Review: Surface Go 2
Price: £719 (inc VAT) from fave.co/35RxmbX
The Surface Go 2 is a tablet that doesn’t fit easily into traditional niches. As the entry-level product in Microsoft’s Surface line, it’s still somewhat expensive, but it offers a beautiful screen and one of the best camera sets you’ll find anywhere. Performance is another matter: At its best, with an 8th-gen Intel Core m3 under the hood, the Surface Go 2 is comparable to
the Surface Pro 3 from 2014. That’s fine if you stick with everyday productivity, but don’t expect much more.
What’s a competent, though pricey, ultra-mobile tablet to do? The Surface Go 2 could be an ideal secondary device for business travellers, who will appreciate its fanless design, LTE options, and its ability to squeeze onto a tray table. The child-sized display and keyboard may make it a good option for students, especially given the app protections afforded by Windows 10 S. It may not compete with an iPad, but it could be your family’s Netflix tablet. We just wouldn’t recommend the £399 lowest-end version, as it has skimpy memory and storage.
Prices, specs and features
Like many of its other Surface tablets, Microsoft will sell the Surface Go 2 in both consumer and commercial editions. The consumer version ships with Windows 10 Home in S Mode, from which you may switch to Windows 10 Home if you wish. Microsoft sells the Surface Go 2 Signature Type Cover and Surface Pen separately, though the former, at least, is essential.
Microsoft’s Surface Go 2 ships without a Type Cover keyboard, though your interaction is quite limited without one. As we reviewed one of the consumer versions, we’ll reiterate that pricing below.
£399: Pentium Gold 4425Y, 4GB RAM, 64GB eMMC
£529: Pentium Gold 4425Y, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD
£619: Core m3-8100Y, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD
£719 (our test unit): Core m3-8100Y, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD, LTE
While the £399 price of the entry-level model is tempting, resist. No one should be using a tablet with a measly 4GB of RAM and 64GB of eMMC storage. The minimum configuration should be the £529 (8GB RAM/128GB SSD) model.
Specifications
Display: 10.5in (1,920x1,280; 220ppi), 3:2 aspect ratio PixelSense display with 10-point touch; Corning Gorilla Glass 3
Processor: Intel Pentium Gold 4425Y or Core m3-8100Y (Amber Lake Y)
Graphics: UHD 615
Memory: 4GB/8GB RAM
Storage: 64GB eMMC or 128GB SSD
Ports: USB-C, Surface Connect, microSD, 3.5mm jack
Camera: 5Mp (1080p) user-facing, Windows Hello; 8Mp (1080p) rear-facing, with autofocus
Battery: 26.8Wh
Wireless: 802.11 ax (Wi-Fi 6); Qualcomm LTE Advanced X16 modem
Operating system: Windows 10 Home in S mode (consumer); Windows 10 Pro (commercial channels)
Dimensions: 245x175x8.3mm
Weight: 544g with Wi-Fi, 553g with LTE (not counting Type Cover)
Colour: Silver
Optional accessories: Surface Go 2 Signature Type Cover in Platinum (£124), Black (£99), Poppy Red (£124), and Ice Blue (£124); Surface Pen (£99 for Ice Blue or Poppy Red), Microsoft USB-C Travel Hub (£44) Price: £719 (Microsoft Store) as tested
Solid build, brilliant display
For this second-gen Surface Go, Microsoft maintains the magnesium chassis and fanless design of its predecessor. A small section on the rear of the tablet warmed as we ran various tests, but never approached hot.
You need a bit of bezel for gripping a tablet, but Microsoft slimmed them down enough to squeeze
in a larger 10.5in PixelSense display and more pixels (1,920x1,280, 220ppi). Save for the additional pixels, the display remains virtually unchanged from the prior generation’s. The colours are vivid and accurate, though the Go 2 lacks the colour profile options of the Surface Book 2. The display brightness is a high 493 nits. That’s substantially more than what we consider necessary for everyday work, though not enough to work outside during the noon sun.
A physical kickstand – still a rarity in the tablet world – folds down from the rear. It can recline to about fifteen degrees off of the horizontal, making it easier for use with a Surface Pen (which we tried – it worked fine)
or Surface Dial (which we didn’t). The kickstand gives a bit when in full recline, but the friction hinge keeps the Surface Go 2 steady.
Pogo pins secure the tablet to the keyboard. But the secondary hinge that angles the keyboard up just weakly holds it in place. And, of course, the kickstand is narrow enough to dig into your thighs. Just typing with the Surface Go 2 perched on my lap in a fixed office chair was not especially sturdy or pleasant.
The Surface Go 2 can power its own screen, one 4K display and a 1080p display, all at 60Hz, through the first-generation Surface Dock. The Dock didn’t always connect to both displays (even after updating its firmware), but it’s been flaky occasionally with other Surfaces.