I tried to switch the other way around... from Windows to Mac. I got sucked into the Hype on the M1 processor. I'm a hardware junkie! I returned the Macbook because I found myself going back to my Windows machine to do the things that I loved to do... Took me hours to lookup the services and solutions that I wanted to run on the Mac, that were just part of my everyday usage in Windows. Maybe I'm the odd one. Maybe I didn't really give Mac OS a try, but at the end of the day, no touch screen, the 3:2 aspect ratio, the Win32/64 ecosystem, and the gaming (can anyone say XBOX Game Pass) just couldn't get me to switch. I'm sure I'll get haters out there. But Trust me I really wanted to enjoy the M1. I LOVED the hardware. It was premium. It was fast. But at the end of the day, I kept using my Surface Laptop 3 15" more than I did my M1
@@kevlarian I’ve had Windows PC since I was 5. Now I’m 25. We had only Windows PCs in our school and university and now where I work. I’ve never seen iMacs and MacBooks outside the Apple Store. I’m an iPhone user and a bit of an Apple fan but Macs and macOS but never appealed to me. On the other hand Windows 11 and Android 12 are looking more appealing with fresh new UI. I might switch to Pixel for smartphone and Surface for laptop someday. It just looks more fun.
I want control over my hardware again. That and the sheer amount of choice you have for Windows is staggering. You can go from a USB computer stick all the way up to bleeding edge tech. As someone who currently has a M1 Mini, I'm worried about how Apple could lock me out of upgrading to future versions of macOS (I have a 2010 Cheese grater Mac Pro that runs Big Sur) and could more easily not allow me to install a replacement OS like Linux.
I am a Windows (Surface Laptop) user, and I really love the 3:2 aspect ratio, as a matter of fact, now even a 16:10 ratio seems so limiting. I purchased a M1 Macbook Air to give it a shot, and returned it. 1) Nothing compelling about the OS that made me want to use MacOS. Apps that I use, didn't exist, or required some 'hoops' to get installed. Gaming on Mac OS is no where near the gaming/services available to the Windows Eco system. Touch screen to me has become so natural. I reach out to swipe, scroll, open and close things so naturally. Reaching out to highlight text, drag and drop. Pinch and zoom. it all becomes so natural to me. It's amazing.
The best keyboard I've ever owned! I love the feel of the Alcantara while typing. Working remotely most of the day, no work laptop compares to the Surface keyboard.
Really well constructed and presented comparison, I love it! I had been looking at getting the surface laptop over the macbook air because I'm already familiar with windows, and there are some productivity features in windows and design elements in the surface that I prefer over the macbook and macos. However I would love to experience macos in more depth to open up some more laptop options for me in the future.
I put Windows 11 final version on my Surface laptop 4 and I am loving it now. While others have commented that it is a reskinned Windows 10 and I agree, it also feels snappier and more smooth like mac os (I also have a 16" macbook pro). The trackpad gestures and windows hello lock screen is much nicer now. I am guessing in a few months with the updates it will be much better as well. Great video btw !
Well while there's still stuff to do on the surface Microsoft put a lot of work on some stuff under the hood. I also heard from some Laptop and some Surface users that Windows 11 is a bit faster, it looks smoother. But that's just experience from people I know
I'm an engineer, I use corned, Rockwell, Siemens, SMC, eplan, I have to run parallels to run any of these natively on a Mac, this kills the Mac battery and can cause issue with singles and interface cables. The Mac has always been a nice looking machine, but I always just went to a high spec laptop for the same price, often cheaper. This means I'm Microsoft's happy bitch. The thing I find with all these reviews is they are by content creators who naturally forget this.
I use the Laptop 4. The touchscreen, 3:2 screen format, Surface Pen capability and keyboard is why I'm still using the Laptop 4. I used the Pro7+ before but I'm not a fan of the tablet form factor. As for Macbook, I'll consider it if they have touchscreen and can use Apple Pencil.
I am fun of mac os and macbook m1 but I think that windows are faster in some cases. For example word and excel open immediately in windows. On the other hand Pages takes some seconds to open (Big Sur - Macbook Air m1). The boot time is longer and there are other apps that load faster in windows.
Although you're not unbiased I'm happy you addressed your biases. And it's impossible to be completely unbiased and hearing you explain yours also showed me that they're important because they could be real issues for people even if they're not issues i would personally encounter.
I have a surface Pro which I rarely use, partly because with Windows, there is a quiet hum of virus and malware anxiety also the awareness of being tracked. This is coming from a Microsoft Certified Professional on Infrastructure and other technical areas. Since I am now a heavy iOS user, I am spoiled by its features and have developed an annoyance with traditional computer. It lacks easy access to word looks up, dictations of words that I have difficulty spelling (don’t laugh) and how the touch screen works on iOS systems. I tend to use my M1 iPad and iPhone as my main devices and only go to MacOS and Windows if and only if the task requires it. Saying so, we all know iOS isn’t perfect. I do hit some stone walls, but those issues are less frequent as time goes on. With iOS 15, it makes the experience even better. I think both M1 Mac and Microsoft Surface are pretty good machines. They are even equivalence, but it just depends on your use case and your preferred OS.
