Microsoft’s Surface Go 2 is easy to fall in love with but hard to live with.
The small tablet has updates in it that go a long way toward addressing the problems with the original Surface Go, but not entirely. The screen is bigger, and there’s an option for a faster processor, both of which make this a better computer.
It starts at $399.99, but that price isn’t really what you’ll pay. It would be silly to get a Surface Go 2 without a keyboard, so add $100 for that. At five hundred bucks, though, it’s a category where you will find competing for products that do many of the things the Surface Go 2 does but better. If you spring for the faster processor ($730 with a keyboard), that’s even more true.
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Maybe. We weren’t completely convinced when Microsoft released the first-generation Surface Go in the summer of 2018, given its terrible battery life, a few questionable design choices, and the expensive add-ons necessary to maximize its computer-replacement potential. (Okay, so it bears some resemblance to the iPad.)
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Pros: |
Cons |
| Excellent, premium design, and kickstand. | The Pentium 4425Y model is still disappointing. |
| Core m3 model makes a huge difference | The cost went up for the model you should get. |
| Outstanding display now with thinner bezels. | Battery life just below all-day at 7 hours. |
| Optional 4G LTE is great. | Core m3 is old, only dual-core. |
| Nothing else like it. |
Increasing the display screen from 10 inches to 10.5 can also be welcome. At that compact dimension, even half an inch goes a good distance. The nicest half is that Microsoft managed to so whereas sustaining an analogous footprint as the unique model. In spite of everything, make the machine a lot bigger and also you’ll begin to lose its core attraction.
The Go maintains the road’s signature rear-of-device kickstand, relatively than counting on the keyboard case. This is sensible for many who need to use the pill without the keyboard. Positioning the stand on the machine itself means you’ll be able to prop it as much as, say, watch a film without counting on an adjunct.
The bottom line is Surface Go 2 is the best Microsoft could have done in this form factor, and it addressed most of the original Surface Go’s criticisms. I genuinely enjoy using Surface Go 2, and I could easily imagine taking it on a hike or out for the weekend when I do not need a full laptop. The performance and 4G LTE let me use it anywhere without getting frustrated, and it’s still just really cool. I get why Surface Go has its fans – there is nothing else like it around. But for a Surface Go 3, I’d like to see more revolution than evolution in regards to battery and performance.