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Microsoft releases Surface Go tablet

Shyqyri Nezha

It’s smaller, more portable and less expensive. But it’s also less powerful and still drives up the real-world cost by excluding must-have extra accessories. In other words, the new Surface Go from Microsoft is the answer to about half your PC tablet dreams. But starting at a very reasonable $399, that may be more than good enough. (US price converts to roughly £299.)

The Surface Go has a smaller 10-inch display than the 12.3-inch Pro, making it feel a bit like an iPad. But it also swaps the Core i-series Intel CPUs for lower-end Pentium processors. That means this new Surface may feel more like a budget laptop and less like a full PC. It’s a step down in processing power, but the potential silver lining is that for most of what people do on their PCs today — surfing the web, media playback, using online tools and services — there may not be much of an experiential difference.

The closest comparison is a similar Microsoft product called the Surface 3 (minus the “Pro” designation), which was a 10-inch variant released in 2015 with an Intel Atom processor. At the time, I referred to it as “trickle-down computing,” and said it wasn’t powerful enough to be your full-time computer. We’ll have to spend more time testing and using the Surface Go to determine whether the same is true here.

In person, during a brief hands-on demo session, the 1.15-pound Surface Go felt like it hit a sweet spot between design and functionality. The smaller body was perfect for toting around easily in the hand or in a small bag. The best parts of the Surface experience — the excellent kickstand, the best-in-class keyboard cover, the great stylus support — are all here in miniaturized form. It also takes a step into the future (some would say present) by adding a USB-C port. Power can be connected via your own USB-C plug or with the included magnetic Surface-style power connector.

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