As such, Apple’s notebook has a slight edge for power users in terms of port selection. These ports can transfer data at up to 40 gigabytes (GB) per second, which is up to twice as fast as what you’ll find on regular USB-C and is useful for quickly transferring files from a hard drive or connecting to multiple 4K displays at once. But the MacBook Pro’s four USB-C Thunderbolt 3 ports are faster than the standard USB-C slot on the Surface Laptop 4. If you’re still using accessories that connect via the older USB-A standard (such as mice and storage drives), the Surface Laptop 4’s USB-A port is a nice perk that may prevent the need to spring for a separate USB adapter.

Meanwhile, the MacBook Pro features four USB-C Thunderbolt ports in addition to a headphone jack.

The Surface Laptop 4 gets you one USB-C port, one USB-A port, a headphone jack and a Surface Connect port, the latter of which connects to the included charger and can be used with supported docking stations. These slim laptops are also slim on ports, each offering a handful of connection options that differ in some key ways. But the Laptop 4’s keys just feel better, especially when paired with the comfortable wrist rest provided by the Alcantara models. The Magic Keyboard on the MacBook Pro is no slouch either, with snappy keys that are much less shallow than the butterfly keyboards of old. The Laptop 4’s keyboard offers a deep 1.3 millimeters of travel and felt satisfyingly bouncy and comfortable as we spent hours typing up documents and emails. Speaking of which, both of these laptops have excellent keyboards, but we enjoyed hammering away on the Surface Laptop 4 just a bit more. By comparison, the MacBook Pro is limited to just Space Gray and Silver.īut where the Surface Laptop 4 really stands out is with the soft Alcantara fabric covering that’s available on select 13.5-inch models, which doesn’t just look better than the all-metal MacBook Pro - it also proved easier on our wrists while typing. Microsoft’s notebook is a hair thinner and lighter than the MacBook Pro and comes in a splash of attractive colors, including Matte Black, Sandstone and the especially eye-catching Ice Blue variation we tested. The Surface Laptop 4 and MacBook Pro both sport familiar-looking (and very attractive) designs, but we have to give the edge to Microsoft when it comes to sheer aesthetics.

Apple 4k display thunderbolt