Microsoft Surface Go 2 review
Our Verdict
The Microsoft Surface Go 2 is a solid tablet with groovy battery life and a solid screen.
For
- Much improved battery life
- Brilliant, colorful (and bigger) screen
- Thinner bezels streamline design
- Excellent webcam
Against
- Operation doesn't print
- Type Embrace has a learning curve
Tom's Guide Verdict
The Microsoft Surface Go 2 is a solid tablet with bully battery life and a solid screen.
Pros
- +
Much improved battery life
- +
Vivid, colorful (and bigger) screen
- +
Thinner bezels streamline design
- +
Excellent webcam
Cons
- -
Operation doesn't impress
- -
Type Embrace has a learning curve
Is the second time the charm for the Microsoft Surface Go 2? On paper, this tablet seeks to erase the problems of its predecessor, with more screen and less bezel. Y'all also get first-class battery life on par with the iPad Air, plus a webcam that is actually abrupt, unlike almost every internal camera I've ever tested on a laptop.
Microsoft Surface Go 2 Specs
Starting price: $399
Tested price: $629
CPU: Intel Pentium Gilt 4425Y
Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 615
Display: 10.v-inches (1920 ten 1280 pixels)
Retentiveness: 4GB | 8GB
Storage: 64GB eMMC | 128GB SSD
Size: 9.7 x half dozen.nine x 0.3 inches
Weight: 1.22 pounds (1.75 pounds with type comprehend)
Cellular connection: LTE (optional)
Visually, the Surface Go two looks to fit into the modern mural by shedding its bezels to fit a larger screen in the same chassis (Apple's done similar with the iPad 7th Gen). Combine that with improved specs over the original and an impressive webcam, and this Surface Go 2 review will show why it'southward an impressive low-cost motorcar for those working on the go and ane of the all-time tablets available today.
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But while its Core m3 CPU offers a operation boost against the old Surface Go, it doesn't hold upwardly to friendly contest against other ii-in-1s. Nevertheless, the Surface Go 2 is earning a spot on our best laptops and best 2-in-1 laptops lists, considering it'southward a strong pick for the folks on a budget looking for a tablet designed for productivity.
Microsoft Surface Go 2: Price and configurations
The entry-level Surface Go two launched on May 6 and costs $399, but it doesn't include Microsoft's Surface Type Embrace, which runs an extra $99 to $129. That model features a Pentium Aureate CPU, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of eMMC storage.
Need more retention and want improve storage? For an extra $150, you can crash-land that model to 8GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD, with a configuration that costs $549.
We tested a $629 configuration that features an 8th Gen Intel Core m3 processor, which is rated to offer a 64% boost in CPU performance vs the Pentium Aureate version. Information technology'south also got 8GB RAM and a 128GB SSD. Want ultimate connectivity? The LTE version of that model costs $729.
The Surface Pen costs $99, and Microsoft's new Surface Dock (for pairing with USB-C monitors and a wider range of accessories) runs you $259. All Surface Go 2 tablets support the the 802.11ax wireless standard otherwise known equally Wi-Fi half dozen.
Microsoft Surface Go 2: Pattern and ports
The Surface Go two is nearly identical to its predecessor, at least until y'all turn it on and run into the trimmed-down bezels surrounding its 10.5-inch screen. It's amazing what a picayune tweak can do.
Aside from that, the Go 2 is a lot similar a smaller Microsoft Surface Pro seven. Y'all've got a kickstand in the back that moves from 0 degrees (flat, in tablet style) to 135 degrees, and in that location's a small notch for your finger tips to slide into to easily open it.
The Surface Get ii measures 0.3 inches thick and weighs 1.25 pounds, making it lighter than the Surface Pro 7 (0.iii inches, 1.7 pounds). It'southward too a hair thicker and heavier than the Galaxy Tab S6 (0.ii inches, 0.95 pounds) and the iPad Air (0.2 inches, 1 pound). Attaching the Blazon Comprehend brings its thickness to 0.5 inches and adds a half pound, making it a nevertheless-light ane.75 pounds.
The Surface Go 2 looks a lot similar its large brother, the Surface Pro, with a silvery magnesium shell and cogitating Microsoft logo on the back. It's dainty that the Surface Become Type Covers are available in an Water ice Blue (seen here), Poppy Red, Platinum and Black. But nosotros wish Microsoft also offered like hitting colors for the Surface Go'due south chassis.
