I was a Windows user ever since getting my first laptop as a teenager. But in February this year I decided to change to a 13-inch M2 MacBook Air and I have not looked back since. Absolutely smooth performance with no overheating nor any technical glitches whatsoever in the 8 months I have had it. The beautiful midnight color is a cherry on top, absolutely gorgeously light and thin. I can see my MacBook lasting for years to come. My latest Windows laptop was an ASUS Zenbook which gave me problems as quickly as 3 weeks old. I had to go to the ASUS service centre no less than 6 times in my one year duration with the laptop and the technician would always not be able to explain what hardware is causing the issues I was facing like a randomly unresponsive touchpad, perpetual unadjustable screen dimming etc. They could only tell me to uninstall the latest Windows update every time I faced an issue.
Windows because file explorer, multi-instance app tiling, maximize window not opening new desktops, and clipboard history. I had a MacBook for coding in internship, it’s decent for Unix & coding stuff, but once I do multitasking, files management & adobe, I simply can’t bring myself to relearn the whole Ctrl-Opt-Cmd scheme vs Ctrl-Win-Alt scheme. Also, windows always sports wackier hardware. I can live with the bugs, which are very few and far between since I switched to surface, no bloatware too :) Before 2016: whatever my fam had in the trash 2016-2023: Dell XPS 2024: Surface Laptop Studio 2
One might find the Macbook Air the best option, but it is not convincing if its drawbacks are not mentioned: - It has only a 60 Hz IPS screen (this is written in the video, though) with a slow response time so scrolling causes blurry images and text, - it doesn't support more than two monitors including the internal screen, - it has a more limited port selection, - it is not reported how much the performance drops in a sustained load (like when the benchmarks are run multiple times successively), and - it is not possible to upgrade the storage and Apple charges you a lot for this.
Just goes to show how much of a advantage apple has on the market, they are still about a year ahead in terms of performance and batterylife and this is ONLY the macbook air... m4 chips drop soon too
Apple use their "brand recognition" to charge people with ridiculous prices. Seriously, they might make great hardware but the price is just a ripoff the moment you want to upgrade the ram and storage.
And remember... you can find a good deal for Intel/AMD laptops with a way bigger screen 16" vs 13.3" Air ( with limited port selection, performance drops). Also there is still laptops with upgradable storage(like Asus with new AMD 370 chip)
People complaining about 60HZ on a macbook, generally need to get out more and get a life. Always shouting my windows laptop screen is 120hz - BUT its slower, has a wind turbine fan, its battery life is crap, its build quality is crap, its resale is terrible, its keyboard is mushy, terrible track pad - BUT yeah 120hz.
New Ryzen Chips really underrated. they hit the middle ground between performance and having a cutting edge TSMC node for better battery life. sad that you wouldn't see them in many good laptops with some sacrifices as companies still prefer Intel
I bought an Asus Zenbook for $800 with the AMD 8840 for my daughter. It’s 25% faster than my 2 year old Lenovo AIO Yoga 7 with the 5800H. Twice as fast in Octane as my 4-5 year old Dell XPS 15 inch which cost 2.5 times more. If only the chassis was the new ceraluminum, it’d beat all of them.
@@Vision33r realistically, how many of these laptops can handle graphics over 60 fps? An oled with 900 brightness would be something special. Granted, the current panels are a bit dim compared to my old xps but once they have tandem, they'll be amazing like my xps.
OLED consumes less battery compared to LCD, due to the individual pixels that light up vs the entire screen. For the refresh rate, some windows computers (such as the Surface 7) uses a variable refresh rate, which means lower refresh for less demanding tasks and higher refresh for more demanding tasks. Although not a consistent 60hz, you shouldn’t see a significant difference in battery drain when compared to 60hz on lighter to medium based tasks. Lastly, the MacBook air’s battery is generally smaller than Window PCs. Even a MacBook Pro which has MicroLED, variable refresh rate (1-120hz), and bigger battery should and will outperform the Air.
@@theothernodude3139 OLED only consumes less if you watch dark content, on brighter content in needs significantly more power. Plus there's a big efficiency loss if start scaling up the screen size, that always has been a weak point of OLED (and that's why it was mainly used in phone screens just as recently). That said, panel technology has improved a lot and new innovation like dual layer OLED look promising so maybe in the next 2-3 gen you won't have the power penalty. For now you can still count with 2-3 hours less screen time for this laptop class.
Most of the OLED laptops have a much larger battery to compensate for the OLED. Also, if they have dynamic refresh then 120Hz may even have better battery consumption. For example if you are reading or typing then they should reduce to 24hz or less. The general take for dynamic 120hz is that it does not benefit unless you are playing games all the time, and even then they may run at 60FPS on these iGPUs. I have tested this theory on my MB Pro using dynamic and 60hz doing the same stuff and they are pretty much the same though I do not play games.
@@andyH_England Actually most of them dont have a bigger battery to compensate, no idea where you got that from. Plus OLED just draws way more all the time. MB Air 15 uses about 67Wh battery whilst most of these OLED laptops have around 70wh. That far from compensates the power draw. Dynamic refresh isn't a standard and depends on how it is implemented on driver level and manufacturer. Moot point basically.
The very first factor in most people’s decision making should be the operating system. I’m a windows guy - tried Mac OS for 6 months but didn’t like it, which is disappointing because the Hardware is great. For the Windows laptops, I think the Intel Core Series 2 is the standout. No compatibility issues, great battery life and outstanding single core performance, which I would argue, is more important than multi core for most people purchasing these types of laptops. Great video.
@11:30 tbf the surface and macbook roughly weigh the same. So I don't think the the size of battery should be given kudos. Same with iPhones, they come with smaller batteries but weigh significantly higher than other phones. It should ideally be weight/minutes rather than mAH/minute.
I bought my daughter the Surface Laptop 7 for school to replace her MacBook Air and she's in love with. It's probably the closest for a direct replacement on design and battery life
Understood. However given the multiple facets/criteria that Tom used to give different recommendations (including Price and Battery life). Storage speed (eg. Bandwidth through integrated CPU) and Windows devices having touch screens are factors for consideration. Especially as the 60hz screen on the Macbook Air were highlighted.
@russelloutthere I love that I can add a new SSD within the same gen on a Windows laptop. Usually, with far better read & write speeds than the ones laptop manufacturers provide at a reasonable cost. Up to 7k read speeds with gen 4 SSDs and up to 6,700 write speeds. The M3 Macbook Air with 512GB of storage still gets mid 3k read & write speeds. Far worse for pulling saved files/games or uploading documents/videos/code.
did you see the 8 gen 4 bench mark..its insane..if that chip using the next gen Oryon than the X Elite one..they seem have the performance to go head to head with M4..it just that windows on ARM holding the chip back
Well, it's still able to finish the most demanding benchmarks with judt 8GB RAM, where Windows just simply throw an error and tell you it's need 16GB RAM to do that.. 😂 and guess what, in average usage the other tasks are lighter, and not demanding that much from the laptop.. (sure it's not healthy for the SSD on long term, but still keeping the price better like any competitor.. the 2020 M1 laptops was still $700 in 2024, alias you was able to sell your $999 laptop for about $600 after 4 years of usage, Snapdragon had models what already dropped $400 price in just 3 weeks because of bad sales, they already discounted it when it wasn't even 1 month old.. and if the brand new is $400 cheaper you will never sell your 1 months old laptop on close to the original price, you must undercut it with at least $500 to sell that 1 months old laptop..)
@@TamasKiss-yk4st The thing people forget: "mac os" is more like "linux" generally "Unix" and windows is just some company that is shit. So installl linux on a pc with low ram will also do the trick.
