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Surface RT vs. Surface 2 - Detailed Specs Comparison

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

BY Evan Forrest November 15, 2023

The 2012 Surface RT features the quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 with the boost speed up to 1.40 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 RT (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 RT vs. Surface 2: Specs Comparison

	Compare With Please enter device name or part of it Surface RT See at Amazon	Compare With Please enter device name or part of it Surface 2 See at Amazon
Key Features
What's new	Windows RT Microsoft's touch-centric OS is explicitly made for ARM-powered tablet devices. Free Microsoft Office 2013 RT It was shipped with the RT version of Microsoft Office Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook 2013. 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 2.0 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 Less multitouch support It supports only 5-points multitouch. More Only HD display and no USB 3.0 port.	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 RT	Surface 2
Released	2012	2013
Release Info	Introduced: June 18, 2012 Not available for pre-ordered Released: October 26, 2012	Introduced: September 23, 2013 Pre-ordered: September 24, 2013 Released: October 22, 2013
Pricing	Surface RT $499 - 2 GB \| 32 GB $599 - 2 GB \| 64 GB Surface RT with Black Touch Cover $599 - 2 GB \| 32 GB $699 - 2 GB \| 64 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 RT Price
	Microsoft Surface RT 64GB By Microsoft $359.99 $379.00 5% OFF	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface RT 32GB (Renewed) By Microsoft $99.99 $124.99 20% OFF	See at Amazon
	Puccy 4 Pack Screen Protector Film, compatible with Microsoft Surface 2 / Surface RT 10.6" TPU Guard （ Not Tempered Glass Protectors ） By Puccy $14.98	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 RT	Surface 2
Size	10.6 Inches
Info	Resolution: 1366 x 768 (1M Pixels) Density: 148 PPI Aspect ratio: 16:9 ClearType HD Display Touch: 5 points multi-touch	Resolution: 1920 x 1080 (2M Pixels) Density: 208 PPI Aspect ratio: 16:9 ClearType Full HD Display Touch: 5 points multi-touch

Exterior	Surface RT	Surface 2
Size Comparison
Dimensions	10.81” x 6.77” x 0.37” (275 mm x 172 mm x 9.4 mm) Width: 10.81” (275 mm) Height: 6.77” (172 mm) Thickness: 0.37” (9.4 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	1.5 lbs (680 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 2.0 1 x microSD™ card reader 1 x Surface Charging Port 1 x Headset jack 1 x Micro HDMI video out port 1 x 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 RT	Surface 2
Processor	NVIDIA Tegra 3 4 cores, 1.30 → 1.40 GHz, 1MB Cache,	NVIDIA Tegra 4 T40 4 cores, 1.70 → 1.90 GHz, 2MB Cache,
Integrated Graphics	NVIDIA Tegra 3 NVIDIA GeForce ULP graphics 12 Graphics Cores,	NVIDIA Tegra 4 T40 NVIDIA GeForce ULP graphics 72 Graphics Cores, 672 MHz
Memory	2GB of RAM
Storage	32GB 64GB Storage	32GB 64GB eMMC

Connectivity	Surface RT	Surface 2
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 4: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n compatible.
Bluetooth	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 RT	Surface 2
Size	31.5 Wh
Battery Life	Up to 8 hours of video playback	Up to 10 hours of video playback
Power Supply	24W proprietary power supply

Software	Surface RT	Surface 2
OS	Windows RT Upgradeable to Windows RT 8.1 Update	Windows RT 8.1
Built-in Apps	Microsoft Office Home and Student 2013 RT	Microsoft Office Home and Student 2013 RT with Outlook

Camera & Audio	Surface RT	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	Dual microphones Stereo speakers	Dual microphones Stereo speakers with digitally enhanced for fuller sound

Misc	Surface RT	Surface 2
Sensors	Ambient light sensor Accelerometer Gyroscope Compass	Ambient light sensor Accelerometer Gyroscope Magnetometer
In the box	Surface RT 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