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Surface 3 vs. Surface Go 3 - Detailed Specs Comparison

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

BY Evan Forrest October 23, 2022

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 2021 Surface Go 3 features the 5W 10th Generation Intel Amber Lake Y dual-core Intel Pentium Gold 6500Y up to dual-core Intel Core i3-10100Y with the boost speed up to 3.90 GHz.

If you want to know more what's the difference between the 10.8″ Surface 3 (2015) and the 10.5″ Surface Go 3 (2021), we have a detailed tech specs comparison between both devices for you to check out here.

Surface 3 vs. Surface Go 3: 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 Go 3 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.	More Powerful Processors - With the latest 10th gen Intel Mobile processors make Surface Go 3 even faster especially the entry-level models which now also support Intel® Turbo Boost technology 2.0 with the boost frequency up to 3.40 GHz. Longer Battery Life - Last up to 11 hours battery life of typical device usage. More Preloaded with Windows 11 Fast charging
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.

Availability	Surface 3	Surface Go 3
Released	2015	2021
Release Info	Introduced: March 21, 2015 Pre-ordered: March 21, 2015 Released: May 5, 2015	Introduced: September 22, 2021 Pre-ordered: September 22, 2021 Released: October 5, 2021
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	$399 Gold 6500Y 4 GB 64 GB WiFi $549 Gold 6500Y 8 GB 128 GB WiFi $629 i3-10100Y 8 GB 128 GB WiFi

Surface 3 Price
	Microsoft Surface 3 128GB WiFi Tablet 10.8" Intel Atom - Silver (Renewed) By Microsoft $179.95	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface 3 10.8 FHD (1920x1280) Touchscreen 2-in-1 Education and Business Laptop Tablet (Intel Quad-Core Atom x7-Z8700, 4GB RAM, 64GB SSD) Mini DP, WiFi AC, Webcam, Windows 10 Pro (Renewed) By Microsoft $194.99	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5" Touchscreen - Intel® Pentium® Gold - 8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - Device Only - Black (Latest Model) By Microsoft $457.41 $549.99 17% OFF	See at Amazon
Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5” Price
	Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5" Touchscreen - Intel® Pentium® Gold - 4GB Memory - 64GB eMMC - Device Only - Platinum (Latest Model) By Microsoft $324.99 $399.99 19% OFF	See at Amazon
	New Microsoft Surface Go 2 - 10.5" Touch-Screen - Intel Pentium - 8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - Wifi - Platinum (Latest Model) By Microsoft $379.46 $549.99 31% OFF	See at Amazon
	New Microsoft Surface Go 2 - 10.5" Touch-Screen - Intel Pentium - 4GB Memory - 64GB - Wifi - Platinum (Latest Model) By Microsoft $319.82 $399.99 20% OFF	See at Amazon

Display	Surface 3	Surface Go 3
Size	10.8 Inches	10.5 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 1280 (2.45M Pixels) Density: 220 PPI PixelSense™ Display Contrast ratio: 1500:1 Aspect ratio: 3:2 Inking: designed together with Surface Pen Touch: 10 points multi-touch Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3

Exterior	Surface 3	Surface Go 3
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)	9.65” x 6.9” x 0.33” (245 mm x 175 mm x 8.3 mm) Width: 9.65” (245 mm) Height: 6.9” (175 mm) Thickness: 0.33” (8.3 mm)
Weight	Surface 3: 1.37 lbs (621 g) Surface 3 with Keyboard: 1.95 lbs (884 g)	Surface Go 3: 1.2 lbs (544 g) Surface Go 3 Keyboard: 0.55 lbs (249 g)
Colors	Silver	Platinum
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 Go Type Cover Not included Keyboard: Full-size mechanical backlit keyset with 1 mm of key travel. Trackpad: Precision glass trackpad. Trackpad size: 101 mm x 56 mm Supports a five-finger multitouch gesture.
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 USB Type-C 3.1 Gen 1 Supports Power Delivery and DisplayPort. 1 x Surface Connect™ Supports charging and docking station. 1 x Headset jack 1 x microSDXC™ card reader 1 x Surface Go Type Cover port

