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Surface Go 2 vs. Surface 3: Full specs comparison

The following is a comprehensive comparison of the Surface Go 2 and Surface 3 specifications, including details on CPU, memory, storage, battery life, display quality, and other features.

Compare With Please enter device name or part of it Surface Go 2 See at Amazon	Compare With Please enter device name or part of it Surface 3 See at Amazon

Surface Go 2 Pros

Reasons that Surface Go 2 is better than Surface 3.

2020 vs. 2015

Intel Core M3-8100Y inside Surface Go 2 has a 69% better multi-core CPU performance score than the Intel Atom x7-Z8700 inside Surface 3.

Geekbench 5 multi-core score

Surface Go 2 - Intel Core M3-8100Y

1,313

Surface Go 2 - Intel Pentium Gold 4425Y

922

Surface 3 - Intel Atom x7-Z8700

776

Surface Go 2 supports a larger memory capacity than the Surface 3. It supports up to 8GB versus 4GB of system memory on the Surface 3.

Max system memory size

Surface Go 2

8 GB

Surface 3

4 GB

Surface Go 2 supports a faster memory speed than the Surface 3. It supports up to 1866MHz versus 1600MHz of system memory on the Surface 3.

Memory type and speed

Surface Go 2 - LPDDR3

1,866 MHz

Surface 3 - DDR3

1,600 MHz

Surface Go 2 weighed 1.2 pounds, 13% lighter than the 1.37 pounds Surface 3.

Weight	Surface Go 2	Surface 3
Pound	1.2 lbs.	1.37 lbs.
Kilogram	0.54 kg	0.62 kg

Surface 3 Pros

Reasons that Surface 3 is better than Surface Go 2.

Surface 3 has more ports and slots count than the Surface Go 2. It has seven versus five amount of ports and slots on the Surface Go 2.

Ports	Surface Go 2	Surface 3
headphone jack	Yes	Yes
microSD card slot	Yes	Yes
Micro USB	No	Yes
Mini DisplayPort	No	Yes
nanoSIM card slot	No	Yes
Surface Connect	Yes	No
Surface Go Type Cover Connector	Yes	No
Type Cover	No	Yes
USB-A	No	Yes
USB-C	Yes	No
Total	5	7

Surface 3 has better versatile I/O connectivity than the Surface Go 2. It has four versus three commonly used ports and slots on the Surface Go 2.

Ports	Surface Go 2	Surface 3
headphone jack	Yes	Yes
microSD card slot	Yes	Yes
Mini DisplayPort	No	Yes
USB-A	No	Yes
USB-C	Yes	No

Prices

Here are the latest price updates and offers for both devices.

Surface Go 2 Price
	New Microsoft Surface Go 2 - 10.5" Touch-Screen - Intel Pentium - 4GB Memory - 64GB - Wifi - Platinum (Latest Model) By Microsoft $239.00	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Go 2-10.5" Touch-Screen - Intel Pentium - 8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - WiFi - Platinum (Latest Model) (Renewed) By Microsoft $272.80	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Go 2 10.5 inches Touch-Screen Intel Pentium 4GB RAM, 64gb STV-00001 (Renewed) By Microsoft $167.00	See at Amazon
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 Pro 3 (128 GB, Intel Core i5) (Renewed) By Microsoft $184.95 $211.99 13% OFF	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface 3 10.8 FHD (1920x1280) Touchscreen 2-in-1 Education and Business Laptop Tablet (Intel Quad-Core Atom x7-Z8700, 4GB RAM, 64GB SSD) Mini DP, WiFi AC, Webcam, Windows 10 Pro (Renewed) By Microsoft $127.88 $173.50 26% OFF	See at Amazon

Availability	Surface Go 2	Surface 3
Released	2020	2015
Release Date	Introduced: May 6, 2020 Pre-ordered: May 6, 2020 Released: May 12, 2020	Introduced: March 21, 2015 Pre-ordered: March 21, 2015 Released: May 5, 2015
Pricing	Surface Go 2 for Consumer $399 - Intel Pentium \| 4 GB \| 64 GB \| WiFi $549 - Intel Pentium \| 8 GB \| 128 GB \| WiFi $629 - Intel Core M3 \| 8 GB \| 128 GB \| WiFi $729 - Intel Core M3 \| 8 GB \| 128 GB \| LTE Surface Go 2 for Commercial $449 - Intel Pentium \| 4 GB \| 64 GB \| WiFi $599 - Intel Pentium \| 8 GB \| 128 GB \| WiFi $679 - Intel Core M3 \| 8 GB \| 128 GB \| WiFi $779 - Intel Core M3 \| 8 GB \| 128 GB \| LTE	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
Generations	2021 Surface Go 3 2020 Surface Go 2 2018 Surface Go 2015 Surface 3 2013 Surface 2 2012 Surface RT	2021 Surface Go 3 2020 Surface Go 2 2018 Surface Go 2015 Surface 3 2013 Surface 2 2012 Surface RT

Exterior	Surface Go 2	Surface 3
Dimensions	9.65” x 6.9” x 0.33” (245 mm x 175 mm x 8.3 mm) Width: 9.65” (245 mm) Height: 6.9” (175 mm) Thickness: 0.33” (8.3 mm)	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)
Weight	Surface Go 2: 1.2 lbs (544 g) Surface Go 2 with LTE: 1.22 lbs. (553 g) Surface Go 2 Keyboard: 0.55 lbs (249 g)	Surface 3: 1.37 lbs (621 g) Surface 3 with Keyboard: 1.95 lbs (884 g)
Colors	Platinum	Silver
Keyboard and Trackpad	Surface Go 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.	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.

