Hardware comparison
Important information if you're on a market for a Surface tablet!
Difference between RT's and Pro's
There's a lot of confusion around the Surface RT and Pro models, let's get the facts straight! Surface or commonly known as a Surface RT was the first ever tablet released by Microsoft running the all new Windows RT, a Windows 8 made for ARM devices. The tablet shares the port layout and overall visual looks with its successor Surface 2.
Surface Pro was released later and has the port selection switched around and thicker. Pro models are also x86 based which means they got 64 bit Intel CPU's inside and support Wacom tablet PC styluses.
Surface Pro 2 is identical to Surface Pro with the difference being CPU generation and the amount of RAM + storage you could configure it with.
Direct comparison
Some people still get confused on which is which so here's a little table of context that compares both spec to spec!
| Surface RT | Surface 2 | Surface Pro | |
|---|---|---|---|
Chipset | Nvidia Tegra 3 | Nvidia Tegra 4 | Intel Core i5 3317U |
Screen | 10.6" 1366x768 | 10.6" 1920x1080 | 10.6" 1920x1080 |
Casing colour | Black | White | Black |
USB port spec | USB 2.0 | USB 3.0 | USB 3.0 |
Kickstand* | One stage | Two stage | One Stage |
Video out | Micro HDMI | Micro HDMI | Mini DisplayPort |
Stylus | NO | NO | YES |
x86 apps** | NO | NO | YES |
OS support | Windows RT Leaked Windows 10 ARM32 Linux | Windows RT Leaked Windows 10 ARM32 Linux | Any x86 compatible operating system that boots on UEFI |
Profile | Thin | Thin | Thick |
Cooling | Passive | Passive | Active |
RAM | 2GB | 2GB | 4GB |
Storage | 32GB / 64GB | 32GB / 64GB | 64GB / 128GB |
Keyboard*** | Type or Touch cover | Type or Touch cover | Type or Touch cover |
Cellular | NO | YES, optional | NO |
SD card | YES, under kickstand | YES, under kickstand | YES, on the side |
Note: Surface 2 Linux support is there but lacks essential hardware to easily boot and configure.
*Opening stage i.e two open stages.
**Theoretically under Windows RT you can run some ancient WinNT x86 applications using x86emu but performance is not great and does not work under leaked Windows 10 build due to missing files, possible to hack it up to run but not worth it.
***Surface 2 and Pro 1/2 can make use of the uncommon/rare Power Cover that has a built-in battery pack for extra runtime. On Surface RT it works as any normal cover minus the battery.
Side to side comparison
There's confusion online all the time on which is which, let's quickly break it down with some sample photos.
Photos below illustrate Surface 2 and Surface RT right next to each other. Latter being on the right side (black).
Surface 2 also looks slightly different on the front due to the white trim. Another notable difference is the screen resolution, which is higher so Windows has to scale the UI elements.
Surface RT (commonly listed as Surface) should NOT be confused for Surface Pro. Not only are both tablets VERY different in terms of internal specs and operating system but also physically.
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