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Surface Laptop 3 vs. Surface Laptop 5 13.5” - Detailed Specs Comparison

Here's what you need to know what's different between Surface Laptop 3 and Surface Laptop 5 13.5” specs including CPU, RAM, storage, battery, display, and more.

BY Evan Forrest November 15, 2023

Surface Laptop 3 vs. Surface Laptop 5 13.5”

The 2019 Surface Laptop 3 features the 15W 10th Generation Intel Ice Lake quad-core Intel Core i5-1035G7 up to quad-core AMD Ryzen 7-3780U Microsoft Surface Edition with the boost speed up to 4.00 GHz. While the 2022 Surface Laptop 5 13.5” features the 15W 12th Generation Intel Alder Lake U 10-core Intel Core i5-1235U up to 10-core Intel Core i7-1265U 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 13.5″ Surface Laptop 3 (2019) and the 13.5″ Surface Laptop 5 13.5” (2022), we have a detailed tech specs comparison between both devices for you to check out here.

Surface Laptop 3 vs. Surface Laptop 5 13.5”: Specs Comparison

	Compare With Please enter device name or part of it Surface Laptop 3 See at Amazon	Compare With Please enter device name or part of it Surface Laptop 5 13.5” See at Amazon
Key Features
What's new	Better performance It’s now 2.3x times faster than Surface Laptop 2. New Size Now available in 15-inch with the same beautiful PixelSense display. Now with USB-C It allows you to charge, transfer data, and output up to two 4K@60Hz displays. Better specs 10th Gen Intel Ice Lake processors, Intel Iris Plus G7 graphics, 3733 MHz LPDDR4x, WiFi-6, Bluetooth 5 Or AMD Ryzen with Radeon RX Vega graphics, 2400 MHz DDR4, WiFi-5, Bluetooth 5. New keyboard finishes Now available in warm Alcantara and cool new metal. New color Now available in Matte Black, Cobalt Blue, Platinum, and a new Sandstone. More 20% larger trackpad, Fast Charging, Better repairability, Removable hard drive, Improved Windows Hello infrared (IR) camera, Dual far-field studio mics, improved keyboard, better OmniSonic speaker.
What's missing	Burgundy is no longer available MiniDisplay port replaced with USB-C port

Availability	Surface Laptop 3	Surface Laptop 5 13.5”
Released	2019	2022
Release Info	Introduced: October 2, 2019 (Microsoft October Event) Pre-ordered: October 2, 2019 Released: October 22, 2019	Introduced: October 12, 2022 Pre-ordered: October 12, 2022 Released: October 25, 2022
Pricing	Surface Laptop 3 (13.5”) › Starting at 999$ Surface Laptop 3 (15”) › Starting at 1,199$	Consumer models Windows 11 Home Intel Core i5-1235U $999.99 8GB 256GB $1,299.99 8GB 512GB $1,499.99 16GB 512GB Intel Core i7-1255U $1,699.99 16GB 512GB Business models Windows 11 Pro Intel Core i5-1245U vPro $1,099.99 8GB 256GB $1,399.99 8GB 512GB $1,599.99 16GB 512GB Intel Core i7-1265U vPro $1,699.99 16GB 256GB $1,799.99 16GB 512GB
Amazon Deals	$229.98 Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 13.5" Touch-Screen Intel Core i5-8GB Memory - 256GB Solid State Drive (PKX-00003) Matte Black (Renewed) $279.00 Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 – 13.5" Touch-Screen – Intel Core i7 - 16GB Memory - 256GB Solid State Drive – Matte Black $299.00 Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 13.5", Intel Core i5-1035G7 256GB SSD 16GB RAM 2K+ Multi-Touch (2496X1664) Display Windows 11 PRO (Renewed)	$498.94 Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 13.5" Touchscreen Notebook - 2256 x 1504 - Intel Core i7 12th Gen i7-1265U - Intel Evo Platform - 16 GB Total RAM - 512 GB SSD (Platinum) (Renewed) $439.99 Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 13.5” Touch-Screen – Intel Core i7-16GB - 256GB SSD Windows 11 PRO (Latest Model) - Matte Black (Renewed) $479.00 Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 13.5" Touch 16GB 512GB SSD Core™ i7-1265U 3.6GHz Win11P, Matte Black (Renewed)

