Coronavirus has changed the way we work. The pandemic moved all of us from office premises to homes and this led to an increased dependency on laptops. Most working professionals will agree with me that, especially in the last year, laptops have become an integral part of our lives, whether to work from home or to connect with loved ones around the world via video calls. Manufacturers took this as an opportunity and entered the laptop category, Xiaomi for instance launched its first laptop in India last year and now the rival brand Realme is also expected to launch laptops soon.
The pandemic also changed the way we purchase laptops. People have started looking for laptops that are more compact and can be carried anywhere and everywhere they travel. Of course, power is also a crucial aspect to consider before one purchases a laptop these days given how important gaming has become in recent times. Microsoft Surface Laptop Go, in my opinion, serves most purposes. It does lag in some areas though.
Before getting into how my experience has been using the Surface laptop for the first time, I must mention that the consumer SKUs with i5/8/128GB configuration is priced at Rs 71,999 while the top-end model with i5/8/256GB comes at a price of Rs 91,999. The commercial SKUs with i5/4/64GB configuration starts at Rs 63,499 in India. My review unit comes with i5/8/256GB configuration. Let’s now deep dive into how the latest Microsoft Surface laptop works and whether it is a good buy for the price it costs?
Microsoft Surface Laptop Go: What’s good?
I am using the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go, developed mainly for students and working professionals – as the company claims, for the last two – three weeks as my work device. I used the laptop for nearly 10 hours every single work day for several product briefings via video calls, writing almost 2000 – 3000 words every single day, photo editing, and so on. Video calls turned out to be pretty decent, however, the picture quality, I believe, could have been slightly better. For writers, this is a good one.
When I first opened the reviewer’s box, I was totally impressed with the colour and the design of the Surface laptop. It looks a lot like Apple Macbook Air, well I know that’s a daring comparison to make, but I actually think so. The Surface comes in Platinum colour option and I totally love it.
It looks sleek and stylish at the same time. The metallic finish adds to the overall aesthetics and makes the laptop look much better for its price tag. The metallic finish also makes the laptop feel sturdy. Overall, if you, like me, want your work laptop to be sleek and not too much on the face, you’re going to love the design of the new Surface. Well, if you are someone like my colleague who likes RGB lights on his laptop, of course he’s a gamer, then you may not like this one that much. For most people, the Surface is going to be a good deal to consider when it comes to design.
The Surface Laptop Go is extremely compact and can be easily carried wherever you go. In fact, it is so light that I could carry the device in my handbag, yes not even a backpack, a proper handbag. In fact, given my office has already resumed I often need to move from my desk to meeting rooms, must say it is a breeze to move around with the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go.
I mostly used the laptop to write, of course, because that’s my primary job responsibility. The keypad has the keys well spaced out and that made my job much easier. In fact, in between the review period, I did move to my office Dell Latitude 3310 laptop, and trust me when I say this, I was craving to get back to the Surface. This is mainly because of how comfortable it is to type on the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go. Despite the keypad in grey colour, the keys are properly visible and that’s a very important aspect of a laptop. The touchpad is also positioned well but registers a lot of fingerprints. So, you will often need to wipe the laptop.
There’s a fingerprint sensor embedded inside of the power button and it worked very well for me. However, of course, don’t expect the laptop to unlock with greasy fingers.
Another good thing about the Surface Laptop Go is its weight. The device weighs 1,110g to be specific. As I mentioned before, it’s very easy to carry the Surface from one place to another. It was also extremely easy to set up the Laptop Go.
The display is another area where this Microsoft Surface shines. The 12.4-inch screen is just about perfect for my requirements, it’s not too big or not very small. I really like the slim bezels, which enhances the overall viewing experience. I watched several movies on Amazon Prime Video, India vs England test match on Disney+ Hotstar, and in all scenarios, the screen looks stunning. Around 50 percent brightness level worked best for me.
Microsoft Surface Laptop Go: What’s bad?
To get it straight, one area that I feel could have been better is the battery. Like I said before, I used the Surface as my primary laptop for the last two to three weeks. The laptop lasted for close to 6 hours on a single charge unlike what Microsoft claims. The company claims that the Surface Laptop Go last for close to 13 hours on a single charge. While the device doesn’t offer as much power as promised I must mention that it charges faster than expected. To be specific, the laptop could fully charge from 0 to 100 percent in just an hour, which is a great deal.
While the Surface worked pretty smoothly all through the review period there were times that the screen froze for a few minutes. In these times I mostly had to shut the device, thankfully my work was auto-saved, because none of the keys or anything worked. The screen just froze and how. Given the price tag, it was disappointing to see this. Besides this, the overall performance of the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go is satisfactory, in my opinion.
While the screen of the Surface looks stunning, I have one issue here. In my opinion, the touchscreen of the Surface Laptop Go isn’t as smooth as it should be.
Should you buy the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go?
I’m using the i5/8/256GB configuration that comes with a price tag of Rs 91,999 in India. In my opinion, the new Microsoft Surface Laptop Go is a good option to consider at the price tag with few areas that require improvement.
The laptop looks classy with a stunning display and sleek design. However, I wish the touchscreen was equally smooth. As far as the performance is concerned, the Surface Laptop Go offers great overall performance and can handle my day-to-day task with ease. But the screen freezing issue is something that the company should take it seriously and probably fix the problem via a software update in the days to come. I didn’t play games on this one because it is not meant for gamers out there.
If you are a writer, this one is a breeze to use. The keypad, fingerprint embedded inside of the power button, and the touchpad – all three turn out to be smooth to work on. For the price, I surely wished that the battery lasted for a few more hours but was left disappointed in this area.
Microsoft Surface Laptop Go verdict
Pros
Classy design
Lightweight
Stunning screen
Great speakers
Cons
Battery could have been better
Freezes sometimes
Touchscreen not very smooth
