This laptop is for everyday use like online classes, web browsing, watching movies etc, and for people with small budgets. This laptop is not meant for professional use.
@@alsimplicio I have the first Surface Go, this is just fine for those uses. It even runs some games, so it's def a good choice for productivity use on a budget.
The Surface Laptop Go sits in a 12" laptop category with not much competition and if thats the size you want this is it. But if you're talking value to performance there's better laptops out there! Hit me up on discord.gg/mattmoniz if you have any questions!
Good review. Really love that Microsoft is paying more attention to the lower to mid-range sector. You're definitely paying for the Surface branding, design and build quality but it looks like a really cute option. The bezels look amazing.
Just bought one of these and I'm typing on it now. It does all the office work I need it to do and all the light gaming from Stream that I care about. That said, if there was one thing I could change about it: Backlit keyboard.
For anyone looking at this laptop you are able to upgrade the storage a little bit if you are willing to open it up. you need a 2230 m.2 nvme ssd to upgrade it but you can! besides that there is really nothing else you can upgrade.
@@XX-qj9sj only bottom is plastic. Trackpad is really good. I don't care if it has a better material if it works just well. The screen is nice, not great but good. It is really light and is very nice to use. I wouldn't recommend the base model. Just get the 699 model. Overall it is really great, unless and until you are a spec freak.
@@XX-qj9sj Agreed. At this point it's better to just wait until Black Friday for deals if you really want a Surface product. Surfaces and Surface Laptops usually have great deals around Black Friday. Last year you could get a Surface with the type cover and pen for around the same price as the mid range Surface Laptop Go (the one with an i5 processor, 8gbs of ram, and 128 storage). The Surface Laptop blows this out of the water at the same price as well during the Black Friday promos. If you have a Costco membership, for the past 2 years they had the best Surface deal (included more items like a Surface Pen or had cheaper prices than the deal Microsoft was promoting). Now Microsoft could adjust the price of the Surface Laptop Go as well during Black Friday to make it more appealing, but I'd rather spend a little more for the other Surface products that costs around the same price as a the mid range Surface Laptop Pro without any promos. Those just simply do more and do everything the Surface Laptop Go can do better if you don't mind the slightly bigger sizes.
I have been using the Surface Laptop Go for a little over three days as my primary work device, and I have to say that I am very pleasantly surprised by this little machine. How I use the Surface Laptop Go is a Chromebook and part-time working desktop. When I need to use the device as a desktop it so far has not disappointed in opening documents, creating PowerPoint presentations, and Excel spreadsheets. How I use it as a Chromebook would be for 85% of my daily workflow. I have not been stressing this device, because this device was not meant to be a powerhouse. It was meant to be a workhorse for document creation and web surfing and it does both awesomely for the price point and size. I have been very happy in my purchase of this work companion and would recommend this for students needing a secondary device to take to class for note-taking and document creation on the go. I would also recommend this for anyone who as a desktop and just needs a light machine to take with them on the GO without spending 1k. Yes, the screen could be brighter but outside of that, I have not found any flaws.
I was hyped about this device but when I saw the pricening I was like - Really?!. I don't know why but in my country (Poland) this device with the cheapest option cost above 700$ and there is no option to get this from US distribution. This really confuses me because in Poland we earn lot less than in USA
@@majakrivankova thanks for the info. I thought Microsoft is like Google and don't allow buying from different regions. I checked the prices and in US store is even cheaper (including shipping) but you can buy it there and ship to Europe. I don't know who thought that making in some regions products more expensive is good idea but this person should rethink this decision
you can see in his face and voice, he's nor happy or excited about this. the 12inch and quality of build is amazing, but doesn't quite justifies the pricing or the specs choice made... there's always a catch
@@yab3146 nobody cares about the bottom. It doesn’t matter. To a student, the mid range option is pretty good. This is not for someone who uses professional apps like Adobe Premiere, this is for someone who wants to use word and PowerPoint and do simple stuff. It is a bit pricey but thats for the name, like Apple
@@yano9669 at this price point,people want usable preformance,if you call 4gb of ram usable then youre delusional,and if you call 64 gb at all usable(non upgradeable)then i want what you are smoking,even 450 dollar laptops nowadays have backilt keyboards and this doesnt
@daniella rose is the price good? It's more expensive than your average laptop with those specs but it has a better build quality. You probably wouldn't want the base storage variant though. Might be tempted by something like the Lenovo Flex 5 though. More money for the specs but it won't look as slick.
