Surface Laptop Go review: This delightful mini PC gets (almost) everything right
Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central
In belatedly 2022, I reviewed Microsoft'southward first "Go" device and noted how it brought the fun back to Windows. After all, what'south non to love well-nigh a tiny Surface PC? Well, for ane thing, the bloodless processor, which was somewhat fixed with Surface Go ii.
Surface Laptop Go, yet, is a different mini-me PC. Information technology packs a real Core i5 processor, has a slightly larger display, and while Microsoft cutting some corners, it is a charming little laptop. After spending the concluding week with Microsoft's latest laptop, I am convinced Laptop Become is the perfect couch companion — or an ideal notebook for the classroom. (We like information technology so much, it'll likely make our list of best Windows laptops. Simply get the $700 model instead of the cheapest version. Here'southward why.
Surface Laptop Go
Starting at $549
Bottom line: Surface Laptop Go is a smaller and more affordable Surface Laptop, and information technology nails all the fundamentals to deliver a surprisingly delightful computing experience. Well-nigh of that is owing to the Core i5 processor, which results in a responsive OS. With decent bombardment life and compact size, this lil' laptop is perfect for the couch, grade, or boardroom.
Pros:
- Excellent hardware, pattern, and color options
- Core i5 gets the job done
- Display is colour-accurate and bright
- Skillful battery life
- Information technology's fun!
Cons:
- GPU is OK
- Resolution and PPI are low
- Keyboard is not backlit
Mini Surface Laptop
Surface Laptop Go specs and pattern
There is non a lot of mystery when it comes to the Laptop Become. Microsoft fabricated a smaller Surface Laptop, reduced some specs, only kept all the quality. For instance, about 50 percent of the chassis is yet aluminum (hat and keyboard deck), just the bottom half is now a soft-touch polycarbonate. That conclusion not only saves costs, but it keeps the weight to just 2.45 pounds (1.1kg). It looks good and feels fifty-fifty better, especially for this price point.
Microsoft offers iii color options for Laptop Go: its traditional platinum, a lighter sandstone, and water ice blue, used for this review. It looks great, and the mirrored Microsoft logo on the front gives laptop Go a chic entreatment absent from many other depression-cost laptops.
| Category | Surface Laptop Go |
|---|---|
| Operating System | Windows 10 Home in S mode |
| Brandish | 12.45 inches 3:2 aspect ratio 1536x1024 (148 ppi) resolution PixelSense |
| Processor | Intel Core i5-1035G1 |
| Graphics | Intel UHD Graphics |
| Retention | 4GB or 8GB LPDDR4x 16GB (commercial only) |
| Storage | 64GB eMMC 128GB or 256GB SSD |
| Front Camera | 720p HD f/2.0 |
| Security | Fingerprint Reader |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi vi Bluetooth 5.0 |
| Ports | 1x USB-C 1x USB-A 3.5mm headphone jack 1x Surface Connect |
| Audio | Omnisonic Speakers with Dolby Premium Audio |
| Battery | Up to thirteen hours |
| Dimensions | 10.95 10 8.10 x 0.62 inches 278.18mm x 205.67mm x 15.69mm |
| Weight | 2.45lbs one,110g |
| Colors | Platinum Sandstone Water ice Blueish |
Ports are standard with just 3 on the left side: Type-A (10MB/s), Type-C, and one headphone/mic jack. Type-C supports display out, data, and fast charging (up to threescore watts). On the right side is the expected Surface Connect charge port, which also supports fast charging.
Surface Go 2 (left) vs. Surface Laptop Go (correct). Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central
Onboard is an Intel Core i5-1035G1. It'due south a 10nm quad-core 15-watt CPU that's part of the 10th Gen Ice Lake series that launched in late 2022. It has a base frequency of 1GHz merely can turbo to 3.60GHz, making it a much more satisfying solution than the Core m3 found in the smaller Surface Go.
