Microsoft Surface Go 2 Review: a proficient light laptop

Surface Go 2 Review: Is the laptop a worthy competitor to the similar priced iPad Air? We find out.

The Surface Go 2 is Microsoft’s second iteration of low-cost, smaller tablet computers. It is Microsoft’s cheapest PC at the moment. The Surface Go starts at $400 and goes up with accessories and storage capacity. The detachable keyboard hikes up the price.

The Surface Go 2 has a 10.5in screen in LED and has kickstand on the back, is 8.3mm thick, 245mm long and 175mm tall. It weighs in at 544g. It’s tiny and portable and can be carried anywhere.

Microsoft Surface Go 2 Review

Microsoft Surface Go 2

Surface Go 2 Specs

• Screen: 10.5in LCD 1920 x 1280 (220 PPI)
• Processor: Intel Pentium Gold 4425Y or 8th-gen Core m3
• RAM: 4 or 8GB
• Storage: 64GB eMMC or 128 SSD
• Graphics: Intel UHD 615
• Operating system: Windows 10 Home (in S Mode) with device encryption
• Camera: 8MP rear, 5MP front-facing, Windows Hello
• Connectivity: Wifi 6, Bluetooth 5, USB-C, Surface Connector, TPM, microSD, headphone socket
• Dimensions: 245 x 175 x 8.3 mm
• Weight: 544g or 553g (without keyboard)

Surface Go 2 Review

The Surface Go 2 comes with either an Intel Pentium Gold 4425Y or an eighth-generation Core m3 processor, which Microsoft says is 64% faster than the previous version. The Surface Go 2 lasts over five hours between charges at 50% brightness and recommended battery mode. This is with heavy usage.

You can stream videos closer to eight hours if you are just doing that. It takes more than 2 hours to fully charge and reaches the halfway mark at around 1 hour, using the 45W power adaptor speeds up the process. The tablet can also be charged via USB-C with any USB-PD charger.

The company operates trade-in and recycling schemes for old machines. Some of its components are modular and not repairable and it has been given a repairable score of 3 out of 10 by iFixit.

The Surface Go 2 comes with Windows 10 Home in S mode, which restricts the installation of apps from other app stores. You can turn off the S mode and is easy to do, but then it cannot be reversed.

The 10.5 screen facilitates split screen and one can do almost any amount of tasks from browsing to video streaming to spreadsheet work most comfortably. It comes with good speakers, which makes video watching easier. It has dual studio mics and 2-watt stereo speakers with Dolby Audio.

The Microsoft Store apps are vast and one can choose from many, including the Netflix app. It allows off-line downloads too.

Accessories

The Surface Go 2 comes with the latest and best Type Cover keyboard, which costs £100 or £125, depending on the material. The Surface Go 2 also supports the Surface Pen stylus, with magnets to stick it to the left side of the tablet, and the Surface Dial for off-screen interactions.

Surface Go 2 Price

The Surface Go 2 starts at $399 with an Intel Pentium 4425Y processor, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of eMMC storage or $529 with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of faster SSD storage. The version with the faster Intel Core m3 processor, 8GB of RAM and 128GB SSD costs $629 or $729 with 4G connectivity.

The Surface Go Type Cover $99.99 or $129.99 depending on color and material. The Surface Go 2 won’t win any awards for speed, but it will handle most things smoothly. Pros: slim, light, great screen, great kickstand, good speakers, USB-C, great keyboard.

Surface Go 2 Cons

Relatively short battery life, no USB-A ports, £100 keyboard essential but not included, thick bezels, and slow performance on their party apps.

The Surface Pro is a good buy for students now working online and needing to do a lot of document and research work with some entertainment thrown in. But for people who want some serious editing and video processing or for any creative work, then this is not the laptop for them. It loads a little slow on heavy files, and the options for third-party apps are limited.