Most of the Surface Go 2's ports — the USB-C port, headphone jack and Surface connector — are on the right side, while the power and book buttons sit down on the top edge and the microSD reader is on the left. We'd beloved a USB-A port, which the Surface Pro 7 has, but alas.
Microsoft Surface Go ii: Display
Equally I watched the Wonder Woman 1984 trailer on the Surface Become 2, I noted how the tablet produced bright and accurate colors. That included accurate gold glimmers from Wonder Woman'south boots and Kristen Wiig'southward glasses, vibrant reds in her armor and a range of verdant greens in oceanside flora. The merely outcome is that the Surface Get two picked up any and all ambient lighting be it direct or otherwise, with visible reflection.
The Surface Go ii's ten.v-inch PixelSense display measures 1920 x 1280 pixels and is a notable upgrade from the Surface Go's 1800 x 1200 x-inch panel. The boosted screen space makes the tablet look a bit more modernistic, and closer to the thinner bezels of the Galaxy Tab S6.
Producing 107% of the sRGB spectrum, the Surface Go 2's panel is slightly more colorful than that of the Surface Pro 7 (97%). However, the iPad Air (132%) and Galaxy Tab S6 (122%) are even more colorful.
According to our lite gun, the Surface Go two maxes out at an average of 408 nits. Once more, that'southward slightly brighter than the 395-nit Surface Pro vii, while the 425-nit iPad Air and 473-nit Milky way Tab S6 get even brighter.
Microsoft Surface Go ii: Type Embrace keyboard
The Surface Go ii doesn't change its optional (and pricey) accessories. The Type Encompass (which costs betwixt $99 to $129) nosotros tested came in a Platinum hue and is covered in the soft Alcantara material, which makes a combination that'south pleasing to look at and impact. It's also got three degrees of backlighting, then it can be as slight or vivid every bit you prefer.
But I found a slight learning curve when typing on it (much like I did with Apple'due south Smart Keyboard Folio), as I clicked my style to between 64 and 67 words per minute with xc to 93% accuracy on the 10fastfingers typing exam. That's a flake of a fall from my eighty wpm/98% accuracy average.
That dip is likely tied to how the keys are a little modest and packed in tightly (causing typos and errors) and how the keyboard defaults to sitting at an angle. This ways that you're tapping against it with room underneath, which makes the keyboard deck move. That all being said, I tin encounter myself getting used to this keyboard over time, especially since information technology allows the Go 2 to be so portable and sparse.
The Type Cover touchpad is a little on the small side at 3.8 x two.2 inches, merely it offers smoothen scrolling and speedy recognition of Windows 10 navigation gestures. Information technology's got that traditional encounter-saw blueprint where the acme part doesn't click downwards, which may take some getting used to if y'all're like me and ever disable tap to click.
The Surface Go ii besides supports the Microsoft Surface Pen, which costs $99 and has neat programmable shortcuts to Windows 10's inking features. Nosotros did non test one for this review.
Microsoft Surface Become 2: Cameras and Windows Hello
The Surface Go 2 sports a pair of cameras, and while you get not bad results from one, the other has significant flaws. Permit'due south start with the most important: the five-megapixel front end-facing camera that kicks the barrel of practically every single laptop webcam I've tested in 5-plus years of being a tech journalist.
Most laptop webcams range from 0.nine to 1.2MP, and create blurry photos that lack detail. With the Surface Go 2, though, I looked clear plenty that I had to make certain to rummage my ever-lengthening hair and wipe the sleep from the corners of my optics. Your friends, family and colleagues on Zoom will actually see you clearly, and they can thank the Surface Go 2 for that.
The other big perk of the Surface Get 2's front camera is fifty-fifty more-seamless Windows Hello support. I've been consistently impressed at how fast the biometric security tool unlocks Windows ten whenever I lower the Surface Get 2's Type Cover.
Its rear eight-MP camera, however, is more of a mixed bag. When shooting closeups of plants (both existent and otherwise) effectually downtown NYC, the sensor captured accurate hues and fine textures.
Lots of natural lighting, however, proved to be its Achilles' heel. Taking wide photos of facades and vistas, anything bright repeatedly got diddled out. For example, some photos that contained both the sky and a row of buildings had one of those two blown out and illegible. Fortunately, the phone in your pocket (similar my iPhone 11 Pro Max) tin probably practise better with natural lighting.
