Specs Comparison: Surface Pro vs older Surface devices, the iPad Pro, and the rest of the competition
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Microsoft’s Surface Pro device launched today. The company’s latest Surface Pro is a fairly major upgrade over the Surface Pro 4 — and it includes a new hinge, improved design, a new pen, new type covers, along with the usual spec bumps. Microsoft has already released the full technical spec sheet of the Surface Pro, and you’re probably wondering how well the device stacks up against the competition as well as the other Surface devices. At the Microsoft event today, Microsoft’s Panos Panay claimed that the Surface Pro is 1.7x faster than the iPad Pro.
The Surface Pro is obviously a lot more powerful than the iPad Pro, but here’s the full spec comparison:
Note: The following table only compares the entry-level models of all the devices listed
| Component | Surface Pro | iPad Pro | MacBook Pro | MacBook Air | MacBook |
| Display | 12.3-inch PixelSense Display (2736×1824, 267 PPI, touch-enabled) | 9.7-inch Retina Display (2048×1536, 264 PPI, touch-enabled) | 13.3-inch Retina Display (2560×1600, 227PPI) | 13.3-inch display (1440×900) | 12-inch Retina Display (2304×1440, 226PPI) |
| CPU | 7th gen Intel Core m3 | A9X chip with 64-bit architecture | 2.0GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 | 1.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor | 1.1GHz dual-core Intel Core m3 processor |
| RAM | 4GB LPDDR3 | 2GB | 8GB LPDDR3 | 8GB LPDDR3 | 8GB LPDDR3 |
| GPU | Intel HD 615 | PowerVR Series 7 (12-core graphics) | Intel Iris Graphics 540 | Intel HD Graphics 6000 | Intel HD Graphics 515 |
| Battery | Up to 13.5 hours | Up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi?Fi, watching video or listening to music | Up to 10 hours iTunes movie playback | Up to 12 hours iTunes movie playback | Up to 11 hours iTunes movie playback |
| Storage | 128GB SSD | 32GB | 256GB PCIe-based SSD | 128GB PCIe-based flash storage | 256GB PCIe-based onboard flash storage |
| Ports | One USB 3.0 port, Surface Connect, 3.55mm headphone jack, SD card slot | One lightning connector, headphone jack, no USB | Two Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports, 3.55 headphone jack, no SD card slot | Two USB 3 ports, Thunderbolt 2 port, MagSafe 2 power slot, SD card slot, 3.mm headphone jack | USB-C port, 3.55mm headphone jack |
| Dimensions | 11.50” x 7.9” x 0.33” | 9.45″ x 6.67″ x 0.24″ | 11.97″ x 8.36″ x 0.59″ | 12.8″ x 8.94″ x 0.68″ | 11.04″ x 7.74″ x 0.52″ |
| Weight | 768 grams | 437 grarms | 1.37 kg | 1.35 kg | 0.98 kg |
| Operating System | Windows 10 | iOS | macOS | macOS | macOS |
| Price | $799 | $599 | $1,499 | $999 | $1,299 |
Microsoft also claimed that the new Surface Pro is 2.5x faster than the Surface Pro 3 from 2014. Here’s a table comparing the specs of the Surface Pro with the Pro 4, Pro 3, as well as the Surface Laptop and Surface Book.
Note: Again, the following table only compares the entry-level models of all the devices listed
| Component | Surface Pro | Surface Pro 4 | Surface Pro 3 | Surface Laptop | Surface Book (Performance Base) |
| Display | 12.3-inch PixelSense Display (2736×1824, 267 PPI, touch-enabled) | 12.3-inch PixelSense Display (2736×1824, 267 PPI, touch-enabled) | 12-inch ClearType Display (2160×1440, touch-enabled) | 13.5-inch PixelSense Display (2256 x 1504, 201 PPI, touch-enabled) | 13.5-inch PixelSense Display (3000 x 2000, 267 PPI, touch-enabled) |
| CPU | 7th gen Intel Core m3 | 6th gen Intel Core m3 | 4th gen Intel Core i5 | 7th gen Intel Core i5 | 6th gen Intel Core i7 |
| RAM | 4GB LPDDR3 | 4GB | 4GB | 4GB LPDDR3 | 8GB |
| GPU | Intel HD 615 | Intel HD 515 | N/A | Intel HD 620 | Intel HD 520 |
| Battery | Up to 13.5 hours | Up to 9 hours of battery life for video playback | Up to nine hours of Web-browsing battery life | Up to 14.5 hours of video playback | Up to 12 hours of video playback |
| Storage | 128GB SSD | 128GB SSD | 64GB | 128GB SSD | 128GB SSD |
| Ports | One USB 3.0 port, Surface Connect, 3.55mm headphone jack, SD card slot | One USB 3.0 port, Surface Connect, 3.55mm headphone jack, SD card slot | One USB 3.0 port, Surface Connect, MiniDisplay, 3.55mm headphone jack, SD card slot | One USB 3.0 port, one Mini DisplayPort, Surface Connect, 3.0mm headphone jack, SD card slot | One USB 3.0 port, one Mini DisplayPort, Surface Connect, 3.0mm headphone jack, SD card slot |
| Dimensions | 11.50” x 7.9” x 0.33” | 11.50″ x 7.93″ x 0.33″ | 7.93″ x 11.5″ x 0.36″ | 12.3? x 8.79? x .0.57? | 9.14″ x 12.3″ x 0.51″ |
| Weight | 768 grams | 766 grarms | 798 grams | 1.25 kg | 1.51 kg |
| Operating System | Windows 10 | Windows 10 | Windows 10 | Windows 10 S | Windows 10 |
| Price | $799 | $899 (launch price) | $799 (launch price) | $999 | $1,499 |
If you want to get a Surface Pro for yourself, you can pre-order one right here.
