<s>
Surface	B-Device
3	I-Device
is	O
a	O
2-in-1	O
detachable	O
from	O
the	O
Microsoft	B-Device
Surface	I-Device
series	O
,	O
introduced	O
by	O
Microsoft	O
in	O
2015	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
its	O
predecessor	O
,	O
the	O
Surface	B-Device
2	I-Device
,	O
Surface	B-Device
3	I-Device
utilizes	O
an	O
x86	B-Operating_System
Intel	B-Application
Atom	I-Application
system-on-chip	B-Architecture
architecture	O
,	O
or	O
SoC	B-Architecture
,	O
rather	O
than	O
a	O
processor	O
with	O
ARM	B-Architecture
architecture	I-Architecture
such	O
as	O
the	O
Nvidia	B-Operating_System
Tegra	I-Operating_System
that	O
powered	O
the	O
Surface	B-Device
2	I-Device
,	O
and	O
runs	O
standard	O
versions	O
of	O
Windows	B-Device
8.1	I-Device
or	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
10	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
older	O
,	O
original	O
Surface	B-Device
(	O
also	O
known	O
as	O
Surface	B-Device
RT	I-Device
)	O
and	O
Surface	B-Device
2	I-Device
,	O
with	O
their	O
ARM-based	O
processors	O
and	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
RT	I-Operating_System
operating	O
system	O
,	O
were	O
designed	O
to	O
compete	O
with	O
the	O
iPad	B-Device
and	O
other	O
tablets	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
Surface	B-Device
was	O
criticized	O
for	O
performance	O
issues	O
,	O
which	O
were	O
reduced	O
in	O
the	O
succeeding	O
Surface	B-Device
2	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
the	O
differing	O
processors	O
,	O
these	O
devices	O
were	O
incompatible	O
with	O
the	O
vast	O
number	O
of	O
Windows	O
programs	O
written	O
for	O
x86-based	O
computers	O
,	O
running	O
only	O
those	O
written	O
and	O
compiled	O
for	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
RT	I-Operating_System
,	O
loaded	O
from	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
application	O
store	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Released	O
prior	O
to	O
Surface	B-Device
3	I-Device
,	O
the	O
Surface	B-Device
Pro	I-Device
3	I-Device
–	O
featuring	O
a	O
more	O
powerful	O
Intel	B-Device
Core	I-Device
processor	O
,	O
and	O
running	O
the	O
standard	O
version	O
of	O
Windows	O
8	O
–	O
became	O
a	O
profitable	O
product	O
for	O
Microsoft	O
in	O
late	O
2014	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
had	O
a	O
starting	O
price	O
of	O
$799	O
,	O
featuring	O
a	O
larger	O
display	O
,	O
and	O
competed	O
with	O
high-end	B-Device
ultraportable	I-Device
laptops	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
the	O
Surface	B-Device
3	I-Device
,	O
Microsoft	O
aimed	O
to	O
make	O
a	O
product	O
more	O
affordable	O
than	O
the	O
Surface	B-Device
Pro	I-Device
3	I-Device
,	O
at	O
the	O
expense	O
of	O
screen	O
size	O
and	O
performance	O
,	O
while	O
retaining	O
the	O
broad	O
software	O
compatibility	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Surface	B-Device
Pro	I-Device
3	I-Device
was	O
replaced	O
by	O
the	O
Surface	B-Device
Pro	O
4	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
Surface	B-Device
3	I-Device
was	O
discontinued	O
after	O
a	O
year	O
and	O
a	O
half	O
,	O
with	O
no	O
similar	O
successor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
year	O
and	O
a	O
half	O
later	O
,	O
the	O
Surface	B-Device
Go	I-Device
–	O
with	O
similar	O
characteristics	O
,	O
but	O
improved	O
performance	O
–	O
was	O
introduced	O
,	O
followed	O
by	O
successor	O
models	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Surface	B-Device
3	I-Device
share	O
a	O
similar	O
design	O
to	O
the	O
Surface	B-Device
Pro	I-Device
3	I-Device
with	O
a	O
body	O
made	O
of	O
magnesium	O
alloy	O
giving	O
a	O
matte	O
gray	O
finish	O
to	O
the	O
back	O
of	O
the	O
device	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Surface	B-Device
3	I-Device
does	O
not	O
have	O
a	O
fan	O
,	O
therefore	O
lacking	O
the	O
ventilation	O
holes	O
seen	O
on	O
Surface	B-Device
Pro	O
line	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Surface	B-Device
3	I-Device
weighs	O
620	O
grams	O
features	O
a	O
diagonal	O
multi-touch	B-Application
display	O
with	O
a	O
3:2	O
aspect	B-General_Concept
ratio	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
a	O
charger	O
Surface	B-Device
3	I-Device
uses	O
a	O
standard	O
Micro-USB	O
,	O
giving	O
users	O
a	O
wider	O
variety	O
of	O
charging	O
options	O
,	O
including	O
charging	O
the	O
device	O
with	O
a	O
mobile	O
phone	O
charger	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Surface	B-Device
3	I-Device
has	O
the	O
14	B-Algorithm
nm	I-Algorithm
quad-core	B-Architecture
Intel	B-Application
Atom	I-Application
x7-Z8700	O
SoC	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Atom	B-Application
x7-Z8700	O
is	O
able	O
to	O
drive	O
up	O
to	O
three	O
external	O
displays	O
over	O
Mini	B-Protocol
DisplayPort	I-Protocol
and	O
support	O
a	O
resolution	B-General_Concept
of	O
up	O
to	O
4K	B-Architecture
with	O
a	O
single	O
external	O
display	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
2-in-1	O
'	O
s	O
own	O
display	O
has	O
a	O
resolution	B-General_Concept
of	O
