The New Surface … Go or No Go? (Premium)

Surface Go provides customers with a less expensive way to experience many of the benefits of Surface Pro. But as such, it is also ripe with compromise. Here, I'd like to examine those compromises and how Surface Go compares to other Surface PCs, both past and present.

Put simply, Surface Go is a surprise. No, not quite the level of surprise of, say, Andromeda. But a surprise nonetheless, and one that comes with both positive and negative connotations. To understand these, let's look at the good ("Go") and the bad ("No go").

Go: Surface Go is Microsoft's "lightest, thinnest and most accessible Surface yet." Surface Go measures 9.6 x 6.9 x .33 inches, while Surface 3 was 10.51 x 7.36 x .34 inches. Surface Go weighs 1.15 pounds, which is less than Surface 3's 1.37 pounds. (Even the new Type Covers aren't as heavy.)

No go: This claim is true, if barely, and only because the Surface mini, which was actually manufactured, was never sold to the public. More important, its small size means makes the PC hard to use for larger adults. So there's a real tradeoff here between portability and usability.

Go: Surface Go provides "laptop performance and tablet portability," plus compatibility with Windows desktop applications, thanks to its Intel Pentium Gold 4415Y ("Kaby Lake") processor.

No go: The performance bit is an open question, especially on the base configuration. Microsoft will point out that this processor is about twice as fast as the lowly Atom in the Surface 3. But this processor is also handily outclassed by all of the processor choices in Surface Pro.

Go: Surface Go is both fanless and silent, which is highly desirable.

Go: "Surface Go features Surface Connect, allowing you to magnetically charge and easily create a desktop experience with the Surface Dock."

No go: Few Surface Go users will spend another $150 on a Surface Dock so that they can use this low-end PC at a desk with an external, keyboard, and mouse.

Go: Surface Go includes "a USB-C port for data, video, and charging." Why yes it does.

No go: Surface Go does not include a USB-C to USB-A dongle. And the USB-C port does not provide Thunderbolt 3 capabilities. Granted, this isn't of much use in a device of this class.

Go: "The Surface Go Type Cover offers a fantastic typing experience with backlit mechanical keys."

No go: The Surface Go Type Cover does not provide a full-sized keyboard and many users will find the typing experience to be cramped if not a non-starter.

Go: The Surface Go Type Covers feature "a full-size Precision Trackpad that is made of glass and has five-finger multiple touch support." This is true: The touchpad is excellent.

Go: Surface Go supports Surface Pen features like low latency, tilt sensitivity, and 4,096 levels of pressure.

No go: Surface Go does not include the PixelSense Accelerator chip that first debuted in the 2017 Surface Pro, so Pen performance is not as good as is the case on more expensive Surface ...