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Surface 3 vs. Surface 2 - Detailed Specs Comparison

Here's what you need to know what's different between Surface 3 and Surface 2 specs including CPU, RAM, storage, battery, display, and more.

BY Evan Forrest February 21, 2026

Surface 3 vs. Surface 2

The 2015 Surface 3 features the 2W Intel Cherry Trail quad-core Intel Atom x7-Z8700 with the boost speed up to 2.40 GHz. While the 2013 Surface 2 features the quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 4 T40 with the boost speed up to 1.90 GHz.

If you are in the market looking for a laptop and don't know what's the difference between the 10.8″ Surface 3 (2015) and the 10.6″ Surface 2 (2013), we have a detailed tech specs comparison between both devices for you to check out here.

Surface 3 vs. Surface 2: Specs Comparison

	Compare With Please enter device name or part of it Surface 3 See at Amazon	Compare With Please enter device name or part of it Surface 2 See at Amazon
Key Features
What's new	New design It’s now thinner (8.7mm), new tablet-friendly 3:2 aspect-ratio form factor, and new Microsoft Logo on the kickstand. Full Windows 8.1 You can run all your desktop apps and upgradable to Windows 10. Better display New bigger and better 10.8” Full HD Plus display with 10 points multitouch. Inking supports It now supports a new Surface Pen with 256 pressure sensitivity, tail eraser, and remote Bluetooth activation. New CPU Architecture It’s now using the new quad-core Intel® Atom™ x7 processor for outstanding performance and long battery life. New kickstand Now in three angles. New Micro-USB port It can be charged with any mobile phone charger. More Better 8.0MP rear-facing autofocus camera, new Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac), and optional 4G LTE.	Better design It’s now thinner (8.9mm), lighter (522g), and new platinum magnesium exterior. Better performance Better single-core and multi-core performance and much better graphics performance (72 graphics cores). Better battery Up to 10 hours of video playback. New kickstand Now in two angles, original 22-degree, and new 55-degree. Better display Higher display resolution with Full HD (1920 x 1080) display. Optional mobile broadband It comes with optional 4G LTE support. More Full-size USB 3.0 port, 3.5MP front, and 5MP rear camera, new thinner backlit type cover.
What's missing	No magnet charging port replaced with the new Micro-USB port. Slower Charging The new Micro-USB has a limited power delivery (13W) compared to its older propriety 24W charger.	Can't run desktop apps You can't run desktop apps (x86 or x64) on this device. The only way to get apps is through the Windows Store. No Windows 10 The latest OS you can get is Windows RT 8.1 Update 3 Platinum color only No longer available in black color.

Availability	Surface 3	Surface 2
Released	2015	2013
Release Info	Introduced: March 21, 2015 Pre-ordered: March 21, 2015 Released: May 5, 2015	Introduced: September 23, 2013 Pre-ordered: September 24, 2013 Released: October 22, 2013
Pricing	Surface 3 Wi-Fi $499 - 2 GB \| 64 GB $599 - 4 GB \| 128 GB Surface 3 4G LTE $599 - 2 GB \| 64 GB $699 - 4 GB \| 128 GB	Surface 2 Wi-Fi $449 - 2 GB \| 32 GB $549 - 2 GB \| 64 GB Surface 2 4G LTE $679 - 2 GB \| 64 GB
Amazon Deals	$389.00 Microsoft Surface 3 Tablet (10.8-Inch, 64 GB, Intel Atom, Windows 10) $162.96 Microsoft Surface 3 128GB WiFi Tablet 10.8" Intel Atom - Silver (Renewed) $139.99 Microsoft Surface 3 (7G5-00001) - 10.8 inches 2GB, 64GB Wi-Fi Silver, Microsoft Authorized (Renewed)	$99.99 Microsoft Surface 2 (64 GB) $113.65 Microsoft Surface Go 2 Touch-Screen 4GB RAM 64GB Storage Windows 11 Professional (Renewed) $124.99 Microsoft Surface Go 2 10.5 inches Touch-Screen Intel Pentium 4GB RAM, 64gb STV-00001 (Renewed)

Microsoft Surface 3 10.8-inch Price
	Microsoft Surface 3 Tablet (10.8-Inch, 64 GB, Intel Atom, Windows 10) By Microsoft $389.00	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface 3 128GB WiFi Tablet 10.8" Intel Atom - Silver (Renewed) By Microsoft $162.96	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface 3 (7G5-00001) - 10.8 inches 2GB, 64GB Wi-Fi Silver, Microsoft Authorized (Renewed) By Microsoft $139.99	See at Amazon
Microsoft Surface 2 10.6-inch Price
	Microsoft Surface 2 (64 GB) By Microsoft $99.99	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Go 2 Touch-Screen 4GB RAM 64GB Storage Windows 11 Professional (Renewed) By Microsoft $113.65	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Go 2 10.5 inches Touch-Screen Intel Pentium 4GB RAM, 64gb STV-00001 (Renewed) By Microsoft $124.99	See at Amazon

