Surface 3

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This article is about the 3rd generation of the Microsoft Surface-series device of the non-Pro line. For the 3rd generation device of the Pro line, based on Intel Core CPU, see Surface Pro 3.

Surface 3
File:Microsoft Surface Logo.png
A Surface 3, with attached type cover and surface pen accessories
Surface 3 with Type Cover and Surface Pen running Windows 10
DeveloperMicrosoft
ManufacturerPegatron
Product familySurface
Type2-in-1 detachable
Generation3rd
Release date5 May 2015
Introductory price$499–599 (USD)
Discontinuedlate 2016[1]
Operating system
System on a chipIntel Atom system-on-chip quad-core x7-Z8700
1.6 up to 2.40 GHz, 2 MB cache, 2 W[2]
Memory2 or 4 GB LPDDR3 1600 MHz
Storage64 or 128 GB (37 and 93 GB respectively are user-available)[3]
Removable storagemicroSD
Display10.8 inches (27 cm): (9 inches (23 cm) by 6 inches (15 cm)) 1920x1280 (214 ppi) ClearType screen with 3:2 aspect ratio
GraphicsIntel HD Graphics
SoundDual front facing speakers
InputMulti-touch touchscreen
Bluetooth active pen, with underlying N-trig DuoSense technology (sold separately)
Type Cover detachable keyboard with touchpad (sold separately)
CameraFront: 3.5 MP, 1080p HD
Rear: 8 MP, 1080p HD
TouchpadOn the Surface Type Cover (sold separately)
ConnectivityWireless:
802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi
Bluetooth 4.0 LE
Ports:
Full size USB 3.0
Mini DisplayPort
3.5 mm audio socket
Cover port (proprietary)
Charging/Docking port (Micro-USB)
4G LTE (with cellular model)
PowerBattery
3.78V 27.5Wh/7270mAh
charger
5.2V 2.5A (13W)
Online servicesWindows Store, OneDrive, Xbox Music, Xbox Games, Xbox Video
Dimensions10.51 inches (267 mm) (width)
7.36 inches (187 mm) (height)
0.34 inches (8.6 mm) (depth)
Weight1.37 pounds (620 g)
0.58 pounds (265 g) (add for Type Cover)[4]
PredecessorSurface 2
SuccessorDiscontinued, replaced by Surface Go
RelatedSurface
Websitewww.microsoft.com/surface
This article is part of a series on
Microsoft Surface

Models

Accessories

Surface 3 is a 2-in-1 detachable from the Microsoft Surface series, introduced by Microsoft in 2015. Unlike its predecessor, the Surface 2, Surface 3 utilizes an x86 Intel Atom system-on-chip architecture, or SoC, rather than a processor with ARM architecture such as the Nvidia Tegra that powered the Surface 2, and runs standard versions of Windows 8.1 or Windows 10.[5]

History

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The older, original Surface (also known as Surface RT) and Surface 2, with their ARM-based processors and Windows RT operating system, were designed to compete with the iPad and other tablets. The first Surface was criticized for performance issues, which were reduced in the succeeding Surface 2. Due to the differing processors, these devices were incompatible with the vast number of Windows programs written for x86-based computers, running only those written and compiled for Windows RT, loaded from Microsoft's application store.

Released prior to Surface 3, the Surface Pro 3 – featuring a more powerful Intel Core processor, and running the standard version of Windows 8 – became a profitable product for Microsoft in late 2014.[6] It had a starting price of $799, featuring a larger display, and competed with high-end ultraportable laptops.[7][8][9]

With the introduction of the Surface 3, Microsoft aimed to make a product more affordable than the Surface Pro 3, at the expense of screen size and performance, while retaining the broad software compatibility.

The Surface Pro 3 was replaced by the Surface Pro 4, but the Surface 3 was discontinued after a year and a half, with no similar successor. Another year and a half later, the Surface Go – with similar characteristics, but improved performance – was introduced, followed by successor models.

Features

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Hardware

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The Surface 3 share a similar design to the Surface Pro 3 with a body made of magnesium alloy giving a matte gray finish to the back of the device. It features a kickstand that can be set to three different angles: 22, 44, and 60 degrees. The Surface 3 does not have a fan, therefore lacking the ventilation holes seen on Surface Pro line. The Surface 3 weighs 620 grams features a 10.8 inches (27 cm) diagonal multi-touch display with a 3:2 aspect ratio. For a charger Surface 3 uses a standard Micro-USB, giving users a wider variety of charging options, including charging the device with a mobile phone charger.

