Microsoft Surface is a family of touchscreen-based personal computer, tablet, and interactive whiteboard hardware products designed and developed by Microsoft. The majority of them run the Windows operating system and use Intel processors; the earliest models (Surface RT and Surface 2) ran on ARM32, and a select handful of models starting with the Surface Pro X in 2019 run on ARM64.
The Surface line has served as Microsoft's umbrella brand for PCs since it was first introduced in 2012, marking the company's first entry in building its own branded computers. It has since expanded to comprise several generations of hybrid tablets, 2-in-1 detachable notebooks, a convertible desktop all-in-one, an interactive whiteboard, and various accessories, many with unique form factors. Microsoft is also consolidating all other Microsoft hardware products such as PC accessories under the Surface brand as of 2023.
Devices
The Surface family currently features five main lines of devices:
The Surface Pro line of hybrid tablets, slightly larger and more powerful than Go, with similar, optional detachable keyboard accessories and optional digital pen. The Surface Laptop, a classic notebook with a 13-inch, 13.8-inch or 15-inch touchscreen. The Surface Laptop Ultra, a classic notebook. The Surface Hub, a touch screen interactive whiteboard designed for collaboration. The Surface RTX Spark Dev Box, a desktop PC targeted at developers.
There have been 9 other lines, however these lines have been deprecated:
The Surface line of tabletop computers, which featured PixelSense technology to recognize objects placed on the screen. The Surface Go line of hybrid tablets, with optional detachable keyboard accessories and optional digital pen. The Surface Laptop, a classic notebook with a 13.5-inch or 15-inch touchscreen aimed at students. The Surface Laptop Go, marketed as a more affordable alternative to the brand's premium laptops. The Surface Laptop SE, an entry-level laptop targeted at the education market, designed to be easier to repair by service partners for on-site repair. The Surface Book, a notebook with a detachable tablet screen. Some variants of the base include discrete graphics. The Surface Laptop Studio, a notebook with dual-pivoting screen to change into tablet mode. The Surface Studio, a 28-inch all-in-one desktop that adjusts into a digital drafting table with stylus and on-screen Surface Dial support. The Surface Duo, a dual-screen foldable Android phone.
Legend:
+Operating system support Model Release SupportLineSurfaceOSDateFinal OSEndedLifespanSurfaceSurface RTWindows RTOctober 26, 2012Windows RT 8.1 Update 3January 10, 2023Surface 2Windows RT 8.1October 22, 2013Windows RT 8.1 Update 3January 10, 2023Surface 3Windows 8.1 UpdateMay 5, 2015Windows 10 version 22H2October 14, 2025Surface GoSurface GoWindows 10 version 1709August 2, 2018Windows 10 version 22H2October 14, 2025Surface Go 2Windows 10 version 1809May 12, 2020Latest WindowsActiveSurface Go 3Windows 11 version 21H2October 5, 2021Latest WindowsActiveSurface Go 4Windows 11 version 22H2October 3, 2023Latest WindowsActiveSurface ProSurface ProWindows 8February 9, 2013Windows 10 version 22H2October 14, 2025Surface Pro 2Windows 8.1October 22, 2013Windows 10 version 22H2October 14, 2025Surface Pro 3Windows 8.1 UpdateJune 20, 2014Windows 10 version 22H2October 14, 2025Surface Pro 4Windows 10 version 1507October 26, 2015Windows 10 version 22H2October 14, 2025Surface Pro (2017)Windows 10 version 1703June 15, 2017Windows 10 version 22H2October 14, 2025Surface Pro 6Windows 10 version 1709October 16, 2018Latest WindowsActiveSurface Pro 7Windows 10 version 1809October 22, 2019Latest WindowsActiveSurface Pro X (1st)Windows 10 version 1903November 5, 2019Latest WindowsActiveSurface Pro X (2nd)Windows 10 version 2004October 13, 2020Latest WindowsActiveSurface