Surface Laptop Become ships with Windows 10 in S Fashion (build 19041.450). All that means is, out of the box, you lot can but install apps from the Microsoft Store, ensuring a streamlined, high-performance Windows experience. If you need to install an app from exterior the Store, y'all can switch out of S mode without even rebooting the PC.
The fit and stop of Laptop Get are outstanding
For connectivity, Microsoft includes Bluetooth v.0 and Wi-Fi 6 — a pleasant surprise. Reception is slightly below that of Microsoft's more premium line, merely it should not be besides much of an issue for everyday use.
The fit and terminate of Laptop Go are outstanding. You lot can even open the display chapeau with one finger.
The screen is practiced
Surface Laptop Get display, sound, and camera
Surface Laptop Go (left) vs. Surface Laptop 3 (right). Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central
I can see many folks complaining about the beggarly 12.v-inch, 148 pixel-per-inch (PPI) 1536x1024 display. That PPI is the lowest of any Surface device to engagement, and yeah, if yous eyeball the display yous Can sEe tHe piXeLs, but it is sufficient in everyday use. For some perspective, Razer sells a 17-inch $3,000 gaming laptop with a total Hard disk drive display with a lower 127 PPI.
Colour accuracy is fantastic.
The bigger picture is the Laptop Go'due south display is very good quality. It reaches nearly 400 nits in brightness — the sweet spot for a laptop display that balances good battery life that is however viewable even in outdoor shade. It can drop to but two nits at zero percentage, making it perfect for employ in bed at night (which you lot'll want to do because of its size).
Color accurateness is fantastic, with 99 percent sRGB and a respectable 78 percent DCI-P3. Toss in some fantabulous color contrast, an auto-effulgence sensor (I did not look that), sparse bezels, and impact support, and what more than do you want at $550? Speaking of bezels, these are the thinnest Microsoft has made yet for a Surface (the Pro X has slightly thinner side bezels, but larger top and bottom ones).
Video and audio sample from Surface Laptop Become'due south 720P webcam.
For audio, Microsoft uses its dual "Omnisonic" speakers cleverly located beneath the keyboard deck, allowing no visible speaker grills to mar Laptop Go's clean blueprint. The speakers are especially good, reaching a decent book level without distortion. While they lack deeper bass, they sound rich enough non to offend anyone. In that location is no Dolby Atmos to optimize the sound with more spatial presence due to the cost point, but information technology has Dolby Premium Audio.
Dual microphones flank the front-facing 720P spider web photographic camera. This camera is a teeny one past comparison to other Surface devices, which is one reason why there are no infrared (IR) sensors for Windows Hello facial recognition. While photo quality is non particularly good, information technology is impressive for video conferencing in Microsoft Teams or Zoom. Microsoft has always delivered excellent web camera back up on its Surface line, and fifty-fifty at a lower cost, Laptop Go does not disappoint. That makes this device ideal for work-from-home use cases, office meetings, or just communicable up with a family member on Skype.
Typing main
Surface Laptop Become keyboard, trackpad, and fingerprint
Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Fundamental
Despite its modest size, the keyboard on Laptop Go is infrequent. There is ane.3mm of cardinal travel, information technology is spacious, the keys seem slightly larger than Surface Become, and information technology has terrific response and bounce.
But all is non perfect, and if there was one thing that bothered me almost this laptop, there is no backlit keyboard. That choice was probable made to go on costs down (and heighten battery life), but information technology is a letdown on what is otherwise a almost-flawless laptop.
The trackpad is one of the best Microsoft has made yet. It is exceptionally smooth, precise, and it has a satisfying, even-feeling click.
While in that location is no facial recognition for Windows Hello for logging into Windows, at that place is a fingerprint reader built into the ability push. However, this feature is only available on the $700 model (and above) instead of that entry-level $550 one. The reader is speedy, reliable, and information technology has a white LED that calls attention to it when information technology is needed. If Laptop Go is in standby, pressing the power button turns it dorsum on and logs yous in with just i printing.
