The Surface Laptop Go 2 is one of the best budget- premium laptops available in the market right now. Starting at $599, this machine packs loads of features which the targeted consumers will appreciate. The webcam is okay, the display comes with Microsoft’s PixelSense display which produces vibrant images and to top it all off, it comes with the latest Windows 11. In contrast to Windows 10, the latter comes with significant performance upgrades despite the hardware that you are using.
But who is this laptop for? Well, the bill fits students and people who don’t need a lot of processing power. This laptop is great if you plan on using it to answer emails, watch movies or even use it on most Microsoft office apps. In this article, we are going to discuss its build and design language, its webcam, the speakers, battery life, its RAM and Storage, and lastly, I will give you my final thoughts.
Specs.
- Build – Aluminum Chassis
- Display – 12.4” PixelSense display
- Touch screen – Yes
- Refresh Rate – 60Hz
- Peak Brightness – 360 nits
- Aspect Ratio – 3:2
- OS – Windows 11
- Processor -Intel® Core™ i5-1135G7
- RAM – 4GB or 8GB
- Storage – 128GB OR 256GB
- Ports – 1 USB Type C, 1 USB Type A, 3.5mm Headphone Jack, 1 Surface connect port
- Battery life – 13.5 hours typical usage
- Webcam – 720P
- Microphone – Dual far-field Studio Mics
- Audio – Omnisonic® Speakers with Dolby® Audio™
- Wi-Fi – Wi-Fi 6: 802.11ax compatible
- Bluetooth – Version 5.1
- Backlit keyboard – No
- Security –Fingerprint Sensor (Power mounted)
- Colors – Sage, Ice Blue, Sandstone, and Platinum
- Starting Price – $599
Design Language.
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 feels very premium to the touch. It primarily has an Aluminum Chassis which is considered the gold standard of premium materials more so in laptops. Even the high-end M1 MacBook Pro 16 is made from Aluminum. Props to Microsoft for this choice of materials.
The screen is a normal 12.4-inch LCD PixelSense display. It has a resolution of 1536 X 1024 which barely makes it to Full HD. Despite this minor setback, I am happy to report that this screen is still sharp and vibrant as with most Surface products. This is thanks to the rather small 12.4-inch display. Had it been a bigger screen with the same specs, it would have been disastrous.
The brightness peaks at 360 nits which is not bad at all. For the sake of comparison, the M1 MacBook Air has a peak brightness of 400 nits which is more or less the same as with this laptop. It is definitely usable outdoors, but under direct sunlight visibility will definitely be an issue. Despite this not being a 2-in-1 laptop, it comes with a 10-point multi-touch display which supports input form the Surface Pen.
Ports and Battery life.
Ports-wise, this laptop comes with one USB Type A, one USB Type c, a 3.5mm Headphone jack and a proprietary Surface connect port. The port selection is fairly decent considering many laptops come with only USB Type C ports. Apple decided to break the pattern last year with the M1 MacBook Pro 16 and the M1 MacBook Pro 14. Even this year’s MacBook Air came with a MagSafe port freeing the two Thunderbolt ports for other uses.
Since it does not pack a power-hungry processor and GPU, battery life is above average. It is also worth noting that battery life corelates directly with your usage. For light tasks such as watching videos you can easily get over 13 hours. But, for slightly heavier tasks you can expect lower figures.
Included in the box, you get a 39W power adapter which connects directly to the Surface connect port. As a side note, you can also charge the Surface Laptop Go 2 through the USB Type C port. With all that out of the way, why on earth would you ever need the Surface connect port? Well, one of the few perks of this port, is docking. Docking simply aids in connecting different peripherals to the laptop. For instance, through docking you can get additional ports such as Ethernet, USB Type A, HDMI just to name a few.
Webcam and Speakers.
As I stated earlier, the webcam quality is quite frankly okay. Don’t expect it to be MacBook good, but it will definitely get the job done. This system comprises of a 720P webcam and dual far-field Microphones which Microsoft’s claims to be studio quality. The only complain I have, is that Microsoft should have at least given this laptop a 1080P webcam which would have made a significant difference. Apple made these changes to all the MacBooks with a notch, and you can obviously notice the difference.
The speaker setup is also quite loud but incase you were looking for the speaker grill, you’d be disappointed cause there is none. The speakers have cleverly been hidden under the Keyboard for various reasons. But the one that seems most obvious, is to save on the little space available. In addition to this, Microsoft claims that the new speaker setup in this laptop is 24% louder as compared to its predecessor.
Storage, RAM and Performance.
The base model kicks off with 4GB RAM and 128GB storage. As compared to the previous model, Microsoft has done a good job of getting rid of 64GB as the base storage. Despite having increased the base storage, 4GB RAM is just not it especially in 2022. Most basic apps including Google Chrome demand their fair share of RAM and 4GB is just not going to cut it.
Luckily you can upgrade to 8GB RAM and the storage tops out at 256GB. As a side note, avoid the base model with 128GB storage and 4GB RAM. Let me explain. For starters, due to the low amount of RAM, you will suffer some performance issues in one way or another even if you don’t plan on doing intensive tasks. In addition to this, the base model does not receive the power mounted Fingerprint sensor which is quite frankly a bummer.
Performance-wise you should not expect a lot. With this machine, you get the Intel® Core™ i5-1135G7 as standard. Incase you were wondering; this CPU has four cores which is sufficient enough for daily tasks. Furthermore, the Surface Laptop Go 2 comes with the integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics which can handle light 2D games. Incase it is not obvious already, don’t buy this laptop for any kind of serious gaming. You will greatly be disappointed. As I said earlier, tasks such as video conferencing, answering emails, watching movies and using Microsoft office apps perfectly fit this laptop’s profile.
Final thoughts.
There is no denying that the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 is a good piece of machine. From the premium Aluminum chassis to the low starting price of $599, it is very hard to ignore this laptop more so if you are joining campus or if you are just looking for a portable, affordable and a premium laptop. Although the starting price is $599, you should avoid the base model mainly due to lack of a Fingerprint sensor and the 4GB RAM is almost an insult in 2022. Get the 8GB version and you will be fine.
If you are looking for a similarly compact machine but you are not tight on budget, you can checkout the M2 MacBook Air. It is a breeze recommending it to anyone mainly because of the performance you get in such a small chassis. Click this link, to read our in-depth review of the M2 MacBook Air. If you have any tech related question, just post it in our forum and I will get back to you as soon as possible. Cheers!
