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Surface RT vs. Surface Pro 2 - Detailed Specs Comparison

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

BY Evan Forrest November 15, 2023

Surface RT vs. Surface Pro 2

The 2012 Surface RT features the quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 with the boost speed up to 1.40 GHz. While the 2013 Surface Pro 2 features the 15W 4th Generation Intel Haswell dual-core Intel Core i5-4200U up to dual-core Intel Core i5-4300U with the boost speed up to 2.90 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 Pro 2 (2013), we have a detailed tech specs comparison between both devices for you to check out here.

Surface RT vs. Surface Pro 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 Pro 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 display Surface 2 Pro has 50% more color accuracy than the original Surface Pro. Better performance The new Pro 2 is 20% faster-computing performance and 50% faster graphics performance than the original Surface Pro. Better Battery It has 75% more battery life than the original Surface Pro. New kickstand Now in two angles, original 22-degree, anthe d new 55-degree.
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 Pro 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 $699 - 2 GB \| 64 GB	Starting at 899$

Surface RT Price
	Microsoft Surface RT 64GB By Microsoft $149.99	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface RT (32GB) By Microsoft $229.99	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface RT 32GB (Renewed) By Microsoft $148.00	See at Amazon
Surface Pro 2 Price
	Microsoft Surface Pro 2-in-1 Laptop/Tablet (2024), Windows 11 Copilot+ PC, 13" Touchscreen Display, Snapdragon X Plus (10 Core), 16GB RAM, 512GB Storage, Sapphire By Microsoft $1,199.99	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Go 2-10.5" Touch-Screen - Intel Pentium - 8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - WiFi - Platinum (Latest Model) (Renewed) By Microsoft $279.00	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Pro 2-in-1 Laptop/Tablet (2024), Windows 11 Copilot+ PC, 13" Touchscreen LCD Display, Snapdragon X Plus (10 Core), 16GB RAM, 256GB Storage, 5G Connectivity, Platinum By Microsoft $1,299.99	See at Amazon

Display	Surface RT	Surface Pro 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 ClearType Display Aspect ratio: 16:9 Touch: 10 point multi-touch Surface Pen support (1st Gen)

Exterior	Surface RT	Surface Pro 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 6.81” 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)
Weight	1.5 lbs (680 g)	2 lbs (910 g)
Colors	Dark Titanium
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 Mini DisplayPort 1 x Surface Charging Port 1 x Headset jack 1 x microSD™ card reader 1 x Type Cover port

Internal Specs	Surface RT	Surface Pro 2
Processor	NVIDIA Tegra 3 4 cores, 1.30 → 1.40 GHz, 1MB Cache,	4th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-4200U 2 cores, 4 threads, 1.60 → 2.60 GHz, 3MB SmartCache, 15W 4th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-4300U 2 cores, 4 threads, 1.90 → 2.90 GHz, 3MB SmartCache, 15W
Integrated Graphics	NVIDIA Tegra 3 NVIDIA GeForce ULP graphics 12 Graphics Cores,	4th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-4200U Intel® HD Graphics 4400 20 Execution Units, 200 → 1000 MHz 4th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-4300U Intel® HD Graphics 4200 20 Execution Units, 200 → 1100 MHz
Memory	2GB of RAM	4GB 8GB 1600 MHz LPDDR3 RAM
Storage	32GB 64GB Storage	64 GB 128 GB 256 GB 512 GB SSD

Connectivity	Surface RT	Surface Pro 2
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 4: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n compatible.
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 4.0 low energy technology	Bluetooth Wireless 4.0 technology

Battery	Surface RT	Surface Pro 2
Size	31.5 Wh	42 Wh
Battery Life	Up to 8 hours of video playback	7-15 days of idle life
Power Supply	24W proprietary power supply	48W proprietary power supply USB-A output: 5W Surface Charger: 43W

Software	Surface RT	Surface Pro 2
OS	Windows RT Upgradeable to Windows RT 8.1 Update	Windows 8.1 Pro Upgradable Windows 10 Pro
Built-in Apps	Microsoft Office Home and Student 2013 RT	Microsoft Office 30-days trial

Camera & Audio	Surface RT	Surface Pro 2
Camera	720p HD LifeCam front-facing camera with TrueColor Technology 720p HD LifeCam rear-facing camera with TrueColor Technology	720p front-facing camera 720p rear-facing camera
Audio	Dual microphones Stereo speakers	Single microphone Stereo speakers with enhanced signal processing

Misc	Surface RT	Surface Pro 2
Inking		Supports Surface Pen 1,024 levels of pressure Wacom Active Pen technology Can be attached to charging port Included with purchase
Sensors	Ambient light sensor Accelerometer Gyroscope Compass	Ambient light sensor Accelerometer Gyroscope Magnetometer
Security		HW TPM 1.2 chip for enterprise security
In the box	Surface RT Power supply Quick Start Guide Safety and warranty documents	Surface Pro 2 Surface Pro 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	Casing: VaporMg Kickstand: 2 positions (22° and 55°) Physical buttons: volumes, power