1920x1280	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
device	O
ships	O
with	O
either	O
a	O
64	O
or	O
128	O
GB	O
solid-state	B-Device
drive	I-Device
and	O
2	O
or	O
4	O
GB	O
of	O
system	B-Architecture
memory	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
device	O
's	O
storage	O
capacity	O
can	O
be	O
increased	O
by	O
installing	O
a	O
microSD	O
memory	B-Device
card	I-Device
of	O
up	O
to	O
1	O
TB	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
its	O
predecessors	O
,	O
the	O
Surface	B-Device
3	I-Device
is	O
the	O
first	O
device	O
in	O
the	O
non-Pro	O
line	O
to	O
feature	O
the	O
full	O
Windows	O
desktop	O
OS	O
as	O
opposed	O
to	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
RT	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
therefore	O
puts	O
the	O
device	O
into	O
the	O
category	O
of	O
2-in-1	B-Device
PC	I-Device
,	O
which	O
cannot	O
be	O
said	O
for	O
its	O
predecessors	O
,	O
the	B-Device
original	I-Device
Surface	I-Device
and	O
Surface	B-Device
2	I-Device
,	O
due	O
to	O
their	O
use	O
of	O
ARM	B-Architecture
processors	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Surface	B-Device
3s	I-Device
purchased	O
before	O
29	O
July	O
2015	O
come	O
with	O
Windows	B-Device
8.1	I-Device
but	O
were	O
upgradeable	O
to	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
10	I-Operating_System
for	O
free	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
the	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
10	I-Operating_System
release	O
,	O
consumer	O
models	O
of	O
the	O
Surface	B-Device
3	I-Device
shipped	O
with	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
10	I-Operating_System
Home	O
,	O
unlike	O
the	O
devices	O
of	O
the	O
Surface	B-Device
Pro	O
line	O
,	O
which	O
shipped	O
with	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
10	I-Operating_System
Pro	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Business	O
models	O
of	O
the	O
Surface	B-Device
3	I-Device
shipped	O
with	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
10	I-Operating_System
Pro	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Surface	B-Device
3	I-Device
,	O
as	O
with	O
its	O
predecessors	O
and	O
Surface	B-Device
devices	O
of	O
a	O
Pro	O
line	O
,	O
features	O
an	O
optional	O
Type	O
Cover	O
accessory	O
—	O
an	O
attachable	O
keyboard	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
also	O
a	O
protective	O
cover	O
for	O
the	O
screen	O
,	O
with	O
an	O
announced	O
price	O
of	O
129	O
USD	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Surface	B-Device
3	I-Device
is	O
the	O
first	O
non-Pro	O
Surface	B-Device
to	O
support	O
the	O
Surface	B-Device
Pen	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
Surface	B-Device
Pro	I-Device
3	I-Device
,	O
however	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
not	O
included	O
with	O
purchase	O
,	O
but	O
is	O
available	O
for	O
purchase	O
separately	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Various	O
aftermarket	O
USB	O
or	O
Bluetooth	B-Protocol
peripheral	O
devices	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
keyboards	O
and	O
mice	O
can	O
be	O
connected	O
to	O
the	O
Surface	B-Device
3	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Surface	B-Device
3	I-Device
received	O
generally	O
positive	O
reviews	O
from	O
computer	O
critics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
praised	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
shift	O
from	O
ARM	B-Architecture
architecture	I-Architecture
toward	O
x86	B-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
therefore	O
from	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
RT	I-Operating_System
to	O
a	O
regular	O
Windows	O
OS	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
less	O
powerful	O
,	O
the	O
Surface	B-Device
3	I-Device
was	O
a	O
lighter	O
and	O
cheaper	O
alternative	O
to	O
the	O
Surface	B-Device
Pro	I-Device
3	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
More	O
importantly	O
,	O
the	O
Surface	B-Device
3	I-Device
could	O
compete	O
at	O
the	O
high-end	O
of	O
Android	O
and	O
iPad	B-Device
tablets	B-Device
,	O
with	O
the	O
advantage	O
of	O
being	O
a	O
device	O
running	O
a	O
full	O
desktop	O
OS	O
instead	O
of	O
a	O
mobile	O
OS	O
for	O
a	O
similar	O
price	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Reviewers	O
also	O
note	O
that	O
37	O
GB	O
of	O
the	O
total	O
storage	O
space	O
in	O
the	O
low-end	O
Surface	B-Device
3	I-Device
is	O
available	O
to	O
the	O
user	O
,	O
while	O
its	O
close	O
competitor	O
,	O
the	O
low-end	O
iPad	B-Operating_System
Air	I-Operating_System
2	I-Operating_System
,	O
has	O
only	O
12.5	O
GB	O
of	O
user-available	O
storage	O
space	O
for	O
the	O
same	O
price	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
most	O
common	O
downsides	O
are	O
relatively	O
low	O
battery	O
life	O
,	O
slower	O
performance	O
compared	O
to	O
devices	O
with	O
Intel	B-Device
Core	I-Device
processors	O
and	O
a	O
high	O
price	O
since	O
accessories	O
like	O
Surface	B-Device
Pen	I-Device
and	O
Type	O
Cover	O
are	O
not	O
included	O
.	O
</s>
