Surface Go 3 vs. Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold: Which is better?

Here is a side by side comparison between Surface Go 3 and Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold specs including CPU, RAM, storage, battery, display, and more.

Surface Go 3 Pros

Reasons that Surface Go 3 is better than Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold.

Newer manufacturing

2021 vs. 2020

About 46% lighter

Surface Go 3 weighed 1.2 pounds, 46% lighter than the 2.2 pounds Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold.

WeightSurface Go 3Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold
Pound
1.2 lbs.
2.2 lbs.
Kilogram
0.54 kg
1.00 kg

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold Pros

Reasons that Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold is better than Surface Go 3.

Slightly faster CPU performance

Intel Core i5-L16G7 inside Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold has a 8% better multi-core CPU performance score than the Intel Core i3-10100Y inside Surface Go 3.

Geekbench 5 multi-core score
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold - Intel Core i5-L16G7
1,703
Surface Go 3 - Intel Core i3-10100Y
1,570
Surface Go 3 - Intel Pentium Gold 6500Y
1,510
Supports faster memory

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold supports a faster memory speed than the Surface Go 3. It supports up to 4267MHz versus 1866MHz of system memory on the Surface Go 3.

Memory type and speed
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold - LPDDR4X
4,267 MHz
Surface Go 3 - LPDDR3
1,866 MHz
26% larger display

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold has a 13.3-inch screen size 26% larger than the 10.5-inch Surface Go 3.

Display size
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold
13.3-inch
Surface Go 3
10.5-inch

Key Similars

Similar characteristics share between Surface Go 3 and Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold.

Supports the same maximum memory size of up to 8GB

Both laptops supports up to 8GB of system memory.

Max system memory size
Surface Go 3
8 GB
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold
8 GB

Prices

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

Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5” Price
Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5" Touchscreen - Intel® Core™ i3 - 8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - Device Only - Platinum (Latest Model)
Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5" Touchscreen - Intel® Core™ i3 - 8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - Device Only - Platinum (Latest Model)
By Microsoft
$513.00
$629.99 19% OFF
Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5" Touchscreen - Intel® Core™ i3 - 8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - Device Only - Black (Latest Model)
Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5" Touchscreen - Intel® Core™ i3 - 8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - Device Only - Black (Latest Model)
By Microsoft
$499.99
$629.99 21% OFF
Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5" Touchscreen - Intel® Pentium® Gold - 4GB Memory - 64GB eMMC - Device Only - Platinum (Latest Model)
Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5" Touchscreen - Intel® Pentium® Gold - 4GB Memory - 64GB eMMC - Device Only - Platinum (Latest Model)
By Microsoft
$390.00
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold Price
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga Gen 1 20QA005LUS 13.5" Touchscreen Convertible 2 in 1 Notebook - QHD - 2256 x 1504 - Intel Core i7 11th Gen i7-1160G7 Quad-core (4 Core) 2.10 GHz - 16 GB RAM - 512 GB
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga Gen 1 20QA005LUS 13.5" Touchscreen Convertible 2 in 1 Notebook - QHD - 2256 x 1504 - Intel Core i7 11th Gen i7-1160G7 Quad-core (4 Core) 2.10 GHz - 16 GB RAM - 512 GB
By Lenovo
$848.88
$919.00 8% OFF
LENOVO Latest ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 14" FHD+ Ultrabook IPS Touchscreen 400 nits,11th gen i7-1165G7, 16GB DDR4, 1TB SSD, Intel Iris Xe Graphics, Fingerprint Reader, Thunderbolt 4, Win 10 Pro, Black
LENOVO Latest ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 14" FHD+ Ultrabook IPS Touchscreen 400 nits,11th gen i7-1165G7, 16GB DDR4, 1TB SSD, Intel Iris Xe Graphics, Fingerprint Reader, Thunderbolt 4, Win 10 Pro, Black
By LENOVO
$1,159.77
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano Business Laptop 13" 2K IPS Touch 100% sRGB 450nits Intel 4-Core i7-1180G7 16GB RAM 512GB SSD Fingerprint Backlit Thunderbolt4 3-yr Warranty Win11Pro Black + HDMI Cable
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano Business Laptop 13" 2K IPS Touch 100% sRGB 450nits Intel 4-Core i7-1180G7 16GB RAM 512GB SSD Fingerprint Backlit Thunderbolt4 3-yr Warranty Win11Pro Black + HDMI Cable
By Lenovo
$779.77