Internal Specs	Surface 3	Surface Go 3
Processor	Intel® Atom™ x7-Z8700 4 cores, 4 threads, 1.60 → 2.40 GHz, 2MB Cache, 2W	10th Gen Intel® Pentium® Gold 6500Y 2 cores, 4 threads, 1.10 → 3.40 GHz, 4MB SmartCache, 5W 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i3-10100Y 2 cores, 4 threads, 1.30 → 3.90 GHz, 4MB SmartCache, 5W
Integrated Graphics	Intel® Atom™ x7-Z8700 Intel® HD Graphics 16 Execution Units, 20 → 600 MHz	10th Gen Intel® Pentium® Gold 6500Y Intel® UHD Graphics 615 23 Execution Units, 300 → 900 MHz 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i3-10100Y Intel® UHD Graphics 615 24 Execution Units, 300 → 1000 MHz
Memory	2GB 4GB 1600 MHz DDR3 SDRAM.	4GB 8GB 1866 MHz LPDDR3 RAM
Storage	64GB 128GB eMMC	64GB eMMC 128GB SSD

Connectivity	Surface 3	Surface Go 3
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 5: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac compatible.	Wi-Fi 6: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax compatible.
Bluetooth	Bluetooth Wireless 4.0 technology	Bluetooth Wireless 5.0 technology
	Optional LTE Nano SIM Tray GPS Assisted GPS GLONASS	LTE version coming soon.

Battery	Surface 3	Surface Go 3
Size	27.5 Wh	28Wh Nominal battery capacity. 26.8Wh Minimum battery capacity.
Battery Life	Up to 10 hours of video playback	Up to 11 hours of typical device usage
Power Supply	13W Micro USB power supply	24W proprietary Surface Connect power supply

Software	Surface 3	Surface Go 3
OS	Windows 8.1 Pro Upgradable to Windows 10 Pro	Windows 11 Home in S-mode
Built-in Apps	1-Year Microsoft Office 365 Personal	Xbox Game Pass Ultimate one month trial Microsoft 365 Family one month trial

Camera & Audio	Surface 3	Surface Go 3
Camera	3.5MP front-facing camera with 1080p HD video 8.0MP rear-facing autofocus camera with 1080p HD video	Windows Hello face authentication camera (front-facing) 5.0MP front-facing camera with 1080p Skype HD video 8.0MP rear-facing autofocus camera with 1080p full HD video
Audio	Single microphone Front-facing stereo speakers with Dolby® Audio enhanced sound	Enhanced dual far-field Studio Mics 2W stereo speakers with Dolby® Audio™

Misc	Surface 3	Surface Go 3
Inking	Supports Surface Pen 256 levels of pressure N-trig Active Pen technology	Supports Microsoft Pen Protocol (MPP) 4096 levels of pressure Tilt sensing Best in class latency Paper feel magnetic storage
Sensors	Ambient light sensor Proximity sensor Accelerometer Gyroscope Magnetometer Digital compass	Ambient light sensor Accelerometer Gyroscope Magnetometer
Security		HW TPM 2.0 chip for enterprise security Enterprise-grade protection with Windows Hello face sign-in
In the box	Surface 3 Power supply Quick Start Guide Safety and warranty documents	Surface Go 3 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	Mechanical features: Signature unibody magnesium design with hidden perimeter venting Kickstand with a full-friction multiposition hinge to 165 degrees Magnetic attach for keyboard fold stability Physical buttons: volumes, power Casing: Magnesium

Surface 3 Price
	Microsoft Surface 3 128GB WiFi Tablet 10.8" Intel Atom - Silver (Renewed) By Microsoft $179.95	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface 3 10.8 FHD (1920x1280) Touchscreen 2-in-1 Education and Business Laptop Tablet (Intel Quad-Core Atom x7-Z8700, 4GB RAM, 64GB SSD) Mini DP, WiFi AC, Webcam, Windows 10 Pro (Renewed) By Microsoft $194.99	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5" Touchscreen - Intel® Pentium® Gold - 8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - Device Only - Black (Latest Model) By Microsoft $457.41 $549.99 17% OFF	See at Amazon
Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5” Price
	Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5" Touchscreen - Intel® Pentium® Gold - 4GB Memory - 64GB eMMC - Device Only - Platinum (Latest Model) By Microsoft $324.99 $399.99 19% OFF	See at Amazon
	New Microsoft Surface Go 2 - 10.5" Touch-Screen - Intel Pentium - 8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - Wifi - Platinum (Latest Model) By Microsoft $379.46 $549.99 31% OFF	See at Amazon
	New Microsoft Surface Go 2 - 10.5" Touch-Screen - Intel Pentium - 4GB Memory - 64GB - Wifi - Platinum (Latest Model) By Microsoft $319.82 $399.99 20% OFF	See at Amazon