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Surface Pro 3 Announcement
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Microsoft announces the Surface Pro 3, a 12-inch tablet with high-resolution display

By Sam Sabri, Tuesday, May 20, 2014 at 11:28 am EDT

The Surface Pro 3 is real. Microsoft has just announced the new tablet/ultrabook at a private press event in New York City. The Surface Pro 3 is a new model in the Surface family that introduces a handful of firsts. Info after the break.

The Surface Pro 3 is as crazy as you think it is. It’s faster than the Surface Pro 2. Here are some specs:

  • 12-inch display
  • 2160 x 1440 resolution
  • 3x2 aspect ratio
  • Multi-friction kickstand
  • 9.1mm thin
  • 800g

The Surface Pro 3 will go on sale tomorrow starting at $799. That gets you an Intel Core i3 version. You can also get an Intel Core i5 and Intel Core i7 configurations. Here's the breakdown:

  • i3-4GB RAM-64GB - $799
  • i5-4GB RAM-128GB - $999
  • i5-8GB RAM-256GB - $1299
  • i7-8GB RAM-256GB - $1549
  • i7-8GB RAM-512GB - $1949

Keep your eyes here on Windows Phone Central as we bring you hands-on photos and videos shortly! 

Sam Sabri Managing Editor

"Windows Phone 24/7. XBL Gamertag - GeneralSham. Instagram/Twitter/Etc - samsabri"

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Reader comments

Microsoft announces the Surface Pro 3, a 12-inch tablet with high-resolution display

280 Comments
MERCDROID

In terms of sales, maybe not. But, as an iPad user, I can say that it will definitely beat the iPad in terms of functionality.

SocalTouch

SP1 and SP2 beat iPad in functionality but not looks/package. This SP3 beats iPad in both functionality and looks/engineering by a mile!

hotraia

Fuck the iPad there is nothing better than windows 8 and the surface and when that are together that the best.
And there's nothing the does better than surface,90% of the apps and games that run on the windows doesn't run on iPad.
You guys get real.

erzhik

They don't need to run on iPad, because every single major developer develops for iPad. Even Microsoft themselves develop for iPad quicker than for Surface. Being a fan boy is one thing, but constantly bashing a product just because it oversells yours is ridiculous.

hotraia

First what the heck are you talking about what are the apps that developed on iPad from Microsoft before surface or you just making new things from your mind, and I can't lie iPad have more people to buy, but every video compressing between the to of them surface is better by performance and every thing, and the iPad is older from the surface so it's supposed to be like that. The iPad is like a small part of the surface.
(sorry if there are any mistakes in my righting)

MERCDROID

First, calm down, lol. You seem to be taking this way too personal.

Second, the only app that comes to mind is Skype. More often than not, Skype receives updates on both Android and iOS, before it does on Windows Phone, simply because of the amount of people using it on this platforms.

Third, the iPad is better for some things, and the Surface is better for others. No product is perfect: as much as you love Microsoft products, even you can admit that.

hotraia

I agree and disagree, I agree that there's nothing perfect but there's something is better than something and if there are updates for android and ios for Skype and there isn't for surface, that means every os app have his own bugs.

RayWP7

Yup.  The only gotcha is that each company is designing for different needs.  The iPad, for instance, is definitely designed for a specific audience.  Except for custom applications such as Point-of-Sale, etc, it is meant as a consumer appliance with not-quite-the-same-productivity expectations as a laptop or desktop.  Microsoft is attempting to eliminate the one-trick-pony mentality, as it were, and design for a broad audience and provide something that can do everything.  One things SP3 fails at is not having a AutoCAD optimized 27" display with backpack harness not to mention My Tiny Death Star will probably look pretty ridiculous #FAILSP3NOT6OR27INCHES (j/k)

What ever your opinion is, this is another step in the right direction.  This kind of innovation around form factor and experience/utility continues to push boundaries.  This helps technology as a whole.  Even though MS had Windows Mobile enabled phones back in the day, it was Apple that made smart phones a profound success - their exclusively beat out even Moto's RAZR.  Microsoft is trying to do this with mobile computing and getting people accustomed to the idea that we don't have to settle just because we seek a table form factor.

Which brings me to the next failure.  I'm pretty sure I can't play Crysis on this. :(  #FAILSP3CANTPLAYCRYSIS (j/k, again)

Novron

Everything I might have used an iPad for, this new Surface Pro will eliminate.  My biggest problem with the Surface Pro was weight and aspect ratio for reading.  That appears to be corrected.

MERCDROID

Yeah, same here. As much as apps are brought up, I don't use many apps from either the App Store or Google Play. So, something like this would be perfect for me. But, due to there being no Surface Mini, I will be buying the Venue 8 Pro to complement my iPad and 1520.

paraesthetic

Really though the problem with the iPad is that the people who buy it are are retarded. And generally don't know our case about what technology is in it. They just want what their friends have because they are sheep.

