Home » Devices » Surface Pro 1 vs. Surface Pro 8 - Detailed Specs Comparison

Surface Pro 1 vs. Surface Pro 8 - Detailed Specs Comparison

Here's what you need to know what's different between Surface Pro 1 and Surface Pro 8 specs including CPU, RAM, storage, battery, display, and more.

BY Evan Forrest February 21, 2026

Surface Pro 1 vs. Surface Pro 8

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 2021 Surface Pro 8 features the 28W 11th Generation Intel Tiger Lake UP3 dual-core Intel Core i3-1115G4 up to quad-core Intel Core i7-1185G7 with the boost speed up to 4.80 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 13″ Surface Pro 8 (2021), we have a detailed tech specs comparison between both devices for you to check out here.

Surface Pro 1 vs. Surface Pro 8: 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 8 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 Pro Design It features the new bigger 13” edge-to-edge PixelSense Flow display. Better performance It’s now 2.1x times faster than Surface Pro 7 and 3.5x times faster than Surface Pro (5th Gen). Better specs 11th Gen Intel Tiger Lake processors, Intel Iris Xe G7 graphics, up to 32GB of 4267 MHz LPDDR4x memory, WiFi-6, and Bluetooth 5.1. Longer Battery Life It now offers a better battery life with up to 16-hours of typical device usages. 2 x Thunderbolt™ 4 Supports USB 4.0, 40Gbps transfer speed, DisplayPort, Power Delivery, Docking, and external GPU. Removable SSD For better data security and privacy, now the Surface Pro 8 feature a removable SSD. More 10MP rear-facing camera 4K video recording 2W stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos
What's missing		No MicroSDXC card slot No Full-size USB-A port

Availability	Surface Pro 1	Surface Pro 8
Released	2012	2021
Release Info	Introduced: June 18, 2012 Not available for pre-ordered Released: February 9, 2013	Introduced: September 22, 2021 Pre-ordered: September 22, 2021 Released: October 5, 2021
Pricing	Intel® Core™ i5 $899 - i5 \| 4 GB \| 64 GB $999 - i5 \| 4 GB \| 128 GB	Consumer models Windows 11 Home Intel Core i5-1135G7 $1,099.99 8GB 128GB $1,199.99 8GB 256GB $1,399.99 16GB 256GB $1,399.99 8GB 512GB Intel Core i7-1185G7 $1,599.99 16GB 256GB $1,899.99 16GB 512GB $2,199.99 16GB 1TB $2,599.99 32GB 1TB Business models with WiFi Windows 11 Pro Intel Core i3-1115G4 $1,099.99 8GB 128GB Intel Core i5-1145G7 $1,199.99 8GB 128GB $1,299.99 8GB 256GB $1,499.99 8GB 512GB $1,499.99 16GB 256GB Intel Core i7-1185G7 $1,699.99 16GB 256GB $1,999.99 16GB 512GB $2,299.99 16GB 1TB $2,699.99 32GB 1TB Business models with LTE Windows 11 Pro Intel Core i5-1145G7 $1,349.99 8GB 128GB $1,449.99 8GB 256GB $1,649.99 16GB 256GB Intel Core i7-1185G7 $1,849.99 16GB 256GB
Amazon Deals	$1,539.99 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 $3,760.91 Microsoft Surface Studio (1st Gen) (Intel Core i7, 16GB RAM, 1TB) $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)	$599.00 Microsoft Surface Pro 8 Tablet, LTE, Intel i5-1145G7, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD, Intel UHD Graphics, 13" Touchscreen Display, Windows 11 Pro Laptop Computer, Platinum, EIP-00001 (Renewed) $619.00 Microsoft Surface Pro 8 LTE Unlocked Tablet, Intel Evo i5, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD, Intel Iris Xe Graphics 13" Touchscreen Windows 11 PRO, Platinum (Renewed) $543.00 Microsoft Surface Pro 8 Tablet, 13" Touchscreen, Intel i5 Evo Platform, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD, Windows 11 Surface Laptop - Device Only - Platinum (Latest Model) (Renewed)

Microsoft Surface Pro 1st Gen Price
	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 $1,539.99	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Studio (1st Gen) (Intel Core i7, 16GB RAM, 1TB) By Microsoft $3,760.91	See at Amazon
	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 8 Price
	Microsoft Surface Pro 8 Tablet, LTE, Intel i5-1145G7, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD, Intel UHD Graphics, 13" Touchscreen Display, Windows 11 Pro Laptop Computer, Platinum, EIP-00001 (Renewed) By Microsoft $599.00	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Pro 8 LTE Unlocked Tablet, Intel Evo i5, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD, Intel Iris Xe Graphics 13" Touchscreen Windows 11 PRO, Platinum (Renewed) By Microsoft $619.00	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Pro 8 Tablet, 13" Touchscreen, Intel i5 Evo Platform, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD, Windows 11 Surface Laptop - Device Only - Platinum (Latest Model) (Renewed) By Microsoft $543.00 $999.99 46% OFF	See at Amazon

