Surface Laptop 3 13.5” vs. Surface Laptop 2: Full specs comparison

Here is a comparison of the specs between Surface Laptop 3 13.5” and Surface Laptop 2, including CPU, RAM, storage, battery, display, and more.

Surface Laptop 3 13.5” Pros

Reasons that Surface Laptop 3 13.5” is better than Surface Laptop 2.

Newer manufacturing

2019 vs. 2018

Supports faster memory

Surface Laptop 3 13.5” supports a faster memory speed than the Surface Laptop 2. It supports up to 3733MHz versus 1866MHz of system memory on the Surface Laptop 2.

Memory type and speed
Surface Laptop 3 13.5” - LPDDR4X
3,733 MHz
Surface Laptop 2 - LPDDR3
1,866 MHz

Surface Laptop 2 Pros

We couldn't find any advantages of Surface Laptop 2 over Surface Laptop 3 13.5”.

Key Similars

Similar characteristics share between Surface Laptop 3 13.5” and Surface Laptop 2.

Similar CPU performance

Both laptops has a similar multi-core CPU performance score.

Geekbench 5 multi-core score
Surface Laptop 2 - Intel Core i7-8650U
3,879
Surface Laptop 3 13.5” - Intel Core i7-1065G7
3,722
Surface Laptop 3 13.5” - Intel Core i5-1035G7
3,691
Surface Laptop 2 - Intel Core i5-8350U
2,982
Surface Laptop 2 - Intel Core i5-8250U
1,971
Supports the same maximum memory size of up to 16GB

Both laptops supports up to 16GB of system memory.

Max system memory size
Surface Laptop 3 13.5”
16 GB
Surface Laptop 2
16 GB

Prices

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

Surface Laptop 3 13.5” Price
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 13.5" Touch-Screen Intel Core i5-8GB Memory - 256GB Solid State Drive (PKX-00003) Matte Black (Renewed)
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 13.5" Touch-Screen Intel Core i5-8GB Memory - 256GB Solid State Drive (PKX-00003) Matte Black (Renewed)
By Microsoft
$299.00
$319.00 6% OFF
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 – 13.5" Touch-Screen – Intel Core i7 - 16GB Memory - 512GB Solid State Drive (Latest Model) – Platinum with Alcantara (Renewed)
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 – 13.5" Touch-Screen – Intel Core i7 - 16GB Memory - 512GB Solid State Drive (Latest Model) – Platinum with Alcantara (Renewed)
By Microsoft
$406.00
$453.99 11% OFF
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 13.5 Inch Touch-Screen 256GB SSD i5 8GB with Windows 10 Pro (WiFi, 1.2GHz Quad-Core i5) Black (Metal) PKU-00022 (Renewed)
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 13.5 Inch Touch-Screen 256GB SSD i5 8GB with Windows 10 Pro (WiFi, 1.2GHz Quad-Core i5) Black (Metal) PKU-00022 (Renewed)
By Microsoft
$315.00
$339.00 7% OFF
Surface Laptop 2 Price
Microsoft Surface Laptop 2 (Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB) - Platinum (Renewed)
Microsoft Surface Laptop 2 (Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB) - Platinum (Renewed)
By Microsoft
$279.00
$304.99 9% OFF
Microsoft Surface Laptop 2 (Intel Core i7, 16GB RAM, 512GB) - Platinum (Renewed)
Microsoft Surface Laptop 2 (Intel Core i7, 16GB RAM, 512GB) - Platinum (Renewed)
By Microsoft
$366.37
$434.00 16% OFF
Microsoft Surface Laptop 2 Tablet 13.5" (2256x1504) Touchscreen Laptop Intel Core i5-8350U 1.7GHz, 16GB DDR4 RAM, 256GB SSD, Backlit Keyboard, Wi-Fi, Camera, Silver, Windows 10 Pro (Renewed)
Microsoft Surface Laptop 2 Tablet 13.5" (2256x1504) Touchscreen Laptop Intel Core i5-8350U 1.7GHz, 16GB DDR4 RAM, 256GB SSD, Backlit Keyboard, Wi-Fi, Camera, Silver, Windows 10 Pro (Renewed)
By Microsoft
$312.00
$331.00 6% OFF