Pro 7+Windows 10 version 2004January 11, 2021Latest WindowsActiveSurface Pro 8Windows 11 version 21H2October 5, 2021Latest WindowsActiveSurface Pro 9Windows 11 version 22H2October 25, 2022Latest WindowsActiveSurface Pro 10Windows 11 version 23H2April 9, 2024Latest WindowsActiveSurface Pro (11th generation)Windows 11 version 24H2June 18, 2024Latest WindowsActiveSurface Pro (12th generation)Windows 11 version 25H2June 16, 2026Latest WindowsActiveSurface Laptop SESurface Laptop SEWindows 11 SE version 21H2February 4, 2022Windows 11 SE version 24H2October 13, 2026Surface Laptop GoSurface Laptop GoWindows 10 version 1909October 27, 2020Latest WindowsActiveSurface Laptop Go 2Windows 11 version 21H2June 1, 2022Latest WindowsActiveSurface Laptop Go 3Windows 11 version 22H2October 3, 2023Latest WindowsActiveSurface LaptopSurface LaptopWindows 10 version 1703June 15, 2017Windows 10 version 22H2October 14, 2025Surface Laptop 2Windows 10 version 1709October 16, 2018Latest WindowsActiveSurface Laptop 3Windows 10 version 1809October 22, 2019Latest WindowsActiveSurface Laptop 4Windows 10 version 20H2April 20, 2021Latest WindowsActiveSurface Laptop 5Windows 11 version 22H2October 25, 2022Latest WindowsActiveSurface Laptop 6Windows 11 version 23H2April 9, 2024Latest WindowsActiveSurface Laptop (7th generation)Windows 11 version 24H2June 18, 2024Latest WindowsActiveSurface Laptop (8th generation)Windows 11 version 25H2May 19, 2026Latest WindowsActiveSurface BookSurface BookWindows 10 version 1507Windows 10 version 22H2October 14, 2025Surface Book with Performance BaseWindows 10 version 1607November 10, 2016Windows 10 version 22H2October 14, 2025 Surface Book 2 Windows 10 version 1703 November 16, 2017Windows 10 version 22H2October 14, 2025Latest WindowsActiveSurface Book 3Windows 10 version 1903May 21, 2020Latest WindowsActiveSurface Laptop StudioSurface Laptop StudioWindows 11 version 21H2October 5, 2021Latest WindowsActiveSurface Laptop Studio 2Windows 11 version 22H2October 3, 2023Latest WindowsActive Surface Laptop UltraSurface Laptop UltraWindows 11 version 26H1Fall 2026Latest WindowsActiveSurface StudioSurface StudioWindows 10 version 1607December 15, 2016Windows 10 version 22H2October 14, 2025Surface Studio 2Windows 10 version 1803October 2, 2018Latest WindowsActiveSurface Studio 2+Windows 11 version 22H2October 25, 2022Latest WindowsActiveSurface HubSurface HubWindows 10 Team version 1507June 1, 2015Windows 10 Team version 22H2October 14, 2025Surface Hub 2SWindows 10 Team version 1703April 17, 2019Latest WindowsActiveSurface Hub 3Windows 11 version 22H2October 3, 2023Latest WindowsActiveSurface DuoSurface DuoAndroid 10September 10, 2020Android 12.1September 10, 2023Surface Duo 2Android 11October 5, 2021Android 12.1October 21, 2024
History Microsoft first announced Surface at an event on June 18, 2012, presented by former CEO Steve Ballmer in Milk Studios Los Angeles. Surface was the first major initiative by Microsoft to integrate its Windows operating system with its own hardware, and is the first PC designed and distributed solely by Microsoft. Panos Panay was the general manager of the team that developed the Surface.
Sinofsky initially stated that pricing for the first Surface would be comparable to other ARM devices and pricing for Surface Pro would be comparable to current ultrabooks. Later, Ballmer noted the "sweet spot" for the bulk of the PC market was $300 to $800. Microsoft revealed the pricing and began accepting preorders for the 2012 Surface tablet, on October 16, 2012 "for delivery by 10/26". The device was launched alongside the general availability of Windows 8 on October 26, 2012. Surface Pro became available the following year on February 9, 2013. The devices were initially available only at Microsoft Stores retail and online, but availability was later expanded into other vendors.