Surface 3 has the 14 nm quad-core Intel Atom x7-Z8700 SoC.[10] The Atom x7-Z8700 is able to drive up to three external displays over Mini DisplayPort and support a resolution of up to 4K with a single external display.[11] The 2-in-1's own display has a resolution of 1920x1280. The device ships with either a 64 or 128 GB solid-state drive and 2 or 4 GB of system memory.[12] The device's storage capacity can be increased by installing a microSD memory card of up to 1 TB.

Technical Specifications[13][14]
Surface 3 Surface 3 LTE
Processor Intel Atom x7-Z8700
Graphics Intel HD Graphics
RAM 2/4 GB
Internal Storage 64/128 GB
Display Size 10.8in ClearType Full HD Plus Display
Aspect Ratio 3:2
Resolution 1920 x 1280
Touch 10 point multi-touch
Exterior Height 7.36in
Width 10.52in
Depth 0.34in
Weight 1.37lbs
Cameras Front 3.5 MP 1080p
Rear 8 MP 1080p
Audio Speaker Stereo with Dolby audio
Microphone 2
Sensors Ambient light
Proximity
Accelerometer
Gyroscope
Magnetometer
Ports USB-A 3.0
Mini DisplayPort 1.1
microSD card reader
Micro USB charging port
3.5mm Headset jack
Cover Connector
- Nano SIM card slot
Wireless Wi-fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
Bluetooth 4.0
Battery 28 Wh

Software

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Main articles: Windows 8.1 and Windows 10

Unlike its predecessors, the Surface 3 is the first device in the non-Pro line to feature the full Windows desktop OS as opposed to Windows RT. This therefore puts the device into the category of 2-in-1 PC, which cannot be said for its predecessors, the original Surface and Surface 2, due to their use of ARM processors.

Surface 3s purchased before 29 July 2015 come with Windows 8.1 but were upgradeable to Windows 10 for free.[15] After the Windows 10 release, consumer models of the Surface 3 shipped with Windows 10 Home, unlike the devices of the Surface Pro line, which shipped with Windows 10 Pro. Business models of the Surface 3 shipped with Windows 10 Pro.[16][15]

Accessories

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File:Microsoft Surface Pro 3 with Type Cover.jpg
Surface Pro 3 with red Type Cover

The Surface 3, as with its predecessors and Surface devices of a Pro line, features an optional Type Cover accessory—an attachable keyboard, which is also a protective cover for the screen, with an announced price of 129 USD.[17]

The Surface 3 is the first non-Pro Surface to support the Surface Pen. Unlike Surface Pro 3, however, it is not included with purchase, but is available for purchase separately.

Various aftermarket USB or Bluetooth peripheral devices, such as keyboards and mice can be connected to the Surface 3.

Configurations

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Surface 3 Configurations[14]
Price Tier (USD) CPU Integrated GPU RAM Internal Storage LTE
$449 Intel Atom x7-Z8700 Intel HD Graphics 2 GB 64 GB No
$599 Yes
4 GB 128 GB No
$699 Yes

Reception

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Surface 3 received generally positive reviews from computer critics. They praised Microsoft's shift from ARM architecture toward x86, and therefore from Windows RT to a regular Windows OS. Most noted a well designed chassis and accessories produced of quality materials, and overall premium feeling of use. While less powerful, the Surface 3 was a lighter and cheaper alternative to the Surface Pro 3. More importantly, the Surface 3 could compete at the high-end of Android and iPad tablets, with the advantage of being a device running a full desktop OS instead of a mobile OS for a similar price.[18] Reviewers also note that 37 GB[3] of the total storage space in the low-end Surface 3 is available to the user, while its close competitor, the low-end iPad Air 2, has only 12.5 GB of user-available storage space for the same price.[10][19]

The most common downsides are relatively low battery life, slower performance compared to devices with Intel Core processors[19][20] and a high price since accessories like Surface Pen and Type Cover are not included.[19][21][18]

Timeline

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Timeline of Surface devices
<timeline>

DateFormat=mm/dd/yyyy Define $start = 10/01/2012 Define $now = 06/20/2026 Define $later = 07/20/2027 Period = from:$start till:$later Define $skip = at:end # Force a blank line Define $dayunknown = 15 # what day to use if it's actually not known ImageSize= width:800 height:auto barincrement:36 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:5 left:20 bottom:95 top:5