I'm pretty excited about this one. I'm looking for the smallest fixed-keyboard device I can get with decent build quality. It's my "around the house" device. I've had Surface detachables before and they suck to type on when you're sitting in bed. So a real keyboard is a must.
Good review 👌 The storage can be upgraded. You can easily install a 256 or 512 gb ssd. For example Samsung PM991 256 GB 2230 PCIe NVMe ssd. Please make sure you're buying 22mm x 30mm ssd.
Matthew, can you please do a list of all the laptops which fall in a budget category like this one, but don't really compromise with performance as well. Like something to go against the surface laptop go. It'd be really loved. Love your content!
The 12 inch laptop that I can think of is the 12 inch MacBook from 2015 to 2017. It is comparable in terms of screen size, 12 inch at 16:10. However, there are a few problems. It is discontinued. It is priced much higher. And it has a shallow keyboard. There are rumours that the first ARM MacBook will be a refreshed 12 inch MacBook, and it will be priced at $800. If this is true, it will be a competitor to the Surface Laptop Go, because the usable SKU of Surface Laptop Go is at least $700. But there are others rumours saying that the first ARM MacBook could also be a 13 inch MacBook Air or MacBook Pro.
Ya the 12 inch MacBook came to my mind to but it’s no longer a thing so didn’t mention it. I have a feeling it will be a 13 inch model as well! Curious to see what arm brings to the table
@@periodt5264 you gotta pull the rubber feet off (gently!) there are like r screws, taken them off. The plastic panel comes off and there ya go. Theres a video on it to!
45dBA is comparatively loud for an ultrabook For comparison (according to Notebookcheck, all under max load): Thinkpad X395: 34dBA HP Envy x360 13 2020 (sometimes criticized for fan noise): 43dBA Acer Swift 3 2020: 33dBA
Dude then just buy a surface go. It’s cheaper yet it has a keyboard and a pen to write notes. If writing notes on a screen is more important then go for it. But if you want more power and a bigger screen then this laptop is pretty good
Surface Laptop Go: 12.4 inch, 1536x1024, 148 PPI Surface Go 2: 10.5 inch, 1920x1280, 220 PPI The Go 2 also has a full-body magnesium alloy construction, Windows Hello, backlit keys, and full support for the Surface Pen. Anyway, the screen of the Laptop Go is the dealbreaker for me. I have the Macbook Air 2017, and while I still love using it (most of the time it’s connected to a 4K monitor) the resolution of the screen is an eyesore at 13.3 inch, 1440x900, 128 PPI. And that’s very nearly the same as the Laptop Go. I also use a Surface Go (first model, 128 GB version) and I love it.
@@MatthewMoniz I don’t need to go to the store to know that I don’t want anything less than full hd. It’s unacceptable at that screensize, for that price, in 2020. The 128 GB model is 799 euros! Now I’ll readily admit the Go 2 is overpriced as well, but there aren’t that many competitors (2-in-1, tiny, Windows) for it. I can’t think of even one actually. Meanwhile, there are many, many, many other 12 to 14 inch Windows laptops to choose from.
I ordered this but may return it when it arrives and get the regular surface laptop. I love this design but I assumed it would have a backlit keyboard and a bit better resolution. If I'm trading off specs for design factor alone then this might not tip the scales for me.
I agree with respect to the size. The only proper alternative that comes to my mind is the 12 inc latitude series from Dell. The refurb ones on eBay tend to come close.
No glass trackpad? That’s something I feel I haven’t seen in a laptop in ages! Even the best keyboard cases for the iPads have glass trackpads, like what Logitech uses.
hey relly liked the review!! have been waiting for one for dayss. Do you think I can use the go on a 34 inch monitor? want to youse it for my Accounting college in amsterdam. Thank you!!!
writing a comment on my surface laptop go right now. Sound is the biggest downfall of this laptop but its a good daily driver. I got it because its portable and pretty and i dont think anyone would disagree with that
I just received the Bydge keyboard for my Surface Go, and I think I'm going to stick with that. It's a little slower, but 1. I already have it, and 2. The bridge keyboard and the Signature Typecase that came with it have backlighting .
