Mind the Gap (Premium)

Windows fans are taking a long-awaited victory lap thanks to the success of the Snapdragon X Copilot+ PC platform. But we're not done yet: The MacBook Air still comes out ahead in some key ways, thanks in part to some remaining hardware and software advantages, but especially because of the strength of Apple's integrated ecosystem. Microsoft and its silicon and PC maker partners will never fully emulate the combined advantages that Apple gives to those customers who go all-in. But that's not a fair bar, as Apple likewise can't counter some of the advantages inherent to the Windows PC market. The question, as always, is whether PCs can close the gap enough to be "in the ballpark."

I'll start with the hardware.
Hardware
As I noted in my review, the Snapdragon X-based Surface Laptop 7 is a viable Windows laptop to Apple's MacBook Air M3. Indeed, Surface Laptop has always been about bringing the MacBook Air experience to the PC market, not that Microsoft ever explicitly admitted to this. It has a handsome, minimalist, and wedge-shaped design that clearly evokes the iconic MacBook Air, offers minimal expansion capabilities, and comes in two sizes, roughly matching what Apple provides. From a mile high, these computers are quite similar, if not nearly identical.

But after spending months with the MacBook Air, it's not difficult to see where Surface Laptop stumbles and falls short enough. The 15-inch versions of each laptop are roughly the same size, but the Surface is demonstrably thicker and heavier: At 3.67 pounds, Surface Laptop is roughly a third of a pound heavier than the 3.3-pound MacBook Air, and while that may not seem like a big difference, it's quite noticeable in use. Some of this is no doubt just practical reality, but some of it is also about paying attention to the details: Where the Surface feels dense with off-centered weight, the MacBook Air's weight is balanced, and I think that contributes to it feeling lighter.

The MacBook Air also provides a more modern design now, and it no longer uses the wedge shape that Microsoft still emulates with Surface Laptop. That doesn't bother me looking at the two side-by-side, but the Apple design is equally thin at all points, which, again, contributes to the advantage noted above.

But I should note, too, that the MacBook Air is considerably thinner and lighter than the MacBook Pro models that share this design. Were those the standard for measuring Microsoft's success, this would be more of a toss-up. MacBook Pro, in 14- or 16-inch guise, is a brick of a laptop. I was almost shocked by this when I took a look at them in Mexico back in June. The 14-inch models weigh 3.4 to 3.6 pounds and are 0.61 inches thick, vs. 0.45 inches for the Air. And the 16-inch versions are huge, 4.7 to 4.8 pounds, and 0.66 inches thick. But Surface Laptop, inexplicably, is even thicker in 15-inch form, at 0.72 inches.

I pointed out some other fit and finish issues with Surface Laptop, like the non-...