**Microsoft's Surface Go Review: A Thin and Portable Powerhouse**

Microsoft's latest addition to its Surface lineup is the Surface Go, a slim and portable device that's designed to provide all-day functionality on the go. We put this tiny powerhouse through its paces to see if it lives up to its promise of being a reliable companion for students, travelers, and anyone who needs a compact device for everyday tasks.

**The Design: A Slender Keyboard Cover with a Magnetic Charge Connector**

One of the standout features of the Surface Go is its design. The keyboard cover is built right into the device, eliminating the need for a separate folio or case. This results in a sleek and slender form factor that's easy to carry around. The magnetic charge connector is also a nice touch, providing a secure and convenient way to power up your device on the go.

**A Better Keyboard than the iPad Folio**

We were impressed with the keyboard cover, which offers clicky plastic buttons similar to those found in traditional keyboards. This makes typing a breeze, even for those who are accustomed to using larger keyboards. In contrast, the iPad folio we compared it to is bulkier and less comfortable to type on.

**Portability and Flexibility**

The Surface Go's compact design means that it's the perfect size to slip into a backpack or purse. It weighs just over 1 pound, making it easy to carry around without feeling weighed down. The device also folds up neatly when not in use, providing a convenient way to take notes or browse the web on the go.

**Front-Facing Speakers and Video Performance**

One of our first tasks was to test the Surface Go's front-facing speakers. We were pleasantly surprised to find that they produced decent sound for such a small device. The audio is clear and crisp, making it suitable for watching videos or listening to music on the go. However, we did notice some noticeable black bars on the top and bottom of the screen due to its unique aspect ratio.

**Multimedia Performance**

We used the Surface Go's front-facing speakers to test our video playback capabilities. While they're not as powerful as those found in larger devices like the iPad Pro, they get the job done for everyday consumption. The device also supports 1800 x 1200 resolution, which is a bit smaller than the 1920 x 1080 resolution found on other Surface devices.

**Pricing and Target Audience**

Microsoft has priced the Surface Go starting at $399, making it an attractive option for students and those who need a compact device for everyday tasks. While it's not designed to be a powerhouse like the Surface Pro or iPad Pro, its unique design and portability make it perfect for those who prioritize convenience and ease of use.

**Conclusion: A Step Ahead in Hardware**

In our opinion, Microsoft has taken a step ahead with the Surface Go when it comes to hardware. The device's compact design, clicky keyboard, and front-facing speakers make it an excellent choice for students and travelers alike. While we'd love to see more powerful components in this trim down form factor, the Surface Go is still a great option for those who need a reliable companion that won't break the bank.

**A Note on Future Hardware**

We can only speculate what Microsoft has planned for future hardware revisions of the Surface Go. We're eager to see how the company will continue to evolve this device, potentially adding more powerful components and features to make it an even more formidable contender in the market.