Hey Matthew.... How do you think this compares to the Surface Go? We've picked up two in our family, and we've been very happy with their performance... Should we expect more or less from the Surface Laptop Go?
If I were a parent and my kid needed a laptop for online schooling, this would be perfect (If I wanted to spoil my child and had enough money). It's not too big, so it's great for kids, and it's a great starting point for a child's first computer. This is the kind of product that I would never personally buy, but I wish I had something like this when I was a kid.
Just one observation: the bezels on the Surface Laptop Go seems much thinner than that of Surface Laptop 3. I was wondering whether you could measure how the difference in the bezels width? Thanks for the great video btw! Really appreciate it
I already own a Surface Pro i7 that supersedes the Surface Go. The Surface Pro is the perfect tablet/laptop hybrid. The Surface Laptop is decent but not powerful enough. I want a Surface skew that falls between the Surface Laptop and the Surface Book. That skew should be a 15" Surface laptop that offers a high-end cpu with a dedicated mid to high-end gpu with none of the extras and cost of the Surface Book (i.e.: non-detachable)
people who say other laptops (like "Acer" Lol) are a better value are comparing laptops with crappy 250 nit screens with this nice 400 nit display. And crap build quality too boot. Stop doing that. At 699 this isnt bad and when it goes on sale for 599 as it surely will, it'll be a really nice deal, and dare I say I cant think of anything that matches it.
What's the point of 400 nits when it's low resolution crap. Plastic body and non glass track pad is not good build quality, it's garbage and overpriced because of the logo. Reminds me a lot of another company actually
@@XX-qj9sj brightness is THEEEE most important stat on a monitor, and monitor is the most important thing on the PC or any electronic device. 250 is garbage. 400 is good. All Apple, Surface, high end Samsung tablets, or quality devices will have 400 nits. It's literally THE dividing line between quality and not quality. The build quality on any surface device is fantastic, and destroys any "asus" or "Acer" trash people would compare it to in the same price range. Or even Samsung. The body isn't plastic either. I dont even know glass trackpads exist except for the internet. I have no idea or care what material the "trackpad" is made out of. I hate trackpads anyway, and have never used them. Use a mouse or touchscreen like a civilized human being. white trash use the trackpad. For the resolution, it's similar to 1080P in pixel count and the display here is fairly small. I'd have to see it in person but I'm sure theres no issue, as multiple reviewers have mentioned. Yes it's a "sacrifice" but is it a big one? I doubt it. At 699 (i5/8/128) you wont get this build quality or display quality in anything else that I know of. The thing is though surface devices go on sale, so I'm sure it'll 599 on sale soon enough, which would really make it a great deal that I cant think of any competitor too. this is definitely high on my list of next laptop purchase, along with a certain chromebook.
You are absolutely correct, people are trying to compare this laptop to other laptops based on the sole fact of hardware and performance, yet they completely ignore the entire physical construction and quality differences between the two products, those other laptops might have better specs but they are almost made out of cheap materials because that's where all those other laptops are making their cuts in cost of producing these laptops, meanwhile the mid-tier of the surface laptop go offers very respectable performance with a very premium built product that is well built, lightweight, beautiful and extremely thin. Not to mention everyone keeps knocking it for the resolution on the screen yet, they keep ignoring the simple fact that it has a 12.4 inch screen, the average person that looks at this laptop will not even be able to distinguish that the screen isn't 1080P. I have this laptop and have absolutely no issue with the screen quality and most people wont either. The screen might have a lower resolution and lower PPI but it looks better than most standard 1080P screens that you find on most laptops these days.
Thinkpad x230, x240, x250, x260 and x270 are the best 12.5 inch devices and they have lot of ports. In fact I still use x230 to this day with windows 10.
I'm pretty sure the second gen of this will be a bit better and more of a refinement. Imo usually best to wait for the second gen then going in on the first one.
Late but you need some 3D GPU and thermal headroom. Intel Xe doesn't cut it. Search for a ThinkPad. They're not as portable but are repairable and upgradeable, have good thermals and GPU.
