Versus Engine
Apple MacBook Air (M5) vs Surface Laptop Ultra
Specs, price and the one trade-off that actually decides it — Apple MacBook Air (M5) against Surface Laptop Ultra, side by side.
Cheaper to start
Tie
Both start at a similar price.
Rated higher
Apple MacBook Air (M5)
9.6 vs 0.0 on our design scale.
Standout
Apple MacBook Air (M5)
Completely silent under normal load
Apple MacBook Air (M5)
The fanless efficiency benchmark: desktop-class work in a silent chassis, from $1,099.
Where it wins, where it doesn't
Pros
- Completely silent under normal load
- Battery life that removes charger anxiety
- Very light for the performance on offer
Cons
- Throttles under sustained load — no fan to shed heat
- Not suitable for serious local model inference
- Memory and storage fixed at purchase
Specifications
- DisplayLiquid Retina display 13.6-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology; 2 2560-by-1664 native resolution at 224 pixels per inch 500 nits brightness Color Support for 1 billion colors Wide color (P3) True Tone technology
- keyboardBacklit Magic Keyboard with: 78 (ANSI) or 79 (ISO) keys including 12 full-height function keys, Touch ID, Ambient light sensor
- Storage512GB 512GB SSD Configurable to: 1TB, 2TB, or 4TB
- Accessibility—
- Audio—
- audio_playbackSupported formats include AAC, MP3, Apple Lossless, FLAC, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, and Dolby Atmos
- Battery and PowerUp to 18 hours video streaming Up to 15 hours wireless web Built-in 53.8-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery 40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W Max USB-C to MagSafe 3 Cable (2 m) Fast-charge capable with 70W or higher USB PD power source
- battery_life_video_streamingUp to 18 hours video streaming
- battery_life_wireless_webUp to 15 hours wireless web
- battery_typeBuilt-in 53.8-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery
- Brightness—
- Camera & video—
- Cameras—
- Charging and ExpansionMagSafe 3 charging port 3.5 mm headphone jack Two Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports with support for: Charging DisplayPort Thunderbolt 4 (up to 40Gb/s) USB 4 (up to 40Gb/s) MagSafe 3 3.5 mm headphone jack Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) External Display Support Supports up to two external displays: Two displays up to a native resolution of 6K at 60Hz or 4K at 144Hz
- charging_portsMagSafe 3 charging port, Two Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports
- ChipApple M5 chip 10-core CPU with 4 super cores and 6 efficiency cores 10-core GPU Neural Accelerators Hardware-accelerated ray tracing 16-core Neural Engine 153GB/s memory bandwidth Media Engine Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAW Video decode engine Video encode engine ProRes encode and decode engine AV1 decode
- configurable_memory24GB or 32GB
- configurable_storage1TB, 2TB, or 4TB
- cpu_cores10-core CPU with 4 super cores and 6 efficiency cores
- display_brightness500 nits brightness
- display_colorSupport for 1 billion colors, Wide color (P3), True Tone technology
- display_size13.6-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology; 2 2560-by-1664 native resolution at 224 pixels per inch
- expansion_ports3.5 mm headphone jack
- external_display_supportSupports up to two external displays: Two displays up to a native resolution of 6K at 60Hz or 4K at 144Hz, One display up to a native resolution of 8K at 60Hz or 5K at 120Hz or 4K at 240Hz
- Firmware—
- Graphics—
- media_engineHardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAW
- Memory16GB 16GB unified memory Configurable to: 24GB or 32GB
- Memory and storage—
- memory_bandwidth153GB/s memory bandwidth
- Network—
- Network and connectivity—
- neural_accelerators16-core Neural Engine
- NPU—
- Ports—
- Ports and charging—
- Power supply—
- power_adapter40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W Max
- Security—
- Sensors—
- Serviceability—
- Size and weight—
- Software—
- Sustainability—
- Unified memory—
- video_playbackSupported formats include HEVC, H.264, AV1, and ProRes, HDR with Dolby Vision, HDR10+/HDR10, and HLG
- Weight—
Surface Laptop Ultra
15-inch PixelSense Ultra display laptop with high-end NVIDIA RTX Spark GPU and up to 12 hours of battery life
