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Surface 3 vs. Surface Pro 1 - Detailed Specs Comparison

Here's what you need to know what's different between Surface 3 and Surface Pro 1 specs including CPU, RAM, storage, battery, display, and more.

BY Evan Forrest February 21, 2026

Surface 3 vs. Surface Pro 1

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 2012 Surface Pro 1 features the 17W 3rd Generation Intel Ivy Bridge dual-core Intel Core i5-3317U 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 10.6″ Surface Pro 1 (2012), we have a detailed tech specs comparison between both devices for you to check out here.

Surface 3 vs. Surface Pro 1: 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 1 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.	Windows 8 Pro You can do everything as you've ever done on your PC. Laptop class performance Powered by 3rd Gen Intel Core i5 processor, 4GB, and up to 128GB of SSD storage. Touch & Inking It supports 10-point multitouch and Surface Pen with 1,024 pressure sensitivity. Kickstand It comes with an integrated kickstand easy to switch between tablet and laptop mode. Detachable Touch & Type Cover Be more productive with a full-size keyboard doubling as a protective screen cover. More Magnet charging connector, Full-size USB 3.0 port, Bluetooth 4.0, HD front and rear camera.
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 Pro 1
Released	2015	2012
Release Info	Introduced: March 21, 2015 Pre-ordered: March 21, 2015 Released: May 5, 2015	Introduced: June 18, 2012 Not available for pre-ordered Released: February 9, 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	Intel® Core™ i5 $899 - i5 \| 4 GB \| 64 GB $999 - i5 \| 4 GB \| 128 GB
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)	$538.80 Microsoft Surface Pro 7 Plus Tablet 2-in-1 Intel Core i7 16GB RAM 256GB SSD 12.3 Inch Touchscreen Platinum Silver Windows 11 PRO (Renewed) $1,542.00 Microsoft Surface Pro Copilot+ PC Bundle - 13" OLED PixelSense Flow Touchscreen, Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (12-Core), 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD, Includes Surface Pro Keyboard & Slim Pen, WiFi 7, Graphite $194.65 Microsoft Surface Pro 7 12.3 inches 10th Gen Intel Core i3-1005G1 4GB RAM 128GB SSD - Platinum (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 1st Gen Price
	Microsoft Surface Pro 7 Plus Tablet 2-in-1 Intel Core i7 16GB RAM 256GB SSD 12.3 Inch Touchscreen Platinum Silver Windows 11 PRO (Renewed) By Microsoft $538.80	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Pro Copilot+ PC Bundle - 13" OLED PixelSense Flow Touchscreen, Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (12-Core), 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD, Includes Surface Pro Keyboard & Slim Pen, WiFi 7, Graphite By Microsoft $1,542.00	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Pro 7 12.3 inches 10th Gen Intel Core i3-1005G1 4GB RAM 128GB SSD - Platinum (Renewed) By Microsoft $194.65 $699.99 72% OFF	See at Amazon

Display	Surface 3	Surface Pro 1
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 ClearType Full HDDisplay Aspect ratio: 16:9 Touch: 10 point multi-touch Surface Pen support (1st Gen)

Exterior	Surface 3	Surface Pro 1
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 6.81” x 0.53” (275 mm x 173 mm x 13.46 mm) Width: 10.81” (275 mm) Height: 6.81” (173 mm) Thickness: 0.53” (13.46 mm)
Weight	Surface 3: 1.37 lbs (621 g) Surface 3 with Keyboard: 1.95 lbs (884 g)	2 lbs (910 g)
Colors	Silver	Dark Titanium
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. 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 Mini DisplayPort 1 x Surface Charging Port 1 x Headset jack 1 x microSD™ card reader 1 x Type Cover port

Internal Specs	Surface 3	Surface Pro 1
Processor	Intel® Atom™ x7-Z8700 4 cores, 4 threads, 1.60 → 2.40 GHz, 2MB Cache, 2W	Intel® Core™ i5-3317U 2 cores, 4 threads, 1.70 → 2.60 GHz, 3MB SmartCache, 17W
Integrated Graphics	Intel® Atom™ x7-Z8700 Intel® HD Graphics 16 Execution Units, 20 → 600 MHz	Intel® Core™ i5-3317U Intel® HD Graphics 4000 16 Execution Units, 350 → 1.05 MHz
Memory	2GB 4GB 1600 MHz DDR3 SDRAM.	4GB Dual Channel Memory
Storage	64GB 128GB eMMC	64 GB 128 GB SSD

Connectivity	Surface 3	Surface Pro 1
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
	Optional LTE Nano SIM Tray GPS Assisted GPS GLONASS

Battery	Surface 3	Surface Pro 1
Size	27.5 Wh	42 Wh
Battery Life	Up to 10 hours of video playback	7-15 days of idle life
Power Supply	13W Micro USB power supply	48W proprietary power supply USB-A output: 5W Surface Charger: 43W

Software	Surface 3	Surface Pro 1
OS	Windows 8.1 Pro Upgradable to Windows 10 Pro	Windows 8 Pro Upgradable Windows 10 Pro
Built-in Apps	1-Year Microsoft Office 365 Personal	Microsoft Office 30-days trial

Camera & Audio	Surface 3	Surface Pro 1
Camera	3.5MP front-facing camera with 1080p HD video 8.0MP rear-facing autofocus camera with 1080p HD video	720p HD LifeCam front-facing camera with TrueColor Technology 720p HD LifeCam rear-facing camera with TrueColor Technology
Audio	Single microphone Front-facing stereo speakers with Dolby® Audio enhanced sound	Single microphone Stereo speakers

Misc	Surface 3	Surface Pro 1
Inking	Supports Surface Pen 256 levels of pressure N-trig Active Pen technology	Supports Surface Pen 1,024 levels of pressure Wacom Active Pen technology Can be attached to charging port Included with purchase
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 Pro (1st Gen) Surface Pro Pen 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: VaporMg Kickstand: 1 position at 22° Physical buttons: volumes, power