Despite having a larger screen than its predecessors, the Microsoft Surface Pro 3 is the thinnest and lightest Surface yet: in tablet form it’s a mere 9.1mm in depth and weighs just 800g.

The 11in MacBook Air looks rather chunky in comparison, measuring 17mm at its thickest point and weighing 1.08kg – but of course, it has a keyboard attached at all times, unlike the Surface.

So in the name of balance, let’s assume the new Surface Pro Type Cover is hooked up to the Surface Pro 3. That’ll add 295g of weight and 4.8mm of depth, making the Surface 3 14.9mm thick and 1.09kg – pretty much the same weight as the Air and a couple of millimetres thinner.

The Surface, of course, isn’t strictly a laptop and its “lappability” (how comfortable and stable it feels when connected to a keyboard cover and sitting on the user’s lap) is something Microsoft has struggled with in the past. It now claims the Pro 3 is as lappable as a true laptop, thanks to the hinge and fold with which its Pro Type Cover connects to the Pro 3’s body, as well as an improved kickstand that can be set at any angle from 22 to 150 degrees (and will stay wherever you move it).

We haven’t yet used the Surface Pro 3, but we strongly suspect it’ll be less comfy on your lap than a MacBook Air. However, we also suspect the gulf in comfort between the two devices is smaller than it was previously.

The MacBook Air has one of the best keyboard and trackpad combos of any laptop on the market (or, frankly, any laptop that's ever existed). It's one of the reasons that the Air is so well loved, and it seems highly unlikely that the Pro Type Cover can match this physical interface virtuosity - certainly, previous Surface covers have tried and failed. We'll deliver our verdict when we've tested it properly.

In terms of build quality, both devices are clearly in the top tier of what’s currently available in portable computing. The Surface Pro 3 is strong – so strong that Microsoft’s Panos Panay had no qualms about dropping it from five feet onto the stage floor at its launch event. We don’t know about you, but we wouldn’t want to pull that trick with a MacBook Air.

That said, we’ll have to call this one a draw for now, until we’ve had time to ascertain just how comfortable – or otherwise – the Surface Pro 3 is for everyday use. We know that the MacBook Air feels pretty much perfect on the lap.

Winner (on paper): Draw