BlackGoku

Feel lucky that Microsoft released office for u Ipad users.Windows 8.1 and wp8.1 is just amazing.I don't think Apple will be a competitior when 9 releases.Good luck till then.

McWall

I agree that the iPad is a good product and at the moment has far more developers working with them. However, If Microsoft keeps going the direction it is going now. They will do what they did in the game console market! The Xbox is over 40 % of the market. That have the talent and the money to do it!

pr0phecy

Why on EARTH people are still comparing this to an ipad??? WTF.

The ipad doesn't even have a say in this if it concerns actual productivity and functionality. The ipad can't even see the tail lights of ANY Surface product to date, let alone a SP3!

So people pleaseeee stop comparing a full fledged (and then some) PC with an ipad. For the sake of all humans. 

Kaymd

Thanks for this response! It's ridiculous to bring the iPad into this discussion, even insulting! Geez!!! We are talking Surface Pro here people, not some toy!

Kumar Gaurav

i think you are confusing rt with pro... ipad cant compare to surface pro when it comes to os and functionalities. ipad will be better than rt for sure but not pro ever 

umovies

well actually they will but apple wont let that happen, like they used to be the power pc but apple stopped that cause they ran faster than their apples, so technically it would very easily even using an emulator but apple wont allow, cause no one would buy a ipad ever again

TLRtheory

Surface pro doesn't need iPad's little baby mobile watered down apps, its got the full versions they halfheartedly imitate.

deejohdumb

Half the studends in my grad school have iPads, yet they take notes on their laptops... I use my Surface to do everything. Seems to me like the Surface is significantly more productive. There are aspects of the iPad that are better. It all depends on what you want to do. 

1armedGeek

Right.  I have an iPad.  It's ok, but I am hopefully getting a SP3 as soon as it comes out.

Cant really do work on the iPad.  Imagine doing a paper on it.  Editing is such a nightmare.  It's great for Angry Birds, though.

Studio384

In sales? No. In power, screen, usability, productivity, consuming content and somewhat every other scenario. Yes.

Jean Sagarese

I do think it can beat the iPad, heck my Lumia 2520 beat my old iPad today, only buffered twice during the presentation and I didn't have to be standing near the window in my office to see the entire thing - I had LTE on both tablets and the only one that has not had issues is the 2520 - couldn't even check email on the iPad if not standing at the window or trying to read it in the sun

bbqrooster

Yes, it is real. You just don't see the reality as you are blinded by the shiny ipad. If Microsoft Surface is in a shiny package, you might see the light.

1armedGeek

I have an iPad.  I like it, but I am soooooooooooooooo getting the Surface Pro 3.

I can't do real work on the iPad.  It's great for games and social media, though.

I hate, hate, hate typing on iPads.

 

brorim

Every single program developed for pc runs on the pro so you can take your puny appstore and go play with it in the sandbox with the other kids

Rajat Malhotra

Wait a minute...u mean to say the surface pro runs a full fledged version of Windows 8?....
Sorry my knowledge about surface devices is limited

lubbalots

I'm just stating what the nimrod press has complained about. IPad is awesome due to apps. Even though you can't do Jack shirt with it like the surface pro, it has apps.

Kaymd

Lol, don't mind them, they have absolutely no clue.. iPad vs. Surface Pro, is that some sick joke or something? *Sigh*

Saksham Sharma

Ok. Try playing nfs most wanted (original one, not the baby version) on ipad.. Apps are useless when you have a full file system running .exe programs, the most powerful (and misused too ?) extension ever.

Saksham Sharma

What i think, most people stick to macbooks because of (a) iPhone (b) battery (c) the old misconception that windows is laggy and crashing (d) more 'clean' as compared to legacy systems. I do think all that has changed with win8, but not battery, sadly.

MilkyTee

Have you got concrete floors in your house? Do you browse the web on your Surface when you're strolling down the street?

jgschwandtner

Actually, it's quite possible. Our garage has concrete, and one of our family members dropped a Lumia 1020. It stopped working, but thankfully AT&T replaced it. If you take the Surface Pro with you and don't put it in a bag, you could very well drop it. Not everyone holds nothing but the tablet. For instance, I might have it under my arm while I put an infant carrier into the car, and could very well let it slip.

Deaconclgi

Why wouldn't you put your tablet down somewhere to ensure you don't drop it or drop the infant? Responsibility should say "Let me put my tablet down so I don't risk breaking it and then I can get the infant secured".

 

Coming from a parent of 2.

