In 2014, Microsoft introduced Surface Pro 2’s successor, Microsoft Surface Pro 3. In a trend whereby tablet makers are trying to make tablets that can replace the traditional laptop, Surface Pro 3 incorporates features that make the it a more convenient substitute for a traditional laptop. In quite a number of ways, the Surface Pro 3 is considerably different from the Surface Pro 2.
Here is a side-by-side comparison between these high-end tablets from Microsoft: The Surface Pro 2 and Surface Pro 3:
– The Surface Pro 3 is much thinner with a thickness of 0.36 inches in comparison to its predecessor, Surface Pro 2, which has a thickness of 0.53 inches.
– In its attempt to challenge the place of the traditional laptop, Microsoft made the Surface Pro 3 to have a much bigger screen of 12 inches. Surface Pro 2 has a screen that was nearly 2 inches smaller at 10.6 inches.
– Despite an increase in physical size, the 12-inch Surface Pro 3 is actually slightly lighter than the 10.5-inch Surface Pro 2. Surface Pro 3 weighs 1.8 pounds while Surface Pro 2 weighs 2 pounds.
– The base model of the Surface Pro 3 is much cheaper than the Surface Pro 2. Surface Pro 3’s base model has a Core i3 processor, and costs $799, while Surface Pro 2, which has a Core i5 processor, costs $899.
– The Surface Pro 3 will keep running for longer. While the Surface Pro 2 had an impressive 7-hour battery life, Surface Pro 3 has a much better 9-hour battery life.
– The Surface Pro 3 has much better resolution of 2,160×1,440 while Surface Pro 2 has a resolution of 1,920×1,080. Basically, this means that Surface Pro 3 has a pixel density of 214.5 ppi against Surface Pro 2’s pixel density of 208 ppi.
– Surface Pro 2 is has a Fourth Generation Core i5 processor. However, Surface Pro 3 has options for Core i3, i5, and i7 processors.
– Surface Pro 3 uses a N-Trig stylus, which requires a battery, while Surface Pro 2 uses a Wacom-based stylus, which does not require a battery. However, the stylus on Surface Pro 3 is much better than that on Surface Pro 2 in terms of precision. However, the stylus on Surface Pro 3 offers worse pressure sensitivity, which makes it less appropriate for use in digital art.
Not surprisingly, there aren’t that many similarities between the two tablets but there are a couple. Both Surface Pro 3 and Surface Pro 2 have Intel HD 4400 graphics and both tablets have RAM of 4GB, which can be increased to 8GB in both gadgets.
The two tablets have storage capacities of 64GB and additionally, for both tablets, this storage capacity can be increased to 512 GB. Both Surface Pro 3 and 2 have similar connectivity options with 802.11 a/b/g Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 LE.
Conclusion
Essentially, Surface Pro 3 seeks to be a hybrid tablet that can also comfortably assume the role of a primary computer. With this in mind, Microsoft made this tablet with a larger 12-inch screen, options for superior processor capabilities, and a superior display. However, for most part Surface Pro 3 retains the qualities that made Surface Pro 2 great: high RAM size, high amount of internal storage, and remarkable graphics processing capabilities. So, the only real difference between the two tablets is the fact that Surface Pro 2 offers better portability than the much larger Surface Pro 3, which would serve as a better substitute to a laptop.
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