Surface Pro 2 vs Surface Pro 3: Battle of Microsoft Surface notebook tablets

Despite the influx of smartphones and phablets in the market today, Microsoft is battling the other leading electronic brands head-on by releasing its flagship tablet devices consecutively.

The Surface Pro 2 came out in the market in October 2013, and the new and improved Surface Pro 3 was released in June this year.

Here is a detailed comparison between the two tablets offered by Microsoft:

Size, Weight, and Display

The Surface Pro 2 was released with a 10.6-inch display with 1,920 x 1,080 pixel resolution. It comes in a 10.81 x 6.81 x 0.53 inch body. On the other hand, the bigger Surface Pro 3 has a 12-inch display with 2,160 x 1,440 pixel resolution and has a body size of 12.0 x 7.93 x 0.36 inches all over. Surface Pro 2 weighs 2 pounds, while Surface Pro 3 only tips the scale at 1.8 pounds.

Processor, Software, and Operating System

Surface Pro 2 is powered by an NVIDIA Tegra 4 processor with Windows RT 8.1 operating system and Microsoft Office 2013 RT, while the Surface Pro 3 comes with a 4th generation Intel Core i3, i5, or i7 processors as well as the Windows 8.1 Pro OS.

Storage and RAM

The earlier Surface Pro release is available with 4GB up to 8GB RAM, and has a storage capacity of 64GB SSD, expandable up to 512 GB. The newer version of Surface Pro boasts 64GB or 128GB storage with 4GB RAM, or
256GB or 512GB storage with 8GB RAM.

Camera

Unlike the other leading smartphones and phablets in the market today, the Surface Pro models lag behind the competition in terms of camera functions. Both have a 5-megapixel primary and secondary cameras.

Price

Microsoft's Surface Pro tablets are on the more expensive scale compared with the tablets from other brands. The Surface Pro 2 starts at $549 for the 64GB unit, while the Surface Pro 3 is being sold at $799 for the 64GB/Intel i3 unit.