Home » Devices » Surface RT vs. Surface Pro 9 with 5G - Detailed Specs Comparison

Surface RT vs. Surface Pro 9 with 5G - Detailed Specs Comparison

Here's what you need to know what's different between Surface RT and Surface Pro 9 with 5G specs including CPU, RAM, storage, battery, display, and more.

BY Evan Forrest February 21, 2026

Surface RT vs. Surface Pro 9 with 5G

The 2012 Surface RT features the quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 with the boost speed up to 1.40 GHz. While the 2022 Surface Pro 9 with 5G features the 7W Qualcomm Snapdragon 8-core Microsoft SQ3 with a clock speed of 3.00 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 13″ Surface Pro 9 with 5G (2022), we have a detailed tech specs comparison between both devices for you to check out here.

Surface RT vs. Surface Pro 9 with 5G: 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 9 with 5G 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 performance - It's 80% faster for CPU and 77% for GPU than Surface Pro X with SQ2. Built-in NPU - The integrated Neural Processing Unit provides up to 15 trillion operations per second for running exclusive features like background blur, automatic framing, eye contact, and voice focus. Better specs - It comes with Microsoft® SQ3™ with Neural Processing Unit, up to 16GB of 4266 MHz LPDDR4X memory, WiFi-6E, and Bluetooth 5.1. Longer Battery Life - It now offers a better battery life with up to 19 hours of typical device usage. No perimeter venting - It uses passive cooling with whisper-quiet operation.
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.	Only available in Platinum No Thunderbolt 4 port

Availability	Surface RT	Surface Pro 9 with 5G
Released	2012	2022
Release Info	Introduced: June 18, 2012 Not available for pre-ordered Released: October 26, 2012	Introduced: October 12, 2022 Pre-ordered: October 12, 2022 Released: October 25, 2022
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	Consumer models Windows 11 Home on ARM Microsoft SQ® 3 $1,299.99 8GB 128GB $1,399.99 8GB 256GB $1,599.99 16GB 256GB $1,899.99 16GB 512GB Business models Windows 11 Pro on ARM Microsoft SQ® 3 $1,399.99 8GB 128GB $1,499.99 8GB 256GB $1,699.99 16GB 256GB $1,999.99 16GB 512GB
Amazon Deals

Display	Surface RT	Surface Pro 9 with 5G
Size	10.6 Inches	13 Inches
Info	Resolution: 1366 x 768 (1M Pixels) Density: 148 PPI Aspect ratio: 16:9 ClearType HD Display Touch: 5 points multi-touch	13” PixelSense™ Flow Display Resolution: 2880 x 1920 5.53M Pixels. Density: 267 PPI Color profile: sRGB and Vivid Dynamic refresh rate: up to 120Hz Aspect ratio: 3:2 Contrast ratio: 1200:1 Touch: 10-point multi-touch Brightness: 450 nits maximum (typical), 5 nits minimum Gorilla® Glass 5 Adaptive Color

Exterior	Surface RT	Surface Pro 9 with 5G
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)	11.3” x 8.2” x 0.37” (287 mm x 209 mm x 9.3 mm)
Weight	1.5 lbs (680 g)	1.95 lb (883 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.	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 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	2 x USB 3.2 USB-C interface supports USB 3.2, Power Delivery, DisplayPort, and data transfer up to 10Gbps. 1 x Surface Connect+ Supports charging and docking station. 1 x Surface Pro Type Cover port

Internal Specs	Surface RT	Surface Pro 9 with 5G
Processor	NVIDIA Tegra 3 4 cores, 1.30 → 1.40 GHz, 1MB Cache,	Microsoft® SQ3™ with Neural Processing Unit 8 cores, 8 threads, 3.00 GHz, 8MB Cache, 7W
Integrated Graphics	NVIDIA Tegra 3 NVIDIA GeForce ULP graphics 12 Graphics Cores,	Microsoft® SQ3™ with Neural Processing Unit Microsoft® SQ3™ Adreno™ 8cx Gen 3 GPU N/A,
Memory	2GB of RAM	8GB 16GB 4266 MHz LPDDR4X RAM
Storage	32GB 64GB Storage	128GB 256GB 512GB Removable SSD.

Connectivity	Surface RT	Surface Pro 9 with 5G
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 4: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n compatible.	Wi-Fi 6E: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax compatible.
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 4.0 low energy technology	Bluetooth Wireless 5.1 technology
		Location: GPS, Glonass, Galileo, and Beidou Support NanoSIM and eSIM support Supports 5G

Battery	Surface RT	Surface Pro 9 with 5G
Size	31.5 Wh	47.7 Wh Nominal battery capacity. 46.5 Wh Minimum battery capacity.
Battery Life	Up to 8 hours of video playback	Up to 19 hours of typical device usage
Power Supply	24W proprietary power supply	39W power supply Supports Fast Charge (0-60% in about one hour)

Software

Surface RT

Surface Pro 9 with 5G

Windows RT
Upgradeable to Windows RT 8.1 Update

Consumer models

Windows 11 Home on ARM

Business models

Windows 11 Pro on ARM

Built-in Apps

Microsoft Office Home and Student 2013 RT

Preloaded Microsoft 365 Apps
Microsoft 365 Family 30-day trial
Preloaded Xbox app
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate one-month trial

Camera & Audio	Surface RT	Surface Pro 9 with 5G
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	Dual microphones Stereo speakers	Dual far-field Studio Mics 2W stereo speakers

Misc	Surface RT	Surface Pro 9 with 5G
Inking		Designed for Surface Slim Pen 2 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 The integrated storage and wireless charging for Surface Slim Pen 2 with Surface Pro Signature Keyboard
Sensors	Ambient light sensor Accelerometer Gyroscope Compass	Ambient light sensor Gyroscope Magnetometer Ambient Color Sensor (brightness and color)
Security		Enhanced security with Microsoft Pluton Enterprise-grade protection with Windows Hello face sign-in Windows 11 Secured-core PC
In the box	Surface RT Power supply Quick Start Guide Safety and warranty documents	Surface Pro 9 SQ3 with 5G Power supply Quick Start Guide Safety and warranty documents SIM Card access tool
Warranty	One-year limited hardware warranty	1-year limited hardware warranty
More	Casing: VaporMg Kickstand: 1 position at 22° Physical buttons: volumes, power