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Surface Pro 1 vs. Surface 2 - Detailed Specs Comparison

Here's what you need to know what's different between Surface Pro 1 and Surface 2 specs including CPU, RAM, storage, battery, display, and more.

BY Evan Forrest November 15, 2023

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. While the 2013 Surface 2 features the quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 4 T40 with the boost speed up to 1.90 GHz.

If you are in the market looking for a laptop and don't know what's the difference between the 10.6″ Surface Pro 1 (2012) and the 10.6″ Surface 2 (2013), we have a detailed tech specs comparison between both devices for you to check out here.

Surface Pro 1 vs. Surface 2: Specs Comparison

	Compare With Please enter device name or part of it Surface Pro 1 See at Amazon	Compare With Please enter device name or part of it Surface 2 See at Amazon
Key Features
What's new	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.	Better design It’s now thinner (8.9mm), lighter (522g), and new platinum magnesium exterior. Better performance Better single-core and multi-core performance and much better graphics performance (72 graphics cores). Better battery Up to 10 hours of video playback. New kickstand Now in two angles, original 22-degree, and new 55-degree. Better display Higher display resolution with Full HD (1920 x 1080) display. Optional mobile broadband It comes with optional 4G LTE support. More Full-size USB 3.0 port, 3.5MP front, and 5MP rear camera, new thinner backlit type cover.
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 Platinum color only No longer available in black color.

Availability	Surface Pro 1	Surface 2
Released	2012	2013
Release Info	Introduced: June 18, 2012 Not available for pre-ordered Released: February 9, 2013	Introduced: September 23, 2013 Pre-ordered: September 24, 2013 Released: October 22, 2013
Pricing	Intel® Core™ i5 $899 - i5 \| 4 GB \| 64 GB $999 - i5 \| 4 GB \| 128 GB	Surface 2 Wi-Fi $449 - 2 GB \| 32 GB $549 - 2 GB \| 64 GB Surface 2 4G LTE $679 - 2 GB \| 64 GB

Surface Pro 1 Price
	Mini Display Port DP to HDMI VGA DVI Converter For Microsoft surface pro 1 2 3 4 By Unknown $10.10 $12.98 22% OFF	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Pro 7+ 2 in 1 Tablet, 12.3” Touch Screen, 11th Gen Intel Core i3, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD, Windows 11 Home, with Type Cover, Blue Surface Pen & Sleeve, Platinum By Microsoft $800.99	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Pro (Intel Core i7, 16GB RAM, 1TB) – Newest Version (Renewed) By Microsoft $699.00 $960.22 27% OFF	See at Amazon
Surface 2 Price
	New Microsoft Surface Go 2 - 10.5" Touch-Screen - Intel Pentium - 4GB Memory - 64GB - Wifi - Platinum (Latest Model) By Microsoft $249.18 $399.99 38% OFF	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Laptop 2 (Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB) - Platinum (Renewed) By Microsoft $259.00 $274.99 6% OFF	See at Amazon
	New Microsoft Surface Go 2 - 10.5" Touch-Screen - Intel Pentium - 8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - Wifi - Platinum (Latest Model) By Microsoft $492.45 $549.99 10% OFF	See at Amazon

Display	Surface Pro 1	Surface 2
Size	10.6 Inches
Info	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)	Resolution: 1920 x 1080 (2M Pixels) Density: 208 PPI Aspect ratio: 16:9 ClearType Full HD Display Touch: 5 points multi-touch

Exterior	Surface Pro 1	Surface 2
Size Comparison
Dimensions	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)	10.81” x 6.79” x 0.35” (275 mm x 172 mm x 8.9 mm) Width: 10.81” (275 mm) Height: 6.79” (172 mm) Thickness: 0.35” (8.9 mm)
Weight	2 lbs (910 g)	Surface 2: 1.15 lbs (522 g) Surface 2 with Keyboard: 1.7 lbs (771 g)
Colors	Dark Titanium	Silver
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. Trackpad: Two-finger multitouch gesture 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: Two-finger multitouch gesture trackpad.
Ports	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	1 x Full-size USB 3.0 1 x microSD™ card reader 1 x Surface Charging Port 1 x Headset jack 1 x Mini DisplayPort 1 x Cover port 1 x Nano SIM card slot (Surface 2 with LTE only)

Internal Specs	Surface Pro 1	Surface 2
Processor	Intel® Core™ i5-3317U 2 cores, 4 threads, 1.70 → 2.60 GHz, 3MB SmartCache, 17W	NVIDIA Tegra 4 T40 4 cores, 1.70 → 1.90 GHz, 2MB Cache,
Integrated Graphics	Intel® Core™ i5-3317U Intel® HD Graphics 4000 16 Execution Units, 350 → 1.05 MHz	NVIDIA Tegra 4 T40 NVIDIA GeForce ULP graphics 72 Graphics Cores, 672 MHz
Memory	4GB Dual Channel Memory	2GB of RAM
Storage	64 GB 128 GB SSD	32GB 64GB eMMC

Connectivity	Surface Pro 1	Surface 2
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 4: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n compatible.
Bluetooth	Bluetooth Wireless 4.0 technology	Bluetooth 4.0 low energy technology
		Optional LTE Nano SIM Tray 2G GSM (Quadband: 850/900/1800/1900) 3G UMTS (Bands 1, 2, 5) 4G LTE (Bands 4, 7, 17)

Battery	Surface Pro 1	Surface 2
Size	42 Wh	31.5 Wh
Battery Life	7-15 days of idle life	Up to 10 hours of video playback
Power Supply	48W proprietary power supply USB-A output: 5W Surface Charger: 43W	24W proprietary power supply

Software	Surface Pro 1	Surface 2
OS	Windows 8 Pro Upgradable Windows 10 Pro	Windows RT 8.1
Built-in Apps	Microsoft Office 30-days trial	Microsoft Office Home and Student 2013 RT with Outlook

Camera & Audio	Surface Pro 1	Surface 2
Camera	720p HD LifeCam front-facing camera with TrueColor Technology 720p HD LifeCam rear-facing camera with TrueColor Technology	3.5MP front-facing camera with 1080p HD video 8.0MP rear-facing autofocus camera with 1080p HD video
Audio	Single microphone Stereo speakers	Dual microphones Stereo speakers with digitally enhanced for fuller sound

Misc	Surface Pro 1	Surface 2
Inking	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 Accelerometer Gyroscope Magnetometer
In the box	Surface Pro (1st Gen) Surface Pro Pen Power supply Quick Start Guide Safety and warranty documents	Surface 2 Power supply Quick Start Guide Safety and warranty documents
Warranty	One-year limited hardware warranty
More	Casing: VaporMg Kickstand: 1 position at 22° Physical buttons: volumes, power	Casing: Magnesium Kickstand: 2 positions Physical buttons: volumes, power