Surface Laptop Go review: A solid starter PC, with limits 

I find it amazing that modern "mid range" phones are more expensive than full sized laptops. Entry level, but still a full laptop nonetheless.

I have the 8GB RAM /128GB SSD model and I really enjoy it. It has been a solid laptop for everything that I have needed it for, plus you can find the mid range model for the base model price these days which makes it a great buy IMO.

“Any laptop these days” yeah, because you never use a lower priced laptop these days

I have been using the Surface Go laptop now for a little over a week for work. I work in field sales and was needing a capable machine that offered full-featured windows apps but also something that I did not have to spend a 1k on. Again I use this strictly for work, I only use Microsoft Office apps and the web browser. I do not use this device for media consumption, gaming, or editing, I have a personal machine for those things and a Nintendo switch. What I liked about this compared to the competition was the build, namely the sleekness of the device. When looking at the competition at this price point, the materials just felt cheap and meh to be desired. As mentioned in the video, this device feels like a bigger version of a tablet. I use this device more like a Chromebook, and occasionally as a PC. Before buying this, I did try using a Chromebook for work, but Microsoft apps on a Chromebook just aren't ready yet in my opinion, otherwise, I would have kept the Chromebook. I would definitely recommend this as a secondary device, or for students to take to class to take notes on. You can definitely cram out a last-minute paper on this with no problem. I would also recommend this for someone who is looking for a Chrome-Book and wants Microsoft products as a secondary thought. Like me.

I feel like I'd really love a 2nd gen version of this. It nearly checks all the right boxes.

Microsoft could have made a laptop with the specs of Surface Laptop 3 but the size of Surface Laptop Go.

Kindda disappointed about the screen res. Still I really like the rounded corners :P

"..It's not long before issues rise to the...forefront..." Please tell me you swapped out "Surface" on purpose 🤣

This is a pretty good laptop if you want good quality IPS panel at this price range. It's possibly one of the best features of Surface Laptop Go. I am disheartened by the comments here complaining about the display res issue. The actual fact is this laptop has relatively good LCD screen with nearly 95% coverage of sRGB without the need for calibration. It's pretty good for amateur photo-editing due to high color accuracy. Also, the display panel comes with high frequency of PWM for screen dimming that could prevent eye-strain. Trust me, majority of other laptop brands at this price range are using cheap display panels as compromise for other features. Cheap display panel usually has ghosting issue when dimming the screen (try waving your hand in front of your laptop display and you will get what I mean) and also terrible color accuracy. This is the reason why I ditch other laptop brands at the same or lower price range including business model laptops due to bad display quality. There's no way you could get good quality IPS display on par with Surface at this price range from other laptop brands.

"The 1024 screen on a 12" screen doesn't cut it" *me, using a 768 screen on a 15.6" laptop* "I dunno, it looks alright to me"

Engadget: Oh my gaaaawwwwwddd! I can see the individual pixels on this entry level, low cost laptop! This is not intended for people who describe themselves as having a 'workflow'. This is perfect for entry level users, that don't classify themselves as 'gamers' or 'professionals'. "Hey! I've got an idea! Let's review a low cost laptop and continuously complain how poorly it compares to expensive models!!" You get what you pay for. I spend 3-5K on a new laptop every three years, as I use it for development, so the Laptop Go is not for me. But, it IS PERFECT for some relatives for Christmas.

The curved edges on the screen will look so pretty when it's running the new-upcoming Windows 11

No backlit kb on a $900 laptop is a joke, should be standard even on the $550 variant.

"If you lean in really close to the screen you can see pixels" So what dude, this isn't for photography. It's for taking notes and hooking up a projector for presentations. Is the text clear when sat from a normal distance?

Watching this video 2 years on is pretty funny. All of the important aspects of the laptop have been preserved but now you can get it SO much cheaper. If you're handy and don't mind the extra hassle of opening a MS device, you can get the 4gb 64 emmc model BRAND NEW for $207 and add a 256 ssd to it for a measly $15. A device with the build quality of a Mac and all the processing you'd need for basic web browsing and productivity tasks is kinda a crazy steal.

I've had 1600x900 on a 15'' laptop it felt better than most laptops. I'm sure that resolution would be even better than mine.

i wonder if there would be a person brave enough to do a hands on review on the base model

Any alternatives to that $699.99 model?

Thank you for your vid... I was thinking about buying this due to price and now know you pay for what you get. I'll look to spend a little more for something better.

I still use my surface go 1 4gb model all the time. Granted, mostly as a streaming device (youtube, light email, such) but it does a good job at that.

The Dell XPS 13 references. Was waiting for it

Glad I found this channel! Your videos are so good!

I got the mid spec one for uni. Should be fine for light use!

the legend was true. finally I found the guy who game with touchpad

What the actual hell is with that random ass resolution.

"Cheap HP & Dell" sounds rude.

