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Surface Pro 1 vs. Surface Pro 3 - Detailed Specs Comparison

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

BY Evan Forrest February 21, 2026

Surface Pro 1 vs. Surface Pro 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 2014 Surface Pro 3 features the 11.5W 4th Generation Intel Haswell dual-core Intel Core i3-4020Y up to dual-core Intel Core i7-4650U with the boost speed up to 3.30 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 12″ Surface Pro 3 (2014), we have a detailed tech specs comparison between both devices for you to check out here.

Surface Pro 1 vs. Surface Pro 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 Pro 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 (9.1mm), lighter (800g), and new platinum magnesium exterior. Better display New 3:2 aspect ratio, bigger and better 2K 12” ClearType pixel-free display. Better performance It’s now 10% faster than Surface Pro 2 with the new range of 4th Gen Intel processors up to Core i7. New Inking Supports It now supports a new Surface Pen with 256 pressure sensitivity, tail eraser, and remote Bluetooth activation. Better Battery It has 20% more battery life than Surface Pro 2 up to 9 hours. More Better 5.0MP front and rear-facing camera, new Surface Connect Port (charging and docking), new type cover with two typing angles.
What's missing		Replace old charging connector with new Surface Connect port

Availability	Surface Pro 1	Surface Pro 3
Released	2012	2014
Release Info	Introduced: June 18, 2012 Not available for pre-ordered Released: February 9, 2013	Introduced: May 20, 2014 Pre-ordered: May 20, 2014 Released: June 20, 2014
Pricing	Intel® Core™ i5 $899 - i5 \| 4 GB \| 64 GB $999 - i5 \| 4 GB \| 128 GB	Starting at 799$
Amazon Deals	$538.80 Microsoft Surface Pro 7 Plus Tablet 2-in-1 Intel Core i7 16GB RAM 256GB SSD 12.3 Inch Touchscreen Platinum Silver Windows 11 PRO (Renewed) $1,542.00 Microsoft Surface Pro Copilot+ PC Bundle - 13" OLED PixelSense Flow Touchscreen, Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (12-Core), 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD, Includes Surface Pro Keyboard & Slim Pen, WiFi 7, Graphite $194.65 Microsoft Surface Pro 7 12.3 inches 10th Gen Intel Core i3-1005G1 4GB RAM 128GB SSD - Platinum (Renewed)	$158.96 Microsoft Surface Pro 3 Tablet (1631) Silver - 256GB, 12in, Windows 8, Intel Core i5 - Renewed $158.06 Microsoft Surface Pro 3 Tablet PC - Intel Core i5-4300U 1.9GHz 4GB 128GB SSD Windows 10.1 (Renewed) $119.99 Microsoft Surface Pro 3 12" Tablet Notebook i3 1.50GHz 4GB 64GB SSD W10P Touch (Renewed)

Microsoft Surface Pro 1st Gen Price
	Microsoft Surface Pro 7 Plus Tablet 2-in-1 Intel Core i7 16GB RAM 256GB SSD 12.3 Inch Touchscreen Platinum Silver Windows 11 PRO (Renewed) By Microsoft $538.80	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Pro Copilot+ PC Bundle - 13" OLED PixelSense Flow Touchscreen, Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (12-Core), 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD, Includes Surface Pro Keyboard & Slim Pen, WiFi 7, Graphite By Microsoft $1,542.00	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Pro 7 12.3 inches 10th Gen Intel Core i3-1005G1 4GB RAM 128GB SSD - Platinum (Renewed) By Microsoft $194.65 $699.99 72% OFF	See at Amazon
Microsoft Surface Pro 3 12-inch Price
	Microsoft Surface Pro 3 Tablet (1631) Silver - 256GB, 12in, Windows 8, Intel Core i5 - Renewed By Microsoft $158.96 $1,299.00 88% OFF	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Pro 3 Tablet PC - Intel Core i5-4300U 1.9GHz 4GB 128GB SSD Windows 10.1 (Renewed) By Microsoft $158.06	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Pro 3 12" Tablet Notebook i3 1.50GHz 4GB 64GB SSD W10P Touch (Renewed) By Microsoft $119.99 $128.92 7% OFF	See at Amazon

Display	Surface Pro 1	Surface Pro 3
Size	10.6 Inches	12 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: 2160 x 1440 (3.1M Pixels) Density: 216 PPI ClearType Display Aspect ratio: 3:2 Touch: 10 point multi-touch Surface Pen support

Exterior	Surface Pro 1	Surface Pro 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)	11.50” x 7.93” x 0.36” (292 mm x 201.3 mm x 9.1 mm) Width: 11.50” (292 mm) Height: 7.93” (201.3 mm) Thickness: 0.36” (9.1 mm)
Weight	2 lbs (910 g)	1.76 lbs (800 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 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 1	Surface Pro 3
Processor	Intel® Core™ i5-3317U 2 cores, 4 threads, 1.70 → 2.60 GHz, 3MB SmartCache, 17W	4th Gen Intel® Core™ i3-4020Y 2 cores, 4 threads, 1.50 GHz, 3MB SmartCache, 11.5W 4th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-4300U 2 cores, 4 threads, 1.90 → 2.90 GHz, 3MB SmartCache, 15W 4th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-4650U 2 cores, 4 threads, 1.70 → 3.30 GHz, 4MB SmartCache, 15W
Integrated Graphics	Intel® Core™ i5-3317U Intel® HD Graphics 4000 16 Execution Units, 350 → 1.05 MHz	4th Gen Intel® Core™ i3-4020Y Intel® HD Graphics 4200 20 Execution Units, 200 → 850 MHz 4th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-4300U Intel® HD Graphics 4200 20 Execution Units, 200 → 1100 MHz 4th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-4650U Intel® HD Graphics 5000 40 Execution Units, 200 → 1100 MHz
Memory	4GB Dual Channel Memory	4GB 8GB 1600 MHz LPDDR3 RAM
Storage	64 GB 128 GB SSD	64 GB 128 GB 256 GB 512 GB SSD

Connectivity	Surface Pro 1	Surface Pro 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

Battery	Surface Pro 1	Surface Pro 3
Size	42 Wh	42.2 Wh
Battery Life	7-15 days of idle life	Up to 9 hours of web browsing
Power Supply	48W proprietary power supply USB-A output: 5W Surface Charger: 43W	36W proprietary power supply USB-A output: 5W Surface Connect: 31W

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

Camera & Audio	Surface Pro 1	Surface Pro 3
Camera	720p HD LifeCam front-facing camera with TrueColor Technology 720p HD LifeCam rear-facing camera with TrueColor Technology	5.0MP front-facing camera with 1080p Skype HD video 5.0MP rear-facing camera with 1080p Skype HD video
Audio	Single microphone Stereo speakers	Front and rear-facing microphones Front-facing stereo speakers with Dolby® Audio enhanced sound

Misc	Surface Pro 1	Surface Pro 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
Security		HW TPM 2.0 chip for enterprise security
In the box	Surface Pro (1st Gen) Surface Pro Pen Power supply Quick Start Guide Safety and warranty documents	Surface Pro 3 Surface Pen 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	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