Last month, Microsoft introduced the thinner and lighter Surface Pro 3 at a press event in New York. The tablet went on sale last week in the US and Canada, but for the i5 models. This is the third iteration of the Surface tablets, and it seems Microsoft has eliminated issues with the Surface Pro 3, which were haunting the users of the earlier versions. In short, Surface Pro 3 comes with significant improvements when compared to its predecessor. Want to know more? Read on.
Design and Build
Surface Pro 3 offers users with a bigger 12-inch display sporting a resolution of 2160 x 1440 pixels, while its previous iterations came with a 10.6-inch display with a 1080p resolution. The new version of the tablet is not only bigger, but also thinner and lighter compared to its previous iterations.
The Surface Pro 3 weighs only 798 grams while the Surface Pro 2 and Surface Pro are a tad heavier — weighs 907 grams. The new tablet is considerably thinner than the Surface Pro 2 — measures 9.1mm compared to 13.5mm on the Surface Pro 2. Surface Pro 3 also offers a robust kickstand, offering users with a range of angles to work with, while the SP2 came with dual-kickstand positions, which is a significant improvement since you can work on it the way you like. Additionally, it comes in silver color which looks more attractive in my opinion.
Performance
This is an area which has received a decent boost as well. Surface Pro 3 is powered by the latest Intel Core processors, giving users the option to choose for i3, i5 and i7 processors. On the other hand, the previous iterations only offered the i5 versions. This provides a significant improvement in performance, and give users more options, even those who are on a tight budget. Both tablets offer users with up to 8GB of RAM, and an improved Pen, which replaces the stylus that came with the Surface Pro 2.
Surface Pro 3 also received considerable improvements in terms of battery life, offering users with 20 percent more battery compared to its predecessor. The company mentions it can offer up to nine hours of battery life compared to seven hours on the Surface Pro 2.
Storage, Operating System And Other Features
As far as the storage is concerned, both the Surface Pro 2 and Pro 3 comes with a storage up to 512GB — the 256 and 512GB version of the tablets comes with 8GB of RAM on board. There’s 5MP camera on the front and back of the Surface Pro 3, compared to a 1.2MP camera on its predecessor. The new tablet also has the ability of capturing 1080p videos.
Surface Pro 3 runs a full-fledged Windows 8.1 Pro as its operating system, similar to its predecessor. This means that users can install desktop apps on it in a similar fashion as they do on their laptop or desktop. It also comes with a Windows Store giving users access to thousands of modern apps, so there’s nothing too different in this regard.
Improved Type Covers
The new Surface Pro 3 also comes with improved Type covers, designed for the bigger tablet. The new Type Covers are said to be thinner when compared to previous version, and offer users a bigger trackpad, which was one of the complaints of users using the previous iteration — Microsoft said its 68 percent larger, giving users more room to work with. The covers are available in four colors: red, black, cyan and purple. It costs an extra $129.99.
Pricing
The new Surface Pro 3 starts at $799, while the Surface 2 started at $899 — it’s price has been reduced to $799 as well. It made sense for Microsoft to cut the price of the Surface Pro 2 to $799, since the third iteration starts at this price. But the $799 model of the Surface Pro 3 comes with an i3 processor, while the Surface Pro 2 has Intel i5-4200U to offer for a similar price tag. The price of the Surface Pro 3 goes as high as a whopping $1,949 for the i7 processor and 8GB of RAM. However, only the i5 models are available in the US and Canada at the moment, with the remaining models expected to hit the retail shelves in August. It’s the same time when the tablet goes on sale in global markets as well.
Here’s the complete pricing for the Surface Pro 3:
- Intel Core i3, 64 GB and 4 GB of RAM runs for $799
- Intel Core i5, 128 GB and 4 GB of RAM runs for $999
- Intel Core i5, 256 GB and 8 GB of RAM runs for $1,299
- Intel Core i7, 256 GB and 8 GB of RAM runs for $1,549
- Intel Core i7, 512 GB and 8 GB of RAM runs for $1,949
There you go folks, hope this will help you remove any confusions, and make up your mind. Surface Pro 3 is without a doubt an excellent tablet, with capabilities to replace your laptop as well, offering users with excellent portability as well.
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