No other RU-vidr talk about the screen res. You did a great job. Before that, I think this laptop quite good. 🤦‍♀️

Thank you for your structured review & insight. It is really appreciated!

thank you! this is info that i wanted to see. awesome Korra shirt, also!

Glass fiber reinforced polycarbonate is going to be nearly as strong as cast aluminum. The biggest difference is it is not as stiff as aluminum, which can be advantageous in some stresses and a problem with others. Would aluminum/titanium alloy be better? Yes, but it is going to cost.

that res would be way better than my chromebook cause when i get a bit close to my screen i can see every single pixel, bit i might upgrade to ths surface laptop go because i need a good laptop for school and chrombooks are really bad

This is the right choices for most people. Windows scaling doesn't work, so the "low" resolution is a fantastic choice from Microsoft. Win32 compatibility with windows 10 dictates archaic choices still being the best solution. Plus you will save battery. Win - win for everyone. You can buy two budget student Asus or Acer laptops for the price of one of these, so calling it cheap and budget is not true either

148ppi is low for a laptop? so this guys should've use 4k laptop since 2012, now 2020 and Dell's most premium laptop which is Dell xps15 still go with 15.6inches 1080p 141ppi display and no one said anything about that, now this guys call this 148 ppi low res?? insane

bro, that resolution is more than enough. I use a 720p 14 inch laptop from 2018 and for a student or a kid 1024 is more than enough. Especially on that small of a display.

Microsoft should have adopted Ryzen and the savings should have gone to increase the screen resolution.

Never understood how somebody could complain about the display resolution being too low. Its honestly not that far from FHD and for the price I'm happy with it. Saying its "ancient" is crazy to me because if you use your laptop like a normal person you wont have issues also it helps not having a 4K display because battery life will be better. I Love the size of this laptop, I have this same exact model i5/8GB but upgraded the 128GB crap storage to a much better 512GB SSD. This thing is still running great in mid 2024 with Win 10.

Such an honest review

Imagine a laptop in 2020 that come with 64GB default of space of which half is usable and within 6 months will not even have enough space to update to latest windows revision.

Bruh... You're comparing budget friendly laptop to high ends... It doesnt make sense.... Lol!

For most casual users browsing the web, watching netflix, using word then this computer will be great especially for the price cuz most people won’t even recognize some of the issues

Holy heck, I didn't expect that voice to match that face

I looked at (& played a bit with) this machine at a Best Buy yesterday and believe me the whole package looks stunning including the screen... It's surely going to appeal to the lovers of good design and build quality. Performance-wise, I would say its really meant for very light, casual users and would vary depending on the use case. Seriously considering replacing my Surface Pro 5 (2017) with this and I know I am going to miss Windows Hello, pen input, tablet functionality, higher res screen, SD card reader etc.

Your shirt is awesome.

I wanna know if this laptop is good for a college student like me... I really need a laptop that can run adobe softwares. I don't think I'll use it alot tho.

148ppi is not bad for the price. Here is some example. 27" 1080p is 82ppi. 27" 1440p is 109ppi. 15.6" 1080p is 140ppi.

I’m 15 and I only want this for two main reasons.. 1. I want to play roblox with my cousin and my friends… 2. I want to write… I think this is a good fit for low demands like that

Microsoft cheaping out on specs once again for its price points, 4gb of ram on windows 10? On a $500 base starting price??

It’s good to know what you are getting when investing in a laptop 💻. Thx! 👍

Just to reconfirm, we cannot use this for brief notes taking because this does not support the microsoft pen???🥺

I'm looking at an alt to the Macbook Air - particularly now that they've switched to the M1 - which sounds great for most - but breaks a lot of DAW and VST plug ins for music production, and complicates workflow. I'm looking for something small and capable like the Air - for use with a MIDI controller keyboard. This at half the price seems to fit the bill (once you replace the S OS with normal Windows). The processor is actually faster than the last Intel gen of the Air so it 'should' be more than decent for mobile DAW use. Can any music gearheads confirm this?

the 720p display is not that bad on a 12.4" laptop. Surface go laptop feels very premium

"$549.. amazing" .. "Microsoft cheaped out.. no surface pen support". Comon dude.. do you complain all day? You can spend another $500 and buy the Surface Laptop 4 that has everything. They did not "cheap out". They built it to be cheap. BIG DIFFERENCE.

I’m Not Dissapointed With The Laptop And You Shouldn’t Be Either Cause I Have One And I Like It And You Can Get A Pen For The Surface Laptop Go

I write policy for a living and am CONSTANTLY on my Go Laptop... Wtf are yall doing to need super excessive features??? Most expensive features seem like features that are made for people who do non-productive things on laptops...

But can you use win+[0-9], win+up/dn/lft/rgt, use key to interact with UI, menu key? How do you fix a misspelling? 1) Drag your cursor over from the other side of the screen, right click, move up, left click? or 2) press left, menu key, enter? Key == work more efficient.

