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Surface RT vs. Surface Go - Detailed Specs Comparison

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

BY Evan Forrest November 15, 2023

Surface RT vs. Surface Go

The 2012 Surface RT features the quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 with the boost speed up to 1.40 GHz. While the 2018 Surface Go features the 6W 7th Generation Intel Kaby Lake dual-core Intel Pentium Gold 4415Y with a clock speed of 1.60 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″ Surface Go (2018), we have a detailed tech specs comparison between both devices for you to check out here.

Surface RT vs. Surface Go: 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 Go 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.
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.

Availability	Surface RT	Surface Go
Released	2012	2018
Release Info	Introduced: June 18, 2012 Not available for pre-ordered Released: October 26, 2012	Introduced: July 10, 2018 Pre-ordered: July 10, 2018 Released: August 2, 2018
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 Go for Consumer $399 - 4 GB \| 64 GB \| W10 S-mode $549 - 8 GB \| 128 GB \| W10 S-mode Surface go for Commercial $449 - 4 GB \| 64 GB \| W10 Pro $599 - 8 GB \| 128 GB \| W10 Pro

Surface RT Price
	Microsoft Surface RT 64GB By Microsoft $149.99	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface RT (32GB) By Microsoft $499.99	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface RT 32GB (Renewed) By Microsoft $148.00	See at Amazon
Surface Go Price
	Microsoft Surface Go 2-10.5" Touch-Screen - Intel Pentium - 8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - WiFi - Platinum (Latest Model) (Renewed) By Microsoft $259.63 $279.00 7% OFF	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5" Touchscreen - Intel® Pentium® Gold - 4GB Memory - 64GB eMMC - Device Only - Platinum (Latest Model) By Microsoft $424.99	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 $725.00 $799.99 9% OFF	See at Amazon

Display	Surface RT	Surface Go
Size	10.6 Inches	10 Inches
Info	Resolution: 1366 x 768 (1M Pixels) Density: 148 PPI Aspect ratio: 16:9 ClearType HD Display Touch: 5 points multi-touch	Resolution: 1800 x 1200 (2.1M Pixels) Density: 217 PPI PixelSense™ Display Contrast ratio: 1500:1 Aspect ratio: 3:2 Inking: designed together with Surface Pen Touch: 10 points multi-touch Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3

Exterior	Surface RT	Surface Go
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)	9.6” x 6.9” x 0.33” (245 mm x 175 mm x 8.3 mm) Width: 9.6” (245 mm) Height: 6.9” (175 mm) Thickness: 0.33” (8.3 mm)
Weight	1.5 lbs (680 g)	Surface Go: 1.15 lbs (522 g) Surface Go with LTE: 1.17 lbs. (532 g) Surface Go Keyboard: 0.55 lbs (249 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 Keyboard: Full-size mechanical backlit keyset with 1 mm of key travel. Trackpad: Precision glass trackpad. Trackpad size: 101 mm x 56 mm Supports a five-finger multitouch gesture.
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 USB Type-C 3.1 Gen 1 Supports Power Delivery and 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 RT	Surface Go
Processor	NVIDIA Tegra 3 4 cores, 1.30 → 1.40 GHz, 1MB Cache,	7th Gen Intel® Pentium® Gold 4415Y 2 cores, 4 threads, 1.60 GHz, 2MB SmartCache, 6W
Integrated Graphics	NVIDIA Tegra 3 NVIDIA GeForce ULP graphics 12 Graphics Cores,	7th Gen Intel® Pentium® Gold 4415Y Intel® HD Graphics 615 24 Execution Units, 300 → 850 MHz
Memory	2GB of RAM	4GB 8GB 1866 MHz LPDDR3 RAM
Storage	32GB 64GB Storage	64GB eMMC 128GB 256GB SSD

Connectivity	Surface RT	Surface Go
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 4.0 low energy technology	Bluetooth Wireless 4.1 technology
		Optional LTE Nano SIM Tray 4G LTE Advanced (22 Bands: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 38, 39, 40, 41, 66) GPS/GLONASS: Standalone and Assiste GNSS, accuracy up to 3 meters

Battery	Surface RT	Surface Go
Size	31.5 Wh	26.12 Wh
Battery Life	Up to 8 hours of video playback	Up to 9 hours of video playback
Power Supply	24W proprietary power supply	24W proprietary Surface Connect power supply

Software	Surface RT	Surface Go
OS	Windows RT Upgradeable to Windows RT 8.1 Update	For Consumer: Windows 10 in S-mode For Commercial: Windows 10 Pro
Built-in Apps	Microsoft Office Home and Student 2013 RT	Microsoft Office 365 30-days trial

Camera & Audio	Surface RT	Surface Go
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	Dual microphones Stereo speakers	Single microphone 2W Front-facing stereo speakers with Dolby® Audio™ Premium

Misc	Surface RT	Surface Go
Inking		Supports Surface Pen 4096 levels of pressure Tilt sensing Best in class latency Paper feel magnetic storage
Sensors	Ambient light sensor Accelerometer Gyroscope Compass	Ambient light sensor Accelerometer Gyroscope Magnetometer
Security		HW TPM 2.0 chip for enterprise security Enterprise-grade protection with Windows Hello face sign-in
In the box	Surface RT Power supply Quick Start Guide Safety and warranty documents	Surface Go 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 165 degrees Magnetic attach for keyboard fold stability Physical buttons: volumes, power