Can't see it myself, gain a 3:2 aspect ratio on a 12" laptop but sacrifice in so many other ways - I'll just stick with a 13" 'with better spec and just as much screen real-estate, better screen resolution, faster SSD's and USB-c charging for less, heck this is almost the same as Apple Macbook Air prices in similar spec's and base model XPS 13 prices here in Australia.
The added memory option is $700 so why not get a macbook air for 900 and not have to deal with drivers and terrible software. Also, you get an actual bigger screen.
I have the full 13.5 inch surface laptop 3, and I kinda wish I could have had this, but it does look like they've cut some corners. Plastic touchpad, no facial recognition, worse webcam, worse speakers, lower res display, etc. I want the size but I don't want the other compromises so it's maybe not for me. But damn if it isn't a good option for people, that 3:2 display is something I never want to go without in a laptop.
The 4gb ram version kinda like the surface go the hybrid version I think is aimed more towards business applications like data entry/budget buyers. But great review
I bought this device not too long ago. The device intrigued me on two fronts, the price, and the potential capability. The mid-tiered Surface Laptop Go was the device I picked up. This was the 8GB 128 variant with the i5 processor. What I liked about it was the size but that was about it. The unit I had did not have the brightest screen unless I was sitting at my desk. Second, the build quality just felt a little bit on the cheap side when comparing it to the SL3. I did understand before buying, that it was catering to the price, and some exceptions when building the device had to happen, but the device just reminded me of why I do not like plastic-built devices no matter how good the paint job is. The build quality I was able to understand and deal with, but when it came to tying on the device, I almost felt like I was typing on a kids toy. The keys were just small, and I felt like my hands had to constrict just to be able to use the keyboard. What I thought though, that I was going to be able to handle was the lack of backlighting, as I do not or ever type in low-lit areas or dark areas but I did miss the backlighting. It was nice that they included a fingerprint scanner in the power key, but I would have rather had backlighting or a slightly better panel to look at. The screen on my unit was ok. It did flicker when coming out of the box, but after installing the updates that were just. The flickering seemed to stop. I was also able to find a workaround for those who are curious. However again, when comparing the panel to that of its bigger and older brother, the SL3 panel just seemed more to what I am used to. Conclusion, price point, and device size, and if you're always on the go and you're looking for a secondary device.? I would say that you could not go wrong with this device even with its faults. As a primary device, on the other hand, it is definitely capable, but after a year you're going to want to upgrade.
Hey Matthew, something I've been thinking of for a while is how with the Acer Swift 3, the main issue is the display. Yet the panel seems replaceable in pictures. Do you think it would be a worthwhile venture to pursue?
I genuinely see this as the new generation of Old 11in Netbooks. Still usable for basic student needs. Those in S.T.E.M. Majors or Art/Film Majors already know this isn’t for them. But I think this is a nice niche device for all the small form-factor laptop lovers who haven’t gone to the Tablet+Keyboard Case route 👍
Thanks for your review! I am considering buying this one or the acer 3:2 swift3 for light-weight coding. The acer one with i5 16gb ram 512g SSD and an mx330 GPU is almost at the same price point ($700) in where I can get . Which one do you recommend?
No backlit keyboard. Even the 2017 Macbook Air which I think tons of people are still buying has backlit keyboard. Since Microsoft cut so many corners in producing this one, how is it against the 2017 Macbook Air?
Hey! I really liked this review but I have a question? I’m on the fence between this computer and a MacBook Air. Which would you recommend of those two?
They compete in some ways and they don’t in others. This is a cheaper laptop and its using windows. The Mac will cost more and use MacOs. If price doesn’t really matter then it depends on which operating software you prefer. In my opinion, I prefer Windows because I have used it since I was a kid so I am more used to it but if you prefer MacOS then there’s a simple answer.
I know nothing about computers. I wanted a macbook air, but it had no touchscreen. I'm over 50 and need to be able to enlarge the screen easily- so....went with this one. Haven't gotten it yet, though. We'll see.
@@aleynavxv Sorry, can't give you much info. I bought several from Best Buy and tried them all out. I didn't like this one and returned it. Don't remember why. I ended up getting a high-end samsung galaxy chromebook, which for the most part I am very happy with. Good luck!