Peppy
Surface Laptop Go operation and battery
Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Primal
Unlike Surface Become two with its "simply OK" Cadre m3, the Laptop Go has a full quad-core Core i5 10th Gen processor. It'due south a zippy boyfriend that makes Laptop Go experience similar a existent laptop in every way without lag (Edge, though, has a bit of a wobble when spider web browsing).
Laptop Go feels similar a real laptop in every way.
For performance, Laptop Get holds its ain. A full-fledged Surface Laptop 3 with Cadre i5 does meliorate on multi-core likely due to better thermals, but otherwise, Laptop Go beats a Surface Laptop 2 (Core i5) or Surface Pro half dozen (Core i5) on tests like Geekbench. On something like PCMark x, the results are similar with Laptop Go budgeted or matching an 8th Gen Core i5 found in more premium laptops.
The one area where Laptop Become slides a little bit is the GPU. The G1 Intel UHD graphics beats UHD 615 in Surface Go 2 and even a gen-i Surface Laptop (Core i5). It only has 32 graphics execution units (versus 64), making it moderately better than UHD 620. It'southward non terrible, and you lot can fifty-fifty game on it (arcade, second, platformer), but for 10th Gen Intel chips, it'southward on the lower side.
Microsoft cools the flake with a single fan and vent organisation hidden near the display. The laptop never got hot (peaks at 110 degrees Fahrenheit, 43 degrees Celsius, at the exhaust surface area), and while you can hear the fan when gaming or doing a Windows Update, it never went in a higher place 52dBa. It has a nice whooshing issue with no loftier-pitched noise. The plastic bottom ensures a cool laptop with minimal oestrus transfer.
The Cadre i5, nonetheless, volition oscillate heavily under extreme load for long durations. This processor and thermal solution are best for curt bursts of productivity versus prolonged, CPU, and GPU-heavy tasks.
Geekbench 5
Geekbench 5.0 (CPU) (Higher is better)
| Device | CPU | Single core | Multi cadre |
|---|---|---|---|
| Surface Laptop Go | Core i5 | ane,185 | 3,390 |
| Surface Go 2 | Cadre m3 | 847 | 1,609 |
| Surface Go | Pentium | 376 | 947 |
| Surface Pro X | SQ2 | 798 | 3,046 |
| Surface Pro X | SQ1 | 725 | 2,819 |
| Surface Laptop three 13.5 | i5-1035G7 | 1,177 | 4,413 |
| Surface Laptop ii | i5-8250U | 909 | 3,372 |
| Surface Pro 7 | i5-1035G4 | ane,191 | 4,441 |
| Surface Pro 6 | i7-8650U | ane,113 | three,519 |
| Surface Pro 6 | i5-8250U | 904 | three,440 |
Geekbench iv
Geekbench 4.0 (CPU) (College is improve)
| Device | CPU | Single core | Multi core |
|---|---|---|---|
| Surface Laptop Get | Core i5 | 5,226 | 13,144 |
| Surface Go 2 | Cadre m3 | 4,028 | vi,804 |
| Surface Go | Pentium | 2,078 | iii,934 |
| Surface 3 | Atom x7 | 1,078 | ii,777 |
| Surface Pro X (ARM) | SQ2 | 3,649 | 12,300 |
| Surface Pro X (x86) | SQ2 | two,379 | 7,422 |
| Surface Pro 10 (ARM) | SQ1 | 3,505 | 11,727 |
| Surface Pro X (x86) | SQ1 | 2,182 | half dozen,822 |
| Surface Laptop 3 13.5 | i5-1035G7 | 5,265 | 17,345 |
| Surface Laptop two | i5-8250U | 4,203 | 13,233 |
| Surface Laptop | i5-7200U | three,725 | 7,523 |
