Microsoft introduces its brand new Surface Go, a smaller and less powerful version of the popular Surface Pro tablet/laptop. Boasting a similar design to the Surface Pro, the Go is defined by its 10-inch screen, integrated kickstand, Windows 10.
Microsoft went back to the drawing board with the Surface Go with refreshed hardware and a more modern design that closely mirrors the most prominent features of the Surface Pro and the family trade line of the surface 3 tablets.
Weighing only 1.15 pounds and measuring 8.3 mm thin, the Surface Go flaunts a custom-built high-resolution PixelSense 3:2 aspect ratio display that supports the Surface Pen (sold separately) with 4096 levels of pressure sensitivity, low pen parallax, low latency, and precision for accurate note taking, drawing and computer-aided design.
The cameras are also the same as Surface Pro, including a front-facing 5MP camera tuned for Skype that also supports Windows Hello facial recognition and an 8MP auto-focus world-facing camera on the rear.
Out of the box, the Surface Go will run Windows 10 in “S mode,” meaning it’ll only be able to run apps that come factory installed or are downloaded from Microsoft’s Windows Store. But it should be an free, easy upgrade to the standard-issue Windows 10 Home edition that runs fully fledged desktop apps; that was the case with last year’s Surface Laptop. The only question is whether the Go, which runs on a less-powerful processor than the Pro, will have the muscle to run intensive tasks like video editing. Without a hands-on test, it’s hard to say for sure just how desktop-like the Go experience will be.
The Surface Go storage will be in two variant, while the base version of Surface Go comes with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, the other version will come with 8GB RAM and 256GB of storage.
The Surface Go features a newer and more powerful Intel Pentium Gold 4415Y (1.6GHz) CPU, which Microsoft claims has been “finely tuned” for performance. The processor is a dual-core seventh-generation model that offers the perfect balance between performance, battery life, and thermal properties, allowing the Surface Go’s thin, fan-less design.
The keyboard has full-sized chiclet style providing “laptop-class typing” with a scissor-key mechanism and 1mm of key travel, along with the Surface Mobile Mouse, and the aforementioned Surface Pen.
The Go comes with up to nine hours of battery life, the portable device also has a slew of ports, including the Surface Connect for charging and docking; USB-C 3.1 for data, video, and charging, a headphone jack and a MicroSD card reader for storage expansion.