Skip to content
vsMars
Head-to-head

Apple - MacBook Pro 14 M5 vs Microsoft - Surface Laptop Studio 3

Last updated · How Mars Score works
MacBook Pro 14 M5APPLERENDER
Probe A
Apple
MacBook Pro 14 M5
61.8/ 100C
Performance52· 35%
Battery & Ports74· 27%
Design· 20%
Display62· 18%
Surface Laptop Studio 3MICROSOFTRENDER
Probe B
Microsoft
Surface Laptop Studio 3
60.7/ 100C
Performance58· 35%
Battery & Ports63· 27%
Design· 20%
Display63· 18%
Quick verdict

Between the MacBook Pro 14 M5 and Surface Laptop Studio 3, the MacBook Pro 14 M5 comes out ahead in claimed battery life and cpu cores, while the Surface Laptop Studio 3 wins on ram and storage. Overall, the MacBook Pro 14 M5 scores 61.8 and the Surface Laptop Studio 3 scores 60.7 on our Mars Score.

Buying advice

Which should you buy?

These two are nearly even on the Mars Score (61.8 vs 60.7). The decision isn't about overall quality — both clear the bar — it's about which specific trade-offs fit your use.

Pick the MacBook Pro 14 M5 if your top frustration with your current device is running out of charge before the day ends — endurance is the lead spec here. The biggest gaps in its favor are claimed battery life, cpu cores, battery, among others.

Pick the Surface Laptop Studio 3 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 ram, storage, screen size.

Both ship with comparable refresh rate, backlit keyboard, so those specs don't 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 tells you both are well-rounded; the differences are about trade-offs, not quality.

Why Apple - MacBook Pro 14 M5 wins

  • Claimed battery life — 33.33% more. 24 h vs 18 h.
  • CPU cores — 25.00% more. 10 vs 8.
  • Battery — 24.14% more. 72 Wh vs 58 Wh.
  • Thunderbolt ports — 1.00 more. 3 vs 2.
  • Panel type: Mini-LED (vs IPS).
  • Weight — 0.43 kg less. 1.55 vs 1.98.

Why Microsoft - Surface Laptop Studio 3 wins

  • RAM — 100.00% more. 32 GB vs 16 GB.
  • Storage — 100.00% more. 1024 GB vs 512 GB.
  • Screen size — 1.41% more. 14.4 " vs 14.2 ".
Full readout

Spec comparison

Design

SpecApple - MacBook Pro 14 M5Microsoft - Surface Laptop Studio 3
Weight1.55 kglead1.98 kg
Thickness15.5 mmlead22 mm
Build materialaluminumaluminum
Backlit keyboardtruetrue
Fingerprint readertruetrue

Display

SpecApple - MacBook Pro 14 M5Microsoft - Surface Laptop Studio 3
Screen size14.2 "14.4 "lead
Refresh rate120 Hz120 Hz
Panel typeMini-LEDleadIPS

Performance

SpecApple - MacBook Pro 14 M5Microsoft - Surface Laptop Studio 3
CPUApple M5Intel Core Ultra 7 268V
CPU cores10lead8
GPUApple M5 10-core GPUNVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop
RAM16 GB32 GBlead
Storage512 GB1024 GBlead
Storage typeSSDSSD

Battery & Ports

SpecApple - MacBook Pro 14 M5Microsoft - Surface Laptop Studio 3
Battery72 Whlead58 Wh
Claimed battery life24 hlead18 h
USB-C ports3lead2
Thunderbolt ports3lead2
HDMItrueleadfalse
Reader questions

Frequently asked

Which has better battery life, MacBook Pro 14 M5 or Surface Laptop Studio 3?+

MacBook Pro 14 M5 claims up to 24 hours — 24h vs 18h.

Which is lighter, MacBook Pro 14 M5 or Surface Laptop Studio 3?+

MacBook Pro 14 M5 is lighter at 1.55 kg vs 1.98 kg.

Which has more RAM, MacBook Pro 14 M5 or Surface Laptop Studio 3?+

Surface Laptop Studio 3 offers 32GB of RAM.

Which has an OLED display, MacBook Pro 14 M5 or Surface Laptop Studio 3?+

Neither model has an OLED display.

Drill down

Spec-level deep dives

By manufacturer

More from the same brands

vsMars is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. Learn more.