Home » Devices » Surface 3 vs. Surface Pro 8 - Detailed Specs Comparison

Surface 3 vs. Surface Pro 8 - Detailed Specs Comparison

Here's what you need to know what's different between Surface 3 and Surface Pro 8 specs including CPU, RAM, storage, battery, display, and more.

BY Evan Forrest February 21, 2026

Surface 3 vs. Surface Pro 8

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 Pro 8 features the 28W 11th Generation Intel Tiger Lake UP3 dual-core Intel Core i3-1115G4 up to quad-core Intel Core i7-1185G7 with the boost speed up to 4.80 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 13″ Surface Pro 8 (2021), we have a detailed tech specs comparison between both devices for you to check out here.

Surface 3 vs. Surface Pro 8: 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 Pro 8 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.	New Pro Design It features the new bigger 13” edge-to-edge PixelSense Flow display. Better performance It’s now 2.1x times faster than Surface Pro 7 and 3.5x times faster than Surface Pro (5th Gen). Better specs 11th Gen Intel Tiger Lake processors, Intel Iris Xe G7 graphics, up to 32GB of 4267 MHz LPDDR4x memory, WiFi-6, and Bluetooth 5.1. Longer Battery Life It now offers a better battery life with up to 16-hours of typical device usages. 2 x Thunderbolt™ 4 Supports USB 4.0, 40Gbps transfer speed, DisplayPort, Power Delivery, Docking, and external GPU. Removable SSD For better data security and privacy, now the Surface Pro 8 feature a removable SSD. More 10MP rear-facing camera 4K video recording 2W stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos
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 MicroSDXC card slot No Full-size USB-A port

Availability	Surface 3	Surface Pro 8
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	Consumer models Windows 11 Home Intel Core i5-1135G7 $1,099.99 8GB 128GB $1,199.99 8GB 256GB $1,399.99 16GB 256GB $1,399.99 8GB 512GB Intel Core i7-1185G7 $1,599.99 16GB 256GB $1,899.99 16GB 512GB $2,199.99 16GB 1TB $2,599.99 32GB 1TB Business models with WiFi Windows 11 Pro Intel Core i3-1115G4 $1,099.99 8GB 128GB Intel Core i5-1145G7 $1,199.99 8GB 128GB $1,299.99 8GB 256GB $1,499.99 8GB 512GB $1,499.99 16GB 256GB Intel Core i7-1185G7 $1,699.99 16GB 256GB $1,999.99 16GB 512GB $2,299.99 16GB 1TB $2,699.99 32GB 1TB Business models with LTE Windows 11 Pro Intel Core i5-1145G7 $1,349.99 8GB 128GB $1,449.99 8GB 256GB $1,649.99 16GB 256GB Intel Core i7-1185G7 $1,849.99 16GB 256GB
Amazon Deals	$162.96 Microsoft Surface 3 128GB WiFi Tablet 10.8" Intel Atom - Silver (Renewed) $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)	$537.92 Microsoft Surface Pro 8 Tablet, LTE, Intel i5-1145G7, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD, Intel UHD Graphics, 13" Touchscreen Display, Windows 11 Pro Laptop Computer, Platinum, EIP-00001 (Renewed) $638.80 Microsoft Surface Pro 8 LTE Unlocked Tablet, Intel Evo i5, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD, Intel Iris Xe Graphics 13" Touchscreen Windows 11 PRO, Platinum (Renewed) $698.99 Microsoft Surface Pro 8 13 inch Touchscreen Intel i7 16GB RAM 256GB SSD Graphite (Renewed)

Microsoft Surface 3 10.8-inch Price
	Microsoft Surface 3 128GB WiFi Tablet 10.8" Intel Atom - Silver (Renewed) By Microsoft $162.96	See at Amazon
	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 Pro 8 Price
	Microsoft Surface Pro 8 Tablet, LTE, Intel i5-1145G7, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD, Intel UHD Graphics, 13" Touchscreen Display, Windows 11 Pro Laptop Computer, Platinum, EIP-00001 (Renewed) By Microsoft $537.92	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Pro 8 LTE Unlocked Tablet, Intel Evo i5, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD, Intel Iris Xe Graphics 13" Touchscreen Windows 11 PRO, Platinum (Renewed) By Microsoft $638.80	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Pro 8 13 inch Touchscreen Intel i7 16GB RAM 256GB SSD Graphite (Renewed) By Microsoft $698.99 $1,358.81 49% OFF	See at Amazon

Display	Surface 3	Surface Pro 8
Size	10.8 Inches	13 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: 2880 x 1920 5.53M Pixels. Density: 267 PPI Refresh rate: 120Hz 60Hz default. PixelSense™ Flow Display Aspect ratio: 3:2 Inking: GPU Ink Acceleration Touch: 10 points multi-touch