Infamy79

Dedicated GPU in something so small and thin, are you serious?
Its not a gaming machine, it seemed to handle Revit & Photoshop pretty well on stage

brorim

It has a dedicated gpu. We have to treat the intel graphics with a bit more respect. The surface pro 1 actually runs quite a few games pretty well even on the hd4000. I'm guessing there is at least a 4400 in the S3

Saksham Sharma

I'm assuming it can run games like nfs most wanted and other keyboard based games easily ? (not the high end graphics ones obviously)

Saksham Sharma

Its GPU was older. I remember my friend had a laptop with Intel HD, bought 3 years ago. He used to run max payne 2 with phenomenal frame rates. (though max payne isn't something you can play on a surface, needs a proper mouse)

Yousef Kawmi

well, one simple search and wasn't disappointed.
Battlefield 4 on Surface pro 1/2 it's working just fine, not the best settings/FPS but still better than my 3 years old laptop D: with AMD GPU

Saksham Sharma

Oh really ? And you say it doesn't work well on your 3 year old laptop ? Does it have a graphic card ? I got a 4 year old, with 2.2ghz AMD dual core processor and ATI mobility radeon 512mb dedicated graphics. What are the chances that i can play bf4 on the lowest settings ?

Saksham Sharma

What confused me was that you said AMD graphics, that would usually be taken as embedded graphics running from the north bridge of the motherboard, and using system RAM. Just the way Intel hd graphics work, use the processor's power for the GPU. Anyway, I'm in for tough luck then, trying to run bf4 on my laptop :))

Cleavitt76

He said an iPad Air, not a MacBook Air.

 

In fairness, it should be compared to both.  As in, MacBook Air + iPad = Surface Pro.

Falko Noe

I'm kind of annoyed at how obnoxious she was during this entire press event. When the camera was on her she seemed to do everything in her power to do mock the Surface Pro 3.

Deaconclgi

I agree, especially when he said that once OneNote syncs, she would have the note that he wrote on and she can be seen saying "I don't have it, I don't have it, I don't have it" (or some combination of words that means she did not have the note) several times on camera. It was like she was trying to make it seem like the Surface Pro 3 wasn't that good, things didn't work and that she was confused by it somehow.

Sean D.

Exact same thing I thought when I saw her reaction to it. And it's the exact same smug bullshit that's messing this industry up.

Kaymd

Can't expect much from people that have no clue, not even the faintest idea of the sheer brilliance and supreme effort that goes into these devices... It's very painful when they just dismiss out of hand so many feats of engineering and design, but I guess that's the world we live in now, it's all about the press and media...

Corvodin

She really did look like she decided that the SP3 was crap the moment she saw it. Maybe it's just the way she is in general, but maybe she is bias, I don't know, I don't keep track of her work.

deejohdumb

This thing is AWESOME! His argument for the surface was great and I loved that he called everybody out for having their laptops and ipads. 

deejohdumb

I was thinking the same thing. It seems like it would easily to accidently hit the start button, considering most people hold the tablet on the sides. 

papanoongaku

most people hold a piece of paper on the long side. and it's 3:2 so the primary idea is for portrait use. it's much better than 16:9

JM_T

Then you hold it on the other side. Having the button on the shorter side is better when you are using it in portrait mode, assuming the camera and light sensor are still in the same position. It makes sense, so that you have one of the short side and one of the long side free for you to hold at any orientation. Your hands wont have to interfere with any button or camera/sensor.

Corvodin

One would think that it's because the keyboard attaches to the lower part of the bezel where it was on previous generations. Once you do that, you would't be able to use the home button. 

BonomDenej

Is 9.1mm a typo ? This is crazy thin compared to the Surface Pro 2 ! How can they make everything more powerful and put all this in an even smaller chassis ? oO

BonomDenej

That's 4.3mm thinner than the Surface Pro 2. I guess the modified aspect ratio is responsible for this but still, it's damn impressive.

lubbalots

I think this is meant to draw those Mac crazed audience. Look how they feel so entitled just because they have a Mac.

lubbalots

I've been told "once you go Mac, you won't go back." My own pitch, "once you go surface pro, you won't say no." ... And Mac is just a a ho... What you think of that?

mpt15

Is this going to stay in the US and UK?. If yes, then it's a fail. There are other countries in the world, and Microsoft needs to enter other markets if they want to gain market share. The first 2 generations weren't launched in most of the world, what can we expect from the 3rd gen? I'm beginning to lose my patience.

slbailey1

I want a Surface Mini!!! If one is not announced today I will buy the Nexus 8 and forget about the Surface line. Office is coming to Android any way.

Posted via the WPC App for Android!

lubbalots

You must have not watched or paid attention to the event: Surface pro 3 mobile, light, c can be used with one hand, fitting in your purse it's over board necessity.

Corvodin

Well, so can a phone, for instance a 6 inch lumia 1520. You can't really do much on an 8 inch tablet. Multitasking becomes a pain in the ass, you can't work with office very well, you'd need a seperate device for that. In the end it'd come down to taking notes, watchin netflix and such. That's my view  I can perfectly understand that you'd like something else. 

slbailey1

My Original Nexus 7 works great for me, except for 2 things.
1. I want a little larger screen size for web browsing - an 8" screen size is perfect.
2. I want all web pages I go to be the full website and all embedded links to work.
Posted via the WPC App for Android!

