Microsoft now has a wide variety of Surface devices. The Surface Laptop Go is the most recent addition to the line and is intended as an entry-level device that can be purchased from 629 euros. How do you like the cheapest laptop that Microsoft offers?
Microsoft Surface Laptop Go
price From € 629, – as tested € 999, –
Processor Intel Core i5-1035G1
RAM 4 or 8 GB (tested)
Storage 64 GB eMMC, 128 GB ssd or 256 GB ssd (tested)
Screen 12.4 inches (1536 x 1024 pixels)
OS Windows 10 in S mode
Connections Usb-a, Usb-c, 3.5mm headset jack
Webcam 720p webcam
Wireless Wifi 6, bluetooth 5.0
Dimensions 27.8 x 20.6 x 1.6 cm
Weight 1,110 grams
Battery 39 Wh
Website www.microsoft.com
6 Score 60 
- Pros
- Compact and light
- Build quality
- Comfort touchpad and keyboard
- Touch screen
- Negatives
- Screen resolution too low
- Rounded screen corners
- No key illumination
- Price too high
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go is therefore available from 629 euros. More about that price later, because the laptop is quickly a lot more expensive. You do not necessarily see from the laptop itself that it is an entry-level model. In fact, this is a compact and light laptop in a size that you don’t often see. With a weight of 1.1 kilograms, it is a laptop that you can always have with you. Compared to more expensive Surface laptops, it is striking that not the entire device is made of metal. The screen lid and the area around the keyboard are made of aluminum, the housing itself is made of glass fiber reinforced plastic. Not a disadvantage for me, the plastic used feels nice and is sturdy. For a laptop of around 600 euros, the build quality is really excellent. In short, in terms of size and build quality, this is a great device.
As far as the connections are concerned, it is striking that you only get the essentials. The laptop contains one USB-A, one USB-C and a 3.5mm headphone connection. Those two USB ports are both on the left. Charging is via a separate Surface charging connection, but charging via USB-C is also supported. I would have preferred an extra USB-C port instead of the Surface connection. In addition to charging, the USB-C port is also suitable for video output.
Windows By default, this laptop runs in S mode where only software can be installed from the built-in app store. However, with a few clicks you activate the normal version of Windows 10, after which you no longer have any restrictions.
Excellent touchpad
The touchpad is simply excellent and works remarkably smoothly. Naturally, it is a precision touchpad that supports all multi-touch capabilities of Windows 10. But even compared to other precision touchpads, this is an exceptionally good one. The keyboard also seems fine at first. The keys tap nicely and the whole feels solid. I just couldn’t find any key lighting settings. Not surprising: the Surface Laptop Go appears to have no key lighting. That is not so bad for an absolute entry-level laptop, but the Surface Laptop Go is not as far as I am concerned.
In the on / off switch, Microsoft has incorporated a fingerprint scanner that allows you to log into Windows. That fingerprint scanner is present on the test model, but is missing on the cheapest version. Logging in with facial recognition is always missing.
Striking screen
Microsoft has opted for a striking screen in the Surface Laptop Go in several respects. The first thing you’ll notice is the 3: 2 aspect ratio, an aspect ratio that Microsoft uses on other Surface products as well. Not bad in itself, because more information fits on the screen in height than in the usual 16: 9 ratio. In the case of the Surface Go, however, that is not entirely the case, because the screen resolution is only 1536 x 1024 pixels, or a lot lower than Full HD, which is the minimum that you would expect nowadays. In comparison: Microsoft’s own cheaper Surface Go 2, which is equipped with a physically smaller screen, has a screen resolution of 1920 x 1280 pixels. As far as I am concerned, that should have been the resolution for this screen. As far as I am concerned, it is possible in terms of sharpness at this 12.4 inch format, but it is visible that it is not Full HD. This is also emphasized by Microsoft, because strangely enough, rounded viewing angles have been chosen.
