Case material, dimensions, and weight Rob Schultz / IDG Note that the Surface Laptop offers a more advanced 7th-generation (Kaby Lake) Intel Core processor, while the Surface Pro 4 is stuck with the 6th-generation (Skylake) chip.

While asking college students to pay north of $1,500 for a higher-end Surface Laptop seems unrealistic, even if the alternative is an equally pricey MacBook Air, the most viable comparison is between the Surface Laptop with Core i7/8GB RAM/256GB SSD ($1,599) and the near-identically configured $1,349 Surface Pro 4 plus Type Cover (for a total of $1,479-$1,509). While you could theoretically do without one, you’ll make your life a lot easier if you add a Type Cover to your shopping list. Note that these prices do not include a Type Cover attachable keyboard, which costs an additional $130 to $160 depending on the model. The entry-level models with 4GB of RAM may struggle if burdened with demanding applications. The models with 8GB of RAM or more will have better staying power.īuying a Surface Pro 4 is a bit more straightforward.

Selecting the right Surface Laptop comes with a caveat: It’s aimed at education, where you’ll be subject to the whims of professors who dictate what software to buy. Neither the Surface Pro 4 nor the Surface Laptop is especially cheap, as the prices above indicate.

Surface pro 4 vs surface go