Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 12.4″ Touchscreen
The latest 2020 release Microsoft Surface Laptop Go has a 12.45-inch touch display, a decent Intel i5 processor, 128GB Solid State Drive, 8GB DDR4 memory, and Windows 10 64-bit operating system in S mode. It is actually one of the lowest cost Surface Go’s released so far, as an alternative to Microsoft’s more premium and expensive models.
The color options are ice blue, platinum and sandstone and you can also purchase it with a larger 256GB SSD storage at 200 dollars more at the moment. Surface Go is very sleek and modern to look at and with a premium look and feel and rounded corners, weighs only 2.44 pounds. It is lightweight, portable and easy to take around with you at all times and keep it by your side all day long. It has a clamshell design and the top part is aluminum but the case around the base is made of plastic and glass fiber.
The tenth generation quad-core Intel i5 1035G1 processor is powerful enough for your day-today regular and more demanding tasks. You can switch the Windows 10 from S mode (with its additional security features but other restrictions) to the regular Home version very easily through the Start menu that takes you to the Microsoft Store. And you do the change free of charge, but there is no going back to the S mode. If you use the Windows in S mode you can only use the apps and programs from the Microsoft store.
The 12.45″ PixelSense touch display is great for browsing the internet, watching videos, being productive as you work on Microsoft Office or other software. The screen resolution is 1536 x 1024 pixels on the 12.4″ display with the 3:2 aspect ratio, which is better than a 720p HD screen, but worse than the Surface Go 2 with the 1920 x 1280 pixel resolution. The screen is 12.45 inches diagonally but the viewing area is a little less. It has a full size keyboard with a 1.3mm key travel and a decent size precision touchpad.
There is an integrated 720p high definition webcam with dual microphones for your casual and formal Skype video calls or conferences or virtual get-togethers with friends. For connectivity you have the 802.11ax WiFi 6, Bluetooth, a USB 3.0 Type-A port, a USB-C travel hub for the traveling professionals to give them additional ports when they are on the go, a headphone jack and a Surface Connect charging port. You can expect up to 13 hours of battery life for video streaming etc. with the light settings reduced.
The quick charging feature is available and you can charge the lithium ion battery up to 80% in just an hour. This new Surface Go is lighter than Macbook Air, smaller and a bit less powerful than the other premium Surface models as it seems to compromise on some specs to be made available for you at a lower price. You have the additional security features like the fingerprint reader with Windows Hello and single touch sign-in option on some of the Surface Go laptops released.
The Intel i5-1035G1 is a real processor at an intermediate to advanced level, unlike the Pentium Gold on the base model Surface Go which also has less memory and storage (4GB RAM & 64GB SSD) and what you have on the tablets like the Intel Core M3. There is a Bluetooth Surface mobile ergonomic mouse you can get as well, that is light and portable, dongle-free and that scrolls very smoothly. It has two programmable buttons for you to access your most used functions easily. It is available in pastel blue, peach matte black and glacier colors. Overall we think the latest Surface Go with the Intel i5 processor is pretty decent value for money and the specs are strong enough, considering this is a touchscreen Surface Laptop.