If Microsoft's new Surface Laptop Go[1] looks familiar, that's no accident. It's a smaller, cheaper version of its older cousin, the Surface Laptop[2], which is now in its third iteration.
This isn't a laptop for an extreme power user. Instead, it's aimed at more casual business and personal use cases, where a high-priced enterprise-class machine would be overkill.
The danger of making anything smaller and cheaper is that you run the risk of making it too small and too cheap. After spending a week with the Surface Laptop Go, I can report that it avoids both traps, although I hesitate to recommend the underpowered entry-level configuration.
- CNET Review: The best-looking budget laptop you'll find[3]
The consumer version of Surface Laptop Go is available in three configurations.
- The entry-level configuration comes with a 10th Generation Intel Core i5 CPU, 4 GB of RAM, and 64 GB of eMMC storage for $550.
- An upgraded configuration includes the same CPU, with 8 GB of RAM and a 128 GB SSD, for $700.
- The top configuration also includes 8 GB of RAM with a 256 GB SSD, for $900. I reviewed this configuration.
By contrast, the full-sized 13.5-inch Surface Laptop 3 starts at $979, and the top configuration checks in at a cool $2400.
If you shop at the Microsoft Store for Business[4] or with one of Microsoft's commercial partners, the entry-level configuration is not available; commercial configurations of Surface Laptop Go include one additional model, with 16 GB of RAM and 256 GB of SSD storage, for $1200.
All configurations are available in Platinum; the two configurations with 8 GB of RAM are also available in Ice