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vsMars
Head-to-head

Apple - iPad Air 11 M3 vs Microsoft - Surface Pro 11

Last updated · How Mars Score works
iPad Air 11 M3APPLEILLUSTRATION
Probe A
Apple
iPad Air 11 M3
57.4/ 100D
Performance46· 40%
Display54· 32%
Design75· 28%
Surface Pro 11MICROSOFTILLUSTRATION
Probe B
Microsoft
Surface Pro 11
59.6/ 100C
Performance64· 40%
Display72· 32%
Design35· 28%
The fork

Where they actually differ

The most decisive specs, ranked by how much they matter — before the full spec table.

SpecApple - iPad Air 11 M3Microsoft - Surface Pro 11
Weight460 g895 g
Storage128 GB512 GB
RAM8 GB16 GB
Refresh rate60 Hz120 Hz
Peak brightness500 nits900 nits
Screen size11 "13 "
Quick verdict

Between the iPad Air 11 M3 and Surface Pro 11, the iPad Air 11 M3 comes out ahead in weight, while the Surface Pro 11 wins on storage / ram. Overall, the iPad Air 11 M3 scores 57.4 and the Surface Pro 11 scores 59.6 on our Mars Score.

Buying advice

Which should you buy?

These two are nearly even on the Mars Score (57.4 vs 59.6). The decision is not about overall quality — both clear the bar — it is about which specific trade-offs fit your use.

Pick the iPad Air 11 M3 if you carry the device everywhere and weight or thickness has been the deciding factor before. The biggest gaps in its favor are weight. The single most decisive one: Weight — 435.00 g less. 460 vs 895.

Pick the Surface Pro 11 if the display is what you stare at all day — refresh rate, brightness, or sharpness is where the difference will be most visible. Its strongest claims are storage, ram, refresh rate, among others. The single most decisive one: Storage — 300.00% more. 512 GB vs 128 GB.

Both ship with comparable stylus support, so those specs do not separate the two — focus on the differences below.

Bottom line: there is no wrong answer here — match the spec advantages to how you actually use the product. The Mars Score parity says both are well-rounded; the differences are about trade-offs, not quality.

Decision guide

Which should you buy: Apple - iPad Air 11 M3 or Microsoft - Surface Pro 11?

Microsoft - Surface Pro 11 leads the current Mars Score by 2.2 points.The more useful decision is the trade-off behind that result: compare screen size, ram, storage, refresh rate against the way you will actually use the product.

Choose Apple - iPad Air 11 M3 if…

Apple - iPad Air 11 M3 has the measurable edge on weight g.

Choose Microsoft - Surface Pro 11 if…

Microsoft - Surface Pro 11 has the measurable edge on storage gb, ram gb, refresh rate hz.

This is a structured comparison of the published catalog values. It is not a claim of identical real-world performance across every workload; use the linked spec drill-downs and methodology page to inspect the inputs.

Why Apple - iPad Air 11 M3 wins

  • ▲Weight — 435.00 g less. 460 vs 895.

Why Microsoft - Surface Pro 11 wins

  • ▲Storage — 300.00% more. 512 GB vs 128 GB.
  • ▲RAM — 100.00% more. 16 GB vs 8 GB.
  • ▲Refresh rate — 100.00% more. 120 Hz vs 60 Hz.
  • ▲Peak brightness — 80.00% more. 900 nits vs 500 nits.
  • ▲Screen size — 18.18% more. 13 " vs 11 ".
Full readout

Spec comparison

Display

SpecApple - iPad Air 11 M3Microsoft - Surface Pro 11
Screen size11 "13 "lead
Refresh rateⓘ60 Hz120 Hzlead
PanelⓘLCDOLEDlead
Peak brightnessⓘ500 nits900 nitslead

Performance

SpecApple - iPad Air 11 M3Microsoft - Surface Pro 11
ChipsetⓘApple M3Snapdragon X Elite
RAMⓘ8 GB16 GBlead
Storageⓘ128 GB512 GBlead

Design

SpecApple - iPad Air 11 M3Microsoft - Surface Pro 11
Weight460 glead895 g
Stylus supporttruetrue
Cellulartruetrue
OSiPadOSWindowslead
Drill down

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