivity options. The Surface Laptop Go 2 has Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0, while the MacBook Air has Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1. Both laptops have fast and reliable wireless connections, but the MacBook Air has a slight edge with its newer Bluetooth version.
Webcam
The Surface Laptop Go 2 and the MacBook Air have different webcam resolutions and quality. The Surface Laptop Go 2 has a 720p HD webcam that supports Windows Hello facial recognition. The MacBook Air has a 720p HD webcam that supports FaceTime HD video calls.
The Surface Laptop Go 2 and the MacBook Air have similar webcam resolutions and quality. Both webcams can capture decent images and videos in good lighting conditions, but they might struggle in low-light or noisy environments. The Surface Laptop Go 2’s webcam has an advantage with its Windows Hello feature, which allows you to unlock the laptop with your face. The MacBook Air’s webcam has an advantage with its FaceTime HD feature, which allows you to make high-quality video calls with other Apple devices.
Speakers
The Surface Laptop Go 2 and the MacBook Air have different speaker configurations and sound quality. The Surface Laptop Go 2 has two omnidirectional speakers that are located under the keyboard. The MacBook Air has two stereo speakers that are located on both sides of the keyboard.
The MacBook Air has better speakers than the Surface Laptop Go 2. It also has a wider soundstage, richer bass, clearer vocals, and louder volume than the Surface Laptop Go 2. The MacBook Air’s speakers support Dolby Atmos, which creates a surround sound effect that enhances the audio experience. The Surface Laptop Go 2’s speakers support Dolby Audio Premium, which improves the sound quality of the speakers.
Software
The Surface Laptop Go 2 and the MacBook Air have different operating systems and software ecosystems. The Surface Laptop Go 2 runs on Windows 11 Home, while the MacBook Air runs on macOS Big Sur.
The Surface Laptop Go 2 and the MacBook Air have different advantages and disadvantages when it comes to software. The Surface Laptop Go 2 has more compatibility with various software applications, especially games and legacy programs that are designed for Windows. It also has more customization options and settings that allow you to tweak your laptop to your liking. However, the Surface Laptop Go 2 also has more security risks and bugs that might affect your laptop’s performance and stability.
The MacBook Air has more stability and security with its operating system, which is optimized for the Apple M1 processor and integrated with other Apple devices and services. It also has more exclusive software applications, such as iMovie, GarageBand, Pages, Numbers, Keynote, Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, and more. However, the MacBook Air also has less compatibility with some software applications, especially games and programs that are designed for Windows or Intel processors.
Price
The Surface Laptop Go 2 and the MacBook Air have different price ranges depending on their configurations. The Surface Laptop Go 2 starts at $549 for the base model with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of eMMC storage and goes up to $899 for the top model with 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of SSD storage. The MacBook Air starts at $999 for the base model with 8 GB of unified memory and 256 GB of SSD storage and goes up to $1,949 for the top model with 16 GB of unified memory and 2 TB of SSD storage.
The Surface Laptop Go 2 is cheaper than the MacBook Air for most configurations. However, it also offers less performance, battery life, display quality, memory, storage, ports, speakers, and software than the MacBook Air for most configurations. The MacBook Air is more expensive than the Surface Laptop Go 2 for most configurations. However, it also offers more performance, battery life, display quality, memory, storage, ports, speakers, and software than the Surface Laptop Go 2 for most configurations.
Conclusion
The Surface Laptop Go 2 and the MacBook Air are both excellent laptops that can suit different needs and preferences. The Surface Laptop Go 2 is a good choice if you want a touchscreen laptop that is affordable, portable, compatible, and customizable. The MacBook Air is a good choice if you want a powerful laptop that is durable, efficient, sharp, versatile, and secure.
Ultimately, the best laptop for you depends on your budget, usage scenario, and personal taste. You should consider all the factors mentioned above before making your decision.
I hope this article helped you compare the Surface Laptop Go 2 and the MacBook Air. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave them below. I would love to hear your feedback and opinions.
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