The line between Ultrabooks and tablets is getting thinner by the day, with tablets getting more powerful and traditional laptops getting leaner. Lately, Microsoft has diverted its attention from software and has been focusing on refining its laptops and convertibles meant to challenge Apple’s iPad line-up. Its latest tablet-laptop hybrid – Microsoft Surface Go – is walking exactly in the middle of this tight rope. For a starting price of Rs 37,999 in India, the Surface Go is surely a highly portable offering, but does it justify the price and proposition? We’ll see in this review.
On the first peek at the spec sheet, the Surface Go might feel a bit underpowered. This is because the device comes with an Intel Pentium Gold fan-less processor, which is clearly a stranger in a market flooded by Intel Core i3, i5 and i7. But as we’d see in the later sections, the processor is surprisingly good.
Here are the specifications of the Microsoft Surface Go:
Microsoft Surface Go: Design and Build
The Surface Go from its external appearance is a tablet with the usual rectangular design but with an unusual aspect ratio. Before switching on the display the front feels like its all display but that is simply an illusion. On the back, there’s a kickstand – plate, rather, since it covers the entire lower half of the Surface Go, just like the larger Surface Pro – which can be pulled off to keep the tablet standing on a flat surface or even on your lap. The panel extends all the way up to 180-degrees so you can recline the tablet at virtually any angle in between, and this flexibility is worth rejoicing over.
The upper half of the rear sports the mic, a camera and an LED indicator beside it. Along the upper edge, you’ll find two buttons – one for power and unlocking the screen as well as a volume rocker. The right edge features a headphone jack, a USB-C port for charging and data syncing, and to make sure I/O remains unhindered, there’s a dedicated charging port. This is a magnetic port but the adapter uses a long, flat plug, which might remind of the old 30-pin charger which iPhone 4S and older models sported. There’s plenty of empty space for a fingerprint scanner but Microsoft has decided against putting one.
The Surface Go uses a 10-inch PixelSense display with a resolution of 1800×1200. With a pixel density slightly short of 220ppi, the display is rich, crisp, well-contrasted and utterly enjoyable. If you’re using the Surface Go for basic designing or illustration, the color accuracy is also good. In terms of brightness, the tablet computer offers a brightness of more than 400 nits which offers great readability irrespective of the overhead light falling on the display.
Microsoft’s choice of the aspect ratio does not feel very user friendly for video consumption. But it allows users to read more content within the first fold of a website (in landscape mode) and this argument makes sense when you consider that the Surface Go is primarily made for internet browsing, writing quick documents and surfing social media feeds.
Microsoft Surface Go: Connectivity and Ports
As mentioned above, the Microsoft Surface Go features a USB Type-C port, a charging port, and a headphone jack. While there is no full-sized USB port, you can utilize the USB-C port with almost any compatible dongle and use a host of external enhancements, including wired mice and keyboards, displays, hard disks etc. without the need of external power. I just wish the port was lower on the body so that cable management was easier.
The Microsoft Surface Go sports a stereo speaker setup which is decently loud and has a usable sound quality. In terms of the output, the sound failed to impress me and has poor bass. The volume, too, isn’t surprising, and you might be better off buying a 6th Gen iPad in this price segment if you’re looking for striking multimedia output from a tablet. However, the smooth treble and acceptable mids make up for the lacking aspects.
With that said, if you primarily watch videos or binge on Netflix, you wouldn’t encounter any form of crackling or distortion in these speakers. They’re great for casual usage but since these speakers are rated at only 2W, audiophiles will not get any joy nor should they expect much from the Surface Go.
Tablets are not typically great at photography – unless you buy an iPad – and that’s true for the Microsoft Surface Go. It comes with an 8MP auto-focusing camera on the back and a 5MP fixed focus camera on the front, both of which support video calling at 1080p. Both cameras are decent enough for the job, but not exactly exciting in any way.
During my usage, I found that the Surface Go’s front camera had better color reproduction than the one on the back – although the quality of both is nearly the same. The quality is good for video calling or any urgent selfie – and much better than the MacBook Pro’s HD webcam, but I didn’t find myself using either of the cameras for any actual photography.