Availability

Surface Laptop 3 13.5”Surface Laptop 2
Released20192018
Release Date
  • Introduced: October 2, 2019 (Microsoft October Event)
  • Pre-ordered: October 2, 2019
  • Released: October 22, 2019
  • Introduced: October 2, 2018
  • Pre-ordered: October 2, 2018
  • Released: October 16 2018
PricingStarting at 999$Starting at 999$
Generations

Exterior

Surface Laptop 3 13.5”Surface Laptop 2
Dimensions12.1” x 8.8” x 0.57” (308 mm x 223 mm x 14.5 mm)
Width: 12.1” (308 mm)
Depth: 8.8” (223 mm)
Height: 0.57” (14.5 mm)
12.13” x 8.79” x 0.39-0.57” (308.02 mm x 223.2 mm x 9.93 mm-14.47 mm)
Width: 12.13” (308.02 mm)
Depth: 8.79” (223.2 mm)
Height: 0.39 - 0.57” (9.93 - 14.47 mm)
Weight
  • 2.84 lb (1,288 g)
    Sandstone and Matte Black
  • 2.79 lb (1,265 g)
    Cobalt Blue and Platinum
  • Intel Core i5 › 2.76 lbs (1.26 kg)
  • Intel Core i7 › 2.83 lbs (1.28 kg)
Colors
  • Metal
    Matte Black Sandstone
  • Alcantara
    Matte Black Platinum
Black Platinum Burgundy Cobalt Blue
Keyboard and Trackpad
  • Keyboard:
    • Full-size backlit keyboard with the soft-touch feel and full 1.3mm travel.
    • Large palm rest with premium Alcantara® material for maximized typing comfort.
  • Trackpad:
    • Larger size 115 mm x 76.66 mm, glass.
    • Supports up to Five-finger multitouch gesture.
  • Keyboard:
    • Full-size backlit keyboard with the soft-touch feel and full 1.5mm travel.
    • Large palm rest with premium Alcantara® material for maximized typing comfort.
  • Trackpad:
    • Larger size 105 mm x 70 mm, glass.
    • Supports up to Five-finger multitouch gesture.

Display

Surface Laptop 3 13.5”Surface Laptop 2
Size13.5 Inches13.5 Inches
Info
  • Resolution: 2256 x 1504 (201 PPI)
  • PixelSense™ Display
  • Aspect ratio: 3:2
  • Inking: designed together with Surface Pen
  • Touch: 10 points multi-touch
  • Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3
  • 10nm Oleophobic Coating
  • 100% sRGB color, individually calibrated
  • Display Resolution: 2256 x 1504 (3.4M Pixels)
  • Display Density: 201 PPI
  • PixelSense™ Display
  • Aspect ratio: 3:2
  • Inking: designed together with Surface Pen
  • Touch: 10 points multi-touch
  • Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3
  • 10nm Oleophobic Coating
  • 100% sRGB color, individually calibrated

Ports

Surface Laptop 3 13.5”Surface Laptop 2
Surface Laptop 3 13.5” Ports
Image Source: Microsoft
  • 1 x Full-size USB 3.0
  • 1 x USB Type-C 3.1 Gen 2
    Supports Power Delivery and DisplayPort.
  • 1 x Surface Connect™
    Supports charging and docking station.
  • 1 x Headset jack
Surface Laptop 2 Ports
Image Source: Microsoft
  • 1 x Full-size USB 3.0
  • 1 x Surface Connect™
    Supports charging and docking station.
  • 1 x Mini DisplayPort
  • 1 x Headset jack

Internal Specs

Surface Laptop 3 13.5”Surface Laptop 2
Processor
  1. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1035G7
    4 cores, 8 threads, 1.20 → 3.70 GHz, 6MB SmartCache, 15W
  2. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1065G7
    4 cores, 8 threads, 1.30 → 3.90 GHz, 8MB SmartCache, 15W
  1. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8250U
    4 cores, 8 threads, 1.60 → 3.40 GHz, 6MB SmartCache, 15W
  2. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8350U
    4 cores, 8 threads, 1.70 → 3.60 GHz, 6MB SmartCache, 15W
  3. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8650U
    4 cores, 8 threads, 1.90 → 4.20 GHz, 8MB SmartCache, 15W
Integrated Graphics
  1. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1035G7
    Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics
    64 Execution Units, 300 → 1050 MHz
  2. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1065G7
    Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics
    64 Execution Units, 300 → 1100 MHz
  1. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8250U
    Intel® UHD Graphics 620
    24 Execution Units, 300 → 1100 MHz
  2. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8350U
    Intel® UHD Graphics 620
    24 Execution Units, 300 → 1100 MHz
  3. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8650U
    Intel® UHD Graphics 620
    24 Execution Units, 300 → 1150 MHz
Memory
8GB 16GB
3733 MHz LPDDR4X RAM
8GB 16GB
1866 MHz LPDDR3 RAM
Storage
128 GB 256 GB 512 GB 1 TB
Removable M.2 NVMe SSD
128 GB 256 GB 512 GB 1 TB
Soldered BGA PCIe SSD