Exterior	Surface 3	Surface Pro 8
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)	11.3” x 8.2” x 0.37” (287 mm x 208 mm x 9.3 mm)
Weight	Surface 3: 1.37 lbs (621 g) Surface 3 with Keyboard: 1.95 lbs (884 g)	1.96 lb (889 g)
Colors	Silver	Platinum Graphite
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.	Not included. Compatible with Surface Pro Signature Keyboard Surface Pro X Keyboard Type Cover Features: Activation: Moving (mechanical) keys Layout: QWERTY, full row of function keys (F1-F12) 4 directional keys; Windows, Brightness and Media Controls Keys; LED backlighting Trackpad: Precision glass trackpad. Trackpad size: 4 x 2 inches (101.6 mm x 50.8 mm) Supports a five-finger multitouch gesture. Surface Slim Pen Storage Magnetic dock Automatically wireless charge Surface Slim Pen
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)	2 x Thunderbolt™ 4 USB-C interface supports USB 4.0, Power Delivery, DisplayPort, and data transfer up to 40Gbps. 1 x Surface Connect+ Supports charging and docking station. 1 x Surface Pro Type Cover port 1 x Headset jack

Internal Specs	Surface 3	Surface Pro 8
Processor	Intel® Atom™ x7-Z8700 4 cores, 4 threads, 1.60 → 2.40 GHz, 2MB Cache, 2W	11th Gen Intel® Core™ i3-1115G4 2 cores, 4 threads, 3.00 → 4.10 GHz, 6MB SmartCache, 28W 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1135G7 4 cores, 8 threads, 2.40 → 4.20 GHz, 8MB SmartCache, 28W 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1145G7 4 cores, 8 threads, 2.60 → 4.40 GHz, 8MB SmartCache, 28W 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1185G7 4 cores, 8 threads, 3.00 → 4.80 GHz, 12MB SmartCache, 28W
Integrated Graphics	Intel® Atom™ x7-Z8700 Intel® HD Graphics 16 Execution Units, 20 → 600 MHz	11th Gen Intel® Core™ i3-1115G4 Intel® UHD Graphics 48 Execution Units, 400 → 1250 MHz 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1135G7 Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics 80 Execution Units, 400 → 1300 MHz 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1145G7 Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics 80 Execution Units, 400 → 1300 MHz 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1185G7 Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics 96 Execution Units, 400 → 1350 MHz
Memory	2GB 4GB 1600 MHz DDR3 SDRAM.	8GB 16GB 32GB 4267 MHz LPDDR4X RAM
Storage	64GB 128GB eMMC	128GB 256GB 512GB 1TB Removable SSD.

Connectivity	Surface 3	Surface Pro 8
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 5.1 technology
	Optional LTE Nano SIM Tray GPS Assisted GPS GLONASS

Battery	Surface 3	Surface Pro 8
Size	27.5 Wh	51.5Wh Nominal battery capacity. 50.2Wh Minimum battery capacity.
Battery Life	Up to 10 hours of video playback	Up to 16 hours of typical device usage
Power Supply	13W Micro USB power supply	60W power supply with USB-A (5W) (65W total) Supports Fast Charge (0-80% in about one hour)

Software	Surface 3	Surface Pro 8
OS	Windows 8.1 Pro Upgradable to Windows 10 Pro	Consumer models Windows 11 Home Business models Windows 11 Pro, Windows 10 Pro
Built-in Apps	1-Year Microsoft Office 365 Personal	Preloaded Microsoft 365 Apps Microsoft 365 Family 30-day trial Preloaded Xbox app Xbox Game Pass Ultimate one month trial

Camera & Audio	Surface 3	Surface Pro 8
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 10.0MP rear-facing autofocus camera with 1080p full HD and 4K video
Audio	Single microphone Front-facing stereo speakers with Dolby® Audio enhanced sound	Dual far-field Studio Mics 2W stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos®

Misc	Surface 3	Surface Pro 8
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 0.1mm precision magnetic storage Supports Tactile signals with Surface Slim Pen 2
Sensors	Ambient light sensor Proximity sensor Accelerometer Gyroscope Magnetometer Digital compass	Ambient light sensor Gyroscope Magnetometer Ambient Color Sensor (brightness and color)
Security		Firmware TPM chip for enterprise-grade security and BitLocker support Enterprise-grade protection with Windows Hello face sign-in
In the box	Surface 3 Power supply Quick Start Guide Safety and warranty documents	Surface Pro 8 Power supply Quick Start Guide Safety and warranty documents
Warranty	One-year limited hardware warranty	1-year limited hardware warranty
More	Casing: Magnesium Kickstand: 3 positions Physical buttons: volumes, power