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Surface 3 vs. Surface Go: What's different?

Surface Go is out now! if you want to know more how the new Surface Go compared to the Surface 3, here we have a detailed specs comparison for you.

BY Evan Forrest November 10, 2023

Surface 3 vs. Surface Go

A new generation of 10-inch Microsoft Surface has arrived. It's called Microsoft Surface Go, which looks and feels like a shrunk-down version of its big brother, the new Surface Pro. Microsoft has confirmed that it has twice the speed of the Surface 3, including more advanced functionalities and more customizable accessories.

If you are using Surface 3, would you like to upgrade to Surface Go? In this article, we have done a comparison between the Surface Go and Surface 3 to find out whether it's worth the upgrade or not.

Surface 3 vs Surface Go: Specs Comparison

	Compare With Please enter device name or part of it Surface 3 See at Amazon	Compare With Please enter device name or part of it Surface Go See at Amazon
Key Features
What's new	New design It’s now thinner (8.7mm), new tablet-friendly 3:2 aspect-ratio form factor, and new Microsoft Logo on the kickstand. Full Windows 8.1 You can run all your desktop apps and upgradable to Windows 10. Better display New bigger and better 10.8” Full HD Plus display with 10 points multitouch. Inking supports It now supports a new Surface Pen with 256 pressure sensitivity, tail eraser, and remote Bluetooth activation. New CPU Architecture It’s now using the new quad-core Intel® Atom™ x7 processor for outstanding performance and long battery life. New kickstand Now in three angles. New Micro-USB port It can be charged with any mobile phone charger. More Better 8.0MP rear-facing autofocus camera, new Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac), and optional 4G LTE.
What's missing	No magnet charging port replaced with the new Micro-USB port. Slower Charging The new Micro-USB has a limited power delivery (13W) compared to its older propriety 24W charger.

Availability	Surface 3	Surface Go
Released	2015	2018
Release Info	Introduced: March 21, 2015 Pre-ordered: March 21, 2015 Released: May 5, 2015	Introduced: July 10, 2018 Pre-ordered: July 10, 2018 Released: August 2, 2018
Pricing	Surface 3 Wi-Fi $499 - 2 GB \| 64 GB $599 - 4 GB \| 128 GB Surface 3 4G LTE $599 - 2 GB \| 64 GB $699 - 4 GB \| 128 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 3 Price
	Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 13.5" Touch-Screen Intel Core i5-8GB Memory - 256GB Solid State Drive (PKX-00003) Matte Black (Renewed) By Microsoft $297.00 $319.00 7% OFF	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5" Touchscreen - Intel® Core™ i3 - 8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - Device Only - Platinum (Latest Model) By Microsoft $477.00 $629.99 24% OFF	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface 3 128GB WiFi Tablet 10.8" Intel Atom - Silver (Renewed) By Microsoft $184.00	See at Amazon
Surface Go Price
	New Microsoft Surface Go 2 - 10.5" Touch-Screen - Intel Pentium - 4GB Memory - 64GB - Wifi - Platinum (Latest Model) By Microsoft $339.01	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Go 2-10.5" Touch-Screen - Intel Pentium - 8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - WiFi - Platinum (Latest Model) (Renewed) By Microsoft $268.00	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Go (Intel Pentium Gold, 8GB RAM, 128GB) (Renewed) By Microsoft $169.00	See at Amazon