Personally I've tried Windows 11 preview build and I have to say even though they have some improvements here and there. But until Android apps support is here, it is still Windows 10 with an updated UI. Everything we hate are still there and everything we love...well some of them are not there. I love live tiles on Windows 10, they save a lot of time and besides, they look good! On the other hand, start menu on Window 11 looks good but in terms of feature I think it's a huge step back. So my experience prediction is they are most like to be the same.
I really don't need a touch screen but I love that it's there for convenience. I know MBA smooth and powerful and battery awesome. But ports! I don't want to carry a dongle and more restrictions... Rating 94 MBA but 96 to the surface laptop 4.so close
iMac , MacBook Pro , IPhone 13pro , ipad 12.9 pro . Fully integrated Apple ….not a cat in hells chance of integrating like that in the world of windows .
There is a way to make the screen look more vibrant by setting the color profile to Enhanced in display setting & by setting the power mode to either Better or Best Performance in power settings
Hi Mark. Love the channel because you don't go so deep into the weeds of the technology that you lose most of us. One thing you didn't compare between the two laptops with the trackpad experience. Did you find that Windows has improved their trackpad experience? I'll be honest it's one of the things I love most about Mac books. The trackpad experience is superior.
I prefer MacBooks for now but I'll say this, a "2-in-1 laptop running Windows 11" makes a better PC than using the 12" iPad with keyboard as a laptop. Looking forward to you trying out the new Surface Pro 8 with W11, Mark!
Got my hands on the Surface Laptop 4 13" with Ryzen 5. Not very impressed. Screen is ok not great. Keyboard good but that flex...performance unplugged is not good but if you only use it for productivity then it's a good choice. Email, word, Web browsing, Netflix...but the fan kicked off a few times for no reason. And the touch screen is a bit useless as you can't draw on it since it's too woobly. Returning it for a surface pro 8.
I use Parallels to run Windows 11 ARM for the apps I need to run in Windows. For me, this is the best solution of all. This allowed me to redistribute my Dell XPS 13 to someone else in our Company. I just didn’t use it enough…
I'm looking forward to your return with Windows 11 on the Surface Laptop 4. I have the same base model as you. Although I love Windows 11 for its look and organization, the performance seems laggier compared to Windows 10. Would love to see whether other people are having the same issue or not.
After seeing windows 11 (Windows Me for Win10) and dealing with intel heating issues, and battery dranage, you will return you surface and go back to M1 Chip macbook air. I have been using windows most of my life, after today and windows 11 experience, I'm divorcing MS and Intel.
Fair review, mate! I'm excited for the M1X MacBook Pro 16" and iPhone 14 Pro Max, which may bring me back to the Apple ecosystem, which I left after the iPhone 7 Plus. (And yes, I love Windows 11. It (Beta preview) works great on my XPS 9500. Such a nice change!
but how is the performance when using pro apps like Lightroom and photoshop with the surface laptop. windows laptops traditionally require high specs to run pro apps smoothly
I’m convinced that my iPad Pro 2021 with the magic keyboard (2 TB and office suite) is a “disguised laptop”…a very pricey “disguised laptop” that is… LOL 😂
Outstanding review as always, Mark. I look forward to the "post-Windows 11" comparison of these two excellent laptops. I'm running Win 11 on my Yoga 6 laptop (I'm in the Insider program) and it is indeed very nice. I like your videos, so I've subscribed!
Thanks Mark for another great video, love your down to earth reviews. Microsoft has made a very nice Surface laptop that looks great, but I will probably never get used to a touchscreen on my laptop. I simply hate stains on my laptop screen. As soon as I use my iPad Pro 12.9 with the Magic keyboard I immediately stop using the touchscreen.
Actually Apple is stiving to be where Microsoft is right now - one operating system that will run on any hardware platform - desktop, laptop, 2 in 1, tablet, and now they have the duo phone. Someday Apple will catch up.
I'm curious why you say that. I can do everything I can do with a Mac using the trackpad. 1, 2, 3, 4, and even 5 finger gestures and swipes all work on Windows. I'm curious what is more natural in MacOS. I am a Windows user, but recently purchased a M1 Mac Book Air, ultimately I returned it because I just couldn't run the apps and services that I was used to running on MacOS. Did I enjoy MacOS. Yes. But I didn't find anything compelling about the OS that would justify losing the things that I use... And honestly, the touchscreen features of Windows are very compelling to me, and MacOS doesn't support that (nor will they, because they are trying to isolate the iPad from the MacBook). Touchscreen is amazing once you start using it.
LoL I watch these MacBook Air or Surface videos all the time. Yet I do all my school work and everyday tasks on my Lenovo V14 running Ubuntu. I just can’t seem to bring myself to spend $1,000.
i have a macbook but im tempted to switch to this surface, do you think it will be a hard transition in terms of icloud and connectivity with my iphone and ipad?
