Surface 3 specs, features, and analysis

Here's what you need to know about 2015 Surface 3 including price, display info, CPU, RAM, storage, battery, and more.

Availability

Surface 3
Released2015
Release Date
  • Introduced: March 21, 2015
  • Pre-ordered: March 21, 2015
  • Released: May 5, 2015
PricingSurface 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
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)
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 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
$523.03
$629.99 17% OFF
Microsoft Surface 3 128GB WiFi Tablet 10.8" Intel Atom - Silver (Renewed)
Microsoft Surface 3 128GB WiFi Tablet 10.8" Intel Atom - Silver (Renewed)
By Microsoft
$199.94
$215.93 7% OFF
Microsoft Surface Pro 3 (128 GB, Intel Core i5) (Renewed)
Microsoft Surface Pro 3 (128 GB, Intel Core i5) (Renewed)
By Microsoft
$208.89
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

Exterior

Surface 3
Dimensions10.52” 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 3: 1.37 lbs (621 g)
  • Surface 3 with Keyboard: 1.95 lbs (884 g)
Colors
Silver
Keyboard and Trackpad
  • 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 3
Size10.8 Inches
Info
  • 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 3
Ports
Surface 3 Ports
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 3
Processor
  1. Intel® Atom™ x7-Z8700
    4 cores, 4 threads, 1.60 → 2.40 GHz, 2MB Cache, 2W

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Surface 31
Intel® Atom™ x7-Z8700224100.00%
0224

Geekbench 5 Multi-Core

Surface 31
Intel® Atom™ x7-Z8700776100.00%
0776
Integrated Graphics
  1. Intel® Atom™ x7-Z8700
    Intel® HD Graphics
    16 Execution Units, 20 → 600 MHz
Memory
2GB 4GB
1600 MHz DDR3 SDRAM.
Storage
  • 64GB 128GB
    eMMC

Connectivity

Surface 3
Wi-Fi
  • Wi-Fi 5: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac compatible.
Bluetooth
  • Bluetooth Wireless 4.0 technology
MoreOptional LTE
  • Nano SIM Tray
  • GPS
  • Assisted GPS
  • GLONASS

Battery

Surface 3
Size27.5 Wh
Battery LifeUp to 10 hours of video playback
Power Supply
  • 13W Micro USB power supply

Software

Surface 3
OS
  • Windows 8.1 Pro
  • Upgradable to Windows 10 Pro
Built-in Apps1-Year Microsoft Office 365 Personal

Camera & Audio

Surface 3
Camera
  • 3.5MP front-facing camera with 1080p HD video
  • 8.0MP rear-facing autofocus camera with 1080p HD video
Audio
  • Single microphone
  • Front-facing stereo speakers with Dolby® Audio enhanced sound

Misc

Surface 3
InkingSupports Surface Pen
256 levels of pressure
N-trig Active Pen technology
Sensors
  • Ambient light sensor
  • Proximity sensor
  • Accelerometer
  • Gyroscope
  • Magnetometer
  • Digital compass
In the box
  • Surface 3
  • Power supply
  • Quick Start Guide
  • Safety and warranty documents
Warranty
  • One-year limited hardware warranty
More
  • Casing: Magnesium
  • Kickstand: 3 positions
  • Physical buttons: volumes, power

Key Features

Surface 3
At Glance
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
Surface 3 Ports

Photos

Our analysis and reviews

Surface 3 image

What we like

Reasons to like about Surface 3.

Great battery life of up to 10-hours

According to Microsoft, the Surface 3 lasts up to 10 hours of battery life.

Up to 10 hours of video playback

What we don't like

Reasons not to like about Surface 3.

Not supports Windows 11
RequirementsSurface 3
Secure BootYes
TPM 2.0 TPM 2.0
ProcessorIntel Atom x7-Z8700
4GB RAM2GB → 4GB
64GB Drive64GB → 128GB
2 Cores CPU4 cores
Non-upgradable memory

The memory on Surface 3 is soldered to the motherboard, and there is no additional RAM slot for expansion. Since you can't change or add more RAM after you buy, you want to make sure you pick the configuration with the right amount of memory at the initial purchase. Learn more

MemorySurface 3
Slots0 - Onboard
TypeDDR3
Speed1600 MHz

What's new

Improvements over its predecessor.

Supports larger memory

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

Max system memory size
Surface 3
4 GB
Surface 2
2 GB

What's missing

Downsides over its predecessor.

About 17% heavier

Surface 3 weighed 1.37 pounds, 17% heavier than the 1.15 pounds Surface 2.

WeightSurface 3Surface 2
Pound
1.37 lbs.
1.15 lbs.
Kilogram
0.62 kg
0.52 kg

FAQs

To further help, here are some frequently asked questions you may have about the 2015 Surface 3:

Popular comparisons

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