Finally we are at the place where we can choose any laptop as per pur liking without worrying about battery or performance. I guess now laptop story is same as mobile phones
Picked up the S16 with the 370 and the thing is a beauty. X86 with all day battery and good enough iGPU for some light gaming. Now a days it feels less about the CPU and more about other things like screen size and ram. I had to go for a 16 inch laptop and could not be any more happier with it. Linux support is finally to the point where 6.12 rc2 supports all hardware. Running Endevour on it. Plus it is great to know if I ever need the power, it is there. It would bother me if I went with the lunar lake varient. Finally a quiet x86 laptop, it is amazing.
ordered the Asus Zenbook S14 with new Intel chip, cant wait to use it, changing my old 2020 Lenovo Legion 5 laptop which cant hold more then 1.5hours on baterry.
Good on you! I'm running drone footage frame extraction (FFMPEG) and photogrammetry (Metashape/RealityCapture) workloads on my laptop so Strix Halo in 6 months with RX 7600-class integrated graphics is what I'm going for.
@@mihaelk1938 im still gonna use it as my main work pc/laptop it will just stay indors and will be connected to the monitor /keyboard. Dont worry im not throwing it away.
Picking between the MacBook Air and the Intel Lunar Lake, I would pick the Intel one. Full X86 software compatibility, good iGPU light 1080p gaming, better port selection, good single core performance, adjustable SSD, and excellent battery life. The only thing I would lose out on would be the stability of MacOs and class leading single core CPU performance.
macOS has essentially full software compatibility. The fact that the core OS was built to run on any processor and Apple's tight software controls made the transition a breeze. Now I only see 1-2 apps on my mac that are still running in Intel mode without any issues. I only know if its an intel app if I manually check in Activity Monitor. Apples's built in GPU is great for gaming, I have an M1 Max that can play most games on Ultra
@hajjdawood MacOS does not have full software compatibility. Engineers can not use Solidworks software, and analysts can not use Power BI. Whoever told you that flat out lied.
I think few macbook users had realized that Intel and SD had caught up, heck, Intel had caught up one year after M1 but it was on HP business notebook line.
You are comparing recently released 2024 laptops with 2023 M3 chip, so wait for the M4 which according to leaked benchmarks will be miles clear again, maybe as much as two generations. And of course, what Intel fans forget is that there are the MB Pro 14 (M3 Pro) that destroy these Intels and because they are being discontinued are as cheap or cheaper than many Intel Gen 2 Core Ultras.
@@andyH_EnglandI have an M2 MacBook Air and it’s probably more powerful and efficient than these Windows laptops. But admittedly, it’s good to see Intel, Snapdragon, etc, improving the hardware to run Windows more effectively.
I've just recently purchased the MacBook Air 15.3 - Midnight with M3 chip, 8-core CPU, 10-Core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine. It was 24 GB unified memory and also 1TB SSD storage. Looking forward to using it. It's my first time using a apple product
The real asnwer is to use the laptop/computer and OS that you're most productive with - most people are more productive with either macOS or Windows as standard. The actual choice is then within the machines that can run the OS you're most productive with, which model is best suited to what you intend to use it for?
Imdeed. I often use Power BI Desktop and advanced Excel features, which do not run on Macs. Some Mac users probably have similar requirements on their side. Software is the key deciding factor, after that come the other considerations.
I bought a Surface Laptop with the X-Elite chip, and I am super happy with it. The build quality is top notch, the performance is excellent, and the battery life is mind blowing. I am able to go two full days without touching the charger. If you only do casual gaming, MS Office, and web browsing, you will have no problems with it. The only thing I have not been able to overcome is being able to install the VPN client for my company on the laptop. VPN clients are basically drivers and can't run under emulation, so if you need a VPN client installed, you need to check that before buying for sure.
I think you have achieved for you the perfect style and balance of technicality and entertainment for a large audience, good job! I really liked the clear graphs/bars
It is; something went wrong there unless he did back to back tests and ran the battery test after he had not let it cool down. With no fan, scientific tests need to be regulated otherwise you get anomalies like that.
I’m so happy that the Intel design team has really stepped up their game and proved that x86 isn’t that inefficient compared to arm. Would’ve been exciting to see how Jim Keller’s Royal Core designs would’ve impacted the CPU design landscape. Too bad Pat canned the project. Aren’t the video loop tests mostly dependent on the media engine and display engine rather than on the CPU? I hope their foundry division can get back on par with the market leader in TSMC with the looming geopolitical implications. I’m getting a lunar lake laptop soon. Availability sucks here in India so I don’t know when I can get one.
It would be good if Intal gave us an option to adjust the wattage ourselves. So we could enable a low wattage when on battery, and higher wattage when plugged in and need more performance. I don't know why manufacturers don't allow this.
@@ohwhatworld5851Manufacturer is the one who control wattage when on battery or plugged in but it's either too conservative or too aggressive. I recommend throttle stop (idk it works with lunar lake yet) but I am using tiger lake (11th gen) and it's a live safer
Crikey its 2024 and this should just happen. You do not need to play around with multiple settings on a Mac to get it to be efficient when needed. Ridiculous and I have no idea why this is still acceptable in Windows land.
Great video. Nice to have competition in the thin and light category. Would have been great if these come out before I got my MacBook Air M2. For a laptop I want great battery life, compact and light, reasonable performance, and reasonable price.
If I were to go for a new laptop my choice definitely will be AMD 370/375, hopefully able to run ~55W at max when needed. Currently my EliteBook 7840U/32GB is sufficient for me. Looking forward to ThinkPads and Elitebooks 13"/14" options to come in order to consider upgrade, or maybe wait for Zen 6 later.
Great video! I’ve never had a Mac before, but now I have a big decision to make. I’m a basic user with no demanding tasks. I currently have a Lenovo Legion Y520, which is 8 years old, and now I’m considering either the Apple MacBook Air M3 base model or the Asus ZenBook 14 OLED with a 1st gen Intel Core Ultra 7-155H, 16GB RAM, and 1TB storage. Which would you recommend between these two?
For me, A laptop is a testbench device for all my applications/coding. Factors that matter the most in order: 1: compatibility with applications (so currently x86), 1: battery life and lightweight, 2: performance . I would love to have a 14-inch Intel 200s device with Nvidia GPU (a 3050 would be fine, to test CUDA programming)
I'm a PC user but Macs have the best overall hardware. Quiet, powerful even unplugged, long battery, great design, exceptional speakers and touch pad and more. I just can't get past Mac os. That all said, there is no such thing as a bad computer anymore. PC's are super capable now. Anything more powerful than M1 is enough for every user
depends on what you need, I got an Imac with m4 and one 13 inches m3 they are absolutely amazing and intuitive to use, I too was switching over from windows... if you are a heavy user and run blender etc just wait up for the m4
@ thank you. Actually, I have ROG strix g18 for heavy load purposes but it is too big and battery suck. And I wanna get a macbook as for secondary device but not sure what spec to get. I’m considering 1. Mac Air M3 with 8gb ram 512 Rom, 2. Mac Air M3 with 16gb ram 512 rom & 3. Macbook pro M3 16gb ram 512 rom. My budget is slim but afraid to make wrong decision xD.
For me whats surprising is that apple has complete control over their hardware and software, and windows devices are scattered between different choices of componentsand brand but are actually becoming competitive with apples unified system, thats pretty darn good
choosing a Laptop for my needs has been quite a whirlwind for me since the debut of the Snapdragon chip Laptops. But as I learnt more about those, I choose to stay in the traditional x86 Laptops than the ARM due to App compatibility. If I were to use ARM, I would go for the M3 Pro MacBook, and on the other hand, I would be using an AMD Ryzen AI chip for more demanding tasks than going over to Intel's side due to the baked in RAM and whatnot.
@Thetechchap thanks for this awesome comparison! How is the battery life when using teams? I currently have an M1 Pro Macbook Pro 14" that is due for an upgrade. Since I spend most of my workday in MS Teams which drains my battery in 4-5 hours, I was wondering which chip would handle that task the best. Apple M3, SD XE or Intel Core Ultra 2? Thanks
Surface Pro Laptop is the winner for me. ARM apps are coming daily. Running x86 apps under emulation just got a huge update. I'm a writer and an engineer. NPU is vital for improved image editing and video conferencing.