Microsoft Surface Go ii: Audio
The Surface Go 2 can pump out some jams, simply it'due south not a boombox. Its 2-watt stereo speakers back up Dolby Sound Premium, and can produce enough volume to make full up my small-scale makeshift office, simply not plenty to get drowned out by the errant motorcycle driving outside.
For case, Andre 3000's vocals sounded clear on UGK'southward "International Role player'due south Canticle," but when the bass came in, it was on the softer side, similar a polite handshake when information technology should be a sonorous high-v. Similarly, guitar riffs and vocals on Hayley Williams' "Sudden Want" sounded decent, simply it didn't have the thump or intensity I've heard in various other speakers and headphones.
When I turned the book up to 100 to endeavour and compensate for its slight sound, a bit of distortion emitted from low-end bass, only it wasn't plenty to distract from the music.
Microsoft Surface Go two: Functioning
We saw OK multitasking performance out of the Surface Go 2, which is equipped with the Intel Core m3-8100Y and 8GB of RAM that'southward rated for 64% college CPU performance over the entry-level Pentium Gold chip.
I saw no lag when I split my screen between a dozen Chrome tabs (including this review in a Google Md) and a 1080p YouTube video with Slack and Spotify open up in the background. One time I added a couple more tabs, though, I saw a lilliputian lag every bit the system loaded older pages as I opened them.
On the Geekbench 4.3 general performance benchmark, the Surface Become two eked out a mere 6,815. That' well backside the 11,471 from the iPad Air (A12 Bionic), the 10,387 from the Milky way Tab S6 (Qualcomm Snapdragon 855) and the 17,225 from the Surface Pro 7 (which sports a much more powerful Core i5-1035G4 CPU).
The Surface Get 2's 128GB SSD took 28.two seconds to complete our file duplication exam, which translates to a speed of 180 MBps. The Surface Pro 7 ate its lunch again, with its 256GB SSD posting a speed of 267 MBps.
Similarly, the Surface Get 2's integrated Intel UHD 615 Graphics didn't wow on the Dirt three racing game test, hit a less-than-playable 16.37 frames per 2nd. The Surface Pro 7's Intel Iris Plus graphics helped it exceed our thirty fps smoothness threshold at 36 fps.
Microsoft Surface Go two: Software
If you lot desire the existent Windows ten feel from the Surface Go 2, yous'll want to take the onetime stride to plow off S Mode, which limits you to only use Windows Store applications and goes heavy on Microsoft Edge. All of our testing was done after turning off Southward Manner, as you can't run whatsoever tertiary party benchmarks on it.
Unless y'all're giving the Surface Go 2 to someone who often downloads malware-ridden applications off the internet, you won't miss Windows 10 S.
The Surface Get 2 also includes a newly updated Camera app that makes the 8-megapixel rear-facing camera a document and white-boards scanning car. You can tap on the Document icon to use information technology, and use the Surface Pen (or whatever other uniform stylus) to edit your document.
Microsoft Surface Go two: Bombardment life
The Surface Get ii has solved its predecessor'due south battery life problem, and offers all mean solar day endurance. On our web-surfing test (at 150 nits of brightness), the Surface Become 2 made it 11 hours and 39 minutes, chirapsia the Surface Go (6:06), Surface Pro vii (seven:52) and Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 (8:58). It'due south even within spitting distance of the iPad Air (eleven:54).
Microsoft Surface Go 2: Verdict
The Microsoft Surface Go ii finally realizes the promise of the original Surface Get. Its bigger screen, smaller bezels and longer battery life (with an optional performance boost from the Core m3 CPU) add up to a sub-$800 2-in-ane that can handle a lot. Power users may recollect twice when looking at how it stacks upwardly against the Pro 7 and the iPad Air.
The Surface Pro 7 tin exist customized for much faster performance (the model we compared here costs $1,119, before Type Encompass) though you lot're trading away hours of battery life. If you can be productive in iPadOS, you get a better screen, more speed and storage with the iPad Air, but it too costs more than ($808 with Smart Keyboard).
But every bit you've seen in this Microsoft Surface Go two review, Microsoft's made a solid Surface two-in-1 for those who don't want to pay Pro prices. And, chiefly for everyone working from abode right now, it's got a webcam made for today, not a decade ago.
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Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/microsoft-surface-go-2
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