Microsoft Surface Laptop Ultra 15 vs Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M5, 2026)
84
out of 100
VS
84
out of 100
Please select specific configurations for the laptops to get a more accurate comparative review
Review
Performance
System and application performance
Gaming
Performance in popular 3D games
Display
Viewing angle, color accuracy, brightness
Battery Life
Potential battery life in light and average use
Connectivity
Ports, webcam and other interfaces
Portability
Design, materials, durability and usability
Pick the usage scenario that best matches your needs
Value for money (Beta)
Key Differences
Advantages of the Microsoft Surface Laptop Ultra 15
- Includes an old-school USB-A port
- Slightly easier to carry: weighs 140 grams less (around 0.31 lbs)
- Display has support for touch input
- Smaller footprint: 11% more compact case (121.7 vs 136.7 square inches)
Advantages of the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M5, 2026)
- MacBook with the Apple M5 Pro (18-Core) chip maintains its performance even when running on battery power.
- Features a a little bigger (~9%) battery – 100 against 92 watt-hours
Tests and Specifications
Comparison table of test results and technical specsCase
| Weight | 2 kg (4.41 lbs) | 2.14 kg (4.72 lbs) |
| Dimensions | 328.8 x 238.7 x 17.99-19.16 mm 12.94 x 9.4 x 0.71-0.75 inches |
355.7 x 248.1 x 16.8 mm 14 x 9.77 x 0.66 inches |
| Area | 785 cm2 (121.6 inches2) | 882 cm2 (136.8 inches2) |
| Screen-to-body ratio | ~85.3% | ~86.2% |
| Side bezels | 5.9 mm | 3.4 mm |
| Colors | Black, Silver | Black, Silver |
| Material | Aluminum | Aluminum |
| Transformer | No | No |
| Opening angle | - | 135° |
Size comparison
| Cooling system | Active | Active |
| Vapor chamber | No | No |
| Liquid metal | No | No |
| Number of fans | 2 | 2 |
| Noise level (max. load) | - | 51.7 dB |
Display
| Size | 15 inches | 16.2 inches |
| Type | Mini LED | Mini LED |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 120 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | Yes | Yes (24-120 Hz) |
| PPI | 262 ppi | 254 ppi |
| Aspect ratio | 3:2 | 16:10 |
| Resolution | 3270 x 2180 pixels | 3456 x 2234 pixels |
| HDR support | Yes, Dolby Vision | Yes, Dolby Vision |
| Sync technology | No | No |
| Touchscreen | Yes | No |
| Coating | Glossy (Antireflective) | Glossy (Antireflective) |
| Ambient light sensor | Yes | Yes |
Screen space comparison
MacBook Pro 16 (M5, 2026)
16.2″ (16:10 ratio) = 118 in2
Surface Laptop Ultra 15
15″ (3:2 ratio) = 103.8 in2
~13% more screen space
| Contrast | 100000:1 | 1000000:1 |
| sRGB color space | - | 100% |
| DCI-P3 color gamut | 100% | 100% |
Max. brightness
Battery
Capacity
| Full charging time | - | 1:25 hr |
| Battery type | Li-Po | Li-Po |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Fast charging | Yes | Yes |
| Charging via USB (Power Delivery) | Yes, 140 W | Yes, 140 W |
| Charging port position | Left, Right | Left, Right |
| Charge power | 140 W | 140 W |
| Cable length | - | 2 meters |
| Weight of AC adapter | - | 351 grams |
CPU
CPU name
| Base frequency | 4.0 GHz | 4.61 GHz |
| Cores | 18 (9P + 9E) | 18 |
| Threads | 18 | 18 |
| Integrated GPU | Nvidia N1X (40SM) | Apple M5 Pro GPU (20-core) |
| Fabrication process | 3 nm | 3 nm |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Cinebench 2024 (Single-Core)
Cinebench 2024 (Multi-Core)
Graphics Card
GPU name
| TGP | - | 28 W |
| Type | Integrated | Integrated |
| Fabrication process | 3 nm | 3 nm |
| GPU base clock | 1665 MHz | - |
| GPU boost clock | 2418 MHz | 1620 MHz |
| FLOPS | 24.8 TFLOPS | 8.3 TFLOPS |
| Memory size | System Shared | System Shared |
| Memory type | LPDDR5X | LPDDR5X |
| Memory bus | 256 bit | 256 bit |
| Memory speed | 9.4 Gbps | 9.6 Gbps |
| Shading units (cores) | 5120 | 2560 |
| Texture mapping units (TMUs) | 160 | 160 |
| Raster operations pipelines (ROPs) | 40 | 80 |
| GPU performance | 24.8 TFLOPS | 8.3 TFLOPS |
| Blender GPU | - | 4399 |
| Solar Bay | - | 44690 |
Expected FPS based on average performance across 9 popular games. Details
RAM
RAM size
| Channels | GB | 3x8 GB |
| Clock | 9400 MHz | 9600 MHz |
| Type | LPDDR5X | LPDDR5X |
| Upgradable | No | No |
Storage
Storage size
| Bus | PCI-E Gen 5.0 (4x) | Custom |
| Storage type | SSD (M2) | SSD (M2) |
| Channels | 1x512 GB | 2x512 GB |
| Upgradable | Yes | No |
| NVMe | Yes | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | 4.0 | 4.2 (4 tweeters and 2 woofers) |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
| Loudness | - | ~84.7 dB |
| Microphones | 2 | 3 |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | v7 | v7 |
| Bluetooth | v5.4 | v6.0 |
| Fingerprint | No | Yes |
| Infrared sensor | Yes | No |
| Optical drive | No | No |
| Webcam | Above the display | Above the display |
| Webcam resolution | - | 1920 x 1080 |
| USB-A | 1x USB 3.1 | No |
| USB Type-C | 3x USB 4.0 | 3x USB 4.0 |
| Thunderbolt | No | Thunderbolt 5 |
| HDMI | 1x HDMI 2.1 | 1x HDMI 2.1 |
| DisplayPort | No | No |
| VGA | No | No |
| Audio jack (3.5 mm) | Yes | Yes |
| Ethernet (RJ45) | No | No |
| SD card reader | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary charging port | No | Yes |
Input
| Keyboard type | Island | Island |
| Numpad | No | No |
| Backlight | Yes | Yes |
| Key travel | - | 1 mm |
| Size | - | 15.5 x 9.9 cm |
| Surface | Glass | Glass |
| Windows Precision | Yes | No |
*Disclaimer! Ports, speakers, display, and other specifications can vary depending on the laptop's specific configuration or region.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 5