Microsoft Surface Pro 4 vs. Surface 3: Design, Features, Specifications, Release Date And Price Showdown

Microsoft Surface Pro 3 was one of the well-received devices and it was apparently part of Time magazine's top 25 inventions in 2014. Needless to say, the successor Surface Pro 4 has been on the rumour mill’s radar for a long time now. As the Surface Pro 4 release date nears close, Microsoft has apparently launched a 2-in-1 tablet named Surface 3, inspired by the Pro 3. Therefore, here is a comparison of the upcoming Surface Pro 4 and the recently launched Surface 3 tablets.

In the meantime, it is worth reminding that, the Surface Pro 4 and Surface 3 tablets have the ability to double as a laptop or notebook. And apparently, Microsoft has built the Surface 3 with a bunch of popular features handpicked from the Surface Pro 3, notes Surface Blog.

Microsoft Surface Pro 4 vs. Surface 3: Display, Design And Processor

The Surface 3 features a convenient 10.8-inch display packed with 1,920 x 1,280 pixels resolution. Under the hood, the device is powered by a quad-core Intel Atom x7 SoC, notes Beta News.

The Surface Pro 4, on the other hand, will reportedly come as two variants. To be specific, the low/mid-range version will feature a 12.0-inch display and will be powered by a new Intel chipset. Notably, this will be a fan-less model. Although projected as a relatively cheaper device, the Surface Pro 4 specifications reportedly include the impressive 2K resolution of 2,160 x 1,440 pixels. Meanwhile, the high-end variant will apparently come with a 14.0-inch display and expected to be powered by Intel i5 or i7 processors, according to VCPost.

When it comes to exterior, the Surface Pro 4 will apparently maintain the refined design of the predecessor Pro 3. However, the device is believed to be slimmer than the predecessor. And it is worth noting that, Microsoft recently purchased the company N-Trig that designed and built Surface Pro 3’s stylus. Therefore, it is widely believed that the upcoming device will have an advanced stylus playing a massive role in interacting with the Surface Pro 4, notes PC Pro.

On the other hand, the Surface Blog says, “Surface 3 features the same beautiful design and premium materials as Surface Pro 3 in a more compact and efficient package.” And as expected, the new device is very thin at just 8.7 mm and it weighs 1.37 pounds. Plus, the Surface 3 apparently comes with realistic colours and clarity and it supports multiple viewing angles.

Surface Blog also points out that, the Surface 3 comes with one year of free Office 365 Personal subscription. Therefore, users will be able to access full versions of Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote, pre-installed on the slate. To top it off, buyers will also receive 1 TB of OneDrive cloud storage space from the tech giant.

Overall, both the tablets support external (pen) stylus, kickstand and physical keyboard (Type Cover), writes Surface Blog. In addition, the Pen comes in four different hues namely silver, blue, black and red.

Microsoft Surface Pro 4 vs. Surface 3: Software And Memory

According to Beta News, the Surface 3 comes equipped with 2 GB or 4GB of RAM configuration and 64 GB or 128 GB of built-in storage. On the other hand, the Surface Pro 4 will reportedly come with 16 GB of RAM and up to 1 TB of built-in storage, notes PC Pro. On the software side, the Surface Pro 4 is expected to run on the upcoming Windows 10, whereas the Surface 3 runs on the full version of Windows 8.1.

Microsoft Surface Pro 4 vs. Surface 3: Battery And Camera

The Surface 3 sports an 8 MP rear-facing camera unit, in addition to a 3.5 MP front-facing shooter. However, there is no camera specific information available for the Pro 4. But then, the predecessor Surface Pro 3 comes with 5 MP front- and rear-facing units.

Speaking of battery life, the Surface 3 can reportedly run for up to 10 hours. Notably, there is a USB 3.0 charging port on the slate. Even though, there is no battery related details available for the Pro 4, the Pro 3 provides up to 9 hours of battery life, notes Beta News.

Microsoft Surface Pro 4 vs. Surface 3: Price And Release Date

The Surface Pro 4 price is expected to be in the ambit of 600 GBP (i.e. $889) for the low-end model and 1,600 GBP (i.e. $2,372) for the high-end version, says PC Pro. When it comes to the Surface 3 price, the slate will reportedly set the buyers back by $499 for the 64 GB model, according to Beta News. Also, interested readers can preorder the slate from online Microsoft Store now.

Speaking of Surface Pro 4 release date, the slate is expected to be launched in July 2015. On the other hand, the Surface 3 release date is set for May 5 and the slate will be made available in 26 regions by May 7, according to Surface Blog.

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