Here's our breakdown of how the Surface 2 stacks up against the Surface Pro 3.

Pros and Cons of the Surface 2

The Surface 2 tablet has a sturdy build, a decent battery life as well as nice hardware design. It's got a high-quality camera and the processor is capable of giving a smooth gaming experience. On the other hand, the app support is not satisfactory and Windows RT is not compatible with the legacy programs.

Pros and Cons of the Surface Pro 3

High quality display and 10 finger multi-touch supports are no doubt the biggest pros of the Surface Pro 3. It is easier to use as a standalone device and comes with a full-friction kickstand. That being said, the downside of the Pro 3 is that it is really heavy and bulky for a slate tablet, and despite its large frame there are still hardware defects being reported (see more below). A full SD card slot is lacking and the Type Cover must be purchased separately. The Surface Pro 3 no doubt has some great functionality and applications over the Surface 2, but the bulky design makes it difficult to carry around.

Specs

The Surface 2 has a 10.6 inch display with 1920x1080 pixel resolution along with fourth gen Intel Core i5 processor and 4 GB (extendable up to 8GB) RAM. It has an extendable memory up to 512 GB and reportedly the battery supports continuous video playback of up to 7 hours.

The Surface Pro 3 comes with a screen size of 12 inches and 2160x1440 pixel resolution. It runs on a fourth-gen Intel Core i7 processor. The front camera is 3.5 megapixels and the rear one is 5 megapixels.

Talking Points

In the late August, Microsoft cut down the price of the Surface 2, 64GB tablet by $100, and it took only till the mid-September for the tablet to go out of stock due to huge demand.

The Surface 3 was introduced by Microsoft as a next generation version of laptop that can replace your tablet. The device experienced such a huge demand at its launch that in several markets the whole stock was sold out within a day. However, some overheating issues of the device were reported, and the fix for the issue is expected to come out soon.

Price

The Surface 2 currently retails with a starting price of $449, and the popular versions of the Surface 3 are priced around $1000 and above.

Conclusion

If you are really planning to replace your computer with a sleeker device, the Surface Pro 3 is no doubt a better choice, but in case it is just another addition to your gadget collection, the Surface 2 can easily serve its purpose.