In November 2012, Ballmer described the distribution approach to Surface as "modest" and on November 29 of that year, Microsoft revealed the pricing for the 64 GB and 128 GB versions the Surface Pro. The tablet would go on sale on February 9, 2013, in the United States and Canada. A launch event was set to be held on February 8, 2013, but was cancelled at the last minute due to the February 2013 nor'easter. The 128GB version of the tablet sold out on the same day as its release. Though there was less demand for the 64GB version because of the much smaller available storage capacity, supplies of the lower cost unit were almost as tight.
The following year, on March 30, 2015, it announced the Surface 3, a lower-cost and more compact version of the Surface Pro 3. On September 8, 2015, Microsoft announced the "Surface Enterprise Initiative", a partnership between Accenture, Avanade, Dell Inc., and HP, to "enable more customers to enjoy the benefits of Windows 10." As part of the partnership, Dell would resell Surface Pro products through its business and enterprise channels, and offer its existing enterprise services (including Pro Support, warranty, and Configuration and Deployment) for Surface Pro devices it sells.
Microsoft announced the Surface Pro 4 and the Surface Book, a hybrid laptop, at Microsoft October 2015 Event in New York on October 10, 2015. Microsoft began shipping Surface Hub devices on March 25, 2016. In June 2016, Microsoft confirmed production of the Surface 3 would stop in December of that year. No replacement product has been announced. Reports suggested this may have been a consequence of Intel discontinuing the Broxton iteration of the Atom processor. On October 26, 2016, at Microsoft's event, a Surface Studio and Surface Book with Performance Base was announced. A wheel accessory, the Surface Dial, was announced as well, and became available on November 10, 2016.
Immediately following the announcement of the Surface Laptop at the #MicrosoftEDU event on May 2, 2017, and the Microsoft Build 2017 developer conference, Microsoft announced the fifth-generation Surface Pro at a special event in Shanghai on May 23, 2017.
On May 15, 2018, Microsoft announced the Surface Hub 2, featuring a new rotating hinge and the ability to link multiple Hubs together.
In June 2018, Microsoft announced the Surface Go, a $400 Surface tablet with a 10-inch screen and 64 or 128 GB of storage.
On October 2, 2019, Microsoft announced the Surface Pro 7, the Surface Laptop 3, and the Surface Pro X. Both the Surface Pro 7 and the Surface Laptop 3 come with a USB-C port. The Surface Pro X comes with the Microsoft SQ1 ARM processor. Microsoft also teased two dual-screen devices: the Surface Neo, a dual screen tablet originally planned to run Windows 10X; and the Surface Duo, a dual screen mobile phone that runs Android. Both products were initially announced to be released in 2020, though the Surface Neo was delayed indefinitely. The Surface Duo was released on September 10, 2020.
On September 22, 2021, Microsoft announced the Surface Pro 8, the Surface Duo 2 and the Surface Laptop Studio.
Processor The first-generation Surface uses a quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 of the ARM architecture, as opposed to the Intel x64 architecture and therefore shipped with Windows RT, which was written for the ARM architecture. The second-generation Surface 2 added an Nvidia Tegra 4. The architecture limited Surface and Surface 2 to only apps from the Windows Store recompiled for ARM. With the release of the Surface 3, Microsoft switched the Surface line to the Intel x64 architecture, the same architecture found in the Surface Pro line. Surface 3 uses the Braswell Atom X7 processor.
The 2019 Surface Pro X uses a custom ARM64 SoC, the Microsoft SQ1. A revised model uses an updated version of the SoC, known as Microsoft SQ2.
Storage The Surface devices are released in six internal storage capacities: 32, 64, 128, 256, 512 GB and 1 TB. With the release of the third generation, the 32 GB model was discontinued. All models except the Surface Pro X also feature a microSDXC card slot, located behind the kickstand, which allow for the use of memory cards up to 200 GB.