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Is the M1 MacBook Air better than the Surface Pro (SQ2)? A Quick Guide

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Apple recently launched the Apple M1 Macbook, a huge success. While Apple utilizes the ARM architecture, Windows also has multiple ARM-based operating systems, such as Windows RT and Windows 10. Still, it has never been considered a primary device.

However, Microsoft has released ARM-based Surfaces since 2012, and the Surface Pro X 2020 still needs to be recognizable. So, let’s know what’s gone wrong and what Apple does right. We will discuss this today, so let’s take a closer look at it.

How Microsoft blends the ARM-based laptop.

Finally, both OEMs have adapted their x86 operating system to run on ARM, but the way to reach them differed. Starting with the Microsoft Surface, initially launched in 2012, is a tablet powered by the NVIDIA Tega Three ARM platform. At the same time, it crashed because it couldn’t run unlikely applications, except Microsoft Store apps.

Windows 10 announced support for Win32 apps on ARM.

Here, the 64-bit OS can run Windows laptops powered by Qualcomm processors to accomplish smartphone functionality like built-in LTE connectivity. Many OEMs are starting to push laptops based on the same OEMs, such as Lenovo, Samsung, and more. But they couldn’t survive. In the end, Microsoft released its first Surface Pro X powered by Microsoft SQ1, also known as Snapdragon 8cx, and another was the SQ2, also known as Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2.

From the beginning, Microsoft used to rely on software instead of hardware, and they had to rely on Qualcomm to produce the chipset for the Microsoft laptop. On the other hand, Apple used to balance both hardware and software. Therefore, Apple used to run the mobile operating system on the desktop. Meanwhile, Windows used to run desktops on mobile, which was simplified by fewer resources and less power and worked better with powerful hardware, and that’s what Apple paid off with this idea.

Key Specification

The Microsoft Surface Pro X was powered by a Microsoft SQ2 8-Core CPU with 16GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 256GB of SSD storage. On the other hand, the Apple M1 Macbook Air was powered by an Apple M1 8-Core CPU paired with 16GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 512GB of SSD storage.

Quick review

Both devices are perfect to consider when using basic web browsing and Microsoft Office, likely both having Quick Wakeup functionality and being able to directly log you in with biometrics, and the battery lasts you for an entire day.

On the other hand, the Apple M1 Macbook Air can run the X86 version of the software, but Windows officially doesn’t support X86 software. Indeed, Apple uses an emulator to run the x86 version of the software on the M1 Macbook Air. However, Microsoft recently officially announced the x64/x86 version of the software on Windows 10 on Arm PCs within their Windows Insider Programme, which means it is currently in ta. Still, it will likely arrive in the stable version of Windows.

Geekbench Report

The M1 Macbook dominated the Geekbench report; Apple did a great job, resulting in a 2x score compared to the Windows ARM PC. It was pretty fast and great. This is because Apple used to have dedicated hardware for x86 alongside ARM to run software. On the other hand, Windows relies on software-based functionality to emulate the x86 version of software running on ARM. The price of both laptops is relatively identical, while Microsoft used to charge $100 more for a computer.

Software availability

This world has had ARM-based laptops since 2017, but only some are available. Still, since Apple launched the M1 Macbook Air, software developers have launched their support for the x84, like Firefox, Adobe, Google Chrome, and even Microsoft Office. As reported, Apple might carry a Windows ARM laptop with them, and Microsoft is designing its own SoC for Surface PCs.

This may help you get some ideas. Thanks for being with us. We would like to know your valuable opinion and feedback. If you have any queries, share them with us in the comment section below. Stay tuned for more updates in the future.