Connectivity

Surface Laptop 3 13.5”Surface Laptop 2
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 4.1 technology

Battery

Surface Laptop 3 13.5”Surface Laptop 2
Size45.8 Wh45.2 Wh
Battery LifeUp to 11.5 hours of typical device usageUp to 14.5 hours of typical device usage
Power Supply
  • 60W power supply with USB-A (5W) (65W total)
  • Supports Fast Charge (0-80% in about one hour)
  • 44W proprietary power supply
    USB-A output: 5W
    Surface Connect output: 39W

Software

Surface Laptop 3 13.5”Surface Laptop 2
OS
  • For Consumer: Windows 10 Home
  • For Commercial: Windows 10 Pro
Free upgrade to Windows 11
  • For Consumer: Windows 10 Home
  • For Commercial: Windows 10 Pro
Free upgrade to Windows 11
Built-in AppsMicrosoft Office 365 30-days trialMicrosoft Office 365 30-days trial

Camera & Audio

Surface Laptop 3 13.5”Surface Laptop 2
Camera
  • Windows Hello face authentication camera (front-facing)
  • 720p HD front-facing video camera
  • Windows Hello face authentication camera (front-facing)
  • 720p HD front-facing video camera
Audio
  • Dual far-field Studio Mics
  • OmniSonic stereo speakers with Dolby® Audio™ Premium
  • Dual microphones
  • OmniSonic stereo speakers with Dolby® Audio™ Premium

Misc

Surface Laptop 3 13.5”Surface Laptop 2
InkingSupports Surface Pen
4096 levels of pressure
Tilt sensing
Best in class latency
Supports Surface Pen
4096 levels of pressure
Tilt sensing
Best in class latency
Sensors
  • Ambient light sensor
  • Ambient light sensor
Security
  • HW TPM 2.0 chip for enterprise security
  • Enterprise-grade protection with Windows Hello face sign-in
  • HW TPM 2.0 chip for enterprise security
  • Enterprise-grade protection with Windows Hello face sign-in
In the box
  • Surface Laptop 3 13.5”
  • Power supply
  • Quick Start Guide
  • Safety and warranty documents
  • Surface Laptop 2
  • Power supply
  • Quick Start Guide
  • Safety and warranty documents
Warranty
  • One-year limited hardware warranty
  • Commercial: Advanced Exchange warranty service with expedited device replacement
  • One-year limited hardware warranty
  • Commercial: Advanced Exchange warranty service with expedited device replacement
MoreSupports Surface Dial
Supports off-screen interaction only
Supports Surface Dial
Supports off-screen interaction only

Key Features

Surface Laptop 3 13.5”Surface Laptop 2
At Glance
Released in Late
2019
3:2 2.2K
13.5”
1504p 60Hz
Weight
2.79 lb
1.27 kg
Up to
Intel Core i7-1065G7
4C/8T, 1.30 → 3.90 GHz
Geekbench 5
1,088
Single Core
Geekbench 5
3,722
Multi-Core
With integrated
Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics
64 Execution Units, 300 → 1100 MHz
Configurable up to
16GB
3733 MHz LPDDR4X
Surface Laptop 3 13.5” Ports
Released in Late
2018
3:2 2.2K
13.5”
1504p 60Hz
Weight
2.76 lb
1.25 kg
Up to
Intel Core i7-8650U
4C/8T, 1.90 → 4.20 GHz
Geekbench 5
1,106
Single Core
Geekbench 5
3,879
Multi-Core
With integrated
Intel® UHD Graphics 620
24 Execution Units, 300 → 1150 MHz
Configurable up to
16GB
1866 MHz LPDDR3
Surface Laptop 2 Ports

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