Surface Laptop 3 Price
	Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 13.5" Touch-Screen Intel Core i5-8GB Memory - 256GB Solid State Drive (PKX-00003) Matte Black (Renewed) By Microsoft $229.98 $649.95 65% OFF	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 – 13.5" Touch-Screen – Intel Core i7 - 16GB Memory - 256GB Solid State Drive – Matte Black By Microsoft $279.00	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 13.5", Intel Core i5-1035G7 256GB SSD 16GB RAM 2K+ Multi-Touch (2496X1664) Display Windows 11 PRO (Renewed) By Microsoft $299.00	See at Amazon
Surface Laptop 5 13.5” Price
	Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 13.5" Touchscreen Notebook - 2256 x 1504 - Intel Core i7 12th Gen i7-1265U - Intel Evo Platform - 16 GB Total RAM - 512 GB SSD (Platinum) (Renewed) By Microsoft $498.94 $535.00 7% OFF	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 13.5” Touch-Screen – Intel Core i7-16GB - 256GB SSD Windows 11 PRO (Latest Model) - Matte Black (Renewed) By Microsoft $439.99	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 13.5" Touch 16GB 512GB SSD Core™ i7-1265U 3.6GHz Win11P, Matte Black (Renewed) By Microsoft $479.00	See at Amazon

Display	Surface Laptop 3	Surface Laptop 5 13.5”
Size	13.5 Inches
Info	Surface Laptop 3 (13.5”) Resolution: 2256 x 1504 (3.4M Pixels) Pixel Per Inch: 201 Surface Laptop 3 (15”) Resolution: 2496 x 1664 (4.15M Pixels) Pixel Per Inch: 201 PixelSense™ Display Aspect ratio: 3:2 Inking: designed together with Surface Pen Touch: 10 points multi-touch Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3 10nm Oleophobic Coating 100% sRGB color, individually calibrated	13.5” PixelSense™ Display Resolution: 2256 x 1504 Density: 201 PPI Color profile: sRGB and Vivid Individually color-calibrated display Refresh rate: 60Hz Aspect ratio: 3:2 Contrast ratio: 1300:1 Touch: 10-point multi-touch Brightness: 400 nits maximum (typical). 5 nits minimum Dolby Vision IQ™ support Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3 Models with Alcantara keyboard finish. Corning® Gorilla® Glass 5 Models with Metal keyboard finish.

Exterior	Surface Laptop 3	Surface Laptop 5 13.5”
Size Comparison
Dimensions	Surface Laptop 3 (13.5”) 12.1” x 8.8” x 0.57” (308 mm x 223 mm x 14.5 mm). Surface Laptop 3 (15”) 13.4” x 9.6” x 0.57” (339.5 mm x 244 mm x 14.69 mm).	12.1” x 8.8” x 0.57” 308 mm x 223 mm x 14.5 mm
Weight	Surface Laptop 3 (13.5”) 2.84 lb (1,288 g) Sandstone and Matte Black 2.79 lb (1,265 g) Cobalt Blue and Platinum Surface Laptop 3 (15”) 3.40 lb (1,542 g)	Metal 2.86 lbs (1.297 kg) Alcantara 2.80 lbs (1.272 kg)
Colors	Surface Laptop 3 (13.5”) Metal Matte Black Sandstone Alcantara Matte Black Platinum Surface Laptop 3 (15”) Metal Matte Black Platinum	Metal Matte Black Sage Sandstone Alcantara Platinum
Keyboard and Trackpad	Keyboard: Full-size backlit keyboard with the soft-touch feel and full 1.3mm travel. Large palm rest with premium Alcantara® material for maximized typing comfort. Trackpad: Larger size 115 mm x 76.66 mm, glass. Supports up to Five-finger multitouch gesture.	Keyboard: Full-size backlit keyboard with a soft-touch feel and full 1.3mm travel. Large palm rest with premium Alcantara® material for maximized typing comfort. Trackpad: Larger size 115 mm x 76.66 mm, glass. Supports up to Five-finger multitouch gestures.
Ports	1 x Full-size USB 3.0 1 x USB Type-C 3.1 Gen 2 Supports Power Delivery and DisplayPort. 1 x Surface Connect™ Supports charging and docking station. 1 x Headset jack	1 x Thunderbolt™ 4 USB-C interface supports USB 4.0, Power Delivery, DisplayPort, and data transfer up to 40Gbps. 1 x Full-size USB 3.1 Gen 2 Data transfer up to 10Gbps. 1 x Surface Connect™ Supports charging and docking station. 1 x Headset jack