Dude, you're supposed to upload a video about the 13 mini. You said you went into a hike or something with it and would share the experience. Where is it? Consistency is key!
@@MarkEllisReviews Thanks. I wanted your experience about the battery, but it doesn't help much since you said you used it on low power mode. Have you tried using it normally?
Dude, I've tried both of these laptops. They're no noticeable difference in physical quality when you get the aluminum version... I would argue that the keyboard on the surface is better but the touch pad is a tie. That being said that M1 processor is a BEAST and is one of the main reasons to buy one.
It feels as though this turned into a Windows vs MacOS video rather than hardware vs hardware. I would’ve approached it in the sense of… If I could natively run MacOS on the Surface 4, would I choose it over the MacBook Air solely based on the hardware? With that said, I get it. I love my M1 MacBook Air, but I often use my Lenovo Yoga C930 because I prefer using MS Office apps in their native OS. I do love the Lenovo keyboards, so that’s a perk, but my Lenovo has yet to live up to the mfg’s battery claims. I’m lucky to get 2 hours from a charge. I’m looking forward to seeing if Microsoft finally fully modernizes Windows with Windows 11. I thinks Windows’ biggest challenge is that so many enterprises rely on software that requires prehistoric Windows architecture that it makes modernization of the OS difficult without alienating its corporate fan base. Maybe if software developers would just modernize their software to keep up with the times, this would be easier? 🤷♂️
That's a fair point, although I think it inevitably swings that way, which speaks highly of hardware like the Surface Laptop 4. My Ulysses gripe is also pretty niche, but.. well, that's just me 😂
I really don't get the touch screen on a laptop. I tried using one and what I end up doing was: 1. Powering off the laptop 3-4 times per day because I needed to clean it because of the fingerprints. 2. my arm was gonna fell. It is not intended for extended time. You need to support your arm and rest your elbow on the desk, which is worse since you have to move your whole body back and forth. And I am not sure it is faster since it takes actually more time to move your hand to touch the screen than moving the pointer. There are probably a few cases that touch screen could make more sense but I am not sure I belong to these. 3. doing the same thing with an iPad and the keyboard with the track pad, I had the same results. It is much faster and convenient to not raise your hand constantly to touch the iPad screen and just use the trackpad. I don't know, maybe I am this kind of people..? hmm
It's the OS that negates all of the hardware shortcomings; Windows is workable, but there's something to the MacOS that makes it more of a pleasure to use in comparison. A slightly nicer keyboard and other minor hardware things won't negate the OS for me. Also: Windows (I recently finished five years of using it at work; now I'm back on the Mac at work although I've always had it at home), while I understand keeping an eye on it in the event it becomes better than the Mac, it had never been more of a pleasure to use in my opinion. I'm not looking for reasons to switch, and Apple, while not perfect, really is more refined in the OS and hardware. The other side does do good things and has success in creating competing products, but overall, Apple is more consistent and has better innovation, build quality and OS. Not perfect, sometimes frustrating (Can't upgrade RAM in my 2014 Mini? WHY?) but since 1992, for me, the OS is just simpler, more logical to use. Cleaner. I wouldn't go for the everlasting clunkiness/clutter that Windows consistently displays (although when I used it, I was always able to get things done. It's just... generic at best). I never even consider moving to a Windows machine, even if the hardware looks good because of the OS. And if they did have success with their OS, they'd have to sustain that success and gain a reputation over time before I'd consider jumping ship. There really isn't anything wrong with being happy with Apple's OS and not seriously considering Windows, as there would have to be a compelling reason to switch, not just switching for sake of making a change. We're lucky to have an Apple option as if Apple wasn't around, we'd all be stuck with Windows and some minor OS's. I have work to do, switching for sake of doing so would be a huge mis-use of time. (That's my opinion!)
@@JohnnyZenith Windows 10 is very much a waste of time. I roll my eyes when I see what people commonly do on it. Quite exasperating when I have to work in a Windows only office.
An M1 Mac (or any Apple Silicon Laptops) can't run the same programs as the Surface. You might say this isn't an issue, there are alternatives, etc. But as a university student, I've had 3 different professors need to restructure their course to accommodate the incompatibility of Apple Silicon, and make the course much harder for Apple Silicon users simply because their devices couldn't do what everyone else's could (one of them even changed the course for everyone, making everything much more confusing).
Microsoft has to deliver a powerful enough surface with no fan. Nobody wants to pay 1500,- in 2022 to hear "wwwwwwwwwfffff" every 5 minutes. That's like the main reason why i consider switching to a macbook air.
Fun fact, the Surface Laptop 4 is a very quiet machine. Yes, it has a fan. But as someone who owns a Surface Laptop 4, I only hear the fan very rarely; whenever I game, or when I have the device plugged in and do something relatively intensive (such as running many many tabs, 8K videos, etc. When the device isn't plugged in, it is more quiet.) Compare this to my roommates' Dell, whose fan turns on during Startup and moderate Chrome usage, the Surface fan is very rare to hear (you do hear the fan more when you first set it up, though).
