Home » Devices » Surface Pro 4 vs. Surface Pro 5: What's different?

Surface Pro 4 vs. Surface Pro 5: What's different?

The fifth-generation of Surface Pro is finally available for order now. Check out our detailed spec comparison between the new Surface Pro 5 (2017) vs Surface Pro 4 whether it is worth upgrading or not.

BY Evan Forrest November 10, 2023

Surface Pro 4 vs. Surface Pro 5

Finally, the next generation of Microsoft’s 2-in-1 tablet was unveiled at the Microsoft China Event on May 23, 2017. It comes with an unexpected name as the new Surface Pro instead of Surface Pro 5. This new Surface Pro is completely redesigned from its predecessor with about 800 new custom parts.

If you wonder how the new Surface Pro compared to the current Surface Pro 4, here we have a detailed spec comparison between both devices. It will help you to decide whether the new Surface Pro is worth the upgrade or not.

Surface Pro 4 vs 5: Specs Comparison

	Compare With Please enter device name or part of it Surface Pro 4 See at Amazon	Compare With Please enter device name or part of it Surface Pro 5 See at Amazon
Key Features
What's new	New Design It’s now thinner (8.4mm), lighter (766g), the smaller bezel on the same footprint. Better display New bigger and better 12.3” PixelSense display with Microsoft G5 chipset. Better performance It’s now 30% faster than Surface Pro 3 with the range of 6th Gen Intel processors. Better Inking It now supports Surface Pen with 1,024 pressure sensitivity, magnet attached to the side of Surface Pro 4. Windows Hello It's all comes with Windows Hello facial recognition as standard. More Better 8.0MP rear-facing autofocus camera, new 1866 MHz LPDDR3 RAM.	New Design It now has clean lines and rounded edges. Better performance It’s now 2.5x times faster than Surface Pro 3. Better Battery It has 50% more battery life than Surface Pro 4 up to 13.5 hours. Better Inking It supports a new Surface Pen with 4,096 pressure sensitivity and tilt sensing. More Fanless on Core m3 and i5 models, new deeper 165-degree hinge, on-screen Surface Dial capability.

Availability	Surface Pro 4	Surface Pro 5
Released	2015	2017
Release Info	Introduced: October 7, 2015 Pre-ordered: October 7, 2015 Released: October 26, 2015	Introduced: May 23, 2017 Pre-ordered: May 23, 2017 Released: June 15, 2017
Pricing	Starting at 899$	Starting at 799$

Surface Pro 4 Price
	Latest Microsoft Surface Pro 4 (2736 x 1824) Tablet 6th Generation (Intel Core i5-6300U, 8GB Ram, 256GB SSD, Bluetooth, Dual Camera) Windows 10 Professional (Renewed) By Microsoft $299.00	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Pro 4 (Intel Core M, 4GB RAM, 128GB) with Windows 10 Anniversary Update (Renewed) By Microsoft $206.99	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Pro 4 128 GB, 4 GB RAM, Intel Core i5 (Renewed) By Microsoft $204.00	See at Amazon
Surface Pro 5 Price
	Microsoft Surface Pro 5 Tablet,12.3 inch (2736 x 1824), Intel Core i5-7300U 2.6 GHz, 8 GB RAM 256GB SSD, CAM, Win 10 Pro (Renewed) By Microsoft $299.99	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Pro 5 12.3" Touchscreen (2736 X 1824) Tablet PC, Intel Core i5-7300U, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD, Including Keyboard, WiFi, USB 3.0, Camera, Windows 10 Pro (Renewed) By Microsoft $329.00	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Pro 5 Intel Core M3 12.3in 4GB RAM 128GB SSD Windows 10 Home (Renewed) By Microsoft $239.00 $288.99 17% OFF	See at Amazon

Display	Surface Pro 4	Surface Pro 5
Size	12.3 Inches
Info	Resolution: 2736 x 1824 (5M Pixels) Density: 267 PPI PixelSense™ Display Contrast ratio: 1300:1 Aspect ratio: 3:2 Inking: designed together with Surface Pen Touch: 10 points multi-touch with GPU-based processing 100 percent sRGB color, individually calibrated	Resolution: 2736 x 1824 (5M Pixels) Density: 267 PPI PixelSense™ Display Aspect ratio: 3:2 Inking: designed together with Surface Pen Touch: 10 points multi-touch Corning® Gorilla® Glass 4 10nm Oleophobic Coating

Exterior	Surface Pro 4	Surface Pro 5
Size Comparison
Dimensions	11.50” x 7.93” x 0.33” (292 mm x 201.42 mm x 8.4 mm) Width: 11.50” (292 mm) Height: 7.93” (201.42 mm) Thickness: 0.33” (8.4 mm)	11.50” x 7.9” x 0.33” (292 mm x 201 mm x 8.5 mm) Width: 11.50” (292 mm) Height: 7.9” (201 mm) Thickness: 0.33” (8.5 mm)
Weight	Intel Core m3: 1.69 lbs (766 g) Intel Core i5 and i7: 1.73 lbs (786 g)	Intel Core m3: 1.69 lbs (768 g) Intel Core i5: 1.7 lbs (770 g) Intel Core i7: 1.73 lbs (784 g)
Colors	Silver	Platinum
Keyboard and Trackpad	Surface Type Cover Not included Weight: 0.68 lb (310 g) Dimension: 11.61 x 8.54 x 0.19 inches (295 mm x 216 mm x 5mm) Keyboard: 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.
Ports	1 x Full-size USB 3.0 1 x Mini DisplayPort 1 x Surface Connect™ Supports charging and docking station. 1 x Headset jack 1 x microSD™ card reader 1 x Type Cover port