Overall, we're impressed with the Surface Go's design, performance, and value proposition. Whether you're a student looking for a reliable laptop or someone who just needs a compact device for everyday tasks, the Surface Go is definitely worth considering.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enso as you guys know I've been playing around with a lot of computing devices laptops of course the recent iPads I'm interested in form factors when it comes to computers because I mean stuff is happening there and of course Microsoft with their surface products they're looking at something like this it's sort of a tablet it's sort of a laptop when you add the keyboard cover like this now I've looked at surface products in the past but nothing this small nothing this portable this of course is the Microsoft Surface go my recent experience with the iPad pro I was kind of surprised at how much I could get done on there of course there were some walls that I bumped into mostly software related which may not pop up on something like this which is running full out Windows is it a better kind of stopgap towards this future of computing is it a better hybrid of the laptop and a tablet let's crack this one open and get a sense for it an Intel Pentium Gold processor 4415 Y so it's nowhere near as powerful as the surface pro 128 gigs of storage 8 gigs of ram let's crack into it now the horse power thing is an interesting discussion because obviously this is not the most powerful system out there but what are most people doing on these systems can it do the main functions well I talked a lot about typing that's what many people do on these systems email the basic stuff USB type-c there's a headphone jack face unlock likely I like this finish there's a camera on the back as well and then of course in the kickstand here from the side here like this look at that built right in no case necessary no folio necessary just immediately stand able pretty slender little power brick of course with Microsoft's magnetic charge connector in his slim fashion as opposed to poking out too far it's crazy thin look at how thin this keyboard cover is and this is something I really wish that Apple did with the iPad pro keyboard because you still have nice clicky like plastic like real keyboard buttons but not much form-factor at all look at that how cool is that kind of what Google was going for with the pixel slate well I just think Microsoft from a hardware perspective is a step ahead here so the keyboard is not huge nonetheless it's still way ahead in my opinion when compared with the folio the keyboard folio that you can get on the iPad this is still so much better to type on I mean I don't even turn the system on yet and it's just a place that I would rather be fold it up that's your form factor that's your package it's fatter than the iPad but the thing is the keyboard cover is more slender than the two-sided folio on the iPad so you can have it down flat like that or fold it up like that for a little angle to the deck there is a look at the display you can see they went with though the black background minimizing the bezel effect but yes the bezels are there you can you can see them if you look at the reflection I have to say I'm just a fan of small computing devices like this under the arm to be able to carry this and only this it's the size of an actual notebook always been a fan of portability when it comes to devices like this now this is the smallest one that they've ever made it's the least powerful one that they've ever made so I kind of see this as a note-taking machine a web browsing machine and email machine in a package for a student or someone who travels a lot maybe is constantly using the tray table on an airplane this form factor gives you tremendous flexibility to work almost anywhere I mean even if you're in a coffee shop you can tell the footprint is tiny now the other cool thing about the surface products is just how far this hinge can go back you can go all the way down to there so even if I didn't have the type cover I could bring up an on-screen keyboard and I could go ahead and type with a slight angle now let's go ahead and test out some multimedia I think some people are obviously going to watch video on a product like this I'm noticing it looks like it has front-facing speakers here in the left and the right now one thing you're gonna notice is you're gonna have black bars on the top and bottom that's just to do with the aspect ratio of the actual display you can see this is video aspect ratio in the center here so you do have some black bars breathable noise okay the speakers work they're not they're not blowing me out of the water here no it's it's nowhere near iPad pro territory performance wise on audio it's passable it's usable but if I really wanted to get something pumping I would probably use a Bluetooth speaker or even a headphone jack since at least it still has that this is 1800 by 1200 so not quite 1920 by 1080 it's a bit of an unusual resolution it's a pretty small display so that's not such a huge deal but I can't put it in the same category as the 11 inch iPad pro of course that one has the smooth motion it's a very interactive feeling it's a great display to work on where the iPad pro I think really excels as a consumption device I feel like this would probably be a nicer place to type so it's a bit of a trade-off there so what's our pricing on this we'll it starts at 399 bucks which is actually kind of amazing for something that runs a full-out operating system and you can add these types of accessories to it but just keep this in mind this thing is not a powerhouse the proposition here is not to go edit a bunch of videos on here or throw really hard core tasks added it's more setup for your day-to-day functionality and an entry-level price point I think for a student this thing is really cool and of course if you wanted more power you could step up to the surface pro that's an option for you I would love to see possibly more powerful components in this trim down form factor more on par with the surface pro I'm gonna use it a little bit more I'm gonna keep it around the office I may even switch over to it for a little while so my