Microsoft 10.5" Platinum Review

Don't let the high CPU percentile fool you. This tablet scores a 28.2/100 for productivity. It's ultra-light at 544g and runs Windows, but the screen is in the bottom 35%, and the overall experience is sluggish for anything beyond basic tasks. Look elsewhere unless portability is your only concern.

The refurbished Surface Go 2 is a study in contrasts. On paper, its Intel Core m3-8100Y CPU and integrated GPU land in the 86th and 85th percentiles for tablets, which sounds impressive. But our overall score of 41.5/100 tells a different story. It's a lightweight Windows machine that feels fast for basic tasks but hits a wall when you ask for more. At 544 grams, it's perfectly portable, but you'll feel the compromises in other areas.

Let's talk about those percentiles. The CPU and GPU scores are high for a tablet, which means the m3 chip handles web browsing, email, and video streaming without a hiccup. It's genuinely snappy for light use. But that's where the good news ends. The 8GB of RAM is decent at the 72nd percentile, but the storage speed sits at the median, and the screen quality is in the bottom 35%. This thing is fast until it isn't. Our productivity score of 28.2/100 is the real tell. It's fine for a Netflix machine, but don't expect to run more than a couple of desktop apps at once.

At a typical refurbished price around $480, the value proposition is tricky. You're paying for a premium Microsoft form factor and Windows, but you're getting mid-2010s internals in a 2020s body. For the same money, you could find a brand-new budget Windows laptop with better specs, or a used higher-end Surface Pro. The value is only there if the specific combination of ultra-portability and Windows is non-negotiable for you.

Stacked against the competition, the Go 2's weaknesses are clear. The Apple iPad Pro (even an older model) will demolish it in screen quality, app performance, and battery life, though you lose desktop Windows. A similarly priced Lenovo Idea Tab Pro offers a much larger, better screen. Even Microsoft's own newer Surface Pro models, while more expensive, offer a massive leap in performance and screen quality. The Go 2's main advantage is its weight and Windows, but you pay for that in every other metric.

Skip this if you need to do real work. Its 28.2 productivity score is the biggest red flag. Content creators, students with heavy research loads, or anyone who needs to run more than two desktop apps at once will hit performance walls immediately. Also skip it if screen quality matters to you, as it ranks in the bottom 35%. You're better off with a used business laptop or a base model iPad.

We can't recommend the Surface Go 2 for most people. The high CPU percentile is a red herring; the overall experience is dragged down by a poor screen, mediocre battery, and low productivity score. It's a niche device: buy it only if you absolutely need a Windows tablet under 1.5 pounds and your workload is strictly web, email, and video. For everyone else, a used Surface Pro, a budget laptop, or even an iPad will be a better, faster, and more enjoyable device.