Apple MacBook Pro vs. Pixel vs. Surface Book – Which Notebook Is Better For You?

Besides the Surface Pro 4, Microsoft has released a 2-in-1 detachable tablet called Surface Book, which is a direct response to Apple’s MacBook Pro and Google’s Chromebook Pixel. All three models have a premium look and their displays have similar sizes, but there are many other similarities between them, such as the possibility to add memory.

Displays

The smallest screen is owned by the Chromebook Pixel, which measures 12.85-inch and supports a resolution of 2,560×1,700 pixels at 239ppi; it’s followed by the MacBook Pro with a 13.3-inch with a resolution of 2,560×1,600 pixels that gives a pixel density of 227ppi, while the Surface Book is fitted with a 13.5-inch screen whose resolution is higher at 3000×2000 pixels and which offers also a higher pixel density of 267ppi. The screen of the MacBook Pro has an aspect ratio of 16:10, while the other rivals adopted the 3:2 aspect ratio.

The Surface Book has a detachable keyboard and the screen supports a new technology called Palm Block, which allows you to put your hand on the screen and write naturally, as you’d do with a physical keyboard.

In addition, all three devices can be connected to other peripherals, being used for personal or business purposes and they have loud speakers for listening to videos or for presenting projects at work.

Hardware

The MacBook Pro is powered by a 2.7GHz (i5-5257U) dual-core Intel Core i5 Broadwell processor which couples with Intel Iris 6100 Graphics and 8 GB built-in onboard RAM, but there is an optional 16GB RAM configuration, or a 2.9GHz (i5-5287U) dual-core Intel Core i5 Broadwell processor, or a 3.1GHz (i7-5557U) dual-core Intel Core i7 Broadwell processor, and all variants are backed by 1866MHz PC3-14900 LPDDR3 SDRAM. The 2.7GHz comes with 128GB or 256GB of storage, while the faster processor has 512GB or 1TB SSD.

The Chromebook Pixel houses an Intel Core i5 1.8GHz processor which is paired with Intel HD Graphics 4000 and 8 or 16GB DDR3 RAM. The internal storage is available in variants of 32 or 64GB SSD.

The Surface Book comes with two variants of Intel Skylake dual-core processors: i5-6300U (2.4 up to 3.0GHz) and i7-6600U (2.6 up to 3.4GHz), but both are backed by Intel HD Graphics 520 and support either 8 or 16GB LPDDR3 RAM, but there is an optional Nvidia GeForce GPU in keyboard dock. This tablet has internal storage with capacities of 128GB, 256GB, 512GB and 1TB, depending on the hardware configuration.

Cameras and Batteries

The rear camera of the Surface Book is 8MP and supports autofocus, while the front camera is 5MP. The MacBook Pro and Chromebook Pixel sport a 720p front camera which can be used for video chatting.

The MacBook Pro should last nine hours, while the Chromebook Pixel and Surface Book claim to last up to 12 hours.

Prices

The cheapest Chromebook Pixel costs $999, it’s followed by the Surface Book, which costs $1,499, while the MacBook Pro is extremely expensive at $1,799.