Surface Studio Laptop -VS- New M1 MacBook Pro 16

I don't often get excited about laptops but this fall is the exception. I'm loving both the Surface Laptop Studio and the New M1 Macbook Pros. How do these two amazing laptops stack up against each other? That's what we are here to talk about today.

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[corwin]

I appreciate that the “not-fun-to-drawiness” factor is a quantifiable data point in your review.

[LordTeshima]

Thanks for the comparision. I'm strongly considering the Surface Studio for my daughter, who is an artist and is graduating high school this year. I did watch your standalone review of the new Surface laptop as she is concerned about pen performance after you mentioned the rather poor pen performance on your Acer ConceptD review, which she was interested in prior to seeing your review. I also believe she has started watching your drawing videos as well so keep up the great content!

[cinanime]

Here's what I want: The convenient all-in-one Surface Pro 8 to be just as powerful and energy efficient as the MBP M1 Max with all the ports included and the brilliant, colour-accurate 4K display, + a compatible and slimmer Wacom Pro Pen 2.

[carlstanford]

I am a Mac guy but love to see quality devices like these coming out. Competition is good and great tech is great for everyone

[TabletPro]

Hi Brad, I like this review, very simple but I think that's what I like about it. Not overly technical and just right for people looking at making this choice. I got the Laptop Studio 512gb 16gb version and am returning it and got the 2tb 32gb version instead. I want this to be my main computer for a long time. never had a machine with this much storage before, pretty insane. Such a lovely lovely machine. Thank you for another great video

[jippalippa]

I guess, like always, it's the same old thing.
Either you're a windows or a mac guy, and both options are equally viable, however I have never met a person that switched to the other platform after settling on the other, for me it was the same in 2011 when I switched to macOS for my professional life.
It's especially tricky to switch from macOS to Windows as the ecosystem within the apple devices is just so good.
On the other hand, while being a mac guy (waiting for an M1 max 16" to be shipped), I used windows too all my life (started with Windows 95) and damn if I'd love to get a Surface Studio Laptop too, if I had unlimited money.

[bmc]

You always provide thoughtful and informative perspectives during your product comparisons. Thank you for your work !

[AleySoundz]

Hi Brad, Can you please do an updated review of sidecar? I know in your 2019 review you weren't very impressed. Is it any better in 2021? Thank you.

[kaptnwelpe]

Not an artist but switched after being 27 years Mac only to Surface. Starting with a Pro 2017 to test Windows (really!) and got the Studio 2 later - couldn't believe it when the first Studio was announced that it wasn't from Apple (yeah - owned THE iMac G4 too)... . Never looked back. But: there are some huge stones on the way of switching: E-Mail, Calendar and Contacts. The UWP apps are best described as advertisement for 365. But even more worse: CardDAV Contact groups are handled different. And Windows drag&drop - just don't use it as a Mac user... BTW: Pro 2017 - my Windows test machine - tempted to replace it with a Go as that would be much more portable for me. Hope it will get a better battery runtime in the near future.

[nakdickson]

Not an Apple guy but with m1, I think Apple could make a perfect surface book replica.

[zephyr]

Surface Laptop Studio has worked best for me, since I’ve mostly worked in the windows ecosystem, and I have used an iPad with an iMac in an office setting extensively, and being tethered in a cumbersome/inelegant way between a device and a portable drawing display vs the sheer convenience of having it all in one system/one cable makes it a no brainer.

There is a huge missed opportunity in not having a pencil/touch enabled MacBook in some sort of 2 in 1 form factor, as even though MacOS is not my preferred OS at this time, I would have probably waited for that hypothetical device (if I thought they would ever do it) as opposed to jumping on the SLS.

That being said, ironic that windows followed the nerfed MacBook port selection only for apple to immediately increase their port selection to something pros actually want.

But yeah, my current setup is the i7/32gb SLS, with a Huion tablet stand to angle it up slightly in tablet mode for ergonomics, and a tourbox neo for hot keys.

Also, there is a series of dongles and hubs to connect other peripherals if I need them. (I never said it was the perfect setup lol, but so far it has been the best for my purposes with fewer compromises, having worked professionally in the past with Wacom displays, iMac/iPad combos with astropad, as well as non display tablets from Wacom and the Surface Pro 5)

[papermelon]

I’ve never wanted Apple to get more creative with their designs as I do now. Now that they have the unbelievably powerful M1chips in their devices, if they started creating surface like devices with more to offer, the surface line would be dead and over. The only way Microsoft if winning anymore is because of their 2-in-1 offerings, and many people will sacrifice power, battery life and sustainability just for that creative touch to the device. With the stability, power and battery of the new macs, they would be unrivaled with the surface features.

[nathanmoyer]

As great as the M1 chip is I'm honestly only a fan of the iPad when it comes to apple...but the surface products with Windows 11 being more tablet-friendly and Android apps coming, I think I'm more interested in Windows.
I'm actually mostly a Linux user but I love tablets for art like the ipad, but I also code on Linux, and now Windows 11 has pretty much full Linux environment support built in with WSLg along with a fantastic drawing experience. I can do everything with one device. It's pretty awesome. Especially for my wallet.
The M1 chip is amazing but I'd rather wait and let MS come up with a competitor than just jump ship and switch. I know people love to hate MS but they're doing really great stuff these past few years. (Minus that surface duo thing)

[sver]

I simply love Surface Studio - I went for i5 instead of i7 - I do not play games and I do not edit videos. It is very versatile and stage mode is great - you need keyboard only when you are typing or doing some job. Stage mode is good for watching videos and even going through PPT slides. Lack of touch screen is a big deal for me.

[nnmc]

Hey Brad! I very, very and very LOVE your comparison video!!! <3

[htsunmiku]

The surface reminds me of certain Sony Vaio models (like the z flip)

I'm glad this design type is back. I really wanted one back then but couldn't get it since I was a kid.

[buccob]

I love your videos Brad, but I will have to disagree in the last part when you defend the notch on the MacBook.... It is there to pave the way for future generation that house Face ID... currently it serves no other purpose but to look like an iOS device. The bezel is "thick" enough to hold a vastly better camera module if they wanted to, just take a look at current Xperia devices that have top and bottom bezels of around 4mm and those devices have an 8MP camera (it doesn't win any awards, but it is way better than those 1080p found in the Mac).
The notch in the MacBook is hideous and absolutely unnecessary.

[Crim]

Man, Apple really needs to ditch the stupid "no touchscreens" thinking on their Macbooks. I would have bought one if it was like that Surface Studio with Apple Pencil support. Either way, what's the point of allowing touch enabled apps to run on your hardware when you totally refuse to make a touch enabled laptop device?

[ulangi]

All I want is surface laptop studio with M1 max chip

[robinrai]

I think the dream is the surface with m1 😅