Thanks for the video. I agree since I want Windows laptop, I'm probably going to the lunar lake ones. Now the question is, which one? I haven't seen too many comparisons of the different brands. Right now I hear a lot about either the zenbook s14, which you have shown or the Lenovo aura. Thoughts?
If you compare processors, then please weigh the duration on the battery capacities. If you compare laptops, then please use some with comparable basic specs such as size. This review is well done, if you do not think.
For me the Intel chip is the right choice as I work in the enterprise space where X86 compatibility is key. The other chips are very nice and for the right use-case, will do the job. As I predicted a couple of year back, it was going to be easy for Intel to catch up. Going forward, things become more difficult for all the chip vendors. Architectural breakthroughs will have to be implemented to keep advancing. We'll see whose labs have their ducks in a row.
I would agree that Intel is my best bet. But if, here in Canada I look to Asus, they have 2 variants prices at 1300$ and 1800$. It would be helpful to have your guidance. Do I have to spend 40% more for a top version ?
Planning to buy the Series 1 Zenbook 14 or MSI Prestige 13 AI Evo...... the Series 2 will likely come next year here in the Philippines.... is it worth the wait?
Depends on your use cases, series 1 is better for multi-threaded performance because it's high TDP and cores (that can change with Arrow lake), series 2 is very optimized for ultrabook that demands good single thread performance. If battery life and iGPU performance are important, go with series 2, but if you want high performance multihreaded either go with AMD 370 or series 1
went for the ryzen because the price performance battery was unmatched. sure the new intel looks good, but nowhere to be found 2 weeks ago when I looked for it. for 1000 euros flat the asus vivoboook 16 inch oled 32gb ram and 1tb ssd is really really good.
If you need specialized engineering software then MacBook and Snapdragon is NOT an option. I use MPLAB IDE and ARM is not compatible. Go with x86, Intel or AMD both are great
Cloud computing makes performance on a laptop not really important for me but in the future for the masses. Get one with a decent size screen and a good keyboard. All processing in the future will be done in the cloud so it will be less important for big specs.
Hey Tech chap. Which windows laptop did you prefer in Davinci resolve ? Intel or AMD ? I’m running the MSI 16 AI Evo released in the beginning of this year and it’s great value but not quite as polished /fast in Davinci as my 2021 MacBook Pro 14 (M1 Pro). Curious on the windows performance on your side in Davinci. Thanks !
I think a balance between battery life and multi-core performance is the best choice so i will go on AMD side👌 But I am truely impressed with the intel performance ❤ i had never expected that ! This shows that we are going to see more neck a neck compatition soon
Exactly my point. I'm considering getting either a new Lunar Lake laptop or a Strix Point laptop as someone who does both productivity and gaming applications, but also wants the long battery life.
Honestly, a Dell XPS 13 is looking like a better and better option with each passing day. 120hz at the same 1600p resolution, with a way thinner bezel, and a more powerful CPU and GPU at a cheaper price. The only downside is the lack of function keys, but if you're coming from a Touchbar Mac it won't be an issue
Great video! By the way people in the comments write about "Intel catching up".... by reducing speed below previous generations... AMD is the sweet spot by far. Still much higher efficiency per wh
I didn't expect Intel manage to catch up that fast and get a very close result compare to others processor. With very good battery life and graphic performance of intel Core Ultra series 2, is there still reasons to go for arms snapdragon x elite chip? The snapdragon x elite may have compatibility issue with old x86 software and games. But with current state of all of those processor chips, is there still any reason for software developers to rewrite their software in arm architecture or end user to choose snapdragon x elite with arm architecture? Or we all could probably just back to intel x86 chip?
As I look more into it. The intel Ram is 4x the M3. But the result is still below M3 in most catagory not to mention the upcoming M4 for mac. I wonder about the battery size comparison.
hey man, great review as always! I have a question, would really appreciate if you could answer that. How bad is the heating issue on the S16 Ryzen AI HX 370? I have heard and read reviews that quite a lot of people have returned their laptops due to overheating. I would be using it only for basic tasks like some Excel modelling, basic chrome stuff, youtube videos and occasionally watch a movie or two. Would that push it so much that it overheats? Thanks in advance :)
everyday use should be fine, although lots of review says that S16 can only sustain 22-23W when under constant load, that is quite low for AI HX 370, the processor can only sustain 1.8GHz. If i were you I would look for other chassis that can sustain at least 28W during prolonged load. So yes, others returned this laptop because it is unable to handle long multicore task which contradicts this processor purpose.
Thanks for the info, @@infochannel8705 😄 only asus is offering this processor in my country right now and that too only in the 16 inch form factor, so I'll maybe wait for others to come out with their laptops too and see how's the heating issue been tackled.
Lunar lake is good, but too weak when plugged in. On the other hand, the Snapdragon and Ryzen are workstation class when plugged in and get good enough battery life on the go.
All are good choices Love my Snapdragon Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x. It's an amazing machine with a long battery life. I also like the MacBook Air as it offers a very high level of flexibilitly. The laptops using Intel Lunar Lake can be a real game changer for people with a high need of compatibility. The choices for customers have never been better.
The Tech Chap is actually such an Apple fanboy. How are you still recommending the Macbook Air over the Asus Zenbook S14? The S14 has a significantly better screen, 30% better battery life, significantly better for gaming, faster charging, double the ram for the same price, bigger screen and it’s lighter. In what world is the Macbook a better buy? Apple fanboy alert.
Zenbook S16 is definitely power-limited to only 33w, and this slows down the GPU by 10%. This means the new 890m GPU is actually hardly faster than the 880m because both are POWER LIMITED. If you used a laptop that WAS NOT power limited like the $1200 Asus Vivobook S14 with Ryzen HX 365 I think you'd find (a) Longer video playback life due to smaller screen, and (b) Better GPU performance than the S16/HX365. In the UK I think the S14 has a WUXGA screen and hx370 so it would be more of a fair comparison with that laptop ...
I love my Chromebook yes it can be limited for certain stuff but it does what i need it too fast and reliable only spent 400 on it would refuse too spend more for an mac book or anything else
This is exactly the decision that has cost me a few sleepless nights! 😁 Thanks for the video! BTW, how is the noise level with these? I am leaning the Intel way because based on secondary sources I think I should be able to run it without the fans spinning too much more easily than the AMD chip.
The new Snapdragon chip is a beast, however, the lack of app compatibility is a huge dealbreaker so it's probably better to go with Intel or AMD since they aren't that far behind in performance.