| Surface Pro seven | i5-1035G4 | 5,245 | 17,350 |
| Surface Pro half dozen | i7-8650U | five,037 | 13,864 |
| Surface Pro 6 | i5-8250U | four,287 | 14,031 |
| Surface Pro 5 | i7-7660U | 4,513 | ix,346 |
| Surface Pro 5 | i5-7300U | iv,302 | viii,482 |
| Surface Pro iv | i5-6300U | three,319 | six,950 |
GPU
Geekbench iv.0 OpenCL (higher is better)
| Laptop | GPU | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Surface Laptop Go | UHD | 24,905 |
| Surface Go 2 | UHD 615 | nineteen,488 |
| Surface Go | Hd 615 | 16,490 |
| Surface 3 | Intel HD | eight,055 |
| Surface Pro 4 (m3) | Hd 515 | 14,650 |
| Surface Pro 4 | Hd 520 | 17,395 |
| Surface Book | HD 520 | xviii,197 |
| Surface Laptop i5 | HD 620 | 19,256 |
| Surface Pro 2022 | HD620 | 20,688 |
| Surface Pro 2022 | Iris 640 | 30,678 |
| Surface Laptop i7 | Iris 640 | 31,010 |
PCMark
PCMark 10
| Device | Score |
|---|---|
| Surface Laptop Go | 3,410 |
| Surface Go 2 | ii,554 |
| Surface Go | 1,808 |
| Surface Laptop three 15 (AMD) | 4,006 |
| Surface Laptop 3 15 (Intel) | 4,604 |
| Surface Laptop two | ii,748 |
| Surface Pro 7 i5 | 3,992 |
| Surface Pro vi i7 | 3,644 |
| Surface Pro 6 i5 | 3,501 |
| Dell XPS thirteen ii-in-ane 7390 | iv,427 |
| Dell XPS 15 7590 | 5,521 |
| Dell XPS 13 2-in-i 7390 | four,427 |
| Dell Inspiron 13 7390 2-in-ane | 3,764 |
| HP Pavilion x360 14 | 3,558 |
| Lenovo ThinkBook 13s | 3,468 |
SSD
CrystalDiskMark (Higher is better)
| Device | Read | Write |
|---|---|---|
| Surface Laptop Go (SSD) | ii,007 MB/south | 791 MB/s |
| Surface Go two (SSD) | ane,630 MB/s | 373 MB/southward |
| Surface Go (SSD) | 1,185 MB/s | 133 MB/due south |
| Surface Go (eMMC) | 260 MB/south | 145 MB/s |
| Surface 3 | 149 MB/s | 33 MB/s |
| Surface Pro X | 2,023 MB/s | 832 MB/s |
| Surface Laptop 3 thirteen.5 | 2,338 MB/southward | ane,583 MB/s |
| Surface Laptop 3 15 | 2,028 MB/due south | 806 MB/s |
| Surface Laptop 2 | i,509 MB/s | 811 MB/s |
| Surface Laptop | 486 MB/s | 244 MB/s |
| Surface Pro 7 | 2,040 MB/s | 809 MB/southward |
| Surface Pro half-dozen | 1,632 MB/s | 814 MB/s |
| Surface Pro 5 | 847MB/s | 801 MB/s |
| Surface Book | i,018 MB/s | 967 MB/south |
| Dell XPS 13 2-in-one 7390 | two,400 MB/s | one,228 MB/s |
.
For storage, the SSD is quite good at effectually two,000 MB/s for sequential read and effectually 800MB/s for sequential writing, putting it ahead of Surface Become ii and even Surface Laptop 2. Speed will exist worse on the $550 model, which only has slower eMMC for storage, just information technology should withal exist better than Surface Get 2 (eMMC).
Battery life consistently came in between vii and 8.5 hours using a Windows generated bombardment report. On PCMark 10 Battery rundown (Apps), Surface Laptop Go yielded an impressive 8 hours and 45 minutes. That test loops through web browsing, Office productivity, and web conferencing with pauses in between to simulate real-earth workloads. Brightness was steady at effectually 150 nits for consistency.
For power, Microsoft includes a 39-watt Surface Connect charger. You can also use whatsoever Type-C charger, as Laptop Go can handle upward to sixty-watts and supports Fast Charge past either method.