Internal Specs	Surface Laptop 3	Surface Laptop 5 13.5”
Processor	10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1035G7 4 cores, 8 threads, 1.20 → 3.70 GHz, 6MB SmartCache, 15W 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1065G7 4 cores, 8 threads, 1.30 → 3.90 GHz, 8MB SmartCache, 15W AMD Ryzen™ 5 3580U Microsoft Surface® Edition 4 cores, 8 threads, 2.10 → 3.70 GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 4MB L3 Cache, 15W AMD Ryzen™ 7 3780U Microsoft Surface® Edition 4 cores, 8 threads, 2.30 → 4.00 GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 4MB L3 Cache, 15W	12th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1235U 10 cores, 12 threads, 1.30 → 4.40 GHz, 12MB SmartCache, 15W 12th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1245U vPro 10 cores, 12 threads, 1.60 → 4.40 GHz, 12MB SmartCache, 15W 12th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1255U 10 cores, 12 threads, 1.70 → 4.70 GHz, 12MB SmartCache, 15W 12th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1265U vPro 10 cores, 12 threads, 1.80 → 4.80 GHz, 12MB SmartCache, 15W
Integrated Graphics	10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1035G7 Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics 64 Execution Units, 300 → 1050 MHz 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1065G7 Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics 64 Execution Units, 300 → 1100 MHz AMD Ryzen™ 5 3580U Microsoft Surface® Edition Radeon™ Vega 9 Graphics 9 Graphics Cores, 1300 MHz AMD Ryzen™ 7 3780U Microsoft Surface® Edition Radeon™ RX Vega 11 Graphics 11 Graphics Cores, 1400 MHz	12th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1235U Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics 80 Execution Units, → 1200 MHz 12th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1245U vPro Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics 80 Execution Units, → 1200 MHz 12th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1255U Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics 96 Execution Units, → 1250 MHz 12th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1265U vPro Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics 96 Execution Units, → 1250 MHz
Memory	Surface Laptop 3 (13.5”) 8GB 16GB 3733 MHz LPDDR4X RAM Surface Laptop 3 (15”) 8GB 16GB 2400 MHz DDR4 RAM	8GB 16GB 32GB 5200 MHz LPDDR5 RAM
Storage	128 GB 256 GB 512 GB 1 TB Removable M.2 NVMe SSD	256 GB 512 GB 1 TB Removable M.2 NVMe SSD

Connectivity	Surface Laptop 3	Surface Laptop 5 13.5”
Wi-Fi	Surface Laptop 3 (13.5”) Wi-Fi 6: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax compatible. Surface Laptop 3 (15”) 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 5.0 technology	Bluetooth Wireless 5.1 technology

Battery	Surface Laptop 3	Surface Laptop 5 13.5”
Size	45.8 Wh	47.4 Wh Nominal battery capacity. 45.8 Wh Minimum battery capacity.
Battery Life	Up to 11.5 hours of typical device usage	Up to 18 hours of typical device usage
Power Supply	60W power supply with USB-A (5W) (65W total) Supports Fast Charge (0-80% in about one hour)

Software

Surface Laptop 3

Surface Laptop 5 13.5”

For Consumer: Windows 10 Home
For Commercial: Windows 10 Pro

Free upgrade to Windows 11

Consumer models

Windows 11 Home

Business models

Windows 11 Pro

Built-in Apps

Microsoft Office 365 30-days trial

Consumer models

Preloaded Microsoft 365 Apps
Microsoft 365 Family 30-day trial
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate 30-day trial

Business models

Preloaded Microsoft 365 Apps
Microsoft 365 Business Standard, Microsoft 365 Business Premium, or Microsoft 365 Apps 30-day trial

Camera & Audio	Surface Laptop 3	Surface Laptop 5 13.5”
Camera	Windows Hello face authentication camera (front-facing) 720p HD front-facing video camera
Audio	Dual far-field Studio Mics OmniSonic stereo speakers with Dolby® Audio™ Premium	Dual far-field Studio Mics OmniSonic stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos®

Misc	Surface Laptop 3	Surface Laptop 5 13.5”
Inking	Supports Surface Pen 4096 levels of pressure Tilt sensing Best in class latency	Designed for Surface Pen Supports Microsoft Pen Protocol (MPP) 4096 levels of pressure Tilt sensing Best in class latency Paper feel 0.1mm precision
Sensors	Ambient light sensor
Security	HW TPM 2.0 chip for enterprise security Enterprise-grade protection with Windows Hello face sign-in	Firmware TPM 2.0 is a security processor that is designed to give you peace of mind. Windows Hello face sign-in
In the box	Surface Laptop 3 Power supply Quick Start Guide Safety and warranty documents	Surface Laptop 5 13.5” Power supply Quick Start Guide Safety and warranty documents
Warranty	One-year limited hardware warranty Commercial: Advanced Exchange warranty service with expedited device replacement	One-year limited hardware warranty
More	Supports Surface Dial Supports off-screen interaction only