Where it wins, where it doesn't
Pros
- High-end NVIDIA RTX Spark GPU for superior graphics performance
- 15-inch PixelSense Ultra display with up to 2000 nits peak luminance
Cons
- Heavy at 4.41 lbs, limiting portability
- Expensive with high-end configurations
Specifications
- Display15-inch 3 PixelSense™ Ultra display
- keyboardQWERTY keyboard with full row of function keys (F1-F12) Windows key and dedicated buttons for media controls and screen brightness Automatic LED keyboard backlight Copilot key Precision haptic touchpad
- StorageRemovable solid-state drive (Gen 4 SSD): 512 GB, Removable solid-state drive (Gen 5 SSD): 1 TB, 2 TB
- AccessibilitySurface precision haptic touchpad with adaptive touch mode Compatible with Surface Adaptive Kit Compatible with Microsoft adaptive accessories Windows accessibility features
- AudioDual Studio Mics Quad Omnisonic™ speakers with Dolby Atmos™ Bluetooth™ LE Audio support
- audio_playback—
- Battery and Power—
- battery_life_video_streaming—
- battery_life_wireless_web—
- battery_type—
- BrightnessSDR: 1000 nits maximum (typical), HDR: 2000 nits peak luminance
- Camera & video1080p Full HD camera
- CamerasFull HD front-facing Surface Studio Camera 1080p Full HD camera Windows Hello face authentication camera with Enhanced Sign-in Security
- Charging and Expansion—
- charging_ports—
- Chip—
- configurable_memory—
- configurable_storage—
- cpu_cores—
- display_brightness—
- display_color—
- display_size—
- expansion_ports—
- external_display_support—
- FirmwareSurface UEFI built with Patina and Project Mu open-source components available through the Open Device Partnership (ODP) Firmware built with Secured Embedded Controller project open-source components available through ODP Updated through Windows Update
- GraphicsNVIDIA Blackwell RTX 5120-core GPU, NVIDIA Blackwell RTX 6144-core GPU
- media_engine—
- Memory—
- Memory and storageMemory: 24GB, 32GB, 48GB, 64GB, or 128GB LPDDR5x unified memory Storage: Removable 512GB Gen 4 solid-state drive; removable 1TB or 2TB Gen 5 solid-state drive
- memory_bandwidth—
- NetworkWi-Fi 7
- Network and connectivityWi-Fi 7 Bluetooth™ Core 5.4
- neural_accelerators—
- NPUNVIDIA NPU
- Ports2 x USB-C / USB4, 1 x USB-C / USB4 with Magnetic Connect, HDMI 2.1, USB-A 3.1, SD card reader, 3.5 mm headphone jack
- Ports and charging2 × USB-C™ / USB4™ ports 1 × USB-C™ / USB4™ port with Magnetic Connect All USB-C™ ports support 140W charging, 40 Gbps data transfer, and DisplayPort 2.1 with support for up to three 4K monitors at 60 Hz Fast charging with a minimum 115W Surface Power Supply or minimum 115W USB-C™ PD charger HDMI 2.1b USB-A 3.1 SD card reader 3.5 mm headphone jack
- Power supplyPower supply unit included
- power_adapter—
- SecurityWindows 11 Secured-core PC Enterprise-grade security with TPM 2.0 and BitLocker support Windows Hello facial recognition with Enhanced Sign-in Security Memory-safe Secured Embedded Controller built with open-source ODP code
- SensorsAmbient color sensor Accelerometer Gyroscope
- ServiceabilityReplaceable components include display assembly (including camera), keyboard assembly, touchpad, removable solid-state drive, battery, motherboard (including main processor and main memory), fan, speakers, enclosure, audio jack, USB Magnetic Connect port, USB-C™ ports, USB-A port, feet, screw kit, and device entry kit.
- Size and weightLength: 12.95 inches (328.8 mm) Width: 9.40 inches (238.7 mm) Height without feet: 0.71 inches (17.99 mm) Height with feet: 0.75 inches (19.16 mm) Weight: 4.41 lbs (2.0 kg)
- SoftwareWindows 11 Pro Preloaded Microsoft 365 Apps Microsoft 365 Business Standard, Microsoft 365 Business Premium, or Microsoft 365 Apps 30-day trial
- SustainabilityENERGY STAR™ certified 66% recycled content in the enclosure, including 100% recycled aluminum alloy and 100% recycled rare earth metals 100% recycled cobalt in the battery cell 100% recycled tin in solder 100% recycled gold in the motherboard 100% recycled copper in the motherboard 87% recycled content in wood-based fiber commercial packaging
- Unified memory24 GB, 32 GB, 48 GB, 64 GB, 128 GB LPDDR5x unified memory
- video_playback—
- Weight4.41 lbs (2.0 kg)