Colors = 

    id:rtodd        value:rgb(0.65,0.95,0.99)    Legend:Surface_RT
    id:rteven       value:rgb(0.81,0.98,1)
    id:goodd             value:rgb(0.78,0.82,1)       Legend:Surface_Go
    id:goeven            value:rgb(0.88,0.91,1)
    id:goplus            value:rgb(0.93,0.95,1)

    id:proodd            value:rgb(0.75,0.86,1)       Legend:Surface_Pro
    id:proeven           value:rgb(0.86,0.92,1)
    id:proplus           value:rgb(0.81,0.89,0.99)
    id:xodd              value:rgb(0.87,0.84,1)       Legend:Surface_Pro_X
    id:xeven             value:rgb(0.93,0.91,1)

    id:bookodd           value:rgb(1,0.79,0.79)       Legend:Surface_Book
    id:bookeven          value:rgb(1,0.89,0.89)

    id:laptopodd         value:rgb(1,0.84,0.67)       Legend:Surface_Laptop_1
    id:laptopeven        value:rgb(1,0.93,0.84)
    id:laptopgoodd       value:rgb(0.99,0.90,0.54)    Legend:Surface_Laptop_Go
    id:laptopgoeven      value:rgb(1,0.95,0.78)

    id:laptopstudioodd   value:rgb(0.85,0.98,0.62)    Legend:Surface_Laptop_Studio
    id:laptopstudioeven  value:rgb(0.93,0.99,0.80)
    id:laptopseodd       value:rgb(0.73,0.97,0.82)    Legend:Surface_Laptop_SE
    id:laptopseeven      value:rgb(1,0.95,0.78)

    id:hubodd            value:rgb(0.8,0.84,0.88)     Legend:Surface_Hub
    id:hubeven           value:rgb(0.89,0.91,0.94)
    id:studioodd         value:rgb(0.98,0.81,0.91)    Legend:Surface_Studio
    id:studioeven        value:rgb(0.99,0.91,0.95)
    id:studioplus        value:rgb(0.99,0.95,0.97)
    id:duoodd            value:rgb(0.85,0.85,0.85)    Legend:Surface_Duo
    id:duoeven           value:rgb(0.92,0.92,0.92)

    id:bg                value:gray(1)
    id:lightline         value:gray(0.9)
    id:lighttext         value:gray(0.7)
    id:current           value:gray(0.95)             Legend:Still_produced

BackgroundColors = canvas:bg ScaleMajor = gridcolor:lighttext unit:year increment:1 start:01/01/2013 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightline unit:month increment:3 start:10/01/2012 Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:1

BarData = 

 barset:rt
 barset:go
 barset:pro
 barset:prox
 barset:pro12
 barset:bookstudio
 barset:laptop
 barset:laptoparm
 barset:laptop13
 barset:laptopgo
 barset:laptopse
 barset:hub
 barset:studio
 barset:duo

PlotData = 

 width:18 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s

 barset:rt
   color:rtodd              from:10/26/2012 till:07/18/2013 text:"RT"
 barset:break
   color:rteven             from:10/22/2013 till:01/27/2015 text:"2"
 barset:break
   color:rtodd              from:05/05/2015 till:12/31/2016 text:"3"

 barset:go 
   color:goodd              from:07/10/2018 till:05/21/2020 text:"Go"
 barset:break
   color:goeven             from:05/21/2020 till:09/22/2021 text:"Go 2"
 barset:break
   color:goodd              from:09/22/2021 till:09/21/2023 text:"Go 3"
 barset:break
   color:goeven             from:09/21/2023 till:$now       text:"Go 4"
 barset:break
   color:current            from:$now till:end



 barset:pro
   color:proodd             from:02/09/2013 till:10/18/2013 text:"Pro"
 barset:break
   color:proeven            from:10/22/2013 till:06/16/2014 text:"Pro 2"
 barset:break
   color:proodd             from:06/20/2014 till:01/01/2017 text:"Pro 3"
 barset:break
   color:proeven            from:10/26/2015 till:01/01/2018 text:"Pro 4"
 barset:break
   color:proodd             from:06/15/2017 till:10/16/2018 text:"Pro (2017)"
 barset:break
   color:proeven            from:10/16/2018 till:10/22/2019 text:"Pro 6"
 barset:break
   color:proodd             from:10/22/2019 till:01/12/2021 text:"Pro 7"
 barset:break
   color:proplus            from:01/12/2021 till:09/22/2021 text:"Pro 7+"
 barset:break
   color:proeven            from:09/22/2021 till:10/12/2022 text:"Pro 8"
 barset:break
   color:proodd             from:10/12/2022 till:03/21/2024 text:"Pro 9"
 barset:break
   color:proeven            from:03/21/2024 till:02/18/2025 text:"Pro 10"
 barset:break
   color:proodd             from:02/18/2025 till:$now       text:"Pro (11th) (x64)"
 barset:break
   color:current            from:$now till:end