Availability

Surface Go 3Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold
Released20212020
Release Date
  • Introduced: September 22, 2021
  • Pre-ordered: September 22, 2021
  • Released: October 5, 2021
  • Unveiled at CES 2020
  • Announced on September 29, 2020.
  • Available for order on September 29, 2020.
Pricing
  • $399 
    Gold 6500Y 4 GB 64 GB WiFi
  • $549
    Gold 6500Y 8 GB 128 GB WiFi
  • $629
    i3-10100Y 8 GB 128 GB WiFi
Starting at $2,499.
Generations-

Exterior

Surface Go 3Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold
Dimensions9.65” 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)
  • Folded: 6.23" x 9.29" x 1.09" (27.8mm x 158.2mm x 236mm)
  • Unfolded: 11.79” x 9.29” x 0.45” (11.5mm x 299.4mm x 236mm)
Weight
  • Surface Go 3: 1.2 lbs (544 g)
  • Surface Go 3 Keyboard: 0.55 lbs (249 g)
Starting at 2.2 lbs (0.99 kg)
Colors
Platinum
Authentic black leather folio cover
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.
Optional Lenovo Fold Mini Keyboard
Bluetooth and wirelessly charged.

Display

Surface Go 3Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold
Size10.5 Inches13.3 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
  • 13.3” Touch 2K (2048 x 1536)
    Flexible QXGA OLED, 4:3, 300nit, DCI-P3 95% Touch with Dolby® Vision™.

Ports

Surface Go 3Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold
Surface Go 3 Ports
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
  • 2 x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2
    Supports data transfer up to 10Gbps. 1 port can be used as DisplayPort. (1 can be used as DP).
  • Optional nano-SIM slot

Internal Specs

Surface Go 3Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold
Processor
  1. 10th Gen Intel® Pentium® Gold 6500Y
    2 cores, 4 threads, 1.10 → 3.40 GHz, 4MB SmartCache, 5W
  2. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i3-10100Y
    2 cores, 4 threads, 1.30 → 3.90 GHz, 4MB SmartCache, 5W
  1. Intel® Core™ i5-L16G7 with Intel® Hybrid Technology
    5 cores, 5 threads, 1.40 → 3.00 GHz, 4MB Cache, 7W
Integrated Graphics
  1. 10th Gen Intel® Pentium® Gold 6500Y
    Intel® UHD Graphics 615
    23 Execution Units, 300 → 900 MHz
  2. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i3-10100Y
    Intel® UHD Graphics 615
    24 Execution Units, 300 → 1000 MHz
  1. Intel® Core™ i5-L16G7 with Intel® Hybrid Technology
    Intel® UHD Graphics for 10th Gen Intel® Processors
    64 Execution Units, 200 → 500 MHz
Memory
4GB 8GB
1866 MHz LPDDR3 RAM
  • 8GB
    4267 MHz Dual-channel LPDDR4x SRAM.
Storage
  • 64GB
    eMMC
  • 128GB
    SSD
Up to 1TB PCIe SSD

Connectivity

Surface Go 3Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold
Wi-FiWi-Fi 6: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax compatible.
  • Intel® Wi-Fi 6™ 802.11AX (2 x 2)
    Dual band 2.4 GHz/5 GHz, 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax.
BluetoothBluetooth Wireless 5.0 technology
  • Bluetooth 5.1
MoreLTE version coming soon.Optional WWAN: Integrated Global Mobile Broadband CAT20 (5G/LTE).

Battery

Surface Go 3Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold
Size
  • 28Wh 
    Nominal battery capacity.
  • 26.8Wh 
    Minimum battery capacity.
50 Wh
Battery LifeUp to 11 hours of typical device usage
  • Up to 8.5 hours
    Tested with MobileMark 2014.
  • Up to 10.4 hours
    Video Playback.
Power Supply24W proprietary Surface Connect power supplyPremium Slim 65 W USB (Type-C) power adapter
Supports Rapid Charge.