This laptop is amazing value. It has 4 cores and is just as fast is most laptops nowadays! For this laptop you expect a celeron. Check cpu benchmark for confirmation of this. The resolution isn't that bad. It is 1534x1024. The resolution preserves the most important part of the resolution the vertical height the 1024 is only a tab shorter than 1080. So perfect for coders and people that write up documents. Also it saves battery for people that find it unnecessary to watch wide format videos. The only qualm is it doesn't have physical button mouse buttons. Honestly this review isn't that good, the complaints about the size of the trackpad on a small laptop makes no sense. How is the laptop cheap considering it has 4 cores. Plus you can get 16gb ram.

“Ancient and archaic” *laughs in previous model MacBook Air, with a 900p screen*

I really think it shouldn't be a person who has used 1000 or 1500 dollars laptop who reviews it. It should be someone who is using a 3-4-year-old entry-level laptop whose thoughts we really want to know. Of course, it should be guided by a professional reviewer like you but stuff like keyboard backlight, good camera, plastic feel, when we hear this from someone who has used a Macbook pro 16 they will certainly be bad and I am sure u are keeping the price in mind but everyone is biased. Hence I would really like to hear from someone who is actually thinking about "upgrading" to this machine.

Would you recommend this for Students? Who need to take online courses

A little confused at why this guy "doesn't get" that he's reviewing a $550 "budget" laptop. Crazy, Microsoft had to cut corners and make compromises to bring the price down but this guy just seems dumbfounded by that idea. Jesus how is this guy a tech reviewer? Do you really think a $550 will have the same build quality, features, and screen as a $1000+ laptop?

i just got mine today and its very nice Its nice and slim not to heavy it is good for school as its not too loud either Defintly a good idea for kids

I'm using it for a few weeks and I love it!

Very useful review thank you

I have a question, when you were testing the laptop, does it run very loud? I bought it and I have three taps open on chrome and it is already freaking out. Also, is it typical that the laptop is constantly using over 4gb of memory when there is no apps running? Thanks

The only good thing I can say about the terrible resolution, since they are only using an i5 and only 8GB RAM at the least the laptop won't be slowed down by having to push a high quality monitor. Things should run much more smoothly IMHO. They should have really went with the 1035G7 not G1 minor disappointment and at the very least 16GB RAM (Option) 🥺😩.

cute and adorable, never heard someone describe a laptop like this, and i hope i never do again

Would this run autoCAD? im eyeing on this ,i5 and 8gb

Totally forgot about Windows S mode until this review. Seriously, the Microsoft store is a graveyard. I rarely can find any apps that I need or can use from there. No way I could use Windows just limited to those apps.

msoft just cant seem to nail it at the moment, dreadful screen quality on this and utterly useless cameras on their surface phone, 1080p should be the absolute minimum these days and having a shoddy camera on a daily driver phone is an instant fail, I was genuinely going to get a surface phone until the camer specs hit, I was also looking at this too.

Great review! Thanks!🙏

64gb for windows machine ? Seriously. is this for people who's not gonna install anything beside windows.

Is it good for school and light gaming

can this laptop play minecraft comfortably?

lol .. developer machine here for me. This is super slick laptop.

64 or 128GB for a notebook in 2020 at this price range? C’mon msft, mobile phones even has more storage

i like the rounded bezel, any other laptop with similar style?

I got the $700 Surface Laptop Go and everyone says the battery lasts long, its been 4 hours, and its already at 25% of battery, is that normal? No gaming, regular use. Could I have a defective one?

Wait....so is it....."cute"?

You left out the speakers.

I think the big miss here is the lack of pen support for a device Microsoft calls "Surface". Everything else fits the price point except for that in my opinion.

But can I run ultra ray tracing mods for Minecraft

Why you people yse the word starter or entry....like people buy a cheaper as starter...or first device

Is it good for a developer??

I feel like this would a be a good laptop depending on what you need to use it for. They are making more affordable laptops for people who don’t need all those extra bells and whistles

Caí I switched from s mode to normal?

A $550 chromebook can do more than this? Really? Nah

Is it touch screen?

"Well below 1080p" 56 pixels, come on son..

Do you think this would be suitable for university work?

If you compare a high end smartphone with a laptop/tablet. The second one are cheaper

Very superiors . This laptop tablet are 4c 8t processor core i5

How does it perform with Zoom or Google Meet would it be able to have virtual background running

I think it would have been better with a 1080p screen with no touch screen (to keep the price the same)

hi, i am a student..but an Engineering student..i like bout microsoft laptop but i would like to to know if this laptop go is usable for engineering software.. for the 699 usd model

I have a question, would this laptop at 8gb of ram and 128 storage, would this be able to run games such as Minecraft with pretty decent frames?

Can I use a Hub to view the screen on a larger monitor

Great review.

Is a laptop screen good for watching entertainment?

Can I use accounting software, do programming, use stock trading software & Photoshop on this machine?

Thanks for this video ! Was very useful. Could you please tell me how much space the Windows OS would occupy? I'm contemplating between the 128 and the 256 GB options.