Well Windows has its own advantages as well - - It has only a 60 Hz IPS screen (this is written in the video, though) with a slow response time so scrolling causes blurry images and text, - it doesn't support more than two monitors including the internal screen, - it has a more limited port selection, - it is not reported how much the performance drops in a sustained load (like when the benchmarks are run multiple times successively), and - it is not possible to upgrade the storage and Apple charges you a lot for this. - expansion docks are very expensive - hvec not supported -very less compatibility for open source third party apps -Running high workloads continuously for long time eventually the hardware starts to give up and you can see freezing issues (i am talking about real workloads like blender , spy and opti x etc ) -windows has robust support for virtual machines (e.g., VMware, VirtualBox), allowing users to run multiple operating systems and legacy applications more easily. -multiple windows like 4 in one view for multitasking not possible - file structure is very hard to visualize and navigate (when there are 1000+ files and structures)compared to windows -YOU CAN LITERALLY IMPLEMENT 90% OF ECOSYSTEM FEATURES THAT APPLE HAS ON WINDOWS USING APPS -Windows and samsung ecosystem is just as good as APPLE ECOSYSTEM -WINDOWS LAPTOPs come with TOUCHSCREEN bigger screen than IPADS -INTEL 288 series 2 ULTRA CORE - Has closer battery life if not better than macbook -NPU'S in INTEL and windows laptops are future proof though you can still run LLM;s on m3 max -Larger SCREEN on windows machine -LOT of shotcuts , Winodws power toys for literally many magical things which MAC does -Cant run POWER BI analytics at full capacity , - Cloud services on AZURE and APP connections to built native windows apps are better -DirectX, especially DirectX 12, is exclusive to Windows -Windows machines can offer similar or better specs than Macs at a lower price, making high-end builds more affordable for resource-intensive tasks like video editing and rendering. -Windows is compatible with most VR headsets and AR applications -Tools like Unreal Engine and Unity are optimized for Windows, giving game developers better performance and additional plugins. -Windows laptops allow easier access to RAM and SSD upgrades, while MacBooks have soldered components, making upgrades nearly impossible -ALTHOUGH macbooks run cooler and use less power , high workloads and serious workloads at longer time heats up the machine very bad since there are no fans it takes time to disippate longer --Windows laptops support a vast range of customizable peripherals (like gaming mice, keyboards, and headsets) with software like Razer Synapse and Logitech G HUB for deep customization options. (YOU CAN USE THESE MOUSE BUTTONS TO LITERALLY CREATE MACROS TO DO AUTOMATED TASKS ON A CLICK ON BUTTONS) -Windows has more versatile user account management, essential for businesses where multiple users need secure, customized access to the same machine. -The Microsoft Office suite has better support and more features on Windows, including seamless integrations with OneDrive and Teams. -diverse storage configurations, including RAID arrays and fast NVMe SSDs that are often cheaper and easier to install than Apple’s internal options. -- easier and cheaper to repair, with more third-party options available, while Macs often require official Apple service centers with high repair costs - ERP systems are Windows-only, especially in industries like manufacturing, healthcare, and finance. -Windows VR support - VR headsets like Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, while macOS has limited VR support. -Windows supports high refresh rate displays (120Hz, 144Hz, 240Hz, and beyond) for smoother gaming and video playback, --Many professional graphic tablets, such as Wacom, Huion, and XP-Pen, offer better driver support and more extensive functionality on Windows. --’ NTFS file system supports features like file compression and larger maximum file sizes, making it ideal for users working with large video and graphic files. --supports server management tools like Microsoft SQL Server, Active Directory, and SharePoint, essential for many business and academic applications. -Many AI and ML tools, like TensorFlow and PyTorch, are optimized for Windows due to better support for NVIDIA GPUs, -Financial and accounting applications, like QuickBooks Enterprise and Sage 50, are better optimized for Windows, -Windows also supports custom configurations via Windows Server VPN and Network Policy Server (NPS), macOS doesn’t natively support SSTP and generally relies on third-party clients for certain configurations, while Windows has these capabilities natively, giving it an edge in secure and flexible networking in corporate setups【9†source】 BENCHMARKS BY UL SOLUTIONS er and Multi-Session Capabilities**v -Windows Server enables multi-session RDP, allowing multiple users to access a single machine simultaneously in a secure environment. This is especially valuable in enterprise and education contexts where shared resources are common. macOS does not support simultaneous multi-user sessions to the same extent Windows PowerShell and Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) provide powerful tools for IT admins to automate tasks, set up network configurations, and troubleshoot remotely. This functionality is essential for enterprises, and while macOS has its Terminal, it’s less integrated with enterprise environments and lacks the full suite of Windows-based tools for large-scale automation.
I am a full android user with my google pixel but the Macbook air m1 i bought years ago for 900 was the best decision small nice aluminum body long battery very good resolution ~something betwenn 2and 4k i think and very good speakers out of this thin thing
I just got a 12th gen intel laptop... The Lenovo legion slim 7i.. I saw a refurbished deal and had to jump on it.. It was a no brainer. I feel this way cause the new chips are just too expensive now, and somewhat not defined yet.. Like the new intel chips not coming with a dedicated gpu, which I need. Yes the igpu is great, a dGPU will be better. So maybe after another 3-4 years, when the market is a bit more stable, I could get an arrow lake cpu laptop... Or who knows, SD gen 3 cpu laptops.
The new ultra core processors seems very promising. However I just got a m3 MacBook Air, and certainly no windows laptop ive own in the past comes close to the build quality of MacBook. Sure it the base model with 8gb is low but it's never slowed down on me. I do like the fanless design as it absolutely silent.
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Chaps! Macbook or Windows Laptop??
CORRECTION: 9:58 The MacBook/Surface Laptop text is the wrong way round - oops!
What is a window? 😂😂
Macbook all day
I was a Windows user ever since getting my first laptop as a teenager. But in February this year I decided to change to a 13-inch M2 MacBook Air and I have not looked back since. Absolutely smooth performance with no overheating nor any technical glitches whatsoever in the 8 months I have had it. The beautiful midnight color is a cherry on top, absolutely gorgeously light and thin. I can see my MacBook lasting for years to come.
My latest Windows laptop was an ASUS Zenbook which gave me problems as quickly as 3 weeks old. I had to go to the ASUS service centre no less than 6 times in my one year duration with the laptop and the technician would always not be able to explain what hardware is causing the issues I was facing like a randomly unresponsive touchpad, perpetual unadjustable screen dimming etc. They could only tell me to uninstall the latest Windows update every time I faced an issue.
Windows because file explorer, multi-instance app tiling, maximize window not opening new desktops, and clipboard history. I had a MacBook for coding in internship, it’s decent for Unix & coding stuff, but once I do multitasking, files management & adobe, I simply can’t bring myself to relearn the whole Ctrl-Opt-Cmd scheme vs Ctrl-Win-Alt scheme.
Also, windows always sports wackier hardware. I can live with the bugs, which are very few and far between since I switched to surface, no bloatware too :)
Before 2016: whatever my fam had in the trash
2016-2023: Dell XPS
2024: Surface Laptop Studio 2
I like what macOS offers but Windows is the only OS for me.
One might find the Macbook Air the best option, but it is not convincing if its drawbacks are not mentioned:
- It has only a 60 Hz IPS screen (this is written in the video, though) with a slow response time so scrolling causes blurry images and text,
- it doesn't support more than two monitors including the internal screen,
- it has a more limited port selection,
- it is not reported how much the performance drops in a sustained load (like when the benchmarks are run multiple times successively), and
- it is not possible to upgrade the storage and Apple charges you a lot for this.
Just goes to show how much of a advantage apple has on the market, they are still about a year ahead in terms of performance and batterylife and this is ONLY the macbook air... m4 chips drop soon too
@@frozencold199 I agree on the efficiency, but it shouldn't be a reason to ignore its drawbacks
Apple use their "brand recognition" to charge people with ridiculous prices.
Seriously, they might make great hardware but the price is just a ripoff the moment you want to upgrade the ram and storage.
And remember... you can find a good deal for Intel/AMD laptops with a way bigger screen 16" vs 13.3" Air ( with limited port selection, performance drops). Also there is still laptops with upgradable storage(like Asus with new AMD 370 chip)
People complaining about 60HZ on a macbook, generally need to get out more and get a life. Always shouting my windows laptop screen is 120hz - BUT its slower, has a wind turbine fan, its battery life is crap, its build quality is crap, its resale is terrible, its keyboard is mushy, terrible track pad - BUT yeah 120hz.
To be fair, the Asus Zenbook S16 is pushing a 16" 3K 120Hz OLED
So is this 14" lol
@@Luke-qs2cg 14 inch is also 120 hz oled...