Software

Surface Go 3Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold
OSWindows 11 Home in S-mode
  • Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
  • Windows 10 Home 64-bit
Built-in Apps
  • Xbox Game Pass Ultimate one month trial
  • Microsoft 365 Family one month trial
  • Lenovo Vantage

Camera & Audio

Surface Go 3Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold
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
  • Front-facing camera
    5MP camera.
  • Infrared (IR) Camera for Windows Hello
Audio
  • Enhanced dual far-field Studio Mics
  • 2W stereo speakers with Dolby® Audio™
  • Dolby Atmos™ Speaker System
  • 4 x 360-degree Microphones

Misc

Surface Go 3Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold
InkingSupports Microsoft Pen Protocol (MPP)
4096 levels of pressure
Tilt sensing
Best in class latency
Paper feel
magnetic storage
-
Sensors
  • Ambient light sensor
  • Accelerometer
  • Gyroscope
  • Magnetometer
  • IR Camera
  • Ambient light sensor
  • Proximity sensor
Security
  • HW TPM 2.0 chip for enterprise security
  • Enterprise-grade protection with Windows Hello face sign-in
  • Discrete Trusted Platform Module (dTPM) 2.0
  • IR camera
In the box
  • Surface Go 3
  • Power supply
  • Quick Start Guide
  • Safety and warranty documents
  • ThinkPad X1 Fold
  • Premium Slim USB-C 65W AC adapter
  • 50Wh Internal battery
  • Quick Start Guide
  • Lenovo Mod Pen (Optional / Select models)
  • Lenovo Mini Bluetooth Keyboard (Optional / Select models)
Warranty
  • One-year limited hardware warranty
1-year Depot or Carry-in
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
-

Key Features

Surface Go 3Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold
At Glance
Released in Late
2021
3:2 FHD+
10.5”
1280p 60Hz
Weight
1.2 lb
0.54 kg
Up to
Intel Core i3-10100Y
2C/4T, 1.30 → 3.90 GHz
Geekbench 5
799
Single Core
Geekbench 5
1,570
Multi-Core
With integrated
Intel® UHD Graphics 615
24 Execution Units, 300 → 1000 MHz
Configurable up to
8GB
1866 MHz LPDDR3
Surface Go 3 Ports
Starting at
$399
Gold 6500Y, 4GB, 64GB eMMC
Supports
Surface Pen
4096 Levels, Tilt sensing, Magnetic Storage.
Up to
11 Hours
Battery Life
Built-in
IR Camera
For Face Unlock
Optional
4G LTE
Wi-Fi 6
Released in
2020
4:3 2K
13.3”
1536p 60Hz
Weight
2.2 lb
1.00 kg
Powered By
Intel Core i5-L16G7
5C/5T, 1.40 → 3.00 GHz
Geekbench 5
773
Single Core
Geekbench 5
1,703
Multi-Core
With integrated
Intel® UHD Graphics for 10th Gen Intel® Processors
64 Execution Units, 200 → 500 MHz
8GB
4267 MHz LPDDR4X

Comparison Summary

Surface Go 3 vs. Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold

Microsoft has released the Surface Go 3, a 10.5-inch machine, in late-2021. It is powered by up to a dual-core Intel Core i3-10100Y with a boost clock speed up to 3.90 GHz. The laptop has an integrated graphics option up to Intel® UHD Graphics 615 (24 Execution Units, 300 → 1000 MHz).

On the other hand, we have the 13.3-inch ThinkPad X1 Fold was introduced by Lenovo about a year earlier in 2020. It comes with 5-core Intel Core i5-L16G7 with a boost clock speed up to 3.00 GHz. It has an integrated graphics option up to Intel® UHD Graphics for 10th Gen Intel® Processors (64 Execution Units, 200 → 500 MHz).

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Surface Go 31
10th Gen Intel® Pentium® Gold 6500Y77897.37%
2
10th Gen Intel® Core™ i3-10100Y799100.00%
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold1
Intel® Core™ i5-L16G7 with Intel® Hybrid Technology77396.75%
0799

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

Surface Go 31
10th Gen Intel® Pentium® Gold 6500Y1,51088.67%
2
10th Gen Intel® Core™ i3-10100Y1,57092.19%
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold1
Intel® Core™ i5-L16G7 with Intel® Hybrid Technology1,703100.00%
01,703

The Surface Go 3 has a 10.5-inch display which is considerably smaller than the 13.3-inch Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold. In addition, The Surface Go 3 weighs 1.2 lbs. about 83% lighter than the 2.2 lbs. Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold. Moreover, measured at 9.65” x 6.9” x 0.33”, the Surface Go 3 is much more portable than the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold at 11.79” x 9.29” x 0.45”.

Surface Go 3Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold

Moving over to upgradability, you can't make any upgrades on both devices. All major components including memory and storage are soldered on to the motherboard. So make sure you get the specs that work best for your current and future workload.

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