Internal Specs	Surface Pro 4	Surface Pro 5
Processor	6th Gen Intel® Core™ m3-6Y30 2 cores, 4 threads, 0.90 → 2.20 GHz, 4MB SmartCache, 4.5W 6th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-6300U 2 cores, 4 threads, 2.40 → 3.00 GHz, 3MB SmartCache, 15W 6th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-6650U 2 cores, 4 threads, 2.20 → 3.40 GHz, 4MB SmartCache, 15W	7th Gen Intel® Core™ m3-7Y30 2 cores, 4 threads, 1.00 → 2.60 GHz, 4MB SmartCache, 4.5W 7th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-7300U 2 cores, 4 threads, 2.60 → 3.50 GHz, 3MB SmartCache, 15W 7th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-7660U 2 cores, 4 threads, 2.50 → 4.00 GHz, 4MB SmartCache, 15W
Integrated Graphics	6th Gen Intel® Core™ m3-6Y30 Intel® HD Graphics 515 24 Execution Units, 300 → 850 MHz 6th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-6300U Intel® HD Graphics 520 24 Execution Units, 300 → 1000 MHz 6th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-6650U Intel® Iris® Graphics 540 48 Execution Units with 64 MB eDRAM side cache, 300 → 1050 MHz	7th Gen Intel® Core™ m3-7Y30 Intel® HD Graphics 615 24 Execution Units, 300 → 900 MHz 7th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-7300U Intel® HD Graphics 620 24 Execution Units, 300 → 1100 MHz 7th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-7660U Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics 640 48 Execution Units with 64 MB eDRAM side cache, 300 → 1100 MHz
Memory	4GB 8GB 16GB 1866 MHz LPDDR3 RAM
Storage	128 GB 256 GB 512 GB 1 TB PCIe NVMe SSD

Connectivity	Surface Pro 4	Surface Pro 5
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 5: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac compatible.
Bluetooth	Bluetooth Wireless 4.0 technology	Bluetooth Wireless 4.1 technology

Battery	Surface Pro 4	Surface Pro 5
Size	38.2 Wh	45 Wh
Battery Life	Up to 9 hours of video playback	Up to 13.5 hours of video playback
Power Supply	36W proprietary power supply USB-A output: 5W Surface Connect: 31W	44W power supply USB-A output: 5W Surface Connect: 39W

Software	Surface Pro 4	Surface Pro 5
OS	Windows 10 Pro	Windows 10 Pro (Creators Update)
Built-in Apps	Microsoft Office 30-days trial	Microsoft Office 365 30-days trial

Camera & Audio	Surface Pro 4	Surface Pro 5
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	Dual microphones Front-facing stereo speakers with Dolby® Audio	Dual microphones 1.6W stereo speakers with Dolby® Audio™ Premium

Misc	Surface Pro 4	Surface Pro 5
Inking	Supports Surface Pen 1024 levels of pressure magnetic storage	Supports Surface Pen 4096 levels of pressure Tilt sensing Best in class latency Paper feel 0.1mm precision magnetic storage
Sensors	Ambient light sensor Accelerometer Gyroscope Magnetometer	Ambient light sensor Accelerometer Gyroscope
Security	HW TPM 2.0 chip for enterprise security Enterprise-grade protection with Windows Hello face sign-in
In the box	Surface Pro 4 Surface Pen Power supply Quick Start Guide Safety and warranty documents	Surface Pro (5th Gen) Power supply Quick Start Guide Safety and warranty documents
Warranty	One-year limited hardware warranty	One-year limited hardware warranty Commercial: Advanced Exchange warranty service with expedited device replacement
More	Mechanical features: Signature unibody magnesium design with hidden perimeter venting Kickstand with a full-friction multiposition hinge to 150 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

Surface Pro 4 vs 5: Processor Comparison

Surface Pro 2017

Processor	Intel Core m3-7Y30	Intel Core i5-7300U	Intel Core i7-7660U
Base Frequency	1.00 GHz	2.60 GHz	2.50 GHz
Max Turbo Frequency	2.60 GHz	3.50 GHz	4.00 GHz
TDP	4.5 watt	15 watt
Level 1 Cache	128 KB
Level 2 Cache	512 KB
Level 3 Cache	4 MB	3 MB SmartCache	4 MB
Surface Pro 4

Processor	Intel Core m3-6Y30	Intel Core i5-6300U	Intel Core i7-6650U
Base Frequency	0.9 GHz	2.40 GHz	2.20 GHz
Max Turbo Frequency	2.2 GHz	3.00 GHz	3.40 GHz
TDP	4.5 watt	15 watt
Level 1 Cache	128 KB
Level 2 Cache	512 KB
Level 3 Cache	4 MB	3 MB	4 MB

Surface Pro 4 vs 5: Graphics Comparison

Surface Pro 2017

Graphics	Intel HD Graphic 615	Intel HD Graphic 620	Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640
Graphics Frequency	300 – 900 MHz	300 – 1100 MHz	300 – 1100 MHz
Graphics Max Memory	16 GB	32 GB
Graphics 4K Support	Yes, at 60Hz	15 watt
Graphics DirectX	12
Graphics OpenGL	4.4
# Display Supported	3
eDRAM			64MB
Surface Pro 4

Graphics	Intel HD Graphic 515	Intel HD Graphic 520	Intel Iris Graphics 540
Graphics Frequency	300 – 850 MHz	300 – 1000 MHz	300 – 1050 MHz
Graphics Max Memory	16 GB	32 GB
Graphics 4K Support	Yes, at 60Hz
Graphics DirectX	12
Graphics OpenGL	4.4
# Display Supported	3
eDRAM			64MB