Deaconclgi

LIke someone mentioned above. The Dell Venue 8 Pro. Full Windows 8 does everything that RT does so you will get your 1 and 2 above but with the added compatibility of being able to use whatever web browsers that you want. Go ahead and use FireFox, Chrome or any other of your favorite browsers that are not available on RT but are available on Windows.

 

Why have the limits of RT when you can have Windows 8.1 Update and create your OWN limits. Don't use Windows programs because you don't want to use them, not because you can't use them in RT.

You are not losing anything with Windows, you are gaining what RT offers and gaining everything that RT doesn't have. Also, full windows isn't slower or any other negative connotations that you may or may not have read somewhere.

 

AvatarEW

Don't bother waiting for the Surface mini.  Get the Venue 8 Pro (64GB).

 

I use it more than both my Surface Pro and Pro 2 because of its portability.

slbailey1

I am going to wait until Google I/O before I make a decision about my next tablet. When I got home from work, I loaded Firefox on my Nexus 7 and it solved my browser problems! HTC is rumored to be making the Nexus 8. Hopefully it will have an active digitizer. A pen is not a must have for me but it would be nice to have one.

Posted via the WPC App for Android!

cannon#WP

I still don't get releasing the SP3 only 6 months after the SP2. It feels like they either rushed it out didn't believe in the SP2. Even if they just called this thing the "Surface Pro 2 XL" it might come across better.

Deaconclgi

Here is one example: The iPad 3 came out March 16, 2012 and the iPad 4 came out November 2, 2012....what was worse is that the iPad 3 and iPad 4 had the same name in some markets: iPad with Retina Display. Confusing? No?

 

FeedTheShark

How on earth is "Surface Pro 2 XL" a better name?

The Surface 2 was good, but it was too small to replace a laptop & too heavy to use a tablet. This fixes both those problems. Does it suck for people who bought the 2 that it's out so soon, yes, but given sales of the 2 are mediocre I think it's a smart move to bring this out as soon as it's ready. I think under Ballmer they'd have waited a year between releases. I prefer this faster MS.

Shame I just bought a laptop, would have been bloody tempted by this depending on the price.

Soner Ali

So any news on pricing and release date? I was on the fence for a Surface pro 2 due to its size, but this is PERFECT. 

Zulfigar

Both were already in the article, but...

i3-4GB RAM-64GB - $799

  • i5-4GB RAM-128GB - $999
  • i5-8GB RAM-256GB - $1299
  • i7-8GB RAM-256GB - $1549
  • i7-8GB RAM-512GB - $1949

 

Due out tomorrow.

jamon723

NEED FLASH TO WATCH EVENT BROADCAST!?!? Really, MS? Guess you wouldn't want someone with a Windows Phone to be able to watch it...

neonspark

it is a 3:2 screen sadly. probably the biggest downer of the whole thing. but I suppose they really think people use these things in tall format which off course, makes no sense as a laptop replacement.

MERCDROID

Oh ok. Yeah, I've never used a device with that aspect ratio. Still, I'm excited to play around with one in-store!!

Still have my fingers crossed for a surface mini, though.

houkoholic

Actually 3:2 is the perfect magic ratio, it would just shut everyone up regarding how the iPad 4:3 ratio is superior to 16:9 in portrait while at the same time would satisfy all those people who want 16:10 in landscape.  This is not a downer at all, it's the jackpot.

Dk92

They're trying to make sure former iPad users don't have a hard time transitioning over to the surface. At least that's my guess..

Yangstax

The SP3 uses 3:2 aspect ratio instead of 16:9, so the horizonal pixels are less if the vertical pixels are kept at same 1440 pixels.

Infamy79

Not really sure there is a new processor to justify a Surface 3 yet, kinda disappointing that they didn't release the 7.5" Surface today also, even though the 12" is the one I would buy.

neonspark

8GB should be the standard really. Like with my SP2, I will have to spend 1300 bucks just to have a decent RAM allocation when in fact the cheaper device has all the specs I'd want, minus ram.

trmnrs

Words can't explain how happy I am with Microsoft. It drives me insane when people flock around with their iPads and MacBooks flaunting how amazing it is. I'm getting this a) to definitely replace my laptop, and b) to prove how wrong they've been splurging on pointless Apple products.

OMG55

I'll be in line right behind you....bye bye Nokia 2520, you just go canned. Not this its bad, but this will be all I Need.

Pacs_R_Us

I wonder if they will do some sort of exchange program. Give a previous generation surface, get a discount. Thatd be nice tho im not gonna hold my breath for it.

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