Display	Surface 3	Surface Go
Size	10.8 Inches	10 Inches
Info	Resolution: 1920 x 1280 (2.4M Pixels) Density: 214 PPI Aspect ratio: 3:2 Inking: supports Surface Pen Touch: 10 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 3	Surface Go
Size Comparison
Dimensions	10.52” x 7.36” x 0.34” (267 mm x 187 mm x 8.7 mm) Width: 10.52” (267 mm) Height: 7.36” (187 mm) Thickness: 0.34” (8.7 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	Surface 3: 1.37 lbs (621 g) Surface 3 with Keyboard: 1.95 lbs (884 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	Silver	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; LED backlighting Trackpad: Precision glass trackpad. Supports up to three-finger multitouch gesture.	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 3.0 1 x microSD™ card reader 1 x Micro USB charging port 1 x Headset jack 1 x Mini DisplayPort 1 x Cover port 1 x Nano SIM card slot (Surface 3 with LTE only)	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 3	Surface Go
Processor	Intel® Atom™ x7-Z8700 4 cores, 4 threads, 1.60 → 2.40 GHz, 2MB Cache, 2W	7th Gen Intel® Pentium® Gold 4415Y 2 cores, 4 threads, 1.60 GHz, 2MB SmartCache, 6W
Integrated Graphics	Intel® Atom™ x7-Z8700 Intel® HD Graphics 16 Execution Units, 20 → 600 MHz	7th Gen Intel® Pentium® Gold 4415Y Intel® HD Graphics 615 24 Execution Units, 300 → 850 MHz
Memory	2GB 4GB 1600 MHz DDR3 SDRAM.	4GB 8GB 1866 MHz LPDDR3 RAM
Storage	64GB 128GB eMMC	64GB eMMC 128GB 256GB SSD

Connectivity	Surface 3	Surface Go
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 5: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac compatible.
Bluetooth	Bluetooth Wireless 4.0 technology	Bluetooth Wireless 4.1 technology
	Optional LTE Nano SIM Tray GPS Assisted GPS GLONASS	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 3	Surface Go
Size	27.5 Wh	26.12 Wh
Battery Life	Up to 10 hours of video playback	Up to 9 hours of video playback
Power Supply	13W Micro USB power supply	24W proprietary Surface Connect power supply

Software	Surface 3	Surface Go
OS	Windows 8.1 Pro Upgradable to Windows 10 Pro	For Consumer: Windows 10 in S-mode For Commercial: Windows 10 Pro
Built-in Apps	1-Year Microsoft Office 365 Personal	Microsoft Office 365 30-days trial

Camera & Audio	Surface 3	Surface Go
Camera	3.5MP front-facing camera with 1080p HD video 8.0MP rear-facing autofocus camera with 1080p HD video	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	Single microphone Front-facing stereo speakers with Dolby® Audio enhanced sound	Single microphone 2W Front-facing stereo speakers with Dolby® Audio™ Premium

Misc	Surface 3	Surface Go
Inking	Supports Surface Pen 256 levels of pressure N-trig Active Pen technology	Supports Surface Pen 4096 levels of pressure Tilt sensing Best in class latency Paper feel magnetic storage
Sensors	Ambient light sensor Proximity sensor Accelerometer Gyroscope Magnetometer Digital 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 3 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: Magnesium Kickstand: 3 positions 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

Surface 3 vs Surface Go: Processor Comparison

	Surface Go	Surface 3

Processor	7th Gen Intel® Pentium® Processor 4415Y	Intel® Cherry Trail Quad Core Atom x7-Z8700
Launch Date	Q2'2017	Q1'2015
Lithography	14 nm
Base Frequency	1.60 GHz	1.60 GHz
Max Turbo Frequency	Not Supported	2.40 GHz (Burst Technology)
TDP	6 watt	< 4 watt
Level 1 Cache	128 KB	128 KB
Level 2 Cache	512 KB	512 KB
Level 3 Cache	2 MB SmartCache	2 MB
# of Cores	2	4
# of Threads	4	4
Bus Speed	4 GT/s OPI	N/A
Max Memory Support	16 GB	8 GB
Max Memory Bandwidth	29.8 GB/s	25.6 GB/s
GEEKBENCH
Single-Core Score	1,836	945
Multi-Core Score	3,823	3,138

Surface 3 vs Surface Go: Graphics Comparison

	Surface Go	Surface 3

Graphics	Intel® HD Graphics 615	Intel® HD Graphics
Base Frequency	300 MHz	200 MHz
Max Dynamic Frequency	850 MHz	600 MHz
Graphics Max Memory	16 GB	8 GB
Graphics 4K Support	Yes, at 60Hz	Yes, at 30Hz
Graphics DirectX	12	11.2
Graphics OpenGL	4.4
# Display Supported	3
Graphics Technologies	Intel® Quick Sync Video Intel® Clear Video HD Technology Intel® Clear Video Technology	Intel® Wireless Display