Microsoft's newcomer, the Surface Book, is touted by the company as a tight rival for Apple's MacBook Pro. We compared how the laptops differ from each other in terms of specs and features.

Design & Display

The MacBook Pro, which weighs around 3.5 to 4.5 pounds, sports an "incredibly thin and light" design but with an "incredibly powerful" performance, Apple wrote on their official site.

Its 13.3-inch and 15.4-inch screen sizes are equipped with Retina display, along with a 2560 x 1600 resolution (227 ppi) for the former and 2880 x 1800 resolution (220 ppi) for the latter, the tech giant added on their website.

Tech Insider described the Surface Book as Microsoft's first ever "high-end laptop" that converts into a tablet. The device has a 13.5-inch PixelSense display that can be detached easily from the keyboard to transform into a light and thin tablet that works well with OneNote and Surface Pen. The device weighs 3.48 pounds (1,576 grams), and has a dimension of 12.3 inches long, 9.14 inches wide, and 0.51- to 0.9-inches deep.

Processor, Memory, Storage, & Operating System

Apple's MacBook Pro is powered by a dual core Intel Core i5 processor with a clock speed of 2.5GHz and option for dual core i7 with 2.9GHz clock speed. It has 8GB of RAM expandable to 16GB, a battery able to support Web browsing for 10 hours, and the OS X El Capitan as its operating system, Apple listed on their site. The 13-inch MacBook Pro has 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB internal storage options, while the 15-inch variant is available in 256GB and 512GB.

The Surface Book, in contrast, can function up to 12 hours. It is also equipped with Intel Core i5, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB of internal storage, Tech Insider listed. The device runs using the latest Windows 10.

Other Features

Other specs the MacBook Pro has is a 720p FaceTime HD camera, a MagSafe 2 power port, two Thunderbolt 2 ports, two USB 3 ports, an HDMI port, a 3.5 mm headphone jack, and a Force Touch trackpad, Apple's website further listed.

The Surface Book has two USB 3.0 ports, a full size SD card reader, Mini DisplayPort, an 8MP primary camera, a 5MP front-facing shooter, front and rear-facing dual microphones, and front-facing stereo speakers with Dolby audio, Tech Insider noted. When converting the device into a tablet, the display has a muscle wire lock so you can undock it safely, or pivot the screen around so it functions like a clipboard.

Price

The MacBook Pro can be purchased starting at $1299 and can reach up to $2499, Apple stated. The Surface Book has a price tag of $1,499 up to $2,699, Tech Insider wrote.