Microsoft Shocks the World With Surface Laptop Go
Have you seen the price?! MacBook Air Killer?
If you had your eye on Microsoft’s clean, slim, powerful yet efficient Surface Laptop3 but were discouraged by its expensive price tag, you’re in luck! Microsoft has released its new, a tad smaller, model that cuts the starting price by nearly half.
The Surface Laptop Go was introduced to Microsoft’s family, which starts at $549.99. Microsoft is also refreshing the higher-end models of its Surface Pro X “business” variant with a new custom processor, the “Microsoft SQ® chip” that, the company says, should enable even longer battery life.
Both products will be released on Oct. 13.
Money isn’t a Problem Now
I guess Microsoft’s definition of something, smaller yet a more desirable and affordable design is the Surface Laptop Go as the company so proudly claims.
$549.99 price is a pretty significant cut from the Surface Laptop 3, which starts at $999.99. People spoke about the immense price, the company listened and made the Surface Laptop Go, a 12.4-inch laptop, while the standard version can be bought with a larger 13.5 to 15-inch display.
We’ve all see Apple’s Macbook Air and despite the fact that its price is down from $1,099 to $999, and that isn't cheap. So this Laptop Go will be a strong runner up against this overrated Mac and who knows… Laptop Go may win!
Display
The Laptop Go’s display has a native resolution of 1536 by 1024 pixels, meaning 148 pixels per inch, though the resolution is a step down from the 1080p panels that have 1,920-by-1,080-pixels. These 1080p panels have almost become normal in popular laptops with 13-inch and larger screens. But it is a smaller screen so we could cut it some slack but the bottom line is that it is good enough.
On the bright side, it’s a touch screen display so hooray-hoorah.
Keyboard
We’re in the age where we see many “laptop-replacements” such as the 11" iPad Pro with it’s Magic Keyboard which really doesn't cut it for me. If the screen is small, so is the keyboard. The small travel and keys-space can cram the user and the Surface Laptop Go remains full-size as each key happily according to Microsoft’s spec sheet, has a “vertical travel of 1.3 millimeters.”
Unleash the Power?
The Surface Laptop Go is said to last up to 13 hours on a single charge by Microsoft though some of this is just marketing. The Go model also comes with a 720p camera, dual microphones, and speakers. Port-wise, we have built-in USB-C and USB-A ports, Surface Connect, and a headphone/mic jack. One thing you can appreciate about Microsoft Surface Connect port is that it doesn’t hog the USB-C port so you have access to the said port. So far so good…
This is where it doesn’t get too bright for the said product.
Despite the timing of this laptop as we are now entering 2021 with Intel’s new 11th-generation “ Tiger Lake” Core processors, the Surface Laptop Go misses out on this. Instead, the product receives an Intel 10th-generation “Ice Lake” Core i5–1035G1 processor, which has four cores and was launched a year ago.
The system memory and storage also holds back this Laptop. The base $549.99 model comes with only 4GB of RAM and 64GB of slower eMMC storage. 4 GB OF RAM!!! The lowest you should ever have in a laptop is at least 8GB of RAM or 16GB. This laptop will perform like a fast laptop with the ability to multitask only if you give it 8GB. End of story. Same thing for storage; The minimum storage should be 128GB SSD. So for those specs, you’re actually looking at a price tag of $699.99 for 8GB of RAM and 128GB for SSD storage.
Not everything is beautiful so to speak…
If you’re at looking for models with 256GB of SSD, they start at $899.99. To get 16GB of RAM, you’ll have to spend more than $1,000 for one of the top-end commercial or education versions of the Laptop Go. At this point, I might even settle for a 13.5" Surface Laptop 3…
There is more…
The laptop comes with Windows 10 Home in S Mode but you can convert it over to Windows 10 Pro for more capabilities.
The top portion of the body is made out of aluminum, but the casing around the base is crafted of plastic, glass fiber, and recycled materials so expect 2.45 pounds of weight. The Laptop Go provides three color schemes: Platinum, Ice Blue, and Sandstone.
You can also get the Laptop Go in certain configurations with a fingerprint sensor fitted on the power button.
This Laptop feels like a great deal, especially against the overheating MacBook Air and I’m waiting for a comparison between both when this is available as soon as Oct. 13. The best deal you can get this laptop is $699 with 8 GB of RAM and either 128 or 256GB of storage is the best way to go with this product.
However, if you start to go over this price point given, you might as well buy its big brother (13.5" Surface Laptop 3) which will meet your commands and give you more. e
About Me; I’m a twelve-year-old funny weird geek who’s passionate about life, electronics, and other stuff.
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