@@brlritzy yeah sure. i have a lenovo yoga that's mostly quiet with some settings tweaked and under minor load. But, i need it to be quiet (ie loudless) exactly when i need to concentrate and run demanding applications like davinci resolve, cubase or visual studio (code). The notebook being quiet when i do minor browser stuff is nice but not exactly my requirement. I just love how the macbook air or the mac mini solves this. There's just zero noise, no tweaking, no "but it's fine as long as i only run 4 tabs", no discussion, no nothing. It's just quiet. MS/Intel need to get there.
Do not buy this crap if you want to use a 2nd screen the display output signal is not reliable. The great suggestion from MS was to try a wireless display.
Windows 11 is not going to be much different. You'll still have 3 different settings windows, all in different designs, and you'll still have most of the legacy crap lurking around as well. I don't like to use the "on Mac, things just work" slogan, because it doesn't always, but on Windows a lot of stuff simply doesn't work/get's in your way/annoys the crap out of you/'surprises' you with completely weird inconsistencies and baffling decisions. I can't f*****g stand Windows anymore. And just like you, it just reminds me of crappy jobs I'd rather forget. MacOS gets out of your way. Windows wants to slap you in the face every minute.
I don't think I could bring myself to go back to Windows again. First, I agree that it feels like I'm at work when I use Windows but more importantly I despise Bill Gates but that's another topic entirely. Mark, I love your channel and I read your blog posts as well. Keep bringing the great content!
I always thought a touch screen on a laptop was a must and never considered buying one without it… until I used a friend’s MacBook Air. Somehow macbooks make a touch screen almost irrelevant because its trackpad is so amazing.
@@kevlarian I, agree and disagree, the latter in that the iPad and iPhone are optimized for touch, where as the mac isn't. The mac really cant do great touch and stay a mac (does anyone remember windows 8 which failed horribly to naively unify desktop and mobile touch device interface?). I feel the problem is that Apple is letting the perfect be the enemy of the good enough. I so don't want Apple to redesign the MacOS interface to enhance the touch experience in normal use, but touch ability would be excellent for cross platform apps and games that are already optimized for touch. Let the user use it where it makes sense and not use it where it doesn't.
Microsoft: - Why people don't like our hardware products as they Apple products do? I don't understand!!! 🤷♂ Also Microsoft: - 2:50 (constantly annoying farts) People: 🤦♂
Have you switched from macOS to Windows? If so... why?
I tried to switch the other way around... from Windows to Mac. I got sucked into the Hype on the M1 processor. I'm a hardware junkie! I returned the Macbook because I found myself going back to my Windows machine to do the things that I loved to do... Took me hours to lookup the services and solutions that I wanted to run on the Mac, that were just part of my everyday usage in Windows. Maybe I'm the odd one. Maybe I didn't really give Mac OS a try, but at the end of the day, no touch screen, the 3:2 aspect ratio, the Win32/64 ecosystem, and the gaming (can anyone say XBOX Game Pass) just couldn't get me to switch. I'm sure I'll get haters out there. But Trust me I really wanted to enjoy the M1. I LOVED the hardware. It was premium. It was fast. But at the end of the day, I kept using my Surface Laptop 3 15" more than I did my M1
@@kevlarian I’ve had Windows PC since I was 5. Now I’m 25. We had only Windows PCs in our school and university and now where I work. I’ve never seen iMacs and MacBooks outside the Apple Store.
I’m an iPhone user and a bit of an Apple fan but Macs and macOS but never appealed to me.
On the other hand Windows 11 and Android 12 are looking more appealing with fresh new UI. I might switch to Pixel for smartphone and Surface for laptop someday. It just looks more fun.
I want control over my hardware again. That and the sheer amount of choice you have for Windows is staggering. You can go from a USB computer stick all the way up to bleeding edge tech. As someone who currently has a M1 Mini, I'm worried about how Apple could lock me out of upgrading to future versions of macOS (I have a 2010 Cheese grater Mac Pro that runs Big Sur) and could more easily not allow me to install a replacement OS like Linux.
I started with macOS 3 days ago, now any recommendations on USB c hubs that won't kill my MacBook?
I switched from Windows to Mac nearly 10 years ago. In recent jobs I always demand my bosses I worked with to use Macs and they never regretted.
I am a Windows (Surface Laptop) user, and I really love the 3:2 aspect ratio, as a matter of fact, now even a 16:10 ratio seems so limiting. I purchased a M1 Macbook Air to give it a shot, and returned it. 1) Nothing compelling about the OS that made me want to use MacOS. Apps that I use, didn't exist, or required some 'hoops' to get installed. Gaming on Mac OS is no where near the gaming/services available to the Windows Eco system.
Touch screen to me has become so natural. I reach out to swipe, scroll, open and close things so naturally. Reaching out to highlight text, drag and drop. Pinch and zoom. it all becomes so natural to me. It's amazing.
