arstechnica Microsoft just introduced the new $549 Surface Laptop Go

[axipher]

Quote

Microsoft has just announced its newest addition to the growing Surface family, the Surface Laptop Go, alongside an updated Surface Pro X. The Laptop Go aims to bring affordable Windows computing to stylish, premium hardware in the mid-range laptop segment, starting from $549. The LTE-enabled Pro X, on the other hand, starts at $999 and is more of a refresh, specifically on the top-tier models of the ultra-portable, always-connected two-in-one PC.

 

There’s a lot to love about the Surface Pro X, but while an LTE-connected computer is starting to feel like something of a bygone era, given current mobility trends, the Surface Laptop Go may be debuting at just the right time. As Panos Panay, chief product officer of Microsoft points out, Microsoft’s goal of a PC for every member of a household is becoming more necessary than ever. And making them affordable is a good idea.

 

 

Source

 

The Surface Laptop Go seems rather underpowered for the price, I know from my Surface Go Tablet that 4GB of RAM and the 64 GB of eMMC was painful so I opted for the Costco special edition with 4 GB of RAM and 128 GB of SSD and it's still really hard to use as a main machine and the only saving grace was the touchscreen and good battery life.  I'm not sure the Surface Laptop Go will do that well.

 

The ARM-based Surface Pro X seems like a niche product for sure as the article mentions, but again, I can't see the market myself for that device.

[Supercrumpet]

I've always been interested in the Surface lineup, and only moreso after I got a nice deal on a Surface Pro 6. Nice to see more budget-friendly options, but like you mention I'd like to see some reviews. The higher spec options are quite a bit more pricey, with the 8 GB RAM + 128 GB SSD coming in at $699.99 and the 8 GB RAM + 256 GB SSD priced at $899.99, which really opens up the options at those price ranges.

[axipher]

1 minute ago, Supercrumpet said:

I've always been interested in the Surface lineup, and only moreso after I got a nice deal on a Surface Pro 6. Nice to see more budget-friendly options, but like you mention I'd like to see some reviews. The higher spec options are quite a bit more pricey, with the 8 GB RAM + 128 GB SSD coming in at $699.99 and the 8 GB RAM + 256 GB SSD priced at $899.99, which really opens up the options at those price ranges.

 

Yeah, at $699+ USD, I am more willing to recommend a newer thin-and-light and a high capacity Power Bank with USB-PD.  Nothing from these two devices really stands out from other laptops in the same price range.

[Supercrumpet]

Reviews out today, looks like your initial assessment was spot on @axipher.

 

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/surface-laptop-go

[UltraMega]

If Microsoft ever manages to make a full windows non arm based device that's as small as a phone and can make calls... Well they would really be on to something. I think that's been their game plan for years now and they're just waiting for the perfect time to strike, once the hardware is fully ready. 

[Lancer VI]

1 hour ago, UltraMega said:

If Microsoft ever manages to make a full windows non arm based device that's as small as a phone and can make calls... Well they would really be on to something. I think that's been their game plan for years now and they're just waiting for the perfect time to strike, once the hardware is fully ready. 

 

I loved my Windows phone.  As far as mobile OSes go, it was the absolute best, IMO. It was fantastic. Of course, the lack of apps and limited phone models killed it. I really lamented that. 

 

If they ever return to that space; I look forward to getting a Surface phone because I would definitely get one. 

[UltraMega]

11 minutes ago, Lancer VI said:

 

I loved my Windows phone.  As far as mobile OSes go, it was the absolute best, IMO. It was fantastic. Of course, the lack of apps and limited phone models killed it. I really lamented that. 

 

If they ever return to that space; I look forward to getting a Surface phone because I would definitely get one. 

Totally in the same boat. The interface with windows phone was light years ahead of the competition. It's too bad they were just too late to the game to build up the app store. A full blown non arm windows phone would completely eliminate that problem. I bet they have several prototypes for that concept already.

