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Surface RT vs. Surface Pro 1 - Detailed Specs Comparison

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

BY Evan Forrest November 15, 2023

Surface RT vs. Surface Pro 1

The 2012 Surface RT features the quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 with the boost speed up to 1.40 GHz. While 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.

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 1 (2012), we have a detailed tech specs comparison between both devices for you to check out here.

Surface RT vs. Surface Pro 1: 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 1 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.	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.
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 1
Released	2012
Release Info	Introduced: June 18, 2012 Not available for pre-ordered Released: October 26, 2012	Introduced: June 18, 2012 Not available for pre-ordered Released: February 9, 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	Intel® Core™ i5 $899 - i5 \| 4 GB \| 64 GB $999 - i5 \| 4 GB \| 128 GB

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 64GB Tablet with Microsoft Office Home and Student 2013 RT, wifi, Bluetooth By Microsoft $299.00	See at Amazon
Surface Pro 1 Price
	Microsoft Surface Pro 3 (256 GB, Intel Core i5)(Windows 10 Professional 64 bit) (Renewed) By Microsoft $226.73	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Pro Flex Keyboard with Slim Pen Bundle, 2-in-1 Alcantara keyboard for Surface Pro 9 and 8, Windows 11 Copilot+ PC, Black By Microsoft $449.99	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Pro 9 (2022), 13" 2-in-1 Tablet & Laptop, Thin & Lightweight, Intel 12th Gen i5 Fast Processor, 8GB RAM, 256GB Storage with Windows 11, Copilot, Graphite (Renewed) By Microsoft $730.99	See at Amazon

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

Exterior	Surface RT	Surface Pro 1
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.
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 1
Processor	NVIDIA Tegra 3 4 cores, 1.30 → 1.40 GHz, 1MB Cache,	Intel® Core™ i5-3317U 2 cores, 4 threads, 1.70 → 2.60 GHz, 3MB SmartCache, 17W
Integrated Graphics	NVIDIA Tegra 3 NVIDIA GeForce ULP graphics 12 Graphics Cores,	Intel® Core™ i5-3317U Intel® HD Graphics 4000 16 Execution Units, 350 → 1.05 MHz
Memory	2GB of RAM	4GB Dual Channel Memory
Storage	32GB 64GB Storage	64 GB 128 GB SSD

Connectivity	Surface RT	Surface Pro 1
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 1
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 1
OS	Windows RT Upgradeable to Windows RT 8.1 Update	Windows 8 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 1
Camera	720p HD LifeCam front-facing camera with TrueColor Technology 720p HD LifeCam rear-facing camera with TrueColor Technology
Audio	Dual microphones Stereo speakers	Single microphone Stereo speakers

Misc	Surface RT	Surface Pro 1
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
In the box	Surface RT Power supply Quick Start Guide Safety and warranty documents	Surface Pro (1st Gen) 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