New Ryzen Chips really underrated. they hit the middle ground between performance and having a cutting edge TSMC node for better battery life. sad that you wouldn't see them in many good laptops with some sacrifices as companies still prefer Intel
I bought an Asus Zenbook for $800 with the AMD 8840 for my daughter. It’s 25% faster than my 2 year old Lenovo AIO Yoga 7 with the 5800H. Twice as fast in Octane as my 4-5 year old Dell XPS 15 inch which cost 2.5 times more. If only the chassis was the new ceraluminum, it’d beat all of them.
I love the new AMD chips, but I don't love it that they are paired with OLED :(
@@kaczan3 what's wrong with OLED?
@@techsamurai11 No good for gaming, slow refresh.
@@Vision33r realistically, how many of these laptops can handle graphics over 60 fps? An oled with 900 brightness would be something special. Granted, the current panels are a bit dim compared to my old xps but once they have tandem, they'll be amazing like my xps.
Macbook uses 60hz and not an OLED screen so they use much less battery. Most Windows laptops on here use OLED, except for the Surface Laptop.
that's a good point
OLED consumes less battery compared to LCD, due to the individual pixels that light up vs the entire screen.
For the refresh rate, some windows computers (such as the Surface 7) uses a variable refresh rate, which means lower refresh for less demanding tasks and higher refresh for more demanding tasks. Although not a consistent 60hz, you shouldn’t see a significant difference in battery drain when compared to 60hz on lighter to medium based tasks.
Lastly, the MacBook air’s battery is generally smaller than Window PCs. Even a MacBook Pro which has MicroLED, variable refresh rate (1-120hz), and bigger battery should and will outperform the Air.
@@theothernodude3139 OLED only consumes less if you watch dark content, on brighter content in needs significantly more power. Plus there's a big efficiency loss if start scaling up the screen size, that always has been a weak point of OLED (and that's why it was mainly used in phone screens just as recently). That said, panel technology has improved a lot and new innovation like dual layer OLED look promising so maybe in the next 2-3 gen you won't have the power penalty. For now you can still count with 2-3 hours less screen time for this laptop class.
Most of the OLED laptops have a much larger battery to compensate for the OLED. Also, if they have dynamic refresh then 120Hz may even have better battery consumption. For example if you are reading or typing then they should reduce to 24hz or less. The general take for dynamic 120hz is that it does not benefit unless you are playing games all the time, and even then they may run at 60FPS on these iGPUs. I have tested this theory on my MB Pro using dynamic and 60hz doing the same stuff and they are pretty much the same though I do not play games.
@@andyH_England Actually most of them dont have a bigger battery to compensate, no idea where you got that from. Plus OLED just draws way more all the time. MB Air 15 uses about 67Wh battery whilst most of these OLED laptops have around 70wh. That far from compensates the power draw. Dynamic refresh isn't a standard and depends on how it is implemented on driver level and manufacturer. Moot point basically.
The very first factor in most people’s decision making should be the operating system. I’m a windows guy - tried Mac OS for 6 months but didn’t like it, which is disappointing because the Hardware is great.
For the Windows laptops, I think the Intel Core Series 2 is the standout. No compatibility issues, great battery life and outstanding single core performance, which I would argue, is more important than multi core for most people purchasing these types of laptops.
Great video.
How about the new intel corr series in terms of heat and fan noise?
Windows offers freedom
@@antonioaxn THEY ARE VERY GOOD , 40DB OR 30DB at max
@11:30 tbf the surface and macbook roughly weigh the same. So I don't think the the size of battery should be given kudos. Same with iPhones, they come with smaller batteries but weigh significantly higher than other phones. It should ideally be weight/minutes rather than mAH/minute.
I bought my daughter the Surface Laptop 7 for school to replace her MacBook Air and she's in love with. It's probably the closest for a direct replacement on design and battery life
Two comments that I don't remember being discussed:
1. Storage speed/performance
2. The fact that the windows devices have touch screens
Niether have anything to do with the processor
Understood. However given the multiple facets/criteria that Tom used to give different recommendations (including Price and Battery life). Storage speed (eg. Bandwidth through integrated CPU) and Windows devices having touch screens are factors for consideration. Especially as the 60hz screen on the Macbook Air were highlighted.
Touchscreens are overrated in laptops. I had one and only time I used it was accidental touches when trying to point out stuff on my screen to people
@russelloutthere I love that I can add a new SSD within the same gen on a Windows laptop. Usually, with far better read & write speeds than the ones laptop manufacturers provide at a reasonable cost. Up to 7k read speeds with gen 4 SSDs and up to 6,700 write speeds.
The M3 Macbook Air with 512GB of storage still gets mid 3k read & write speeds. Far worse for pulling saved files/games or uploading documents/videos/code.
@@akin242002 Who is playing games / encoding videos / compiling code on a macbook air, a fanless ultrabook?
Sold my macbook pro M1 and got the Macbook Air M3 and im super happy with the speed boost. i use lightroom to edit photos
what ram?
If SD is this good now, I can't imagine what the next versions will be like.
exactly, snapdragon is not on 3nm yet! it is going to be another nice jump next year.
They just lack GPU that's it, if they fixed it in 2nd gen then it'll be dead end for apple
did you see the 8 gen 4 bench mark..its insane..if that chip using the next gen Oryon than the X Elite one..they seem have the performance to go head to head with M4..it just that windows on ARM holding the chip back
Hoping for a better gpu and better emulation. And especially better software support
@@BhargavGadekar69 their phone chips are going to come with a much better GPU this year and I think same will be true for next gen of laptop chips.
intel ultra 2 with 32gb memory. good luck with whatever you do on a macbook with 8gb memory.
Well, it's still able to finish the most demanding benchmarks with judt 8GB RAM, where Windows just simply throw an error and tell you it's need 16GB RAM to do that.. 😂 and guess what, in average usage the other tasks are lighter, and not demanding that much from the laptop.. (sure it's not healthy for the SSD on long term, but still keeping the price better like any competitor.. the 2020 M1 laptops was still $700 in 2024, alias you was able to sell your $999 laptop for about $600 after 4 years of usage, Snapdragon had models what already dropped $400 price in just 3 weeks because of bad sales, they already discounted it when it wasn't even 1 month old.. and if the brand new is $400 cheaper you will never sell your 1 months old laptop on close to the original price, you must undercut it with at least $500 to sell that 1 months old laptop..)
My 8gb Macbook has never been a problem, when editing video it plays back heavy 4k timelines perfectly every time
@@TamasKiss-yk4st The thing people forget: "mac os" is more like "linux" generally "Unix" and windows is just some company that is shit. So installl linux on a pc with low ram will also do the trick.
@@ezrareimer You have to look at the swap. a mac can use the sdd as ram if there is ram need.
@@TamasKiss-yk4st nice story bro, that never happened 😂😂
Finally we are at the place where we can choose any laptop as per pur liking without worrying about battery or performance.
I guess now laptop story is same as mobile phones
Picked up the S16 with the 370 and the thing is a beauty. X86 with all day battery and good enough iGPU for some light gaming. Now a days it feels less about the CPU and more about other things like screen size and ram. I had to go for a 16 inch laptop and could not be any more happier with it. Linux support is finally to the point where 6.12 rc2 supports all hardware. Running Endevour on it. Plus it is great to know if I ever need the power, it is there. It would bother me if I went with the lunar lake varient.
Finally a quiet x86 laptop, it is amazing.
I really like your humour in this vid. I didn't expect it since most of your vids are serious. 😂
No fun was had making this video
ordered the Asus Zenbook S14 with new Intel chip, cant wait to use it, changing my old 2020 Lenovo Legion 5 laptop which cant hold more then 1.5hours on baterry.
Good choice!
Good on you! I'm running drone footage frame extraction (FFMPEG) and photogrammetry (Metashape/RealityCapture) workloads on my laptop so Strix Halo in 6 months with RX 7600-class integrated graphics is what I'm going for.
Why not swap the battery only 🤣
@@mihaelk1938 im still gonna use it as my main work pc/laptop it will just stay indors and will be connected to the monitor /keyboard. Dont worry im not throwing it away.