The rounded corners also show the relatively low resolution of the screen extra clearly. It is not entirely clear to me why Microsoft did this. Other Surface products do not have this and Windows 10 mainly has a rectangular design. In terms of image properties, it is, except for the resolution, a good screen. The screen has a glossy finish because it is a touch screen. That touch works fine, unlike other Surface devices, however, there is no support for an active stylus.
Above the screen, Microsoft has placed a webcam. As mentioned, it does not support facial recognition and is not much special in terms of image quality.
Performance
All versions of the Surface Laptop Go contain the same Intel Core i5-1035G1, a quad-core chip with support for eight threads. Although there are now faster processors on the market, this chip is fine for average office tasks. In PCMark 10 the laptop scores 3356 points, it is not a very smooth laptop. That score is also in combination with a real SSD, the entry-level variant with eMMC storage probably scores a little less. The ssd in the test version is an NVME version of SK Hynix with a read and write speed of 1801.05 and 730.80 MB / s.
The battery has a capacity of 39 Wh, which, according to Microsoft, lasts about 13 hours. That is very optimistic. In the PCMark 10 Modern Office battery test, this laptop achieves a working time of 10 hours and 13 minutes. When used in practice with typical office tasks and surfing, the battery life is approximately eight hours.
Soon too expensive
As you could read, the Surface Laptop Go has some points that you only expect from a real entry-level laptop, such as the lack of key lighting and a relatively low screen resolution. The Surface Laptop can therefore be purchased from 629 euros, but that is a configuration with only 4 gigabytes of RAM and 64 GB eMMC storage. Such a low storage capacity is not enough for Windows 10. Since I have not tested the 64GB model, I cannot say for sure how much storage space is available on that model. On the tested version, the standard installation of Windows 10 already takes up 41 GB. For a configuration with 8 GB of RAM and a real SSD of 128 GB, you pay at least 799 euros. The version that I tested is the most expensive consumer version with 8 GB RAM and a 256 GB SSD for which Microsoft charges 999 euros. And that is not even the most expensive Surface Laptop Go, because there is also, for example, a business model with 16 GB of ram and a 256 GB ssd for 1349 euros.
These configurations only differ in the amount of RAM and storage. In addition, as mentioned, the fingerprint scanner in the cheapest version is missing. The lack of key illumination and the relatively low screen resolution, however, also applies to the most expensive version of 1349 euros or the version tested by me at 999 euros. In those cases you can hardly speak of an entry-level laptop.
You can just call the cheapest configuration of the Surface Latpop Go an entry-level model. Given the limited amount of RAM and storage, this entry-level model seems particularly suitable for very simple tasks and mainly using cloud services. You could consider that cheapest version as a counterpart to a more luxurious Chromebook. For that application, 629 euros is already quite pricey, but in itself can still be defended if you are really looking for a sturdy and light laptop. However, the other versions are too expensive for the properties that you get your hands on. It would be more realistic if all versions cost about 150 euros less.
Conclusion
The Surface Laptop Go is a laptop with two faces. The Go has a lot of features that make it a very pleasant device in daily use. The laptop is light, compact and sturdy. The keyboard taps pleasantly and the touchpad is even excellent. Given the addition of Go, Microsoft seems to have designed this Surface Laptop as a real entry-level model, something that also indicates, for example, the lack of key lighting. As an entry-level device that you can consider as a somewhat pricey alternative to the somewhat better Chromebook, the cheapest configuration may give you a nice device if you use it in the same way as a Chromebook.
However, if you are a more serious user and you are actually quite quick if you want to install a few programs, then you quickly need one of the more expensive variants for the amount of storage alone. Then it becomes a more difficult story. For the price that Microsoft then asks, I expect more than what I got my hands on. For example, I do not expect a screen resolution lower than Full HD and the lack of key lighting is also striking. In short, the Surface Laptop Go is quickly too expensive for a budget laptop. A pity, because it is certainly not bad and the good features such as the compact and sturdy design make it a very nice laptop.
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