I liked the design of this, but no backlight and the display resolution less than FHD is quite a deal breaker. After all, even the smaller Surface Go already has FHD display.
But the DPI is similar to a 1080 display on a larger laptop. The go is a tablet and so necessarily needs higher pixel density because they're often held closer to the face then a laptop on a desk at arms length. That being said, 1560? X 1024 pixels does read a little low. But those who've used it say is fine.
I bought a Surface Go 3 (10.5" tablet PC) recently and use it as my home PC. It only has a core i3, no fan, and I thought it would be a 2nd device but I have found for watching AMD Tech, browsing, email, and Office 365 it's fine. I'm even running Windows Subsystem for Linux on it. I haven't booted my older, but more powerful ASUS since I got the Go. I have used chromebooks but I still find Windows better for peripherals and I prefer Office over Google docs. The Surface Go devices aren't for everybody. If you know a high end laptop is overkill for what you do but you still want a nice display, sound, build quality, and small portable package I think they are much better than most YT reviews of them. Fortunately Andrew gave this one a fair review as usual.
@@fightnight14 it's fine I actually haven't used my older but more powerful laptop at all since I got the Go 3. Mine has the i3. I do browsing, Office 365, and RU-vid. The hardest thing I do is run Windows Subsystem for Linux on it and it works fine.
I like this laptop! I'd go for the mid-tier variant. The camera & mic both work well for my needs. If this had a backlit keyboard, this would be the ideal travel companion
the 4gb only exists for them to say “starting at $599”. this product line has so much potential, but it’s sad to see microsoft cutting so much corners even for the price to maximize profits.
Great unit, looks great in green, light, great battery, perfect as a backup travel Starbucks unit, camera is acceptable only drawback is no backlit keyboard. As a secondary device it is perfect as my main unit is the Surface Book 3
Personally, i'm glad it doesn't have a backlit keyboard. Frankly, I don't understand the hype with a backlit keyboard. The laptops I've had that had one, I usually keep it turned off as it usually looks horrible when turned on due to light bleed around the keys, and the fact that it's an unnecessary battery killer.
very good review.. wish display resolution is bumped to full hd in gen 2. it looks modern and has small bezels. W11 looks better than W10 and no S mode. honest review, thanks.. i'm hoping to see surface go 4 'tablet' re design this yr. with small bezels, 11" screen.., it will be true multitasking device
Hey Andrew its been awhile. Glad to see your channel has grown since the last time I was here, you definitely put out quality content. I watched your videos back when your channel was new, so im an oldie. You helped me decide to go with the m1 Mac air. Now I'm back checking your videos for the best windows computer I can find. I decided to pursue IT as of April of last year. So, now it's time to get a windows computer to learn the OS. I think that's the only thing im really lacking is hands on experience with windows to land me my first position in IT. So, wish me luck. Well anyways, glad to see your doing well. My first thought was to come to your channel for finding the right laptop for me. You ever get ryzen to sponsor you since your initials spell out the AMD?
No FHD and pen support is a deal breaker for me. That 4GB is yuck and the 11th gen instead of 12th gen is a little bit disappointing. I feel like it cuts too many corners to be a budget version of the M1 MacBook Air (which is what I feel like it would be compared to).
They should have made something similar (maybe slightly better features) in a 16-17”, a good value choice for someone like my parents and other casual users
It feels like Microsoft often design products months in advance, and then when the product is released it feels super dated. Examples: the studio with the old internals and weak graphics; the Pro tablets that only had USB-C years after every big company had them in their products; the duo with weak internals and mediocre cameras; and now this, a 'budget' laptop that is not a good value within its own category, especially not in 2022 with how good budget laptops are. It's almost like Microsoft can't predict the hardware market. I really want to love their ecosystem but they insist on shooting themselves in the foot.
I think this might be ideal for me. Or at least, near future me. I'm retired, and will (soon, I hope) begin traveling full time. I need a Windows computer for my genealogy hobby, and for watching movies and such. My top priorities are portability and durability. Next priorities include comfortable typing. My only concern is the hard drive size, prefer about 512GB. All the emphasis on backlit keyboards is a mystery to me. I have a backlit keyboard in my 5 yr old laptop that this would replace. I occasionally type at night, but I can honestly say that the only benefit I see in a backlit keyboard is that I can easily tell when the laptop has finished turning itself off. Why so much emphasis on it?
I just got the 8gb ram 256gb version with a $100 discount for $699. I think is a better deal. This laptop is a good laptop. I just think its not priced correctly.
I'm quite weirded out by the design decisions taken by Microsoft for this laptop, but if you think about it, some of these do make sense. (1) I found the 1536x1024 resolution quite disappointing, but I realized that it might be fine considering the 12.4-inch form factor; and perhaps it could help give the device a longer battery life. (2) At $699, the pricing would definitely seem weird at first glance; but I realized that it's kinda rare to see good ultrabook-like build quality, good keyboard and trackpad. Quite disappointed by the lack of backlighting but I think the touch display kinda offsets and justifies it. (3) I wish they had offered 256 GB of storage for this model; and had made it upgradeable to 16GB of RAM. Kind of a miss TBH. Though, surely, they made this design decision so as to make it more of a "tablet with an excellent keyboard", enough to compete with iPads with keyboards; and most tablets would have a max 8GB of RAM anyway. (4) This might sound weird but I feel like it's an iPad Pro in a Macbook Pro form factor, that runs Windows. People would really be paying the price to have a sleek Windows laptop in a cool and silent Macbook form factor. (5) I also can't help not comparing it to the Huawei Matebook 13 (which has a resolution of 2160x1440 (also 3:2 aspect ratio), a touch display, and an MX250 GPU). (6) The device seems to be targeted for on-the-go students or business ppl. The 3:2 aspect ratio is a nice touch for productivity (also considering that some iPads do have a 4:3 aspect ratio). Overall, I think it's a little expensive for the price tier but it's really nice for the niche audience that it's targeting. Kinda gives me netbook vibes, to be honest. I just hope that all the features it didn't have would contribute to it having better battery. Thanks for this video, Andrew! Great review as usual; always gets the basics covered.