thoughts will probably evolve in this department Microsoft is doing something here it'll be the surface pro 6 that I look at next but this one is kind of coolso as you guys know I've been playing around with a lot of computing devices laptops of course the recent iPads I'm interested in form factors when it comes to computers because I mean stuff is happening there and of course Microsoft with their surface products they're looking at something like this it's sort of a tablet it's sort of a laptop when you add the keyboard cover like this now I've looked at surface products in the past but nothing this small nothing this portable this of course is the Microsoft Surface go my recent experience with the iPad pro I was kind of surprised at how much I could get done on there of course there were some walls that I bumped into mostly software related which may not pop up on something like this which is running full out Windows is it a better kind of stopgap towards this future of computing is it a better hybrid of the laptop and a tablet let's crack this one open and get a sense for it an Intel Pentium Gold processor 4415 Y so it's nowhere near as powerful as the surface pro 128 gigs of storage 8 gigs of ram let's crack into it now the horse power thing is an interesting discussion because obviously this is not the most powerful system out there but what are most people doing on these systems can it do the main functions well I talked a lot about typing that's what many people do on these systems email the basic stuff USB type-c there's a headphone jack face unlock likely I like this finish there's a camera on the back as well and then of course in the kickstand here from the side here like this look at that built right in no case necessary no folio necessary just immediately stand able pretty slender little power brick of course with Microsoft's magnetic charge connector in his slim fashion as opposed to poking out too far it's crazy thin look at how thin this keyboard cover is and this is something I really wish that Apple did with the iPad pro keyboard because you still have nice clicky like plastic like real keyboard buttons but not much form-factor at all look at that how cool is that kind of what Google was going for with the pixel slate well I just think Microsoft from a hardware perspective is a step ahead here so the keyboard is not huge nonetheless it's still way ahead in my opinion when compared with the folio the keyboard folio that you can get on the iPad this is still so much better to type on I mean I don't even turn the system on yet and it's just a place that I would rather be fold it up that's your form factor that's your package it's fatter than the iPad but the thing is the keyboard cover is more slender than the two-sided folio on the iPad so you can have it down flat like that or fold it up like that for a little angle to the deck there is a look at the display you can see they went with though the black background minimizing the bezel effect but yes the bezels are there you can you can see them if you look at the reflection I have to say I'm just a fan of small computing devices like this under the arm to be able to carry this and only this it's the size of an actual notebook always been a fan of portability when it comes to devices like this now this is the smallest one that they've ever made it's the least powerful one that they've ever made so I kind of see this as a note-taking machine a web browsing machine and email machine in a package for a student or someone who travels a lot maybe is constantly using the tray table on an airplane this form factor gives you tremendous flexibility to work almost anywhere I mean even if you're in a coffee shop you can tell the footprint is tiny now the other cool thing about the surface products is just how far this hinge can go back you can go all the way down to there so even if I didn't have the type cover I could bring up an on-screen keyboard and I could go ahead and type with a slight angle now let's go ahead and test out some multimedia I think some people are obviously going to watch video on a product like this I'm noticing it looks like it has front-facing speakers here in the left and the right now one thing you're gonna notice is you're gonna have black bars on the top and bottom that's just to do with the aspect ratio of the actual display you can see this is video aspect ratio in the center here so you do have some black bars breathable noise okay the speakers work they're not they're not blowing me out of the water here no it's it's nowhere near iPad pro territory performance wise on audio it's passable it's usable but if I really wanted to get something pumping I would probably use a Bluetooth speaker or even a headphone jack since at least it still has that this is 1800 by 1200 so not quite 1920 by 1080 it's a bit of an unusual resolution it's a pretty small display so that's not such a huge deal but I can't put it in the same category as the 11 inch iPad pro of course that one has the smooth motion it's a very interactive feeling it's a great display to work on where the iPad pro I think really excels as a consumption device I feel like this would probably be a nicer place to type so it's a bit of a trade-off there so what's our pricing on this we'll it starts at 399 bucks which is actually kind of amazing for something that runs a full-out operating system and you can add these types of accessories to it but just keep this in mind this thing is not a powerhouse the proposition here is not to go edit a bunch of videos on here or throw really hard core tasks added it's more setup for your day-to-day functionality and an entry-level price point I think for a student this thing is really cool and of course if you wanted more power you could step up to the surface pro that's an option for you I would love to see possibly more powerful components in this trim down form factor more on par with the surface pro I'm gonna use it a little bit more I'm gonna keep it around the office I may even switch over to it for a little while so my thoughts will probably evolve in this department Microsoft is doing something here it'll be the surface pro 6 that I look at next but this one is kind of cool\n"