Background
Before I left for Uganda, I decided that (1) I wanted to write during my vacation and that (2) I didn’t want to bring my Surface Book. So I ran out to Best Buy three hours before we left for the airport and bought a Surface Go, along with the blue Alcantara TypeCover and blue Surface Pen. Therefore, this isn’t from the perspective of a normal user. It’s from the perspective of someone who:
Values portability
Requires a bare minimum of performance
Will be mostly off-the-grid
Just wants to read PDFs, type up some blog posts, and play Solitare
I bought the lowest-end version: 4 GB of RAM, 64 GB of storage, and a barebones Pentium 4415Y fanless processor. I used Windows 10 exclusively in S mode. I didn’t bring the Surface charger either – I charged over USB-C with my Pixel charger.
The TypeCover
Seeing as most user interaction is via keyboard and mouse, it’s critical that Microsoft nails a good experience here. Despite the small footprint of the Surface Go, I found the keyboard to be reasonably sized, and typing was as much of a joy as it is on other Surface products (I’ve used the Surface Book, the Surface Pro 4 TypeCover, the Surface Laptop, the Designer Keyboard, the Surface Keyboard, and the Surface Ergonomic Keyboard. They’re all amazing to type on.) While the key travel wasn’t as deep as my Surface Book’s, I still found it pleasant (as opposed to Apple’s butterfly switches on the new MacBooks). I will admit to missing the incredibly loud thwack of my pinky hitting the Enter key, but a quieter keyboard is definitely appreciated by those around me (especially my roommates). Likewise, the trackpad is a standard Surface TypeCover-level trackpad. The glass surface is smooth, it feels nice, it tracks well, and the gestures are much appreciated. The size is perfectly fine.
Product-wise, I’m guessing that Microsoft may have designed the Surface Go by starting with the TypeCover – while there isn’t a wasted millimeter on the TypeCover, the screen on the Surface itself is surrounded by a thick bezel. I think it’s slightly overpriced, and that $99 would be more fair for this (given that I deem the TypeCover as a mandatory accessory on both the Surface Pro and the Surface Go), but the non-Alcantara version is available at that price point.
Performance and S Mode
I used the Surface Go in S Mode the entire time, which meant that I couldn’t install apps outside of the Microsoft store (e.g. Chrome, Steam). Truth be told, I didn’t miss anything. For music, I used Spotify; Microsoft Office was available for me to plan my course schedule and write; Edge handled all of my web browsing. The real annoyance I found was being forced to use Bing as the default search engine in Edge. You can change this easily in normal Windows 10, you can’t in S Mode.
For what I was doing, performance was fine. I noticed some stuttering here and there, but I didn’t expect much speed to begin with and the Surface Go completely met expectations. Pure expectation confirmation theory.
Battery Life
My usage wasn’t remotely realistic of a normal workload. I wasn’t connected to the Internet. My workflow was exclusively viewing/annotating PDFs that I downloaded and typing up Word documents. Of course I had great battery life – and being able to share a charger with my phone was really nice.
Product and Pricing: What you’re buying
The way I see it, buying the Surface Go will set you back at least $500: $400 for the tablet itself and another $100 for the basic TypeCover. Don’t buy just the tablet and expect it to replace an iPad – Windows 10 is fundamentally better as a laptop/desktop OS than a tablet one. Think of the Surface Go as a netbook – small, portable, and basic. Your $500 is buying you a really nice netbook. The processor and RAM isn’t strong. The size is intentionally small. You shouldn’t use this as your one-and-only device.
Yet I can’t help but appreciate what this is. It shouldn’t be your one-and-only device, but it could be, if it came down to it. The build quality is just as good as the rest of the Surface lineup, and the other hardware benefits (e.g. the amazing Surface kickstand, Windows Hello) are also befitting a price point that’s far higher of $500.
$500 is a great price, but you really shouldn’t buy this – if you’re reading this, then I don’t think you’re the target market. I think Microsoft’s commercial is somewhat right – this is absolutely something that I’d get for my 8 and 6-year-old cousins for their first laptop. Unfortunately, I don’t think the number of people who are willing to buy this is that high – on the cheaper table side of the market, the iPad presents some stiff competition at $330. On the other hand, start upgrading the hardware and a last-generation Surface Pro would provide much more power and comfort for a relatively incremental upcharge. 11” laptops died out for a reason – people realized that a tablet was perfectly suitable for 90% of tasks.
I hope I’m wrong. This thing is awesome.