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How the Microsoft Surface Pro 8 stacks up to the Surface Laptop Studio, Go 3, and more

How the Microsoft Surface Pro 8 stacks up to the Surface Laptop Studio, Go 3, and more

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A spec comparison for Microsoft’s 2021 hardware

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At its recent hardware event, Microsoft refreshed almost its entire lineup of Surface products (sorry, Surface Book, but you’re sitting this one out). The company showed off the new Surface Pro 8, the Go 3, and it capped off the proceedings with details about its interesting and transforming Surface Laptop Studio. There was more at the event, like the Wi-Fi version of the Pro X, as well as the Surface Duo 2 folding phone. Here are all of the biggest announcements if you wanted to see them in one place.

If you’re trying to figure out which of these new Windows 11-equipped machines you should buy, knowing their specs might help you make a decision. But given that they’re different sizes and marketed to different kinds of people, professions, and hobbies, this isn’t exactly a level playing field. And we won’t know exactly how they perform until we review, which will likely happen sometime in October. To give you a little more context, we’ve added the Surface Laptop 4 into the table below since it’s a relatively new model.

Until then, here are all of the specs that matter:

Microsoft Surface (2021) specs compared

CompareMicrosoft Surface Laptop StudioMicrosoft Surface Pro 8Microsoft Surface Pro XMicrosoft Surface Laptop 4 (13.5-inch)Microsoft Surface Go 3
Starting price$1,599$1,099 (not including accessories)$899 (not including accessories)$999$399 (not including accessories)
Dimensions18.94 x 228 x 323mm9.3 x 208 x 287mm (Type Cover adds about 5mm in thickness)7.3 x 208 x 287mm (Type Cover adds about 5mm in thickness)14.5 x 223 x 308mm8.3 x 175 x 245mm (Type Cover adds about 5mm in thickness)
Weight3.83 pounds (i7 model weighs 4 pounds)1.96 pounds (Type Cover adds 0.6 pounds)1.7 pounds (Type Cover adds 0.6 pounds)2.79 pounds1.2 pounds (Type Cover adds 0.5 pounds)
Screen options14.4-inch 2400 x 1600 display13-inch 2880 x 1920, 267ppi13-inch 2880 x 1920 display, 267ppi13.5-inch 2256 x 1504 display, 201ppi10.5-inch 1920 x 1280, 220ppi
Screen refresh rate120Hz120Hz60Hz60Hz60Hz
Storage256GB removeable SSD (supports up to 2TB)128GB removeable SSD (supports up to 1TB)128GB removeable SSD (supports up to 512GB)256GB removeable SSD (supports up to 1TB)64GB eMMC drive (supports up to 128GB SSD)
Memory16GB LPDDR4x RAM (supports up to 32GB)8GB LPDDR4x RAM (supports up to 32GB)8GB LPDDR4x RAM (supports up to 16GB)8GB LPDDR4x RAM (supports up to 32GB)4GB LPDDR3 RAM (supports up to 8GB)
ProcessorIntel Core i5-11300H, quad-core (supports up to Intel Core i7-11370H quad-core CPU)Intel Core i5-1135G7, quad-core (supports up to Intel's Core i7-1185G7 quad-core CPU)Microsoft SQ1 or SQ2 ARM-based CPU (based on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8cx and 8cx Gen 2, respectively)Intel Core i5-1135G7, quad-core (supports up to Intel's Core i7-1185G7 quad-core CPU, or AMD Ryzen 5 4680U hexa-core CPU)Intel Pentium Gold 6500Y, dual-core (supports up to Intel Core i3-10100Y quad-core CPU)
Processor wattage35W for both Intel CPUs28W for both Intel CPUsNot disclosed28W for both Intel CPUs, 15W for AMD CPU5W for both the 6500Y and 10100Y
GraphicsBase model utilizes Intel Iris Xe, but the i7 model uses Nvidia's RTX 3050 Ti 4GB graphicsIntel Iris Xe graphicsAdreno 685 or 690, depending on CPUIntel Iris Xe graphics for Intel CPUs, AMD Radeon Graphics for AMD CPUIntel UHD Graphics 615
USB-C portsTwo Thunderbolt 4 portsTwo Thunderbolt 4 portsTwo USB-C portsOne USB-C portOne USB-C port
USB Type A ports on deviceNoneNoneNoneOne USB-A portNone
Other portsSurface Connect portSurface Connect and Surface Type Cover portSurface Connect and Surface Type Cover port (LTE model has a nano SIM tray)Surface Connect portSurface Connect and Surface Type Cover port (LTE model has a nano SIM tray)
microSD card readerNoNoNoNoYes
Ethernet portNoNoNoNoNo
Headphone portYesYesNoYesYes
Battery58Wh51.5Wh51.5Wh47.4Wh28Wh
Battery life claimsUp to 19 hours in i5 model, up to 18 with i7Up to 16 hoursUp to 15 hoursUp to 19 hours with AMD CPU, up to 17 with Intel CPUUp to 11 hours
Power adapter60W with 5W USB-A charging port for i5 model, 95W with 7W USB-A charging port for i7 model60W with 5W USB-A charging port60W with a 5W USB-A charging port65W with a 5W USB-A charging port24W
Front webcamWindows Hello 1080p webcamWindows Hello 5MP 1080p webcamWindows Hello 5MP 1080p webcamWindows Hello 720p webcamWindows Hello 5MP 1080p webcam
Rear webcamN/A10MP 1080p and 4K autofocus camera10MP 1080p and 4K autofocus cameraN/A8MP 1080p autofocus camera
Wi-FiWi-Fi 6Wi-Fi 6Wi-Fi 5Wi-Fi 6Wi-Fi 6
Bluetooth5.15.1555
ConnectivityWi-Fi onlyWi-Fi, with an LTE (SIM, eSIM) option available for enterpriseWi-Fi, with the option of upgrading to get LTEWi-Fi onlyWi-Fi, with the option of upgrading to get LTE

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