The camera also unlocks the laptop with your face using Windows Hello IR face recognition.
Microsoft Go is essentially a smaller Surface Pro and as is evident from the name, its primary purpose is to offer you compute capabilities while you’re on the move. The Intel Pentium Gold 4415Y processor, which powers the Surface Go, comes in a dual-core configuration with hyperthreading which translates to four virtual cores. It is clocked at 1.6GHz, meaning that it is capable of running tasks with basic and middling requirements.
Coming to the benchmark scores, I ran Geekbench 4 and Cinebench R15 on the Microsoft Surface Go and the scores were not exciting, especially for the multi-core performance. The scores were not as golden as the name of the processor but that does not translate into poor performance in the practical sense.
Overall, the performance feels justified for the price, especially considering the quality of construction and the highly portable design.
Microsoft Surface Go: Type Cover
While the Surface Go does not come with a keyboard, you can buy the official Microsoft Surface Go Type Cover keyboard, which comes in a variety of colors. The official keyboard attaches effortlessly to the Surface Go using magnetic connectors and also serves as a folio cover for the tablet.
The keys are an altogether different case. While the keys are tactile and have a good 1mm travel, their small size can be challenging initially. The “Tab” key is shorter than usual while the right CTRL key has been sacrificed because of the keyboard’s overall small form factor.
Microsoft Surface Pen
Microsoft Surface Pen is another accessory that you can buy if you want to write on the Surface Go with your hand or draw something. The pen can also be useful for digital artists and but it may not be as useful to average users as the keyboard case can be. The Pen is compatible with all Microsoft Surface devices which support touch and attaches to the tablet with the magnets on the left and the right sides. I’m not good at drawing so I didn’t feel its need except for the times when I was too lazy to type.
Microsoft Surface Go Battery
One of the essential requirements from a computer that you travel with, is reliable battery life and here the Microsoft Surface Go does okay, but not great. In my daily usage, the battery lasted almost six hours on moderate usage and Balanced battery settings, whereas it lasted half of that time i.e. three hours on High Performance mode. Moreover, while gaming, it lasted slightly over an hour.
The device comes with Windows 10 Home locked in S Mode, which will prevent you from installing apps from any source other than the Microsoft Store to ensure greater security. Most of the Windows users like the operating system for the ease of installing apps from third-party sources. You cannot even install Google Chrome or other mainstream browsers like Firefox Quantum, Opera, or Safari.
Bypassing this restriction, however, is easy and more importantly free. You may upgrade the Surface Go to Windows Home 10 but you cannot go back to the S Mode after unlocking the device once. I switched out of the S Mode to install third-party software like Google Chrome, Adobe Photoshop, Steam etc.
The Surface Go is a capable tablet-cum-laptop that brings the ease of mobility and flexibility to your work and productivity. It is fast and powerful but simply not enough to replace your desktop or gaming laptop; it will make a great companion for the road though. Clearly, the Surface Go isn’t for everyone, but it still has a lot going for it as we can see:
Vibrant and bright screen
Responsive 10-point touch display
Sturdy build
MicroSD card slot
SSD storage option
Windows Hello support
Dual cameras
Multiple charging options
HDMI Display support (via dongle)
Magnetic charging port
Runs basic and casual games
Tactile keyboard
Surface Pen
No fingerprint sensor
Single USB-C and no full-sized USB port
Average battery
Small keys require practice
Keyboard case and Surface Pen to be bought separately
Microsoft Surface Go: The Practical Tablet PC
The Microsoft Surface Go is strictly for the consumer who has basic requirements from an ultra-portable laptop or tablet but does not want to compromise on the usability of a Windows computer or the quality. Unlike the iPad Pro and the Pixel Slate, which shy away from actually being full-fledged laptops, the Surface Go does anything that a basic Windows laptop can do, and even has room for surprises. This makes me feel that the Surface Go is more practical than the other two options.
The Surface Go is surely powerful enough for basic productivity and work tasks, and can be a good option for students, bloggers, digital nomads, and even work as a secondary computer, if you have another work PC or laptop that you don’t want to lug around much. The biggest benefit is the huge catalog of third-party software and games for Windows 10.