[BlackVenom]

IMO Microsoft should be directly attacking Apple with these and leave "budget" friendlier options to OEMs. 4GB ram, 128gb storage... is it a glorified tablet? All they need to do is double both and throw in a means of unfudging the thing when users, patches break it (dism, dsc, full recovery partition) and let the marketing team do the rest. Until they finally go full bore on this it'll continue to be just another Windows laptop/tablet for the regular consumer - slow and buggy after a year or two of patches... e.g. "why I got a Mac".

[ENTERPRISE]

I really like the Surface line but I just can never stomach the price for the specification these things come with. I understand these are for a particular market and they have a certain form factor which can be another limiting factor...but it still hurts.

[UltraMega]

28 minutes ago, ENTERPRISE said:

I really like the Surface line but I just can never stomach the price for the specification these things come with. I understand these are for a particular market and they have a certain form factor which can be another limiting factor...but it still hurts.

Get one used. I just got a surface pro 4 i5 version in perfect condition on eBay for $200. 

[axipher]

My Surface Go is great for on-the-go media consumption or checking a few websites here and there, but I definitely wouldn't go back and buy another one.  A couple colleagues have various Surface Laptops and the build quality is great, but performance is lacking in many of them as well.  Microsoft has some target audience I'm sure, but I just don't see it.

[UltraMega]

2 hours ago, axipher said:

My Surface Go is great for on-the-go media consumption or checking a few websites here and there, but I definitely wouldn't go back and buy another one.  A couple colleagues have various Surface Laptops and the build quality is great, but performance is lacking in many of them as well.  Microsoft has some target audience I'm sure, but I just don't see it.

The surface go has a really weak cpu. Totally different experience on a surface pro. Heck a surface pro 3 or anything above is fast enough to play games like bf4. 

[ENTERPRISE]

14 hours ago, UltraMega said:

Get one used. I just got a surface pro 4 i5 version in perfect condition on eBay for $200. 

Yeah I have noticed that you can pick them up fairly cheap at times. Just not sure I would REALLY use one.

[axipher]

9 hours ago, UltraMega said:

The surface go has a really weak cpu. Totally different experience on a surface pro. Heck a surface pro 3 or anything above is fast enough to play games like bf4. 

 

At least the Surface Go still has a great touch screen, speakers and battery life and was priced properly.  I wouldn't have gotten it if it wasn't for the price, still a great little machine for work when I ened to mark up PDF's, work on the odd office documents or catch a conference call on the go.

[ryan92084]

Microsoft's battery replacement policy and ability to acknowledge issues on their devices are pretty abyssmall. I grabbed a surface book 1 because it was half price (open box missing pen) which made it competitive at the time.  While it has served me well, until recently, I don't think I'd get anything else in the line.

Edited November 18, 2020 by ryan92084

[ENTERPRISE]

2 hours ago, ryan92084 said:

Microsoft's battery replacement policy and ability to acknowledge issues on their devices are pretty abyssmall. I grabbed a surface book 1 because it was half price (open box missing pen) which made it competitive at the time.  While it has served me well, until recently, I don't think I'd get anything else in the line.

That sucks to hear but seems to be a common thing with battery replacements.

[Supercrumpet]

5 hours ago, ryan92084 said:

Microsoft's battery replacement policy and ability to acknowledge issues on their devices are pretty abyssmall. I grabbed a surface book 1 because it was half price (open box missing pen) which made it competitive at the time.  While it has served me well, until recently, I don't think I'd get anything else in the line.

 

My Pro 6 (that I got after it became a generation old so it was a reasonable price) is doing great for my needs but I indeed dread the day the battery needs to be replaced.

 

Welcome to EHW by the way! Great to see you here.

[tictoc]

I was on the fence with the original Surface Pro, and ended up with a Thinkpad Yoga instead.  The witchcraft needed to get the Surface devices to run Linux is what originally pushed me away from the Surface line of products. 

 

I have since moved on to a Thinkpad Yoga L390, and it is a great convertible laptop.  It is a bit bigger than the surface devices, but what you get in return is well worth the increase in size. Excellent keyboard, track point, and pen along with user replaceable battery, SSD, and RAM.  I paid $800 originally for the L390 with an i5-8265U (quad core with HT), and then upgraded to a 1TB SSD and 16GB dual channel RAM.