Truth
you can install microsoft in macbook so it becomes 2 in 1
The best keyboard I've ever owned! I love the feel of the Alcantara while typing. Working remotely most of the day, no work laptop compares to the Surface keyboard.
Really well constructed and presented comparison, I love it! I had been looking at getting the surface laptop over the macbook air because I'm already familiar with windows, and there are some productivity features in windows and design elements in the surface that I prefer over the macbook and macos. However I would love to experience macos in more depth to open up some more laptop options for me in the future.
Thank you!
I put Windows 11 final version on my Surface laptop 4 and I am loving it now. While others have commented that it is a reskinned Windows 10 and I agree, it also feels snappier and more smooth like mac os (I also have a 16" macbook pro). The trackpad gestures and windows hello lock screen is much nicer now. I am guessing in a few months with the updates it will be much better as well. Great video btw !
Well while there's still stuff to do on the surface Microsoft put a lot of work on some stuff under the hood. I also heard from some Laptop and some Surface users that Windows 11 is a bit faster, it looks smoother. But that's just experience from people I know
I like your John Williams shirt. One of the greatest composers ever!
I'm an engineer, I use corned, Rockwell, Siemens, SMC, eplan, I have to run parallels to run any of these natively on a Mac, this kills the Mac battery and can cause issue with singles and interface cables. The Mac has always been a nice looking machine, but I always just went to a high spec laptop for the same price, often cheaper. This means I'm Microsoft's happy bitch. The thing I find with all these reviews is they are by content creators who naturally forget this.
I use the Laptop 4. The touchscreen, 3:2 screen format, Surface Pen capability and keyboard is why I'm still using the Laptop 4. I used the Pro7+ before but I'm not a fan of the tablet form factor. As for Macbook, I'll consider it if they have touchscreen and can use Apple Pencil.
I am fun of mac os and macbook m1 but I think that windows are faster in some cases. For example word and excel open immediately in windows. On the other hand Pages takes some seconds to open (Big Sur - Macbook Air m1). The boot time is longer and there are other apps that load faster in windows.
Although you're not unbiased I'm happy you addressed your biases. And it's impossible to be completely unbiased and hearing you explain yours also showed me that they're important because they could be real issues for people even if they're not issues i would personally encounter.
I think it’s important to admit when you were wrong or biased about something.
I have a surface Pro which I rarely use, partly because with Windows, there is a quiet hum of virus and malware anxiety also the awareness of being tracked. This is coming from a Microsoft Certified Professional on Infrastructure and other technical areas. Since I am now a heavy iOS user, I am spoiled by its features and have developed an annoyance with traditional computer. It lacks easy access to word looks up, dictations of words that I have difficulty spelling (don’t laugh) and how the touch screen works on iOS systems.
I tend to use my M1 iPad and iPhone as my main devices and only go to MacOS and Windows if and only if the task requires it.
Saying so, we all know iOS isn’t perfect. I do hit some stone walls, but those issues are less frequent as time goes on. With iOS 15, it makes the experience even better.
I think both M1 Mac and Microsoft Surface are pretty good machines. They are even equivalence, but it just depends on your use case and your preferred OS.
Personally I've tried Windows 11 preview build and I have to say even though they have some improvements here and there. But until Android apps support is here, it is still Windows 10 with an updated UI. Everything we hate are still there and everything we love...well some of them are not there. I love live tiles on Windows 10, they save a lot of time and besides, they look good! On the other hand, start menu on Window 11 looks good but in terms of feature I think it's a huge step back. So my experience prediction is they are most like to be the same.
Oh... I hope not 😕
I really don't need a touch screen but I love that it's there for convenience. I know MBA smooth and powerful and battery awesome. But ports! I don't want to carry a dongle and more restrictions... Rating 94 MBA but 96 to the surface laptop 4.so close
That annoying windows notif @ 2:50. 🤣🤣🤣
So annoying...
@@MarkEllisReviews You can mute it.
iMac , MacBook Pro , IPhone 13pro , ipad 12.9 pro . Fully integrated Apple ….not a cat in hells chance of integrating like that in the world of windows .
The M1 Macbook Air trackpad is superb. Best of the best. I hate to see fingerprints on my screen.
Agreed. I should have mentioned that, tbf.
@@MarkEllisReviews laptops should not have touchscreens period anybody says it should is an idiot cough
@@simply6162 But 2in1 s should, because you can make them to a tablet
Still waiting for gaming to arrive on MacBooks.
- A Zephyrus G14 user.
There is a way to make the screen look more vibrant by setting the color profile to Enhanced in display setting & by setting the power mode to either Better or Best Performance in power settings
I am interested in switching to windows as well. Do you suggest I wait on a Surface 5 or go ahead and get the 4?
The 4 is great, Sara - go for it!
9:47 it’s makes you go back to back to Deja Vu but all bad memories 😂
Hi Mark. Love the channel because you don't go so deep into the weeds of the technology that you lose most of us. One thing you didn't compare between the two laptops with the trackpad experience. Did you find that Windows has improved their trackpad experience? I'll be honest it's one of the things I love most about Mac books. The trackpad experience is superior.