Display	Surface Pro 1	Surface Pro 8
Size	10.6 Inches	13 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: 2880 x 1920 5.53M Pixels. Density: 267 PPI Refresh rate: 120Hz 60Hz default. PixelSense™ Flow Display Aspect ratio: 3:2 Inking: GPU Ink Acceleration Touch: 10 points multi-touch

Exterior	Surface Pro 1	Surface Pro 8
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)	11.3” x 8.2” x 0.37” (287 mm x 208 mm x 9.3 mm)
Weight	2 lbs (910 g)	1.96 lb (889 g)
Colors	Dark Titanium	Platinum Graphite
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.	Not included. Compatible with Surface Pro Signature Keyboard Surface Pro X Keyboard Type Cover Features: 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. Surface Slim Pen Storage Magnetic dock Automatically wireless charge Surface Slim Pen
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	2 x Thunderbolt™ 4 USB-C interface supports USB 4.0, Power Delivery, DisplayPort, and data transfer up to 40Gbps. 1 x Surface Connect+ Supports charging and docking station. 1 x Surface Pro Type Cover port 1 x Headset jack

Internal Specs	Surface Pro 1	Surface Pro 8
Processor	Intel® Core™ i5-3317U 2 cores, 4 threads, 1.70 → 2.60 GHz, 3MB SmartCache, 17W	11th Gen Intel® Core™ i3-1115G4 2 cores, 4 threads, 3.00 → 4.10 GHz, 6MB SmartCache, 28W 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1135G7 4 cores, 8 threads, 2.40 → 4.20 GHz, 8MB SmartCache, 28W 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1145G7 4 cores, 8 threads, 2.60 → 4.40 GHz, 8MB SmartCache, 28W 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1185G7 4 cores, 8 threads, 3.00 → 4.80 GHz, 12MB SmartCache, 28W
Integrated Graphics	Intel® Core™ i5-3317U Intel® HD Graphics 4000 16 Execution Units, 350 → 1.05 MHz	11th Gen Intel® Core™ i3-1115G4 Intel® UHD Graphics 48 Execution Units, 400 → 1250 MHz 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1135G7 Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics 80 Execution Units, 400 → 1300 MHz 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1145G7 Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics 80 Execution Units, 400 → 1300 MHz 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1185G7 Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics 96 Execution Units, 400 → 1350 MHz
Memory	4GB Dual Channel Memory	8GB 16GB 32GB 4267 MHz LPDDR4X RAM
Storage	64 GB 128 GB SSD	128GB 256GB 512GB 1TB Removable SSD.

Connectivity	Surface Pro 1	Surface Pro 8
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 4: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n compatible.	Wi-Fi 6: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax compatible.
Bluetooth	Bluetooth Wireless 4.0 technology	Bluetooth Wireless 5.1 technology

Battery	Surface Pro 1	Surface Pro 8
Size	42 Wh	51.5Wh Nominal battery capacity. 50.2Wh Minimum battery capacity.
Battery Life	7-15 days of idle life	Up to 16 hours of typical device usage
Power Supply	48W proprietary power supply USB-A output: 5W Surface Charger: 43W	60W power supply with USB-A (5W) (65W total) Supports Fast Charge (0-80% in about one hour)

Software	Surface Pro 1	Surface Pro 8
OS	Windows 8 Pro Upgradable Windows 10 Pro	Consumer models Windows 11 Home Business models Windows 11 Pro, Windows 10 Pro
Built-in Apps	Microsoft Office 30-days trial	Preloaded Microsoft 365 Apps Microsoft 365 Family 30-day trial Preloaded Xbox app Xbox Game Pass Ultimate one month trial

Camera & Audio	Surface Pro 1	Surface Pro 8
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 10.0MP rear-facing autofocus camera with 1080p full HD and 4K video
Audio	Single microphone Stereo speakers	Dual far-field Studio Mics 2W stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos®

Misc	Surface Pro 1	Surface Pro 8
Inking	Supports Surface Pen 1,024 levels of pressure Wacom Active Pen technology Can be attached to charging port Included with purchase	Supports Microsoft Pen Protocol (MPP) 4096 levels of pressure Tilt sensing Best in class latency Paper feel 0.1mm precision magnetic storage Supports Tactile signals with Surface Slim Pen 2
Sensors	Ambient light sensor Accelerometer Gyroscope Magnetometer	Ambient light sensor Gyroscope Magnetometer Ambient Color Sensor (brightness and color)
Security		Firmware TPM chip for enterprise-grade security and BitLocker support 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 8 Power supply Quick Start Guide Safety and warranty documents
Warranty	One-year limited hardware warranty	1-year limited hardware warranty
More	Casing: VaporMg Kickstand: 1 position at 22° Physical buttons: volumes, power