My Dell G3 from 2021 needs to be plugged in all time. Battery capacity is 0%. And I carry this to college everyday.
"It's exciting stuff, if you are a nerd", caught me off guard.
Picking between the MacBook Air and the Intel Lunar Lake, I would pick the Intel one. Full X86 software compatibility, good iGPU light 1080p gaming, better port selection, good single core performance, adjustable SSD, and excellent battery life. The only thing I would lose out on would be the stability of MacOs and class leading single core CPU performance.
@zeuronplana8541 Funny because I personally use Windows 11 Pro for my setup.
@@akin242002 me too,if u get the original windows 11/11 pro it's stable.
macOS has essentially full software compatibility. The fact that the core OS was built to run on any processor and Apple's tight software controls made the transition a breeze. Now I only see 1-2 apps on my mac that are still running in Intel mode without any issues. I only know if its an intel app if I manually check in Activity Monitor. Apples's built in GPU is great for gaming, I have an M1 Max that can play most games on Ultra
@hajjdawood MacOS does not have full software compatibility. Engineers can not use Solidworks software, and analysts can not use Power BI. Whoever told you that flat out lied.
@@akin242002 there r some programs that dont run on mac os for med schools that ive visited
I think few macbook users had realized that Intel and SD had caught up, heck, Intel had caught up one year after M1 but it was on HP business notebook line.
You are comparing recently released 2024 laptops with 2023 M3 chip, so wait for the M4 which according to leaked benchmarks will be miles clear again, maybe as much as two generations. And of course, what Intel fans forget is that there are the MB Pro 14 (M3 Pro) that destroy these Intels and because they are being discontinued are as cheap or cheaper than many Intel Gen 2 Core Ultras.
No, I was talking about battery life. Sorry if I didn't make myself clear.
@@andyH_EnglandI have an M2 MacBook Air and it’s probably more powerful and efficient than these Windows laptops. But admittedly, it’s good to see Intel, Snapdragon, etc, improving the hardware to run Windows more effectively.
There are still M4 Pro and Max. But even M4 is better.
@@andyH_England miles clear again lol
It has been 0 days since @Thetechchap posted a video with "Macbook KILLER" in the title 😆
I know but this one is ironic 😅
I've just recently purchased the MacBook Air 15.3 - Midnight with M3 chip, 8-core CPU, 10-Core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine. It was 24 GB unified memory and also 1TB SSD storage. Looking forward to using it. It's my first time using a apple product
The real asnwer is to use the laptop/computer and OS that you're most productive with - most people are more productive with either macOS or Windows as standard.
The actual choice is then within the machines that can run the OS you're most productive with, which model is best suited to what you intend to use it for?
Imdeed. I often use Power BI Desktop and advanced Excel features, which do not run on Macs. Some Mac users probably have similar requirements on their side. Software is the key deciding factor, after that come the other considerations.
Picked up the S14 with 258v and it's an absolutely banger ultrabook with an useful iGPU.
Just a notice: XeSS and FSR don't use the same scale factor. Since version 1.3, you should use balanced profile to match FSR and DLSS (2.0x factor)
I bought a Surface Laptop with the X-Elite chip, and I am super happy with it. The build quality is top notch, the performance is excellent, and the battery life is mind blowing. I am able to go two full days without touching the charger. If you only do casual gaming, MS Office, and web browsing, you will have no problems with it. The only thing I have not been able to overcome is being able to install the VPN client for my company on the laptop. VPN clients are basically drivers and can't run under emulation, so if you need a VPN client installed, you need to check that before buying for sure.
I think you have achieved for you the perfect style and balance of technicality and entertainment for a large audience, good job! I really liked the clear graphs/bars
Great video mate!
11:36 we got tom saying that before GTA 6😂😂😂
13:00 How did you get a lower score for the MacBook Air on battery? It's supposed to be the same both on battery and plugged in.
It is; something went wrong there unless he did back to back tests and ran the battery test after he had not let it cool down. With no fan, scientific tests need to be regulated otherwise you get anomalies like that.
It probably thermal throttled because the Air model is passively cooled.
I’m so happy that the Intel design team has really stepped up their game and proved that x86 isn’t that inefficient compared to arm. Would’ve been exciting to see how Jim Keller’s Royal Core designs would’ve impacted the CPU design landscape. Too bad Pat canned the project.
Aren’t the video loop tests mostly dependent on the media engine and display engine rather than on the CPU?
I hope their foundry division can get back on par with the market leader in TSMC with the looming geopolitical implications.
I’m getting a lunar lake laptop soon. Availability sucks here in India so I don’t know when I can get one.
Intel was lazy as they had zero competition for laptops , now they steped UP a bit late. This lunar lake had to be released in 2021 at least .
@@madjoubah6549 yeah. But I’m happy with this. The video playback performance and efficiency is everything for me. I can finally ditch the tablet.
@@madjoubah6549 True. But hey, better late than never, I guess.
It would be good if Intal gave us an option to adjust the wattage ourselves. So we could enable a low wattage when on battery, and higher wattage when plugged in and need more performance. I don't know why manufacturers don't allow this.
@@ohwhatworld5851Manufacturer is the one who control wattage when on battery or plugged in but it's either too conservative or too aggressive.
I recommend throttle stop (idk it works with lunar lake yet) but I am using tiger lake (11th gen) and it's a live safer
Crikey its 2024 and this should just happen. You do not need to play around with multiple settings on a Mac to get it to be efficient when needed. Ridiculous and I have no idea why this is still acceptable in Windows land.
Great video. Nice to have competition in the thin and light category. Would have been great if these come out before I got my MacBook Air M2. For a laptop I want great battery life, compact and light, reasonable performance, and reasonable price.
11:37 Words of wisdom LOL
If I were to go for a new laptop my choice definitely will be AMD 370/375, hopefully able to run ~55W at max when needed. Currently my EliteBook 7840U/32GB is sufficient for me. Looking forward to ThinkPads and Elitebooks 13"/14" options to come in order to consider upgrade, or maybe wait for Zen 6 later.
Great video! I’ve never had a Mac before, but now I have a big decision to make. I’m a basic user with no demanding tasks. I currently have a Lenovo Legion Y520, which is 8 years old, and now I’m considering either the Apple MacBook Air M3 base model or the Asus ZenBook 14 OLED with a 1st gen Intel Core Ultra 7-155H, 16GB RAM, and 1TB storage. Which would you recommend between these two?
Macbook Air M3 base model is better .
For me, A laptop is a testbench device for all my applications/coding. Factors that matter the most in order: 1: compatibility with applications (so currently x86), 1: battery life and lightweight, 2: performance . I would love to have a 14-inch Intel 200s device with Nvidia GPU (a 3050 would be fine, to test CUDA programming)
is M2 air a good choice?
I'm a PC user but Macs have the best overall hardware. Quiet, powerful even unplugged, long battery, great design, exceptional speakers and touch pad and more. I just can't get past Mac os. That all said, there is no such thing as a bad computer anymore. PC's are super capable now. Anything more powerful than M1 is enough for every user
The Macbook Air 13” M4 will be out soon with 16G RAM
When do you think it will be out? I was considering getting the M3 but know thinking of waiting, hoping also the m4 is not 60 hrz
Wait how was the battery life on the ultra 7 258v?
Great video as always 😊.
I'm using Ryzen since 2017 and I love it. I don't think I will switch it to a different one anytime soon.
For an embedded software developer, is MacBook Air 16 512 a good choice?
Excellent video. The 14 inch variants of the Ryzen laptops seem like the sweet spot, especially in Canada.
