The new Surface Laptop 13 is the best Windows alternative to the fanless Apple MacBook Air

For years, Apple's MacBook Air has offered a compact laptop for everyday use that is entirely passively cooled and therefore produces no distracting fan noise. Unfortunately, there is still no true Windows alternative, but the new Microsoft Surface Laptop 13 comes very close to a passively cooled device.

Microsoft uses a new and efficient Snapdragon X2 processor with 6 cores. You have to put the chip under load for several minutes before you can hear even a faint fan noise, something that will practically never happen in everyday use. In terms of raw performance, however, it must be made clear that while the Snapdragon X2 (X2P-42-100) delivers decent everyday performance, it cannot compete with the Apple M5 at all. This applies to both processor and graphics performance.

The two devices are on an equal footing when it comes to features. The Surface Laptop scores points with a slightly better keyboard, a standard USB-A port and a touchscreen. In return, the MacBook Air's display is less reflective and supports the wider P3 color gamut, although this difference barely matters in everyday use. Both screens are also limited to 60 Hz.

While the MacBook Air has a slightly slimmer chassis, the Surface Laptop 13 counters with a replaceable SSD and longer battery life. In our Wi-Fi test at 150 nits, the Microsoft laptop lasts almost 19 hours; the MacBook Air runs out of steam nearly 3 hours earlier. Even at maximum brightness, the Surface Laptop remains well ahead at around 10.5 hours, while its Apple rival does not even reach 7 hours.

All in all, the new Surface Laptop 13 is a compelling alternative to the MacBook Air, especially since their prices are almost identical. Further information about the Surface Laptop 13 is available in our in-depth review.