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Surface 3 vs. Surface Laptop SE - Detailed Specs Comparison

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

BY Evan Forrest February 21, 2026

Surface 3 vs. Surface Laptop SE

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 Laptop SE features the 6W Intel Gemini Lake Refresh dual-core Intel Celeron N4020 up to quad-core Intel Celeron N4120 with the boost speed up to 2.60 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 11.6″ Surface Laptop SE (2021), we have a detailed tech specs comparison between both devices for you to check out here.

Surface 3 vs. Surface Laptop SE: 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 Laptop SE 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.	The most affordable Surface Laptop - Starting at $249, the Surface Laptop SE helps students achieve the skills they need for their future with a laptop designed for Windows 11 SE and Microsoft 365 for Education. Easy to Repair - Surface Laptop SE has replaceable components including the keyboard, display, battery, and mainboard without special tools required. 11.6-inch HD Liquid Crystal Display Module. Up to Intel® Celeron® Processor N4120 (4C/4T, Up to 2.60 GHz, 4MB Cache) Up to 8GB DDR4 Memory. Available only in Glacier More Up to 16-hours of battery life Microsoft Precision touchpad Full-size keyboard
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.	No backlit key. No touch screen. No Inking support. No IR camera for Windows Hello Facial Recognition. No Fingerprint reader. All plastic bodies instead of Aluminum. Using Intel UHD Graphics instead of Intel Iris Plus Graphics. Lowest Surface screen resolution (135 PPI).

Availability	Surface 3	Surface Laptop SE
Released	2015	2021
Release Info	Introduced: March 21, 2015 Pre-ordered: March 21, 2015 Released: May 5, 2015	Introduced on November 9, 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	Starting at $249.99
Amazon Deals	$389.00 Microsoft Surface 3 Tablet (10.8-Inch, 64 GB, Intel Atom, Windows 10) $699.99 Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5" Touchscreen - Intel® Core™ i3 - 8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - Device Only - Platinum (Latest Model) $174.44 Microsoft Surface Go 3-10.5" Touch-Screen - Intel Pentium Gold-4GB Memory - 64GB SSD - WiFi - Platinum Windows 11 PRO (Renewed)	$199.99 Microsoft Surface Laptop SE CELERON 8GB RAM 128GB SSD, Glacier $132.89 Microsoft Surface Laptop SE, Celeron Processor, 4GB RAM, 64GB SSD, Monza Gray $184.99 Microsoft Surface Laptop SE CELERON 8GB RAM 128GB SSD, Glacier

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 Go 3 - 10.5" Touchscreen - Intel® Core™ i3 - 8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - Device Only - Platinum (Latest Model) By Microsoft $699.99	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Go 3-10.5" Touch-Screen - Intel Pentium Gold-4GB Memory - 64GB SSD - WiFi - Platinum Windows 11 PRO (Renewed) By Microsoft $174.44	See at Amazon
Microsoft Surface Laptop SE Price
	Microsoft Surface Laptop SE CELERON 8GB RAM 128GB SSD, Glacier By Microsoft $199.99	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Laptop SE, Celeron Processor, 4GB RAM, 64GB SSD, Monza Gray By Microsoft $132.89	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Laptop SE CELERON 8GB RAM 128GB SSD, Glacier By Microsoft $184.99	See at Amazon

Display	Surface 3	Surface Laptop SE
Size	10.8 Inches	11.6 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: 1366 x 768 (135 PPI) Liquid Crystal Display Module Aspect ratio: 16:9

Exterior	Surface 3	Surface Laptop SE
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)	11.17” x 7.6” x 0.70” (283.70 x 193.05 x 17.85 mm)
Weight	Surface 3: 1.37 lbs (621 g) Surface 3 with Keyboard: 1.95 lbs (884 g)	2.45 lbs. (1,112.4 g)
Colors	Silver	Glacier
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.	Keyboard: Full-size keyboard with a soft-touch feel and full 1.3mm travel. Trackpad: Microsoft Precision Touchpad. Supports up to Five-finger multitouch gestures.
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)	Left Kensington lock slot Right 1 x USB-A 1 x USB-C 1 x DC-in Barrel type power connector. 1 x Headset jack Standard 3.5mm jack.

Internal Specs	Surface 3	Surface Laptop SE
Processor	Intel® Atom™ x7-Z8700 4 cores, 4 threads, 1.60 → 2.40 GHz, 2MB Cache, 2W	Intel® Celeron® Processor N4020 2 cores, 2 threads, 1.10 → 2.80 GHz, 4MB Cache, 6W Intel® Celeron® Processor N4120 4 cores, 4 threads, 1.10 → 2.60 GHz, 4MB Cache, 6W
Integrated Graphics	Intel® Atom™ x7-Z8700 Intel® HD Graphics 16 Execution Units, 20 → 600 MHz	Intel® Celeron® Processor N4020 Intel® UHD Graphics 600 12 Execution Units, 200 → 650 MHz Intel® Celeron® Processor N4120 Intel® UHD Graphics 600 12 Execution Units, 200 → 700 MHz
Memory	2GB 4GB 1600 MHz DDR3 SDRAM.	4GB 8GB 2400 MHz DDR4 Memory
Storage	64GB 128GB eMMC	64GB 128GB eMMC

Connectivity	Surface 3	Surface Laptop SE
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 5: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac compatible.	Wi-Fi 5 (2x2): IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac compatible.
Bluetooth	Bluetooth Wireless 4.0 technology	Bluetooth Wireless 5.0 LE technology
	Optional LTE Nano SIM Tray GPS Assisted GPS GLONASS

Battery	Surface 3	Surface Laptop SE
Size	27.5 Wh	35Wh
Battery Life	Up to 10 hours of video playback	Up to 16 hours of typical device usage
Power Supply	13W Micro USB power supply	45W Barrel type power adapter [email protected].

Software	Surface 3	Surface Laptop SE
OS	Windows 8.1 Pro Upgradable to Windows 10 Pro	Windows 11 SE
Built-in Apps	1-Year Microsoft Office 365 Personal	Microsoft 365 for Education

Camera & Audio	Surface 3	Surface Laptop SE
Camera	3.5MP front-facing camera with 1080p HD video 8.0MP rear-facing autofocus camera with 1080p HD video	1MP Front facing camera With up to 720p 30fps video
Audio	Single microphone Front-facing stereo speakers with Dolby® Audio enhanced sound	2W Stereo Speakers Single digital microphone

Misc	Surface 3	Surface Laptop SE
Inking	Supports Surface Pen 256 levels of pressure N-trig Active Pen technology	Not Support
Sensors	Ambient light sensor Proximity sensor Accelerometer Gyroscope Magnetometer Digital compass	1 x Hall-effect Sensor
Security		TPM 2.0 chip for enterprise security
In the box	Surface 3 Power supply Quick Start Guide Safety and warranty documents	Surface Laptop SE Power supply Quick Start Guide Safety and warranty documents
Warranty	One-year limited hardware warranty	One-year limited hardware warranty
More	Casing: Magnesium Kickstand: 3 positions Physical buttons: volumes, power	Exterior Casing: All plastic bodies unpainted Physical buttons: Power button and Volume buttons on Keyboard Hinge: 135 degrees open angle