Should i buy Air M3 or wait for air m4 next year? Just wanna switch from window to macos.
depends on what you need, I got an Imac with m4 and one 13 inches m3 they are absolutely amazing and intuitive to use, I too was switching over from windows... if you are a heavy user and run blender etc just wait up for the m4
@ thank you. Actually, I have ROG strix g18 for heavy load purposes but it is too big and battery suck. And I wanna get a macbook as for secondary device but not sure what spec to get. I’m considering 1. Mac Air M3 with 8gb ram 512 Rom, 2. Mac Air M3 with 16gb ram 512 rom & 3. Macbook pro M3 16gb ram 512 rom. My budget is slim but afraid to make wrong decision xD.
For me whats surprising is that apple has complete control over their hardware and software, and windows devices are scattered between different choices of componentsand brand but are actually becoming competitive with apples unified system, thats pretty darn good
I'm planning to build a setup for my color grading work, do you think AMD will be useful?
choosing a Laptop for my needs has been quite a whirlwind for me since the debut of the Snapdragon chip Laptops. But as I learnt more about those, I choose to stay in the traditional x86 Laptops than the ARM due to App compatibility. If I were to use ARM, I would go for the M3 Pro MacBook, and on the other hand, I would be using an AMD Ryzen AI chip for more demanding tasks than going over to Intel's side due to the baked in RAM and whatnot.
What games were those?
@Thetechchap thanks for this awesome comparison! How is the battery life when using teams? I currently have an M1 Pro Macbook Pro 14" that is due for an upgrade. Since I spend most of my workday in MS Teams which drains my battery in 4-5 hours, I was wondering which chip would handle that task the best. Apple M3, SD XE or Intel Core Ultra 2? Thanks
Surface Pro Laptop is the winner for me. ARM apps are coming daily. Running x86 apps under emulation just got a huge update. I'm a writer and an engineer. NPU is vital for improved image editing and video conferencing.
Can you please suggest best 2in1 laptop with OLED within 1100usd
Thanks for the video. I agree since I want Windows laptop, I'm probably going to the lunar lake ones. Now the question is, which one? I haven't seen too many comparisons of the different brands. Right now I hear a lot about either the zenbook s14, which you have shown or the Lenovo aura. Thoughts?
Just ordered today MacBook 💻 M3 Air 512GB memory /16 GB RAM 😊
Leaving my desktop experience and i am ready to try MacOS .
If you compare processors, then please weigh the duration on the battery capacities. If you compare laptops, then please use some with comparable basic specs such as size. This review is well done, if you do not think.
For me the Intel chip is the right choice as I work in the enterprise space where X86 compatibility is key. The other chips are very nice and for the right use-case, will do the job. As I predicted a couple of year back, it was going to be easy for Intel to catch up. Going forward, things become more difficult for all the chip vendors. Architectural breakthroughs will have to be implemented to keep advancing. We'll see whose labs have their ducks in a row.
I would agree that Intel is my best bet.
But if, here in Canada I look to Asus, they have 2 variants prices at 1300$ and 1800$.
It would be helpful to have your guidance. Do I have to spend 40% more for a top version ?
Perfect timing, thanks. My laptop is due for an upgrade.
On 9:57 min, are you sure about which device is each one?
Planning to buy the Series 1 Zenbook 14 or MSI Prestige 13 AI Evo...... the Series 2 will likely come next year here in the Philippines....
is it worth the wait?
Depends on your use cases, series 1 is better for multi-threaded performance because it's high TDP and cores (that can change with Arrow lake), series 2 is very optimized for ultrabook that demands good single thread performance. If battery life and iGPU performance are important, go with series 2, but if you want high performance multihreaded either go with AMD 370 or series 1
went for the ryzen because the price performance battery was unmatched. sure the new intel looks good, but nowhere to be found 2 weeks ago when I looked for it. for 1000 euros flat the asus vivoboook 16 inch oled 32gb ram and 1tb ssd is really really good.
Nice video edits
I very recently bought an M3 MacBook Air with 16GB RAM/512 GB storage for £1349 at John Lewis, so it is very competitive against those other machines.
I’m doing ICT for my higher education and I need a laptop which one do you recommend ?I have never used a Mac book before
If you need specialized engineering software then MacBook and Snapdragon is NOT an option. I use MPLAB IDE and ARM is not compatible. Go with x86, Intel or AMD both are great
Cloud computing makes performance on a laptop not really important for me but in the future for the masses. Get one with a decent size screen and a good keyboard. All processing in the future will be done in the cloud so it will be less important for big specs.
There's a mistake at 10:03 in labeling the laptops. Specs of Surface Laptop and MacBook are labeled in the opposite way 😅
Whoops! 🫠
Fair review.
Please do this test also with Linux
Hey Tech chap. Which windows laptop did you prefer in Davinci resolve ? Intel or AMD ? I’m running the MSI 16 AI Evo released in the beginning of this year and it’s great value but not quite as polished /fast in Davinci as my 2021 MacBook Pro 14 (M1 Pro). Curious on the windows performance on your side in Davinci. Thanks !
10:00 you've placed wrong specs on laptop screens, SD X Elite and M3 messed up
9:57 the descriptions don't seem to match the laptops?
I'm just annoyed that there aren't 16" laptops with matte screens that have these new CPUs.
I think a balance between battery life and multi-core performance is the best choice so i will go on AMD side👌
But I am truely impressed with the intel performance ❤ i had never expected that !
This shows that we are going to see more neck a neck compatition soon
Exactly my point. I'm considering getting either a new Lunar Lake laptop or a Strix Point laptop as someone who does both productivity and gaming applications, but also wants the long battery life.
Honestly, a Dell XPS 13 is looking like a better and better option with each passing day. 120hz at the same 1600p resolution, with a way thinner bezel, and a more powerful CPU and GPU at a cheaper price. The only downside is the lack of function keys, but if you're coming from a Touchbar Mac it won't be an issue
Great video! By the way people in the comments write about "Intel catching up".... by reducing speed below previous generations... AMD is the sweet spot by far. Still much higher efficiency per wh
I didn't expect Intel manage to catch up that fast and get a very close result compare to others processor. With very good battery life and graphic performance of intel Core Ultra series 2, is there still reasons to go for arms snapdragon x elite chip? The snapdragon x elite may have compatibility issue with old x86 software and games. But with current state of all of those processor chips, is there still any reason for software developers to rewrite their software in arm architecture or end user to choose snapdragon x elite with arm architecture? Or we all could probably just back to intel x86 chip?
As I look more into it. The intel Ram is 4x the M3. But the result is still below M3 in most catagory not to mention the upcoming M4 for mac. I wonder about the battery size comparison.
hey man, great review as always! I have a question, would really appreciate if you could answer that. How bad is the heating issue on the S16 Ryzen AI HX 370? I have heard and read reviews that quite a lot of people have returned their laptops due to overheating. I would be using it only for basic tasks like some Excel modelling, basic chrome stuff, youtube videos and occasionally watch a movie or two. Would that push it so much that it overheats?
Thanks in advance :)
everyday use should be fine, although lots of review says that S16 can only sustain 22-23W when under constant load, that is quite low for AI HX 370, the processor can only sustain 1.8GHz. If i were you I would look for other chassis that can sustain at least 28W during prolonged load. So yes, others returned this laptop because it is unable to handle long multicore task which contradicts this processor purpose.
Thanks for the info, @@infochannel8705 😄 only asus is offering this processor in my country right now and that too only in the 16 inch form factor, so I'll maybe wait for others to come out with their laptops too and see how's the heating issue been tackled.
Lunar lake is good, but too weak when plugged in. On the other hand, the Snapdragon and Ryzen are workstation class when plugged in and get good enough battery life on the go.
I believe with future driver update, sp can at least gain 20%+ performance in GPU.
All are good choices
Love my Snapdragon Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x. It's an amazing machine with a long battery life. I also like the MacBook Air as it offers a very high level of flexibilitly. The laptops using Intel Lunar Lake can be a real game changer for people with a high need of compatibility. The choices for customers have never been better.
Is the laptop with lunar lake processor as snappy as a macbook or the surface laptop 7 X elite?