I prefer MacBooks for now but I'll say this, a "2-in-1 laptop running Windows 11" makes a better PC than using the 12" iPad with keyboard as a laptop.
Looking forward to you trying out the new Surface Pro 8 with W11, Mark!
Microsoft surface laptop 4 base model is now $700 at Best Buy. Opened box excellent condition $615. I think that’s a good bargain
Word up Mark i think the issue of Windows has been addressed now in Windows 11 , it does feel more like the right OS for the Surface Laptop 3/4/5.
You might want to look at the new Surface laptop just released
Astonishingly good review as always! 😃
Wow, thanks!
Got my hands on the Surface Laptop 4 13" with Ryzen 5. Not very impressed. Screen is ok not great. Keyboard good but that flex...performance unplugged is not good but if you only use it for productivity then it's a good choice. Email, word, Web browsing, Netflix...but the fan kicked off a few times for no reason. And the touch screen is a bit useless as you can't draw on it since it's too woobly. Returning it for a surface pro 8.
I use Parallels to run Windows 11 ARM for the apps I need to run in Windows. For me, this is the best solution of all. This allowed me to redistribute my Dell XPS 13 to someone else in our Company. I just didn’t use it enough…
Excellent, fair review as always Mark. You didn’t comment on thetrackpad though? Didn’t matter to me as I rarely use one.
I'm looking forward to your return with Windows 11 on the Surface Laptop 4.
I have the same base model as you. Although I love Windows 11 for its look and organization, the performance seems laggier compared to Windows 10. Would love to see whether other people are having the same issue or not.
After seeing windows 11 (Windows Me for Win10) and dealing with intel heating issues, and battery dranage, you will return you surface and go back to M1 Chip macbook air. I have been using windows most of my life, after today and windows 11 experience, I'm divorcing MS and Intel.
Fair review, mate! I'm excited for the M1X MacBook Pro 16" and iPhone 14 Pro Max, which may bring me back to the Apple ecosystem, which I left after the iPhone 7 Plus. (And yes, I love Windows 11. It (Beta preview) works great on my XPS 9500. Such a nice change!
Have you tried scrivener for word processing? Sounds like it may be what you are looking for
but how is the performance when using pro apps like Lightroom and photoshop with the surface laptop. windows laptops traditionally require high specs to run pro apps smoothly
most reviewers consider keyboard flex a bad thing, don't they?
Probably. Nice to be different though, right?
@@MarkEllisReviews i dont know. if it works for you. but maybe its worth mentioning?
I’m convinced that my iPad Pro 2021 with the magic keyboard (2 TB and office suite) is a “disguised laptop”…a very pricey “disguised laptop” that is… LOL 😂
Hey Mark, what is the big silver DAC in the background?
Outstanding review as always, Mark. I look forward to the "post-Windows 11" comparison of these two excellent laptops. I'm running Win 11 on my Yoga 6 laptop (I'm in the Insider program) and it is indeed very nice. I like your videos, so I've subscribed!
Ulysees...hmm couldn't you use something like Notion instead?
Do you recommend using Linux rather paying for the paid software for mac and Windows
A very balanced review.
what is the writing app called
Thanks Mark for another great video, love your down to earth reviews. Microsoft has made a very nice Surface laptop that looks great, but I will probably never get used to a touchscreen on my laptop. I simply hate stains on my laptop screen. As soon as I use my iPad Pro 12.9 with the Magic keyboard I immediately stop using the touchscreen.
Actually Apple is stiving to be where Microsoft is right now - one operating system that will run on any hardware platform - desktop, laptop, 2 in 1, tablet, and now they have the duo phone. Someday Apple will catch up.
Duo runs Android. MS has a separate OS for ARM.
To be honest, MacOS with the trackpad is just a more natural and faster way to interact with the computer.
I'm curious why you say that. I can do everything I can do with a Mac using the trackpad. 1, 2, 3, 4, and even 5 finger gestures and swipes all work on Windows. I'm curious what is more natural in MacOS. I am a Windows user, but recently purchased a M1 Mac Book Air, ultimately I returned it because I just couldn't run the apps and services that I was used to running on MacOS. Did I enjoy MacOS. Yes. But I didn't find anything compelling about the OS that would justify losing the things that I use...
And honestly, the touchscreen features of Windows are very compelling to me, and MacOS doesn't support that (nor will they, because they are trying to isolate the iPad from the MacBook). Touchscreen is amazing once you start using it.
Have you looked at Scrivener?
LoL I watch these MacBook Air or Surface videos all the time. Yet I do all my school work and everyday tasks on my Lenovo V14 running Ubuntu. I just can’t seem to bring myself to spend $1,000.
Get a refurbished or open box hundreds off
i have a macbook but im tempted to switch to this surface, do you think it will be a hard transition in terms of icloud and connectivity with my iphone and ipad?
i have a 2017 macbook pro and lately i have run into some problems
Stick to Apple ecosystem
Dude, you're supposed to upload a video about the 13 mini. You said you went into a hike or something with it and would share the experience. Where is it? Consistency is key!
