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Surface Go vs. Surface RT - Detailed Specs Comparison

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

BY Evan Forrest February 21, 2026

Surface Go vs. Surface RT

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 2012 Surface RT features the quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 with the boost speed up to 1.40 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 10.6″ Surface RT (2012), we have a detailed tech specs comparison between both devices for you to check out here.

Surface Go vs. Surface RT: 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 RT See at Amazon
Key Features
What's new		Windows RT Microsoft's touch-centric OS is explicitly made for ARM-powered tablet devices. Free Microsoft Office 2013 RT It was shipped with the RT version of Microsoft Office Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook 2013. 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 2.0 port, Bluetooth 4.0, HD front and rear camera.
What's missing		Can't run desktop apps You can't run desktop apps (x86 or x64) on this device. The only way to get apps is through the Windows Store. No Windows 10 The latest OS you can get is Windows RT 8.1 Update 3 Less multitouch support It supports only 5-points multitouch. More Only HD display and no USB 3.0 port.

Availability	Surface Go	Surface RT
Released	2018	2012
Release Info	Introduced: July 10, 2018 Pre-ordered: July 10, 2018 Released: August 2, 2018	Introduced: June 18, 2012 Not available for pre-ordered Released: October 26, 2012
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	Surface RT $499 - 2 GB \| 32 GB $599 - 2 GB \| 64 GB Surface RT with Black Touch Cover $599 - 2 GB \| 32 GB $699 - 2 GB \| 64 GB
Amazon Deals	$197.20 Microsoft Surface Go 2-10.5" Touch-Screen - Intel Core m3-8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - WiFi - Platinum Windows 11 PRO (Renewed) $209.00 Microsoft Surface Go 2-10.5" LTE Unlocked Touch-Screen - Intel Core m3-8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - WiFi+LTE - Platinum Windows 11 PRO (Renewed) $400.99 Microsoft Surface Go 3-10.5" Touchscreen - Intel Core i3-8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - Device Only - Platinum (Latest Model) (Renewed)	$128.65 Microsoft Surface RT (32GB) $138.99 Microsoft Surface 64GB Tablet (Dark Titanium) with Black Touch Cover $149.99 Microsoft Magenta Touch Cover for 10.6 inch Microsoft Surface RT - with Windows RT and for Surface Pro - with Windows 8 Pro 10.6 inch only

Microsoft Surface Go Price
	Microsoft Surface Go 2-10.5" Touch-Screen - Intel Core m3-8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - WiFi - Platinum Windows 11 PRO (Renewed) By Microsoft $197.20 $214.50 8% OFF	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Go 2-10.5" LTE Unlocked Touch-Screen - Intel Core m3-8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - WiFi+LTE - Platinum Windows 11 PRO (Renewed) By Microsoft $209.00 $239.00 13% OFF	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 $400.99 $699.99 43% OFF	See at Amazon
Microsoft Surface RT 10.6-inch Price
	Microsoft Surface RT (32GB) By Microsoft $128.65	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface 64GB Tablet (Dark Titanium) with Black Touch Cover By Microsoft $138.99	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Magenta Touch Cover for 10.6 inch Microsoft Surface RT - with Windows RT and for Surface Pro - with Windows 8 Pro 10.6 inch only By Microsoft $149.99	See at Amazon

Display	Surface Go	Surface RT
Size	10 Inches	10.6 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: 1366 x 768 (1M Pixels) Density: 148 PPI Aspect ratio: 16:9 ClearType HD Display Touch: 5 points multi-touch

Exterior	Surface Go	Surface RT
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)	10.81” x 6.77” x 0.37” (275 mm x 172 mm x 9.4 mm) Width: 10.81” (275 mm) Height: 6.77” (172 mm) Thickness: 0.37” (9.4 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)	1.5 lbs (680 g)
Colors	Platinum	Dark Titanium
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 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 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 Full-size USB 2.0 1 x microSD™ card reader 1 x Surface Charging Port 1 x Headset jack 1 x Micro HDMI video out port 1 x Cover port

Internal Specs	Surface Go	Surface RT
Processor	7th Gen Intel® Pentium® Gold 4415Y 2 cores, 4 threads, 1.60 GHz, 2MB SmartCache, 6W	NVIDIA Tegra 3 4 cores, 1.30 → 1.40 GHz, 1MB Cache,
Integrated Graphics	7th Gen Intel® Pentium® Gold 4415Y Intel® HD Graphics 615 24 Execution Units, 300 → 850 MHz	NVIDIA Tegra 3 NVIDIA GeForce ULP graphics 12 Graphics Cores,
Memory	4GB 8GB 1866 MHz LPDDR3 RAM	2GB of RAM
Storage	64GB eMMC 128GB 256GB SSD	32GB 64GB Storage

Connectivity	Surface Go	Surface RT
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 4.1 technology	Bluetooth 4.0 low energy 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

Battery	Surface Go	Surface RT
Size	26.12 Wh	31.5 Wh
Battery Life	Up to 9 hours of video playback	Up to 8 hours of video playback
Power Supply	24W proprietary Surface Connect power supply	24W proprietary power supply

Software	Surface Go	Surface RT
OS	For Consumer: Windows 10 in S-mode For Commercial: Windows 10 Pro	Windows RT Upgradeable to Windows RT 8.1 Update
Built-in Apps	Microsoft Office 365 30-days trial	Microsoft Office Home and Student 2013 RT

Camera & Audio	Surface Go	Surface RT
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	720p HD LifeCam front-facing camera with TrueColor Technology 720p HD LifeCam rear-facing camera with TrueColor Technology
Audio	Single microphone 2W Front-facing stereo speakers with Dolby® Audio™ Premium	Dual microphones Stereo speakers

Misc	Surface Go	Surface RT
Inking	Supports Surface Pen 4096 levels of pressure Tilt sensing Best in class latency Paper feel magnetic storage
Sensors	Ambient light sensor Accelerometer Gyroscope Magnetometer	Ambient light sensor Accelerometer Gyroscope Compass
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 RT 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	Casing: VaporMg Kickstand: 1 position at 22° Physical buttons: volumes, power