Until recently, the biggest down side to Windows–based tablets was that the available music apps were lacking. (My i5–based Surface Pro 3, by comparison, scored 5645.) However, in use, the Surface 3 felt relatively snappy, whether running modern apps or older desktop applications. In terms of raw performance, the Surface 3 achieved a 64–bit multi–core score of 3412 in Geekbench 3, which surprised me in being quite a bit less than the iPad Air 2’s more impressive 4418.
There’s also a full–size USB 3 port and a Mini Display Port, and since the device is charged via a Micro USB port, this can also be used as a standard USB port as well. And should that later prove not to be enough, Surface 3 features a Micro SD card reader behind the kickstand, enabling you to expand the storage of the device. Now admittedly, the full Windows operating system takes up a hefty chunk of this (far more than iOS), but you’re still left with 36.7GB for your own apps and data. Both entry–level models are priced at £419 $499 (the iPad Air 2 starts at £399 $499) and feature 2GB of memory but where the iPad Air 2 offers just 16GB of storage, the Surface 3 has 64GB. Something else the Surface 3 lacks, though, is rather more welcome: there’s no fan.Ĭonsidering the Surface 3 purely as a tablet, its hardware stacks up pretty well against the iPad Air 2.
This is a shame, but is apparently due to Microsoft trying to keep the cost down. The only significant change design–wise is that the Surface 3’s kickstand offers three fixed positions, rather than the fantastic multi–position kickstand featured on the Surface Pro 3. But the Surface 3’s 10.8–inch, 1920 x 1280 display still looks pretty decent, and, since both third–generation Surfaces have the same 3:2 aspect ratio, apps look nearly identical on both tablets. Given the size of the Surface 3, the display obviously doesn’t offer the Pro 3’s 12-inch dimensions and 2160 x 1440 resolution. With its modern aesthetics, the Surface 3 is every bit as attractive and well–built as the Surface Pro 3, and its smaller size (267 x 187 x 8.7mm versus 292.1 x 201.4 x 9.1mm) and lighter weight (622 versus 800 grams) might actually make it more appealing to some prospective users. This is because the Surface 3 features a quad–core Intel Atom x7 processor running at 1.6GHz, rather than an ARM–based SoC (System on a Chip) as employed in the Surface RT and Surface 2, and other tablets like the iPad. It’s the baby brother of the Surface Pro 3, and the first non–Pro Surface to run full Windows 8.1 rather than the RT variant that powered previous generations. The Surface 3 is the latest tablet–that–can–replace–your–laptop from Microsoft. The Microsoft Surface 3 with optional Surface Pen and Type Cover.
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