Definitely, since it is now come with SOC design.
The Tech Chap is actually such an Apple fanboy. How are you still recommending the Macbook Air over the Asus Zenbook S14? The S14 has a significantly better screen, 30% better battery life, significantly better for gaming, faster charging, double the ram for the same price, bigger screen and it’s lighter. In what world is the Macbook a better buy? Apple fanboy alert.
8:00 Lol 😂😂😂
Zenbook S16 is definitely power-limited to only 33w, and this slows down the GPU by 10%. This means the new 890m GPU is actually hardly faster than the 880m because both are POWER LIMITED. If you used a laptop that WAS NOT power limited like the $1200 Asus Vivobook S14 with Ryzen HX 365 I think you'd find (a) Longer video playback life due to smaller screen, and (b) Better GPU performance than the S16/HX365. In the UK I think the S14 has a WUXGA screen and hx370 so it would be more of a fair comparison with that laptop ...
I wonder how long it'll take to get to picometer processor transistors
I love my Chromebook yes it can be limited for certain stuff but it does what i need it too fast and reliable only spent 400 on it would refuse too spend more for an mac book or anything else
What do you mean by affordable
The exact Snapdragon redemption I was hoping for ever since their 2021-2022 years.
This is exactly the decision that has cost me a few sleepless nights! 😁 Thanks for the video! BTW, how is the noise level with these? I am leaning the Intel way because based on secondary sources I think I should be able to run it without the fans spinning too much more easily than the AMD chip.
The new Snapdragon chip is a beast, however, the lack of app compatibility is a huge dealbreaker so it's probably better to go with Intel or AMD since they aren't that far behind in performance.
Well Windows has its own advantages as well
-
- It has only a 60 Hz IPS screen (this is written in the video, though) with a slow response time so scrolling causes blurry images and text,
- it doesn't support more than two monitors including the internal screen,
- it has a more limited port selection,
- it is not reported how much the performance drops in a sustained load (like when the benchmarks are run multiple times successively), and
- it is not possible to upgrade the storage and Apple charges you a lot for this.
- expansion docks are very expensive
- hvec not supported
-very less compatibility for open source third party apps
-Running high workloads continuously for long time eventually the hardware starts to give up and you can see freezing issues
(i am talking about real workloads like blender , spy and opti x etc )
-windows has robust support for virtual machines (e.g., VMware, VirtualBox), allowing users to run multiple operating systems and legacy applications more easily.
-multiple windows like 4 in one view for multitasking not possible
- file structure is very hard to visualize and navigate (when there are 1000+ files and structures)compared to windows
-YOU CAN LITERALLY IMPLEMENT 90% OF ECOSYSTEM FEATURES THAT APPLE HAS ON WINDOWS USING APPS
-Windows and samsung ecosystem is just as good as APPLE ECOSYSTEM
-WINDOWS LAPTOPs come with TOUCHSCREEN bigger screen than IPADS
-INTEL 288 series 2 ULTRA CORE - Has closer battery life if not better than macbook
-NPU'S in INTEL and windows laptops are future proof
though you can still run LLM;s on m3 max
-Larger SCREEN on windows machine
-LOT of shotcuts , Winodws power toys for literally many magical things which MAC does
-Cant run POWER BI analytics at full capacity ,
- Cloud services on AZURE and APP connections to built native windows apps are better
-DirectX, especially DirectX 12, is exclusive to Windows
-Windows machines can offer similar or better specs than Macs at a lower price, making high-end builds more affordable for resource-intensive tasks like video editing and rendering.
-Windows is compatible with most VR headsets and AR applications
-Tools like Unreal Engine and Unity are optimized for Windows, giving game developers better performance and additional plugins.
-Windows laptops allow easier access to RAM and SSD upgrades, while MacBooks have soldered components, making upgrades nearly impossible
-ALTHOUGH macbooks run cooler and use less power , high workloads and serious workloads at longer time heats up the machine very bad since there are no fans it takes time to disippate longer
--Windows laptops support a vast range of customizable peripherals (like gaming mice, keyboards, and headsets) with software like Razer Synapse and Logitech G HUB for deep customization options. (YOU CAN USE THESE MOUSE BUTTONS TO LITERALLY CREATE MACROS TO DO AUTOMATED TASKS ON A CLICK ON BUTTONS)
-Windows has more versatile user account management, essential for businesses where multiple users need secure, customized access to the same machine.
-The Microsoft Office suite has better support and more features on Windows, including seamless integrations with OneDrive and Teams.
-diverse storage configurations, including RAID arrays and fast NVMe SSDs that are often cheaper and easier to install than Apple’s internal options.
-- easier and cheaper to repair, with more third-party options available, while Macs often require official Apple service centers with high repair costs
- ERP systems are Windows-only, especially in industries like manufacturing, healthcare, and finance.
-Windows VR support - VR headsets like Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, while macOS has limited VR support.
-Windows supports high refresh rate displays (120Hz, 144Hz, 240Hz, and beyond) for smoother gaming and video playback,
--Many professional graphic tablets, such as Wacom, Huion, and XP-Pen, offer better driver support and more extensive functionality on Windows.
--’ NTFS file system supports features like file compression and larger maximum file sizes, making it ideal for users working with large video and graphic files.
--supports server management tools like Microsoft SQL Server, Active Directory, and SharePoint, essential for many business and academic applications.
-Many AI and ML tools, like TensorFlow and PyTorch, are optimized for Windows due to better support for NVIDIA GPUs,
-Financial and accounting applications, like QuickBooks Enterprise and Sage 50, are better optimized for Windows,
-Windows also supports custom configurations via Windows Server VPN and Network Policy Server (NPS),
macOS doesn’t natively support SSTP and generally relies on third-party clients for certain configurations, while Windows has these capabilities natively, giving it an edge in secure and flexible networking in corporate setups【9†source】
BENCHMARKS BY UL SOLUTIONS
er and Multi-Session Capabilities**v
-Windows Server enables multi-session RDP, allowing multiple users to access a single machine simultaneously in a secure environment. This is especially valuable in enterprise and education contexts where shared resources are common. macOS does not support simultaneous multi-user sessions to the same extent
Windows PowerShell and Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) provide powerful tools for IT admins to automate tasks, set up network configurations, and troubleshoot remotely. This functionality is essential for enterprises, and while macOS has its Terminal, it’s less integrated with enterprise environments and lacks the full suite of Windows-based tools for large-scale automation.
Good content +1 Sub.
Thanks! Appreciate it!
It's such a fucking shame that Apple no longer allows native Windows installations.
I am a full android user with my google pixel but the Macbook air m1 i bought years ago for 900 was the best decision small nice aluminum body long battery very good resolution ~something betwenn 2and 4k i think and very good speakers out of this thin thing
I have heard good things about Snapdragon being good. I am hoping that SD does become great. It's gonna force Intel to be better.
Chaps, do you think we will see Surfave Pro 11 with Lunar Lake?
I just got a 12th gen intel laptop... The Lenovo legion slim 7i..
I saw a refurbished deal and had to jump on it.. It was a no brainer.
I feel this way cause the new chips are just too expensive now, and somewhat not defined yet..
Like the new intel chips not coming with a dedicated gpu, which I need.
Yes the igpu is great, a dGPU will be better.
So maybe after another 3-4 years, when the market is a bit more stable, I could get an arrow lake cpu laptop... Or who knows, SD gen 3 cpu laptops.
10:04🤔
That was an interesting Easter egg😅
The new ultra core processors seems very promising. However I just got a m3 MacBook Air, and certainly no windows laptop ive own in the past comes close to the build quality of MacBook. Sure it the base model with 8gb is low but it's never slowed down on me. I do like the fanless design as it absolutely silent.
Even when now Air is 16gb I wouldn’t go for it because the screen difference is huge. And that’s a big part of a laptop