If only it were that simple ;) Have a read of this, mate: markellisreviews.com/iphone-13-mini-battery-the-1000ft-hike-test/
@@MarkEllisReviews Thanks. I wanted your experience about the battery, but it doesn't help much since you said you used it on low power mode. Have you tried using it normally?
@@pushfully2966 Gimme chance, mate ;)
no, not switching from mac to windows, bloody hell mate why should I go backwards.
It isn't going backwards in the slightest.
It is a killing point : quality is a slight below. I do not need any other words after that.
Dude, I've tried both of these laptops. They're no noticeable difference in physical quality when you get the aluminum version... I would argue that the keyboard on the surface is better but the touch pad is a tie. That being said that M1 processor is a BEAST and is one of the main reasons to buy one.
@@VincentGonz I use laptop mostly in a desktop mode, so screen and keyboard do not matter, but processor is a must.
if you closed the lid of the MacBook air like THAT - its screen will crack lol.
A pleasure to watch your videos.
Better build quality and OS with MacBooks IMO.
That means a lot - thank you!
It feels as though this turned into a Windows vs MacOS video rather than hardware vs hardware. I would’ve approached it in the sense of… If I could natively run MacOS on the Surface 4, would I choose it over the MacBook Air solely based on the hardware?
With that said, I get it. I love my M1 MacBook Air, but I often use my Lenovo Yoga C930 because I prefer using MS Office apps in their native OS. I do love the Lenovo keyboards, so that’s a perk, but my Lenovo has yet to live up to the mfg’s battery claims. I’m lucky to get 2 hours from a charge. I’m looking forward to seeing if Microsoft finally fully modernizes Windows with Windows 11. I thinks Windows’ biggest challenge is that so many enterprises rely on software that requires prehistoric Windows architecture that it makes modernization of the OS difficult without alienating its corporate fan base. Maybe if software developers would just modernize their software to keep up with the times, this would be easier? 🤷♂️
That's a fair point, although I think it inevitably swings that way, which speaks highly of hardware like the Surface Laptop 4. My Ulysses gripe is also pretty niche, but.. well, that's just me 😂
@@MarkEllisReviews You could probably point out to Ulysses that there’s a big niche to be filled on the Windows side.
Fair comparison. But I still bet my money on the M1 MacBook Air😀
What’s the problem of plugging a laptop? Intel MacBooks are the best, it runs Windows and OSX best invention ever.
Plus as an added bonus you can fry an egg on them. M1 is far superior. The heat from my Intel MBP fried two batteries
You sure about those 19 hours advertised for Surface4? Read that it's more like 11.
I am going in the other direction very soon, most of my other products are Apple so it only makes sense to have a Mac too.
Touch screen is the way! Get on board Apple
Hello
Which one should i take
Surface Laptop 4 (AMD ryzen 5, 8gb,256gb) or the
Asus zenbook-duo-ux481 (i5 1 0 gen, Intel HD 620,
8gb, 512gb)
I really don't get the touch screen on a laptop. I tried using one and what I end up doing was:
1. Powering off the laptop 3-4 times per day because I needed to clean it because of the fingerprints.
2. my arm was gonna fell. It is not intended for extended time. You need to support your arm and rest your elbow on the desk, which is worse since you have to move your whole body back and forth. And I am not sure it is faster since it takes actually more time to move your hand to touch the screen than moving the pointer. There are probably a few cases that touch screen could make more sense but I am not sure I belong to these.
3. doing the same thing with an iPad and the keyboard with the track pad, I had the same results. It is much faster and convenient to not raise your hand constantly to touch the iPad screen and just use the trackpad.
I don't know, maybe I am this kind of people..? hmm
It's the OS that negates all of the hardware shortcomings; Windows is workable, but there's something to the MacOS that makes it more of a pleasure to use in comparison. A slightly nicer keyboard and other minor hardware things won't negate the OS for me.
Also: Windows (I recently finished five years of using it at work; now I'm back on the Mac at work although I've always had it at home), while I understand keeping an eye on it in the event it becomes better than the Mac, it had never been more of a pleasure to use in my opinion. I'm not looking for reasons to switch, and Apple, while not perfect, really is more refined in the OS and hardware. The other side does do good things and has success in creating competing products, but overall, Apple is more consistent and has better innovation, build quality and OS. Not perfect, sometimes frustrating (Can't upgrade RAM in my 2014 Mini? WHY?) but since 1992, for me, the OS is just simpler, more logical to use. Cleaner. I wouldn't go for the everlasting clunkiness/clutter that Windows consistently displays (although when I used it, I was always able to get things done. It's just... generic at best).
