Home » Devices » Surface Pro 1 vs. Surface Pro (5th Gen) - Detailed Specs Comparison

Surface Pro 1 vs. Surface Pro (5th Gen) - Detailed Specs Comparison

Here's what you need to know what's different between Surface Pro 1 and Surface Pro (5th Gen) specs including CPU, RAM, storage, battery, display, and more.

BY Evan Forrest October 23, 2022

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 2017 Surface Pro (5th Gen) features the 4.5W 7th Generation Intel Kaby Lake dual-core Intel Core m3-7Y30 up to dual-core Intel Core i7-7660U with the boost speed up to 4.00 GHz.

If you want to know more what's the difference between the 10.6″ Surface Pro 1 (2012) and the 12.3″ Surface Pro (5th Gen) (2017), we have a detailed tech specs comparison between both devices for you to check out here.

Surface Pro 1 vs. Surface Pro (5th Gen): 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 (5th Gen) 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 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 1	Surface Pro (5th Gen)
Released	2012	2017
Release Info	Introduced: June 18, 2012 Not available for pre-ordered Released: February 9, 2013	Introduced: May 23, 2017 Pre-ordered: May 23, 2017 Released: June 15, 2017
Pricing	Intel® Core™ i5 $899 - i5 \| 4 GB \| 64 GB $999 - i5 \| 4 GB \| 128 GB	Starting at 799$

Surface Pro 1 Price
	Microsoft Surface Pro (Intel Core i7, 16GB RAM, 1TB) – Newest Version (Renewed) By Microsoft $959.78	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Pro 7 12.3 Intel Core i7 16GB RAM 1TB SSD Platinum VDX-00001 By Microsoft $976.98	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Pro 9 (2022), 13" 2-in-1 Tablet & Laptop, Thin & Lightweight, Intel 12th Gen i7 Fast Processor for Multi-Tasking, 32GB Ram, 1TB Storage with Windows 11, Platinum By Microsoft $2,384.47 $2,599.99 8% OFF	See at Amazon
Surface Pro (5th Gen) Price
	Microsoft Surface Pro (5th Gen) (Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB) By Microsoft $576.56	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Pro (5th Gen, 1796) Intel Core M 4GB RAM / 128GB, 2017 model (Renewed) By Microsoft $383.70	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Pro (5th Gen) (Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB) LTE (Renewed) By Microsoft $598.80	See at Amazon

Display	Surface Pro 1	Surface Pro (5th Gen)
Size	10.6 Inches	12.3 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: 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 1	Surface Pro (5th Gen)
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 7.9” 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	2 lbs (910 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	Dark Titanium	Platinum
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 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 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 (5th Gen)
Processor	Intel® Core™ i5-3317U 2 cores, 4 threads, 1.70 → 2.60 GHz, 3MB SmartCache, 17W	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	Intel® Core™ i5-3317U Intel® HD Graphics 4000 16 Execution Units, 350 → 1.05 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 Dual Channel Memory	4GB 8GB 16GB 1866 MHz LPDDR3 RAM
Storage	64 GB 128 GB SSD	128 GB 256 GB 512 GB 1 TB PCIe NVMe SSD

Connectivity	Surface Pro 1	Surface Pro (5th Gen)
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	Bluetooth Wireless 4.1 technology

Battery	Surface Pro 1	Surface Pro (5th Gen)
Size	42 Wh	45 Wh
Battery Life	7-15 days of idle life	Up to 13.5 hours of video playback
Power Supply	48W proprietary power supply USB-A output: 5W Surface Charger: 43W	44W power supply USB-A output: 5W Surface Connect: 39W

Software	Surface Pro 1	Surface Pro (5th Gen)
OS	Windows 8 Pro Upgradable 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 1	Surface Pro (5th Gen)
Camera	720p HD LifeCam front-facing camera with TrueColor Technology 720p HD LifeCam rear-facing camera with TrueColor Technology	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	Single microphone Stereo speakers	Dual microphones 1.6W stereo speakers with Dolby® Audio™ Premium

Misc	Surface Pro 1	Surface Pro (5th Gen)
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 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 (1st Gen) Surface Pro 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	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 165 degrees Magnetic attach for keyboard fold stability Physical buttons: volumes, power

Surface Pro 1 Price
	Microsoft Surface Pro (Intel Core i7, 16GB RAM, 1TB) – Newest Version (Renewed) By Microsoft $959.78	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Pro 7 12.3 Intel Core i7 16GB RAM 1TB SSD Platinum VDX-00001 By Microsoft $976.98	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Pro 9 (2022), 13" 2-in-1 Tablet & Laptop, Thin & Lightweight, Intel 12th Gen i7 Fast Processor for Multi-Tasking, 32GB Ram, 1TB Storage with Windows 11, Platinum By Microsoft $2,384.47 $2,599.99 8% OFF	See at Amazon
Surface Pro (5th Gen) Price
	Microsoft Surface Pro (5th Gen) (Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB) By Microsoft $576.56	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Pro (5th Gen, 1796) Intel Core M 4GB RAM / 128GB, 2017 model (Renewed) By Microsoft $383.70	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Pro (5th Gen) (Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB) LTE (Renewed) By Microsoft $598.80	See at Amazon