Editorials
5 Reasons to Buy the Surface Go, 4 Reasons Not To
The Surface Go is the smallest, cheapest Surface device Microsoft sells. It’s compatible with the Surface Pen, connects to it’s own smaller Surface Go Type Cover and runs Windows
We’ll help you decide if you should buy the Surface Go, or if you should look at other models or wait for more features. If you decide to buy, here are the best Surface Go deals.
Starting at $399, with a 10″ display and weighing just over a pound without the Type Cover — this is the uber portable Surface that many users have been waiting for. It’s a little bit like the Surface Pro 3 with LTE, but way more practical and ready for the real world.
There is a pretty big catch for some users, as the Surface Go runs Windows 10 S. That means it can only run apps from the Windows Store and you can only browse with Windows Edge. You should be able to upgrade to Windows 10 Pro, for a fee.
Here’s a full rundown of the reasons to buy the Surface Go, and the reasons you should wait.
Buy the Surface Go for Portability | ||||||||||
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The Surface Go is a small, light tablet that is designed with mobile use in mind. Yes, you can connect it to a monitor and to other accessories, but it's aimed more for sticking into a purse or small bag and taking with you anywhere you go so that you can work in your Windows apps on the go. If you routinely find yourself wishing for a Windows experience at hand while you are waiting in lines, or sitting on the sidelines waiting for a kid's sport event to kick off, the Surface Go might be your best next companion. The same goes for use on airplanes, where tray tables can barely accommodate most laptops. Microsoft promises 9 hours of battery life, enough to get you through a full day of use. This is important in a portable device and even with some variance it should deliver the power you need to make it your go to portable companion. | ||||||||||
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FlyingShawn
07/11/2018 at 2:45 pm
Why is Microsoft so obsessed with low-RAM device offerings?? Yeah, the Go is meant to be a secondary device, I get that, but I run out of 8GB RAM all the time just using Chrome with multiple tabs and memory-hungry sites like Facebook! Even on their bigger/better Surface devices (Pro/Book/Laptop) you have to pony up big money for the i7/big SSD combo (most people don’t need the extra speed/lowered battery life of the i7 or that much storage) just to get 16GB of RAM! 8GB should be the starting point for most devices in 2018 and there’s no rational reason to force users to the ultra-high configuration tier just to get above that!
I *was* really, really excited for a smaller companion to my Surface Book for when I want to travel light, but the last thing I need is a device that’ll get outdated as quickly as my 2013 ThinkPad Tablet 2 did (absolutely phenomenal form factor and the Atom chip wasn’t even *that* terrible, but a measly 2GB RAM and spinner-slow eMMC storage made it feel about as snappy as a bargain-store Android tablet and I’m expecting the same from the 4GB/eMMC Surface Go). The 8GB/SSD Go will definitely perform better, but a 16GB with the same Pentium and storage would be a world better in usability and perceived speed!