I never even consider moving to a Windows machine, even if the hardware looks good because of the OS. And if they did have success with their OS, they'd have to sustain that success and gain a reputation over time before I'd consider jumping ship. There really isn't anything wrong with being happy with Apple's OS and not seriously considering Windows, as there would have to be a compelling reason to switch, not just switching for sake of making a change. We're lucky to have an Apple option as if Apple wasn't around, we'd all be stuck with Windows and some minor OS's. I have work to do, switching for sake of doing so would be a huge mis-use of time. (That's my opinion!)
I prefer Windows 10.
@@JohnnyZenith Windows 10 is very much a waste of time. I roll my eyes when I see what people commonly do on it. Quite exasperating when I have to work in a Windows only office.
I hate my surface laptop 4 because of its flexible keyboard
I say don’t get a windows laptop that isn’t touch screen. Now starting to think son get one without pen support
Does MBA M1 have 4G LTE or 5G? No
Nope, you’re right. It doesn’t.
I don't feel performance is a draw. Run the same program on both and do the same task, and the results might not be that close.
An M1 Mac (or any Apple Silicon Laptops) can't run the same programs as the Surface. You might say this isn't an issue, there are alternatives, etc. But as a university student, I've had 3 different professors need to restructure their course to accommodate the incompatibility of Apple Silicon, and make the course much harder for Apple Silicon users simply because their devices couldn't do what everyone else's could (one of them even changed the course for everyone, making everything much more confusing).
Microsoft has to deliver a powerful enough surface with no fan. Nobody wants to pay 1500,- in 2022 to hear "wwwwwwwwwfffff" every 5 minutes. That's like the main reason why i consider switching to a macbook air.
Fun fact, the Surface Laptop 4 is a very quiet machine. Yes, it has a fan. But as someone who owns a Surface Laptop 4, I only hear the fan very rarely; whenever I game, or when I have the device plugged in and do something relatively intensive (such as running many many tabs, 8K videos, etc. When the device isn't plugged in, it is more quiet.) Compare this to my roommates' Dell, whose fan turns on during Startup and moderate Chrome usage, the Surface fan is very rare to hear (you do hear the fan more when you first set it up, though).
@@brlritzy yeah sure. i have a lenovo yoga that's mostly quiet with some settings tweaked and under minor load.
But, i need it to be quiet (ie loudless) exactly when i need to concentrate and run demanding applications like davinci resolve, cubase or visual studio (code).
The notebook being quiet when i do minor browser stuff is nice but not exactly my requirement.
I just love how the macbook air or the mac mini solves this. There's just zero noise, no tweaking, no "but it's fine as long as i only run 4 tabs", no discussion, no nothing. It's just quiet.
MS/Intel need to get there.
Do not buy this crap if you want to use a 2nd screen the display output signal is not reliable. The great suggestion from MS was to try a wireless display.
Windows 11 is not going to be much different. You'll still have 3 different settings windows, all in different designs, and you'll still have most of the legacy crap lurking around as well. I don't like to use the "on Mac, things just work" slogan, because it doesn't always, but on Windows a lot of stuff simply doesn't work/get's in your way/annoys the crap out of you/'surprises' you with completely weird inconsistencies and baffling decisions. I can't f*****g stand Windows anymore. And just like you, it just reminds me of crappy jobs I'd rather forget. MacOS gets out of your way. Windows wants to slap you in the face every minute.
I don't think I could bring myself to go back to Windows again. First, I agree that it feels like I'm at work when I use Windows but more importantly I despise Bill Gates but that's another topic entirely. Mark, I love your channel and I read your blog posts as well. Keep bringing the great content!
Apple has already developed a touchscreen MacBook. It is called an iPad Pro with a keyboard and mouse. Also uses the M1 chip.
iPad software is not the same. That’s the key difference.
iPad Pro? You mean that giant iPhone with a magnified OS?
Touch screen AND Face ID….
I always thought a touch screen on a laptop was a must and never considered buying one without it… until I used a friend’s MacBook Air. Somehow macbooks make a touch screen almost irrelevant because its trackpad is so amazing.
FIRST COMMENT!!!
I wait every friday morning for your video! I'm in Toronto, Canada.
I love that!
BOOM.
i've tried touch screen laptops in the past. it's a gimmick.
~06:30 "I want Apple to develope a touch-screen Mac". From your mouth to Tim's ear.
I don't see that happening. That would negate the reason to have a iPad. The iPad / iPhone are 80% of their revenue. I just don't see that happening.
@@kevlarian I, agree and disagree, the latter in that the iPad and iPhone are optimized for touch, where as the mac isn't. The mac really cant do great touch and stay a mac (does anyone remember windows 8 which failed horribly to naively unify desktop and mobile touch device interface?). I feel the problem is that Apple is letting the perfect be the enemy of the good enough. I so don't want Apple to redesign the MacOS interface to enhance the touch experience in normal use, but touch ability would be excellent for cross platform apps and games that are already optimized for touch. Let the user use it where it makes sense and not use it where it doesn't.
Microsoft:
- Why people don't like our hardware products as they Apple products do? I don't understand!!! 🤷♂
Also Microsoft:
- 2:50 (constantly annoying farts)
People:
🤦♂