 barset:prox
   color:xodd               from:11/05/2019 till:10/13/2020 text:"Pro X"
 barset:break
   color:xeven              from:10/13/2020 till:10/12/2022 text:"Pro X SQ2"

 barset:break
   color:proodd             from:10/12/2022 till:06/18/2024 text:"Pro 9 (ARM)"
 barset:break
   color:proeven            from:06/18/2024 till:$now       text:"Pro (11th) (ARM)"
 barset:break
   color:current            from:$now till:end

 barset:pro12
   color:proodd             from:05/25/2025 till:$now       text:"Pro 12" (ARM)"
 barset:break
   color:current            from:$now till:end



 barset:bookstudio
   color:bookodd            from:10/26/2015 till:10/17/2017 text:"Book"
 barset:break
   color:bookeven           from:10/17/2017 till:05/21/2020 text:"Book 2"
 barset:break
   color:bookodd            from:05/21/2020 till:09/22/2021 text:"Book 3"
   $skip

 barset:break
   color:laptopstudioodd    from:09/22/2021 till:09/21/2023 text:"Laptop Studio"
 barset:break
   color:laptopstudioeven   from:09/21/2023 till:09/20/2025 text:"Laptop Studio 2"

 barset:laptop
   color:laptopodd          from:06/15/2017 till:10/16/2018 text:"Laptop"
 barset:break
   color:laptopeven         from:10/16/2018 till:10/22/2019 text:"Laptop 2"
 barset:break
   color:laptopodd          from:10/22/2019 till:04/13/2021 text:"Laptop 3"
 barset:break
   color:laptopeven         from:04/13/2021 till:10/12/2022 text:"Laptop 4"
 barset:break
   color:laptopodd          from:10/12/2022 till:03/21/2024 text:"Laptop 5
 barset:break
   color:laptopeven         from:03/21/2024 till:01/30/2025 text:"Laptop 6
 barset:break
   color:laptopodd          from:01/30/2025 till:$now       text:"Laptop 7 (x64)  
 barset:break
   color:current            from:$now till:end

 barset:laptoparm
   color:laptopodd          from:06/18/2024 till:$now       text:"Laptop 7 (ARM)
 barset:break
   color:current            from:$now till:end

 barset:laptop13
   color:laptopodd          from:05/20/2025 till:$now       text:"Laptop 13" (ARM)
 barset:break
   color:current            from:$now till:end

 barset:laptopgo
   color:laptopgoodd        from:10/01/2020 till:06/01/2022 text:"Laptop Go"
 barset:break
   color:laptopgoeven       from:06/01/2022 till:09/21/2023 text:"Laptop Go 2"
 barset:break
   color:laptopgoodd        from:09/21/2023 till:$now       text:"Laptop Go 3"
 barset:break
   color:current            from:$now till:end



 barset:laptopse
   color:laptopseodd        from:11/09/2021 till:$now       text:"Laptop SE"
 barset:break
   color:current            from:$now till:end
   $skip

 barset:studio
   color:studioodd          from:12/15/2016 till:10/16/2018 text:"Studio"
 barset:break
   color:studioeven         from:10/16/2018 till:10/12/2022 text:"Studio 2"
 barset:break
   color:studioodd          from:10/12/2022 till:12/31/2024 text:"Studio 2+

 barset:hub
   color:hubodd             from:07/01/2015 till:06/18/2019 text:"Hub"
 barset:break
   color:hubeven            from:06/18/2019 till:09/21/2023 text:"Hub 2S"
 barset:break
   color:hubodd             from:09/21/2023 till:$now       text:"Hub 3"
 barset:break
   color:current            from:$now till:end

barset:duo
   color:duoodd             from:09/10/2020 till:09/22/2021 text:"Duo"
barset:break
   color:duoeven            from:09/22/2021 till:09/22/2023 text:"Duo 2"
   $skip

</timeline>

References

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  1. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  2. ^ ARK | Intel® Atom™ x7-Z8700 Processor (2M Cache, up to 2.40 GHz). Ark.intel.com. Retrieved on 2015-10-31.
  3. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  4. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  5. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  6. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  7. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  8. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  9. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  10. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  11. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  12. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  13. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  14. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  15. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  16. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  17. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  18. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  19. ^ a b c Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  20. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  21. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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