Where it falls short should be immediately obvious: the CPU. In most regards, this is the MacBook’s equal: reasonably fast SSD storage, 32GB of the same really fast 3733MHz RAM, beautiful high-quality display that also happens to be a touchscreen (point Microsoft), and the base comes with a proper NVIDIA GPU (again, point Microsoft). Would its unique design, high-quality touchscreen, pen compatibility, and the option for a dedicated GPU make this the better choice for some photographers?

There’s no way the 15-inch Surface Book 3 can keep up with the 6- and 8-core laptops in its size/price bracket, but with its dedicated GPU, 32GB of RAM, and quad-core i7 processor, I wanted to compare the 13.5-inch model to the new 13-inch MacBook Pro that we recently put to the test.Īpple’s latest computer really surprised me, and I wondered if the Surface Book 3 would be able to keep up in terms of either usability or performance. But, knowing the limitations inherent to the Surface Book’s design, I asked to review the 13.5-inch model instead. When we reached out to Microsoft for a review unit of the Surface Book 3, they initially planned to send the 15-inch model. But it’s also flawed… critically flawed by the selfsame design that makes it a unique product, which is why I can’t recommend it to most working photographers. The build quality is great, and the design is both useful and pretty much unique right now.

Microsoft surface book 3