The soldered ram really limits this laptop. The standard for $600+ laptops is usually 8gb onwards nowadays as well. It's better than the original go and it looks amazing, but for the price you can get way more value from companies like Lenovo. Edit: and no keyboard backlight still? Really? That's unforgivable.
It also heats up like crazy. The thermals aren't the best. Basically, it is a tablet with a keyboard attached to it. Purchased one yesterday and returning it later today.
@@18thSTVATO he's exaggerating, i've had mine for a couple weeks and while i agree that it can get quite hot quite quickly if you hold it on your lap for example, it can cool down equally as fast and you don't really feel it much on your fingers or by the spinning fan. i came from a 2016 desktop and i wouldn't say at all it feels like a tablet with a keyboard - way too fast for that.
I just not interested in laptops with Intel that focused on portability Ryzen offer better efficiency and battery life which are important for portability
Andrew I almost had to stop watching the video when I saw that the base model had 4GB of RAM? Why in this current day would Microsoft even think about doing something like that? Apparently i'm just ignorant and overreacting right now. 4GB is plenty, right? SMH.
I like mine I only use it for light browsing and telehealth stuff. I had a 900 dollar asus laptop that was slow right out of the box plus it was big and clunky my windows laptop is responsive and portable
I’m currently using a fanless chromebook for my cofeehouse usage. You rated the thermal/fan as 9 does that mean it’s barely noticeable? I’m quite worried that it will be quite noisy in hotter environment?
Remains too pricey for what it is once you skip the bum bottom tier. Really that should go away and the middle tier should take that price slot, then it would be appealing.
that starting point SKU would probably struggling in daily tasks. probably just exist so they can say it starts at 599. hope no one buy it but i personally know lots of non tech people always just buy the cheapest variant because it's a Surface..
This Laptop kinda like my Budget ASUS Laptop. But mine despite using HDD, it's 1 TB capacity. 4GB RAM is OK. And sorry, using Celeron CPU but for basic task is just works good. This one, maybe is more powerful But yeah, Price and some cons that it has that makes me consider others
This laptop seems obsolete right out of the gate. 720p camera was okay and microphones sounded clear. Eleventh generation processor is behind for a 2022 model. Stingy ram selection. No keyboard backlight. It goes to show one is paying a premium for the device because it has the Microsoft name on it. There are better laptops out there for the money. My suggestion is to return it and get your money back. Still appreciate your reviewing this so people can see what this device is like. Even though this device is mediocre the review was excellent as always.
Microsoft being Microsoft as usual. I will literally buy this laptop the second Microsoft takes it seriously, which after seeing this video, just doesn't seem to be the case. First of all. For the love of god, slash that half-assed "entry model". A laptop with an i5 and 4gb of RAM is an absurdly imbalanced combination. I hardly think it can actually survive full-fledged Windows with regular use. It's just a glorified paperweight, I hate it with all my heart. If the RAM wasn't soldered, it wouldn't be as big of an issue but that's unfortunately not how it is. At the very least, they should get rid of it. Optimally, they'd replace it with a true entry level model with an i3/8gb combo. It'd be a significantly more usable and capable combo that actually sounds like it would be an amazing fit for this small, light laptop. That combo would be able to handle virtually all daily tasks(browsing, watching videos, work, emails, mobile gaming, etc.) and I really can't imagine it costing more in production than the current joke of an entry model. Secondly, the screen looks alright. With these smaller screens, not having FHD isn't some insane tragedy(especially since Microsoft at least uses very good panels), but it'd be a very nice addition. Make the bezels thinner so that there's more real estate in that tiny thing(and brings a sleek, modern look!). Lastly, no backlit keyboard is a huge dealbreaker. Every modern laptop needs it. It is a basic function that completely changed the way a ton of people, including myself, work in darker environments. They at least make a new entry model and this laptop could honestly shake up the entry-level part of the industry significantly in my view.
I really disagree. The cheapest "somewhat" usable option is $800. and even that one wont last for long due to the relatively low ram and storage options. also 4 core cpus are useless for something that costs this much these days. putting an older ryzen 5000 would have been so much better than Tiger lake nonsense . much cheaper options with non of its flaws are already out there. ill pass thank you.
Probably a "6400u" ou 5600u professor could've made this great. But without backlighr keyboard and this i5, that price shouldve been max 699 for the more expensive version.
I think you're being way too kind on this thing. One could get last year Surface Pro 7 or Surface Book 4 for about same price than this rubbish e-waste, it's ridiculous ...
8GB RAM and not upgradable? Dumb, just dumb. Plus, the extra $100 for color? Thanks, but no thanks. Disappointing, since MS makes nicely designed hardware overall. A little too expensive for budget, but the memory is a deal breaker.
For 700 you can get way better lenovo laptops. Some reviewed by you yourself. This is absolute dogcrap. I am shocked that you even think this is decent at all.