Surface Laptop Become availability and pricing
Source: Microsoft
Surface Laptop Get should be available on Oct 13 in the U.S., Canada, Nippon, Commonwealth of australia, and New Zealand. Additionally, Surface Laptop Go will be bachelor on Oct 27 in the following countries:
- Austria
- Germany
- UK
- Republic of ireland
- Switzerland
- French republic
- Netherlands
- Luxembourg
- Belgium
- Denmark
- Republic of finland
- Norway
- Sweden
- Poland
- Italian republic
- Portugal
- Spain
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Czechia
- Estonia
- Greece
- Hungary
- Latvia
- Republic of lithuania
- Romania
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
It should come up to China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan on November 1. It should then come to Mexico, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand on December vi. In 2022, Surface Laptop Go is expected to come to more markets, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and UAE on January 12, India on March xxx, and South Africa on Apr 13.
At that place are three models to choose from varying on colour option including:
| CPU | RAM | Storage | Fingerprint | Toll |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core i5 | 4GB | 64GB (eMMC) | No | $549 |
| Cadre i5 | 8GB | 128GB (SSD) | Yes | $699 |
| Core i5 | 8GB | 256GB (SSD) | Yes | $899 |
Similar other Surface products, when bought through Microsoft, customers become a 60-day render policy with their buy (undamaged, original packaging) via the Microsoft Store Hope for Surface. Eligible students, parents, teachers, and the military machine may qualify for a 10 percent discount through Microsoft.
It'southward charming
Should you buy Surface Laptop Become?
Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Primal
Who it's for:
- Families who need an extra laptop
- Students who desire something for form
- Those who need to practice Office, web, email, video conferencing, and the basics
- Anyone who needs a light, more affordable Windows ten laptop
Who it isn't for:
- If you like to type in the dark
- If you need inking
- If you want a convertible PC
- If y'all want to a lot of video editing or gaming
Going into this review, I was not expecting much from Laptop Become. After reviewing premium laptops, information technology is sometimes hard to get excited over something that is less in every mode. But the more I used Laptop Go, the more I appreciate it – a similar feeling I had with Surface Go. But dissimilar Surface Get, the Core i5, SSD, ice blue colorway, and larger display let me relish it on a whole other level.
Surface Laptop Go is a lovely niggling laptop.
There'southward no manner to say it other than Surface Laptop Become is a fun and lovely little laptop.
Certain, a higher resolution display would be platonic, or maybe even a backlit keyboard. But these are forgivable omissions to keep that price down. Looking at the core features – typing, trackpad, sound, display, size, weight, performance, and battery life – Laptop Go does an incredibly adept job of balancing all that against its $550 to $700 price.
For students — whether working at home or in a college seminar — Laptop Go would exist an first-class selection for tossing in your handbag and taking notes (as long as yous don't need a pen). The performance won't frustrate you, and the battery life should go on you lot going for the whole 24-hour interval.
Families who are looking for an extra PC to share would also benefit from Laptop Go. Information technology's not expensive, and it is a joy to use on the couch or propped upwardly in bed.
Of course, yous could get the $550 model, which is tempting, but the $700 model is the 1 to get. For that extra $150, you lot get a fingerprint reader, double the storage to 128GB, a faster SSD, and double the RAM to 8GB, all of which will significantly raise your enjoyment.
Microsoft sometimes takes a few generations to get one of its Surface products simply correct. That'due south not the case with Laptop Become. It'southward nearly perfect for a gen-i release except for some minor quibbles, making it like shooting fish in a barrel to recommend to those who desire a tiny PC.
Surface Laptop Become
Looking for something with the same design every bit the Surface Laptop merely easier on the wallet? Expect no further with the Surface Laptop Go with its 12.45-inch display, Intel Core i5 processor, aluminum and polycarbonate exterior, Omnisonic speakers, and Windows Hullo-enabled fingerprint reader. The $700 model is the one to get.
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Source: https://www.windowscentral.com/surface-laptop-go
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