It’s always interesting to see the evolution of design in the next generation of machines, whether they are improved versions of existing platforms or the creation of a niche defined by a new form factor altogether.
Microsoft recently introduced yet another product to its Surface portfolio. The Surface Go is targeted for business people on the move and more specifically to address the need for portability. In reality, the Surface Go appears to have been designed to compete directly against Apple’s iPad
The Surface Go is compact, lightweight and sells at a reasonable price point. However, compared to the Surface Pro, there are sacrifices to be made:
- The Surface Go runs on an Intel Pentium Gold 4415Y dual-core processor at 1.6GHz providing noticeably lower performance than an Intel i5.
- The screen is only 10 inches with a resolution of 1800 x 1200 pixels or 217 Pixels Per Inch (PPI).
- Optional LTE “coming soon”. For a device intended to be portable, it is surprising to note that LTE Advanced Connectivity will only be available in a future generation machine.
- Up to 9 hours of battery life may not be enough for those of work longer days although this also depends on how the machine is used during that time.
- Limited SSD storage capacity options of either 64GB or 128GB. Considering the size of the Windows 10 operating system, this doesn’t leave much room for working with other significant applications.
- Memory options of either 4GB or 8GB may impede performance and your ability to work with more demanding applications.
With it’s smaller form factor and weighing in at just 1.15 lbs, the Surface Go is sized for portability. As for performance, I would personally opt for a more fully featured Surface Pro.
You get what you pay for
The Surface Go is intended to complement – not replace – the current Surface line of devices. The question is whether the Surface Go delivers value for your money. Prices range from $529.99 Canadian for the 4GB / 64GB eMMC Surface Go to $699.99 Canadian for the 8GB / 128GB SSD.
For someone who is literally on the go and is looking for a smaller, light-weight companion, the Surface GO may be a real solution. In terms of value, a higher priced Surface Pro offers better performance and more configuration options where the only real caveat for doing so is having to carry an extra 0.6 lbs for the effort.
You can see more of the Surface Go at Microsoft Surface Go.
In this case, I don’t think Microsoft is breaking new ground other than attempting to achieve a lower price point for entry into the Surface line of machines and perhaps to take a little piece of Apple’s share in the iPad market.
Until Next Time, STAY lean!
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