Display	Surface Go 2	Surface 3
Size	10.5 Inches	10.8 Inches
Info	Resolution: 1920 x 1280 (2.45M Pixels) Density: 220 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	Resolution: 1920 x 1280 (2.4M Pixels) Density: 214 PPI Aspect ratio: 3:2 Inking: supports Surface Pen Touch: 10 points multi-touch

Ports	Surface Go 2	Surface 3
Image Source: Microsoft Right (3) 1 x USB-C USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5 Gbps), DisplayPort, Power Delivery 1 x Surface Connect Charging, Docking 1 x headphone jack Headphone/Microphone Bottom (1) 1 x Surface Go Type Cover Connector Under Kickstand (1) 1 x microSD card slot	Image Source: Microsoft Right (4) 1 x USB-A USB 3.0 (5 Gbps) 1 x Mini DisplayPort 1 x Micro USB Charging Port 1 x headphone jack Headphone/Microphone Bottom (1) 1 x Type Cover Under Kickstand (2) 1 x microSD card slot 1 x nanoSIM card slot Surface 3 with LTE only, Optional

Internal Specs	Surface Go 2	Surface 3
Processor	8th Gen Intel® Pentium® Gold 4425Y 2 cores, 4 threads, 1.70 GHz, 2MB, 6W 8th Gen Intel® Core™ M3-8100Y 2 cores, 4 threads, 1.10 → 3.40 GHz, 4MB SmartCache, 5W	Intel® Atom™ x7-Z8700 4 cores, 4 threads, 1.60 → 2.40 GHz, 2MB Cache, 2W
Integrated Graphics	8th Gen Intel® Pentium® Gold 4425Y Intel® UHD Graphics 615 24 Execution Units, 300 → 850 MHz 8th Gen Intel® Core™ M3-8100Y Intel® UHD Graphics 615 24 Execution Units, 300 → 900 MHz	Intel® Atom™ x7-Z8700 Intel® HD Graphics 16 Execution Units, 20 → 600 MHz
Memory	4GB 8GB 1866 MHz LPDDR3 RAM	2GB 4GB 1600 MHz DDR3 SDRAM.
Storage	64GB eMMC 128GB 256GB SSD	64GB 128GB eMMC

Connectivity	Surface Go 2	Surface 3
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 6: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax compatible.	Wi-Fi 5: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac compatible.
Bluetooth	Bluetooth Wireless 5.0 technology	Bluetooth Wireless 4.0 technology
More	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	Optional LTE Nano SIM Tray GPS Assisted GPS GLONASS

Battery	Surface Go 2	Surface 3
Size	26.81 Wh	27.5 Wh
Battery Life	WiFi: Up to 10 hours of typical device usage LTE Advanced: Up to 10 hours of typical device usage	Up to 10 hours of video playback
Power Supply	24W proprietary Surface Connect power supply	13W Micro USB power supply

Software	Surface Go 2	Surface 3
OS	For Consumer: Windows 10 Home in S-mode For Commercial: Windows 10 Pro Free upgrade to Windows 11	Windows 8.1 Pro Upgradable to Windows 10 Pro
Built-in Apps	For Consumer Microsoft 365 Family one month trial For Commercial 1 month trial for new Microsoft Office 365 customers	1-Year Microsoft Office 365 Personal

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

Misc	Surface Go 2	Surface 3
Inking	Supports Surface Pen 4096 levels of pressure Tilt sensing Best in class latency Paper feel magnetic storage	Supports Surface Pen 256 levels of pressure N-trig Active Pen technology
Sensors	Ambient light sensor Accelerometer Gyroscope Magnetometer NFC	Ambient light sensor Proximity sensor Accelerometer Gyroscope Magnetometer Digital compass
Security	HW TPM 2.0 chip for enterprise security Enterprise-grade protection with Windows Hello face sign-in	-
In the box	Surface Go 2 Power supply Quick Start Guide Safety and warranty documents	Surface 3 Power supply Quick Start Guide Safety and warranty documents
Warranty	One-year limited hardware warranty	One-year limited hardware warranty
More	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 Casing: Magnesium	Casing: Magnesium Kickstand: 3 positions Physical buttons: volumes, power

Key Features	Surface Go 2	Surface 3
At Glance	Released in Mid 2020 3:2 FHD+ 10.5” 1280p 60Hz Weight 1.2 lb 0.54 kg Up to Intel Core M3-8100Y 2C/4T, 1.10 → 3.40 GHz Geekbench 5 660 Single Core Geekbench 5 1,313 Multi-Core With integrated Intel® UHD Graphics 615 24 Execution Units, 300 → 900 MHz Configurable up to 8GB 1866 MHz LPDDR3	Released in Early 2015 3:2 FHD+ 10.8” 1280p 60Hz Weight 1.37 lb 0.62 kg Powered By Intel Atom x7-Z8700 4C/4T, 1.60 → 2.40 GHz Geekbench 5 224 Single Core Geekbench 5 776 Multi-Core With integrated Intel® HD Graphics 16 Execution Units, 20 → 600 MHz Configurable up to 4GB 1600 MHz DDR3