Home » Devices » Surface Go vs. Surface Go 3 - Detailed Specs Comparison

Surface Go vs. Surface Go 3 - Detailed Specs Comparison

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

BY Evan Forrest November 15, 2023

Surface Go vs. Surface Go 3

The 2018 Surface Go features the 6W 7th Generation Intel Kaby Lake dual-core Intel Pentium Gold 4415Y with a clock speed of 1.60 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 are in the market looking for a laptop and don't know what's the difference between the 10″ Surface Go (2018) 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 Go vs. Surface Go 3: Specs Comparison

	Compare With Please enter device name or part of it Surface Go See at Amazon	Compare With Please enter device name or part of it Surface Go 3 See at Amazon
Key Features
What's new		More Powerful Processors - The Surface Go 3 now features the latest 10th generation Intel Mobile processors, including Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0, resulting in faster speeds up to 3.40 GHz, particularly on the entry-level models. Longer Battery Life - Last up to 11 hours battery life of typical device usage. More Now with the Matte Black option Preloaded with Windows 11 Supports fast charging

Availability	Surface Go	Surface Go 3
Released	2018	2021
Release Info	Introduced: July 10, 2018 Pre-ordered: July 10, 2018 Released: August 2, 2018	Introduced: September 22, 2021 Pre-ordered: September 22, 2021 Released: October 5, 2021
Pricing	Surface Go for Consumer $399 - 4 GB \| 64 GB \| W10 S-mode $549 - 8 GB \| 128 GB \| W10 S-mode Surface go for Commercial $449 - 4 GB \| 64 GB \| W10 Pro $599 - 8 GB \| 128 GB \| W10 Pro	$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 Go Price
	Microsoft Surface Go (Intel Pentium Gold, 8GB RAM, 128GB) (Renewed) By Microsoft $189.52	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Go 3-10.5" Touchscreen - Intel Core i3-8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - Device Only - Platinum (Latest Model) (Renewed) By Microsoft $410.97	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Go 2-10.5" Touch-Screen - Intel Pentium - 8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - WiFi - Platinum (Latest Model) (Renewed) By Microsoft $264.81 $279.00 5% OFF	See at Amazon
Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5” Price
	Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5" Touchscreen - Intel® Core™ i3 - 8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - Device Only - Platinum (Latest Model) By Microsoft $577.05 $629.99 8% OFF	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5" Touchscreen - Intel® Pentium® Gold - 8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - Device Only - Platinum (Latest Model) By Microsoft $546.93	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5" Touchscreen - Intel® Core™ i3 - 8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - Device Only - Black (Latest Model) By Microsoft $579.93	See at Amazon

Display	Surface Go	Surface Go 3
Size	10 Inches	10.5 Inches
Info	Resolution: 1800 x 1200 (2.1M Pixels) Density: 217 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	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 Go	Surface Go 3
Size Comparison
Dimensions	9.6” x 6.9” x 0.33” (245 mm x 175 mm x 8.3 mm) Width: 9.6” (245 mm) Height: 6.9” (175 mm) Thickness: 0.33” (8.3 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 Go: 1.15 lbs (522 g) Surface Go with LTE: 1.17 lbs. (532 g) Surface Go Keyboard: 0.55 lbs (249 g)	Surface Go 3: 1.2 lbs (544 g) Surface Go 3 Keyboard: 0.55 lbs (249 g)
Colors	Platinum	Platinum Matte Black
Keyboard and Trackpad	Surface 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.	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 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 microSD™ card reader 1 x Type Cover port	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 Go	Surface Go 3
Processor	7th Gen Intel® Pentium® Gold 4415Y 2 cores, 4 threads, 1.60 GHz, 2MB SmartCache, 6W	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	7th Gen Intel® Pentium® Gold 4415Y Intel® HD Graphics 615 24 Execution Units, 300 → 850 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	4GB 8GB 1866 MHz LPDDR3 RAM
Storage	64GB eMMC 128GB 256GB SSD	64GB eMMC 128GB SSD

Connectivity	Surface Go	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 4.1 technology	Bluetooth Wireless 5.0 technology
	Optional LTE Nano SIM Tray 4G LTE Advanced (22 Bands: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 38, 39, 40, 41, 66) GPS/GLONASS: Standalone and Assiste GNSS, accuracy up to 3 meters	LTE version coming soon.

Battery	Surface Go	Surface Go 3
Size	26.12 Wh	28Wh Nominal battery capacity. 26.8Wh Minimum battery capacity.
Battery Life	Up to 9 hours of video playback	Up to 11 hours of typical device usage
Power Supply	24W proprietary Surface Connect power supply	24W proprietary Surface Connect power supply

Software	Surface Go	Surface Go 3
OS	For Consumer: Windows 10 in S-mode For Commercial: Windows 10 Pro	Windows 11 Home in S-mode
Built-in Apps	Microsoft Office 365 30-days trial	Xbox Game Pass Ultimate one month trial Microsoft 365 Family one month trial

Camera & Audio	Surface Go	Surface Go 3
Camera	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 2W Front-facing stereo speakers with Dolby® Audio™ Premium	Enhanced dual far-field Studio Mics 2W stereo speakers with Dolby® Audio™

Misc	Surface Go	Surface Go 3
Inking	Supports Surface Pen 4096 levels of pressure Tilt sensing Best in class latency Paper feel magnetic storage	Supports Microsoft Pen Protocol (MPP) 4096 levels of pressure Tilt sensing Best in class latency Paper feel magnetic storage
Sensors	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 Go 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	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	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