MacBook Air compared to Surface Pro 2, the former slightly wins

Microsoft's Surface tablet has been trying to replace laptops since its inception last year. The new Surface Pro 2 has a greater competitive edge at a price of 899 US dollars (about 5500 yuan). Equipped with a high-performance Intel Core processor and a clear touch screen, the Windows 8.1 Tablet PC is a strong competitor for Apple's 11-inch MacBook Air (999 dollars) ...

So what are the advantages of two devices in all aspects? Science and Technology website Laptopmag A full range of comparisons.

The MacBook Air and Surface Pro 2 are different devices for the two shape design, so you need to figure out which one is best for you. The 2013 MacBook Air maintains a slim, aluminum-integrated fuselage and a black floating keyboard that is standard for Apple laptops.

While Surface Pro 2 can be used as a laptop, it is more of a tablet computer. Like the previous model, the device uses a fully black magnesium alloy casing with a bracket on its back. Pro's touch screen is not available in air, and air is the only available keyboard in two devices.

The 2.8-pound MacBook Air is heavier than the 2-pound Surface Pro 2, and Surface Pro 2 is still lighter (2.4 lb) than Air, even with the Type vinyl keyboard protector. In the fuselage size, Surface Pro 2 looks slightly thicker, but the MacBook Air is much wider.

Winner: Surface Pro 2. Although Air is more comfortable to use on the thighs, the Surface Pro 2 lightweight fuselage and the flexibility of use (available as a tablet or notebook) helped it win the first inning.

Of the two devices, the MacBook Air's 11.6-inch 1366x768 resolution display is larger, but Surface Pro 2 's 10.6-inch 1920x1080 resolution screen has more pixel points.

Surface Pro 2 's 10-point touch screen is pleasing to use, and different touch gestures can be identified accurately and quickly. This screen is also very vivid for the image and video display, and it has a great visual angle.

The low resolution display of the MacBook Air now looks a little out of date. Meanwhile, the brightness of its screen 219 lux is already above average, but still less than the Surface Pro 2 of 389 lux.

Winner: Surface Pro 2. The device's screen is clearer and brighter, as well as touch-controlled.

Even if there is no audio device, the speaker at the bottom of the MacBook Air fuselage can bring in enough audio. While the Surface Pro 2 rear speakers are rich in detail, the bass and overall volume are deficient.

Winner: MacBook Air. The volume advantage of the device helped it win the game.

This is a bit tricky because Surface Pro 2 has several ways to enter. We think its huge screen virtual keyboard isn't working, but you can buy a 119 dollar touch vinyl or a 129 dollar type vinyl to get the physical input experience. We are not satisfied with the Touch Vinyl 2 sensor-based keystrokes, but the Type vinyl 2 's Independent button handle is almost as good as a real notebook keyboard.

The MacBook air is equipped with the iconic black backlight keyboard, and this year's new Air keyboard sensitivity is as good as ever, and the function keys used by Mac OS make the brightness, volume and playback control easier. Air also benefits from a larger trackpad that provides accurate gesture recognition.

Winner: MacBook Air. With more comfortable keys and a larger trackpad, the MacBook Air input experience is better than Surface Pro 2.

The 11-inch MacBook air is equipped with the 1.3GHz Intel Core i5-4250 processor, while Surface Pro 2 is equipped with the 1.6GHz Intel Core I5-4200U processor.

The MacBook Air has a boot time of 13 seconds, a second faster than surface Pro 2. Air has scored 6809 in the Geekbench performance test, while Surface Pro 2 is 5100.

In the Cinebench OpenGL graphics test, two devices were matched: The MacBook Air scored 22fps, while Surface Pro 2 was 20fps.

With faster flash memory, the MacBook air transmits 4.97GB files at a rate of 221MBPs, while surface Pro 2 has a fast rate of transmission, but there is a gap between 154Mbps results and Air.

In the OpenOffice spreadsheet test, Surface Pro 2 matches 20,000 names and addresses for 5 minutes and 11 seconds, and air is slightly slower, for 5 minutes and 50 seconds.

What about the performance of the two devices in the game? In the 1366x768 resolution, automatic detection of graphics settings play "World of Warcraft", Surface Pro 2 average frame rate of 46fps,macbook air slightly higher, 49fps. And if the effect of the screen to super high, Surface Pro 2 and air frame rate will be reduced to 24 and 23fps respectively.

Winner: Draw. Surface Pro faster CPU and MacBook Air faster flash memory makes this round difficult to compete.

Microsoft's Windows 8.1 and Apple OS X Mavericks are the latest versions of this year and offer a number of useful upgrades for Surface Pro and MacBook Air users, respectively.

Surface Pro 2 simple pre-installed software includes Skype, Internet Explorer, SkyDrive, Xbox Music, and Windows 8.1 brings new applications, including Bing Health and Bing cuisine. In the Windows App Store, you can also find popular apps such as Netflix, Kindle, Twitter, and the exclusive game of Halo:spartan assault. But the platform has only recently ushered in Facebook apps, while still without YouTube and Instagram apps.

On the MacBook air, you can use off-the-shelf IMovie or Garageban software to make videos and music. In addition, you will see IPhoto, IBooks and Safari native apps. The MacBook Air also has access to the Mac app Store, where you can get iWork kits for free.

Apple's App Store allows users to buy and download many popular first-party programs, such as Logic Pro X and Aperture 3, and "Civilization 5" and "Roller Coaster Tycoon 3" games. The last two games can also be played on Surface Pro 2, but you'll need to download from the game's respective publishers, not directly from the Windows App Store.

Winner: Surface Pro. While the contents of the Mac App Store are more appealing than Windows app stores, Surface Pro 2, which is on the Windows platform, has a clear advantage over the range and number of desktop applications. Next Page 12