First Test of Copilot+ PC: It Outperforms the MacBook in Every Way!

Microsoft's new Copilot+ PCs have generated significant buzz recently, and thanks to Signal65, a benchmarking and analysis firm, we now have solid data to back the company's bold assertions. The new Surface Laptop has undergone rigorous testing, outperforming the MacBook Air M3 in several key areas.

Powered by the Snapdragon X Elite processor, the Surface Laptop delivered impressive results, particularly in battery life. According to the analysis, this laptop achieved over 21 hours of continuous video playback, nearly double the runtime of the Surface Pro 9 and more than 15% longer than the MacBook Air M3.

In terms of raw performance, the MacBook Air M3 excelled in single-core tests, outperforming the Surface Laptop by roughly 15% in both Cinebench and Geekbench benchmarks. However, the Surface Laptop outshined the M3 in multi-core performance, surpassing it by over 30%. Notably, the Snapdragon X Elite was more than twice as fast as the 12th-gen Intel Core i7 and approximately 5% faster than Intel's latest Core Ultra 7 155H.

To explore detailed findings, you can download the complete report from Signal65, which includes many intriguing comparisons. For instance, during a video encoding test using Handbrake, the Snapdragon X Elite outperformed the Apple M3 by nearly 25%.

It's essential to clarify that this report isn't directly a review of a Copilot+ PC. The analysis was conducted by Ryan Shrout, a former Intel employee now affiliated with Signal65. It was commissioned by Microsoft, which often engages independent analysis labs for performance validation. While this means the report could reflect a favorable bias, it does not necessarily undermine its accuracy; broader reviews may assess additional performance dimensions.

Despite being commissioned by Microsoft, the report does not solely praise the Surface Laptop. One particularly notable section evaluates emulated performance. In these tests, Shrout compared applications running on Microsoft’s new Prism emulation layer to those operating natively on other laptops, and the Surface Laptop's performance was not always superior.

For example, in Blender, the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H was approximately 46% quicker, while the Apple M3 was 17% faster. Conversely, the Snapdragon X Elite matched the Core Ultra 7 155H's performance in Lightroom Classic, despite the latter running a native app version.

Prism is crucial for Copilot+ PCs, as it underpins applications like Lightroom and Blender that currently do not run natively on the Snapdragon X Elite. Although native performance isn't achieved yet, the report demonstrates that Prism is making significant strides, with the potential for improvement over time.

Independent reviews of Copilot+ PCs will be available soon. The initial models are currently up for preorder, set to release on June 18. By then, we will learn if these PCs are indeed as powerful as highlighted in this analysis.