Display	Surface 3	Surface 2
Size	10.8 Inches	10.6 Inches
Info	Resolution: 1920 x 1280 (2.4M Pixels) Density: 214 PPI Aspect ratio: 3:2 Inking: supports Surface Pen Touch: 10 points multi-touch	Resolution: 1920 x 1080 (2M Pixels) Density: 208 PPI Aspect ratio: 16:9 ClearType Full HD Display Touch: 5 points multi-touch

Exterior	Surface 3	Surface 2
Size Comparison
Dimensions	10.52” x 7.36” x 0.34” (267 mm x 187 mm x 8.7 mm) Width: 10.52” (267 mm) Height: 7.36” (187 mm) Thickness: 0.34” (8.7 mm)	10.81” x 6.79” x 0.35” (275 mm x 172 mm x 8.9 mm) Width: 10.81” (275 mm) Height: 6.79” (172 mm) Thickness: 0.35” (8.9 mm)
Weight	Surface 3: 1.37 lbs (621 g) Surface 3 with Keyboard: 1.95 lbs (884 g)	Surface 2: 1.15 lbs (522 g) Surface 2 with Keyboard: 1.7 lbs (771 g)
Colors	Silver
Keyboard and Trackpad	Surface Type Cover Not included Keyboard: Activation: Moving (mechanical) keys Layout: QWERTY, full row of function keys (F1-F12) 4 directional keys; Windows and Media Controls Keys; LED backlighting Trackpad: Precision glass trackpad. Supports up to three-finger multitouch gesture.	Surface Type Cover Not included Keyboard: Activation: Moving (mechanical) keys. Layout: QWERTY, full row of function keys (F1-F12). 4 directional keys; Windows and Media Controls Keys. LED backlighting. Trackpad: Two-finger multitouch gesture trackpad.
Ports	1 x Full-size USB 3.0 1 x microSD™ card reader 1 x Micro USB charging port 1 x Headset jack 1 x Mini DisplayPort 1 x Cover port 1 x Nano SIM card slot (Surface 3 with LTE only)	1 x Full-size USB 3.0 1 x microSD™ card reader 1 x Surface Charging Port 1 x Headset jack 1 x Mini DisplayPort 1 x Cover port 1 x Nano SIM card slot (Surface 2 with LTE only)

Internal Specs	Surface 3	Surface 2
Processor	Intel® Atom™ x7-Z8700 4 cores, 4 threads, 1.60 → 2.40 GHz, 2MB Cache, 2W	NVIDIA Tegra 4 T40 4 cores, 1.70 → 1.90 GHz, 2MB Cache,
Integrated Graphics	Intel® Atom™ x7-Z8700 Intel® HD Graphics 16 Execution Units, 20 → 600 MHz	NVIDIA Tegra 4 T40 NVIDIA GeForce ULP graphics 72 Graphics Cores, 672 MHz
Memory	2GB 4GB 1600 MHz DDR3 SDRAM.	2GB of RAM
Storage	64GB 128GB eMMC	32GB 64GB eMMC

Connectivity	Surface 3	Surface 2
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 5: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac compatible.	Wi-Fi 4: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n compatible.
Bluetooth	Bluetooth Wireless 4.0 technology	Bluetooth 4.0 low energy technology
	Optional LTE Nano SIM Tray GPS Assisted GPS GLONASS	Optional LTE Nano SIM Tray 2G GSM (Quadband: 850/900/1800/1900) 3G UMTS (Bands 1, 2, 5) 4G LTE (Bands 4, 7, 17)

Battery	Surface 3	Surface 2
Size	27.5 Wh	31.5 Wh
Battery Life	Up to 10 hours of video playback
Power Supply	13W Micro USB power supply	24W proprietary power supply

Software	Surface 3	Surface 2
OS	Windows 8.1 Pro Upgradable to Windows 10 Pro	Windows RT 8.1
Built-in Apps	1-Year Microsoft Office 365 Personal	Microsoft Office Home and Student 2013 RT with Outlook

Camera & Audio	Surface 3	Surface 2
Camera	3.5MP front-facing camera with 1080p HD video 8.0MP rear-facing autofocus camera with 1080p HD video
Audio	Single microphone Front-facing stereo speakers with Dolby® Audio enhanced sound	Dual microphones Stereo speakers with digitally enhanced for fuller sound

Misc	Surface 3	Surface 2
Inking	Supports Surface Pen 256 levels of pressure N-trig Active Pen technology
Sensors	Ambient light sensor Proximity sensor Accelerometer Gyroscope Magnetometer Digital compass	Ambient light sensor Accelerometer Gyroscope Magnetometer
In the box	Surface 3 Power supply Quick Start Guide Safety and warranty documents	Surface 2 Power supply Quick Start Guide Safety and warranty documents
Warranty	One-year limited hardware warranty
More	Casing: Magnesium Kickstand: 3 positions Physical buttons: volumes, power	Casing: Magnesium Kickstand: 2 positions Physical buttons: volumes, power