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Surface Pro 1 vs. Surface 3 - Detailed Specs Comparison

Here's what you need to know what's different between Surface Pro 1 and Surface 3 specs including CPU, RAM, storage, battery, display, and more.

BY Evan Forrest November 15, 2023

Surface Pro 1 vs. Surface 3

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 2015 Surface 3 features the 2W Intel Cherry Trail quad-core Intel Atom x7-Z8700 with the boost speed up to 2.40 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 10.8″ Surface 3 (2015), we have a detailed tech specs comparison between both devices for you to check out here.

Surface Pro 1 vs. Surface 3: 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 3 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.	New design It’s now thinner (8.7mm), new tablet-friendly 3:2 aspect-ratio form factor, and new Microsoft Logo on the kickstand. Full Windows 8.1 You can run all your desktop apps and upgradable to Windows 10. Better display New bigger and better 10.8” Full HD Plus display with 10 points multitouch. Inking supports It now supports a new Surface Pen with 256 pressure sensitivity, tail eraser, and remote Bluetooth activation. New CPU Architecture It’s now using the new quad-core Intel® Atom™ x7 processor for outstanding performance and long battery life. New kickstand Now in three angles. New Micro-USB port It can be charged with any mobile phone charger. More Better 8.0MP rear-facing autofocus camera, new Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac), and optional 4G LTE.
What's missing		No magnet charging port replaced with the new Micro-USB port. Slower Charging The new Micro-USB has a limited power delivery (13W) compared to its older propriety 24W charger.

Availability	Surface Pro 1	Surface 3
Released	2012	2015
Release Info	Introduced: June 18, 2012 Not available for pre-ordered Released: February 9, 2013	Introduced: March 21, 2015 Pre-ordered: March 21, 2015 Released: May 5, 2015
Pricing	Intel® Core™ i5 $899 - i5 \| 4 GB \| 64 GB $999 - i5 \| 4 GB \| 128 GB	Surface 3 Wi-Fi $499 - 2 GB \| 64 GB $599 - 4 GB \| 128 GB Surface 3 4G LTE $599 - 2 GB \| 64 GB $699 - 4 GB \| 128 GB

Surface Pro 1 Price
	Microsoft Surface Pro 4 (Intel Core i5, 4GB RAM, 128GB) with Windows 10 Anniversary (Renewed) By Microsoft $148.99 $159.99 7% OFF	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Pro 2-in-1 Laptop/Tablet (2024), Windows 11 Copilot+ PC, 13" Touchscreen Display, Snapdragon X Plus (10 Core), 16GB RAM, 512GB Storage, Sapphire By Microsoft $1,199.00	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Pro 2-in-1 Laptop/Tablet (2024), Windows 11 Copilot+ PC, 13" Touchscreen OLED Display, Snapdragon X Elite (12 Core), 32GB RAM, 512GB Storage, 5G Connectivity, Platinum By Microsoft $1,799.99	See at Amazon
Surface 3 Price
	Microsoft Surface Pro 3 Tablet PC - Intel Core i5-4300U 1.9GHz 4GB 128GB SSD Windows 10.1 (Renewed) By Microsoft $119.99 $129.99 8% OFF	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 (2023) - 12.4" Touchscreen, Thin & Lightweight, Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD SSD, with Windows 11, Ice Blue Color Copilot By Microsoft $736.69 $799.99 8% OFF	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Pro 4 (Intel Core i5, 4GB RAM, 128GB) with Windows 10 Anniversary (Renewed) By Microsoft $149.99 $159.99 6% OFF	See at Amazon

Display	Surface Pro 1	Surface 3
Size	10.6 Inches	10.8 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 1280 (2.4M Pixels) Density: 214 PPI Aspect ratio: 3:2 Inking: supports Surface Pen Touch: 10 points multi-touch

Exterior	Surface Pro 1	Surface 3
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)	10.52” x 7.36” x 0.34” (267 mm x 187 mm x 8.7 mm) Width: 10.52” (267 mm) Height: 7.36” (187 mm) Thickness: 0.34” (8.7 mm)
Weight	2 lbs (910 g)	Surface 3: 1.37 lbs (621 g) Surface 3 with Keyboard: 1.95 lbs (884 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: Precision glass trackpad. Supports up to three-finger multitouch gesture.
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 Micro USB charging port 1 x Headset jack 1 x Mini DisplayPort 1 x Cover port 1 x Nano SIM card slot (Surface 3 with LTE only)

Internal Specs	Surface Pro 1	Surface 3
Processor	Intel® Core™ i5-3317U 2 cores, 4 threads, 1.70 → 2.60 GHz, 3MB SmartCache, 17W	Intel® Atom™ x7-Z8700 4 cores, 4 threads, 1.60 → 2.40 GHz, 2MB Cache, 2W
Integrated Graphics	Intel® Core™ i5-3317U Intel® HD Graphics 4000 16 Execution Units, 350 → 1.05 MHz	Intel® Atom™ x7-Z8700 Intel® HD Graphics 16 Execution Units, 20 → 600 MHz
Memory	4GB Dual Channel Memory	2GB 4GB 1600 MHz DDR3 SDRAM.
Storage	64 GB 128 GB SSD	64GB 128GB eMMC

Connectivity	Surface Pro 1	Surface 3
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 4: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n compatible.	Wi-Fi 5: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac compatible.
Bluetooth	Bluetooth Wireless 4.0 technology
		Optional LTE Nano SIM Tray GPS Assisted GPS GLONASS

Battery	Surface Pro 1	Surface 3
Size	42 Wh	27.5 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	13W Micro USB power supply

Software	Surface Pro 1	Surface 3
OS	Windows 8 Pro Upgradable Windows 10 Pro	Windows 8.1 Pro Upgradable to Windows 10 Pro
Built-in Apps	Microsoft Office 30-days trial	1-Year Microsoft Office 365 Personal

Camera & Audio	Surface Pro 1	Surface 3
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	Single microphone Front-facing stereo speakers with Dolby® Audio enhanced sound

Misc	Surface Pro 1	Surface 3
Inking	Supports Surface Pen 1,024 levels of pressure Wacom Active Pen technology Can be attached to charging port Included with purchase	Supports Surface Pen 256 levels of pressure N-trig Active Pen technology
Sensors	Ambient light sensor Accelerometer Gyroscope Magnetometer	Ambient light sensor Proximity sensor Accelerometer Gyroscope Magnetometer Digital compass
In the box	Surface Pro (1st Gen) Surface Pro Pen Power supply Quick Start Guide Safety and warranty documents	Surface 3 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: 3 positions Physical buttons: volumes, power